REASON. 
119 
later observation of the work of older members of its 
species. 
Were instinct, as is generally assumed, the result of a 
special law which the animal is compelled to obey, 
then this instinct would not deceive the trustful creature 
as it so often does. Thus the blowfly, which deposits its 
eggs in tainted meat, upon which its offspring feed, 
sometimes condemns the latter to starvation by mis¬ 
taking the stinking plant, Stapelia, for carrion; the higher 
animals, also, often commit mistakes, which likewise 
lead to their destruction. Birds of passage are frequently 
grossly deceived in the weather; returning at the usual 
fixed period to their homes, they find instead of verdant 
spring a mantle of snow and ice. Many thus die of 
hunger; they cannot make up their minds to return 
whence they came, and, hoping against hope, they 
perish! 
Every unprejudiced observation gives proof of the 
existence of reason among birds, and that, too, of no 
ordinary calibre. 
All birds possess the power of recognizing and esti¬ 
mating those circumstances which would lead to any 
alteration in their line of conduct. From this they 
betray a clear consciousness, and a decided independence 
of action or free-will, by which they know how to carry 
out what appears to them expedient. They soon learn 
to distinguish friends from foes, to choose suitable 
dwelling-places, to avoid dangers, to obtain food, and 
avail themselves, with deliberation and wonderful clever¬ 
ness, of existing conditions, without instinctive action 
being in any way concerned in the matter. According to 
the usual acceptation, instinct is purely a more or less 
compulsory action; reason is exactly the contrary, inasmuch 
