Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1882-09-01
4 CHAPTER IN development.
'!tow Animal. Become CarnIvorou.

-Stow Animals BECOME CaruIvOrous.
In le scale of creation, plants were
dev VI first; they began rs very low
forn.Y 'ay even all have sprung from
one l. =. AS time went on they
Eight se c, v' ce s"S was s"f'uiE Sufficient 0ie to
cause one to .. its character, and it
handed down /. ~, ar character to its
offspring. In th. ~ fresh varieties of
plants were formed, and now we have an
immense number of all sorts. Some are
content to carpet the fields like the daisy,
whilst others thrive best by shooting up
into the air like buttercups, but each one
has assumed its present shape by finding
that it could SO get on best. These chan
ges were not made in n few years, but are
the works of centuries, and if any one
could have watched them he could scarce
ly have been able to tell where change
began. 50 minute were the differences
After the plants had appeared-or almost
at the same time-the lowest forms of ami
nal life appeared and fed on the plants
These low forms of animal life had also
to ditferentiate themselves by some stress
of circumstance, and in time new kinds
of animals were the result Some insects
were forced by stress of circumstances to
feed on each other; they did this for
some time ; their organs changed in
structure, and in time it became right for
them to feed on carcasses.
We see an everyday example of this i'll
the midge it sucks the blood of animals
if it can get it, if not it feeds on the
sweet juices of plants. The lcech is also
another example ; it feeds on vegetable
food in the pond in which it lives, but it
will live on the blood of an animal if it
can get it.
No doubt at one time animals were her.
bivorous, but some stress of circumstance
made them feed on the bodies of one
another until they developed certain
peculiarities, and hereafter it was right
for them to do so, and now they are called
carnivorous animals. Let us instance
many goats on an island they increased
i'll number until there were more goats
than there was food for them-this is
now recognized law. Some died of
starvation or in the fight for food; one
was very hungry. and tearing off the skin
it ate the flesh of its fallen kin. The
flesh appeased its hunger, and when hun
CRY it again returned to the carcass, and
thus it went feeding on dead bodies. AT
ter time it began to like flesh, and when
it could not get dead bodies, then it
killed its kind and fed on them. The
offspring of this animals would tend to do
the same, and since it has to fight for its
living it has to grow new parts. Its teeth
must change, its limbs must also change,
and the character Of its stomach must
altar After few centuries we find II
different animal from the original goat
i'll fact, we have now carnivarous animal.
From this instance you see how changes
may occur. Some one may say that goats
could not be taught to eat flesh, but ex-
pertinent has shown that goats and sheep
or any animal can be taught to eat flesh
until it refuses its natural grass, hay or
corn.
A change of this nature has been lately
seen in New Zealand. In the memory of
man the kea or NcstO notaJitis was IL
fruit-eating parrot. Sheep were intro
duced into New Zealand, some of them
died, and the kea tearing off the skin ate
some of the flesh. 1t liked it, and be-
gan to feed on flesh only. Now, as dead
sheep were not always to be had, it at.
tackled living sheep; killed them and fed
nivorous bird, and in consequence is
hilltl WltueNtI louu'l. NluH llllliStii
has tried to be carnivorous, or partly so.
His original dwelling-place was in a hot
country where he had fruit all the year
round. He increased rapidly, and to find
food emigrated to places where fruit was
only ripe once year, SO that he could
only live on it for about six months. In
Winter he killed animsls for food, and
found that by eating their carcasscs he
could live until the Summer came round.
He found hunting hard work, 50 he
tanned the young of the COW and the sheep,
and killed them when he wanted them.
This is now gone ON for ages, and man has
begun to think that mixed diet suits
him best But for all his carnivorous
practices he has not changed his nature
yet his teeth, tongue, stomach, length
of intestine, Hat nails and perspiring
skin all point to the frugivorous character
That such is his nature seems beyond
dispute, and that men can live without
flesh food is now an everyday experience.
There are hundreds of men now living in
England who never eat meat from years
end to years end, and they are as strong
Us other men and remarkably free from
disease. Let readers ponder over this,
try and live without meat, and they will
soon come to the conclusion that man has
no carnivorous traits.