II 
Must a “Use” be found for Everything? 
expression ; and yet is it 
that the hairs exist to keep 
the sumac has poison to 
The teacher may as well 
Brown has freckles so that 
skin ; and the statement 
The other day a 
it is not true that the cac- 
protect it from browsing 
I did not know. I 
her, she wondered ar 
wanted to know why 
told her that I had 
that an animal 
on a cactus. Perhaps just able to and always hungry the cactus spines 
are older than browsing animals. Perhaps there was some special condition 
or reason in geologic time. Perhaps the spines were in some way the 
incidental result of the contraction of the plant body, which contraction 
was associated with the necessity of reducing the evaporating surface in an 
arid climate. Perhaps a hundred things. She was surprised that I had to 
go into geologic time to bury my ignorance. 
She wanted cause and effect side by side and 
in the present. Then she could see them. 
It is a bother to look for causes behind. ( 
This is a typical 
case. This attitude 
towards 
By A. Radclyffe Dugmore 
YOUNG MOCKING-BIRD 
not as scientific as to say 
the crowfoot warm or that 
protect it from its enemies ? 
have said that Jimmie 
the sun will not tan his 
would be hard to disprove, 
teacher asked me whether 
tus has spines in order to 
animals. I told her that 
being a stranger to 
my ignorance. She 
I did not know. I 
no good evidence 
wanted to browse 
By A. RadclytTe Dugmore 
MOCKING-BIRD WATCHING A PASSER-BY 
nature 
c o m e s 
almost 
daily to the teacher ; in fact it sometimes comes 
from the teacher. The mischief is increased by 
some popular books on science, and some of these 
books have been written by persons who have done 
noble work for truth. 
This is one of the greatest faults with the 
popular outlook on nature, — the belief that every 
feature of plant or animal has a distinct use in the 
By A. Radclyffe Dugmore 
SINGING HIS MORNING SONG 
