VARIETY AND TYPES IN NATURE. 
225 
day there came over another shepherd, who wore a 
pair of mittens and a muffler which had once be¬ 
longed to the dog’s master, and Wully quickly de¬ 
tected them by their odor. 
Probably no two individuals are exactly alike, else 
how would the mothers be able to recognize their 
young ? Once I had two hens come off the nest in 
the same day each with a small brood. I concluded 
to give both broods to the same hen, and I did so the 
third day. Although the chicks were so nearly alike 
that I could not distinguish them, the hen knew her 
OAvn, and at first pecked at the little strangers. 
Does l^ature revel in variety to such an extent 
that she is bound by no laws ? 
Notwithstanding these innumerable unlikenesses 
and ever-changing differences, there is as readily 
discoverable a line of likenesses, undeniable resem¬ 
blances to parents, sufflciently definite for practical 
study. An eye trained by observation can readily 
distinguish the oaks from the maples or poplars, or 
true roses from the strawberry or apple, both of which 
have rose blossoms. The infiuence which holds to 
types and ancestral forms will be discussed in the 
next chapter. 
