270 
SEXUAL SELECTION : MAMMALS. 
Part 
II. 
“ harsh growl lie drives her to a place in his hare#' 
“ 1 his continues until the lower row of harems # 
“ nearly full. Tlien the males higher up select tl# 
“ time when their more fortunate neighbours are <# 
“ their guard to steal their wives. This they do h? 
“ taking them in their mouths and lifting them ov# 
“ the heads of the other females, and carefully placing 
“ them in their own harem, carrying them as cats 
“ their kittens. Those still higher up pursue the sa#° 
“ method until the whole space is occupied. Frequently 
“ a struggle ensues between two males for the posses# 01 * 
“ of the same female, and both seizing her at once p ul 
“ her in two or terribly lacerate her with their teeth' 
“ When the space is all filled, the old male walks aroi# tl 
“complacently reviewing his family, scolding tl# se 
who crowd or disturb the others, and fiercely drivh’S’ 
“ off all intruders. This surveillance always keeps hi# 
“ actively occupied.” 
As so little is known about the courtship of animals i* 1 
a state of nature, I have endeavoured to discover how # r 
our domesticated quadrupeds evince any choice in th# r 
unions. Dogs offer the best opportunity for observation 
as they are carefully attended to and well understood 
Many breeders have expressed a strong opinion on tl j,!5 
head. Thus Mr. Mayhew remarks, “ The females a J '° 
“able to bestow their affections; and tender recoil# 
“ ti°us are as potent over them as they are known 
“ be in other cases, where higher animals are 
“ cerned. Bitches are not always prudent in tin# 
“ loves, but are apt to fling themselves away on ® 
“ of low degree. If reared with a companion of vulg#' 
“ appearance, there often springs up between the pa# 
“ devotion which no time can afterwards subdue. ' L ' l,e 
“ passion, for such it really is, becomes of a more than 
“romantic endurance.” Mr. Mayhew, who attend# 1 
