FACTORS IN ANIMAL LIFE 



its kittens have been known to imitate the mother. 

 Darwin tells of a cat that used to put its paw into the 

 mouth of a narrow milk- jug and then lick it off, and 

 that its kittens soon learned the same trick. In all 

 such cases, hasty observers say the mother taught its 

 young. Certainly the young learned, but there was 

 no effort to teach on the part of the parent. Uncon- 

 scious imitation did it all. Our " Modern School of 

 Nature Study " would say that the old sow teaches 

 her pigs to root when they follow her afield, rooting 

 in their little ways as she does. But would she not 

 root if she had no pigs, and would not the pigs root if 

 they had no mother ? All acts necessary to an ani- 

 mal's life and to the continuance of the species are 

 instinctive; the creature does not have to be taught 

 them, nor are they acquired by imitation. The bird 

 does not have to be taught to build its nest or to fly, 

 nor the beaver to build its dam or its house, nor the 

 otter or the seal to swim, nor the young of mammals 

 to suckle, nor the spider to spin its web, nor the grub 

 to weave its cocoon. Nature does not trust these 

 things to chance ; they are too vital. The things that 

 an animal acquires by imitation are of secondary im- 

 portance in its life. As soon as the calf, or the lamb, 

 or the colt can get upon its feet, its first impulse is to 

 find the udder of its dam. It requires no instruction 

 or experience to take this important step. 



How far the different species of song-birds acquire 

 each their peculiar songs by imitation is a question 

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