The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1879-08-02

The LemminE.
some time since the POpUi0r .Sctearc HOath-
I IN published quite an elaborate account of tins
singular animal, whose habits are problem
to naturalSt~. We notice another article upon
the same subject in 4 foreign magazine, from
which we can conveniently condensc sutfl
cIcnt description to give our readers an idea
Of this curious creature.
4 The lemminr "a An animal resembling "A
large rat in fact II belongs to the same tami-
" Of creatures II Is found in Norway, and
burrows in the earth 1t IL a migrating rodent
aud it, undertaking adherence to straight line,
OF march Is the remarkable feature Of its mi
grafton. The jennings march IN parallel
| lines three feet apart. swim boldly through
lakes and river and are said to even eat their
way through Corn-stacks rather than deyiatcI
from the straight line of march. Many unrc-
| liable statements are made relative to these
marches but, sitting opinions from facts III
may be said that the Jennings are IN The habit
Of making emigration movements at Irregular
! intervals; that they pursue straight course,
| and may swim across rivers, lakes, or even be
found In the sea Itself and, lastly, that their
progress appears to be invariably directed toI
| The sea. In this latter remark; Will be found
the clue to the causes of lcmming migration.
| 1t is exactly this curious and apparently un.
satisfactory termination to their Journey which
| has not merely excited the interest OF the nat
| turallSts in the Jennings, but has IN large
degree aided in the solution OF the problem
their mIgrations present. The period OF the
wear at which the migratlOns of the jennings
i occur is not invariably in winter or before
weather of Indictment nature, as one theory pro
fesscs to maintain. Ii was supposed that these
animals left their native haunts through q
! fOrcknowledgc of severe winter But NIL
gratlons have occurred in the spring, when all
fear Of starvation was practically at an end,
and migrations have been noted also to take
place after an autumn OF unusual plenty. Thus
the weather theory" and the starvation by
! pothesis" are alike unable to meet the facts of
the case as presented 10 our notice in its full
details. 4 third theory which cndcavorcd toI
account for the periodical exodus OF these ami
mails was founded on Malthusan considera-
tons. and regarded the oyCrpOpulatlon of a.
given district as the chief incentive to the mi
gratory act But, so far as exact observation
has proceeded, the excessive population seems
10 be rather the result than the cause of the
migration As if further to reiute the idea of
ovcr.popualon and the consequent deficiency
| of food beng the causes of the exodus, we may
note the fact that during their journeys the.
wandering hordes Of Jennings frequently
| light upon a land wherein plenty of food ex-
| lists but that, instead of solourning therein and
satisfying their wants, they pass onwards and
Stewards without halt. Nor must the tact
be overlooked that, AS Pennant tells us, their
march is practically one of determination for
themselves Their ranks are devastated by
every carnivorous animal, even by every bird
of prey that cares to attack them. They are
IA timld race, and appear to he terrified by the
mere shadow of a passing cloud. When they
swim across Norwegian "fjords" and lakes,
the ripplcs caused by the summer wind drown
them by hundreds The appearance Of boat
causes mutitudes 10 turn tail and swim back
To the shore; and the migratory band, which
numbered its myrads on set,iog out upon its
march, reaches the end of It's journey at the
sea and appears as IA miserable remnant OF al
once formidable host Whatever be the causes
of the migration, it is perfectly obvious that
the exodus is attended with no advantage to
the lcmmlng race In fact, the result OF the
migration is practically the thinning out OF
the species and the destruction OF countless
thousands OF the race-this result however de-
tcrmncd, being a disadvantage rs far as the
animals src concerned, since 1t is the uniyer-
| sal law of life and nature that each species /,
fights for It's own kind" They exhibit moi
instinct in selecting an easy route but, on the
contrary migrate by lines of march wherein
| they encounter the greatest hardships and diff
| ficultes from broad lakes, rushing torrents,
and high hills or mountains. One series o!
careful observations on the lines OF march of
these animals, for instance, reveals the inter
estng fact that whilst the Jennings, by a
slight dtt0@r, might have avoided deep and
rapid river and broad lake, they crossed both
with the result of gricvousy thinning their
ranks, besides passing over elevated ridges OF
/ land and snowy mountains where their num-
bers were materially les.cned by the attack of
their enemies. The straight line from any dis
,rict To the sea is thus practically the track Sc
! lected by the Jennings; some ot the hordcs
going eastward in Norway to the Gull of Both
MIA and others westward to the Atlantic. 1t
appears 10 Ia u rare occurrence for these ami
mails 10 march southwark.
| The purposelesS nature OF the migration Of
these animals is nowhere better viewed than
at the termination OF thcI: strange journey
when the decimatcd horde has arrived at the
sea There the survivors disappear from sight
Many die; a large proportion perish in the
sea, some may sustain precariouS existence
in a region Ia winch they 're strangers, and
compared with which iI.cir uatye haunls were
lands Of plenty; but practically the exodus oi
the Jennings Is devoid vt advantage and
traught with disadvantage, danger and ut,- .
mate death by drowning In the species at large I
How then, may this stran &c habit be explain
edr The answer L. ~ ,ei,rruce TO the altered
character of the continent ot Europe; or, speak.
ling more generally, ny taking into accoun;
the physical changes TO which the world al
large has been subject, and which, indeed, il
Is sull under going
Il A.,t /. -.