New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-08-21

! It be a survival Of far pasta time when some
wide ranging small falcon. aerial in it's habits as
the swallow ITSELF preyed by preference on
hirundines only?"
| Mr.. Hudsos is, in fact almost immodcra'ely
fond Of this appeal 70 the illmitable past, an ap-
peal which, useful 1t is in some sciences, Is
unavaiing in animal psychology. For example,
! pointing out the infnitesimal number OF mosque
toes in all the trlions Of these insects produced
daily that can crafty their taste for mammalian
blood, and commenting on the comparative use
| lessness Of so perfect blood-sucking apparatus
| to creatures most Of which are doomed never
to put 1t to ite proper use, and also on the TACT
that being without a mouth, they are practically
| incapable of taking other food he aaas: we
know that they belong to an exceedingly snciehc
| tribe, and possibly, after the earth had ceaSca
| TO produce their proper nourishment, there came
| in their history long hungry period, which
| did not kill them, but lasted until their iced
| ing instincts became obsolete, the mouth 1851
its use and their life in il. perfect state THAT
is as winged insects, not as larvae) dwlnoeo
| to its present length" This reminds ono OF the
Indian folklore about the dormouse which was
said to have been originally the largest nI4mal IN
the world, but after being persuaded by tho other
creature. to tie up the sun, was badly burned
that IL shrivelsd to the size with which all arc
now familiar.
There are however, some cases in which this ar
gument from antiquity has an appearance OF piaus-
Utility. Those who are acquainted with Dar"ins
works may remember that he alludes to habit OF
the huanaco in Lower Patagonia OF going to Ger
tain place to die. Mr.. Hudson has graphic chap
ter this strange instinct In creature 80 socmd
in it's normal state He pictures the gray wiider-
meas of dwarf thorn trees aged and grotesque and
soan ty-caved nourished for thousand years on
the bones that whiten the stony ground at their
roots. In the long centuries stretching back into
dim, Unreasonable past, SO many Of this race nave
journeycd hither from the mountain and the plain
to suffer the sharp pans Of death. that to the mag
nation something of it all seems to have passed into
that Lushed and mournful nature The practice
seems manifestly useless, both to the individual
animal and 70 the species But Mr.. Hudson imag-
ines that it ones played an important part in the
life Of the race The animals do not 20 10 this
place expecting to die there. They can have no
purpose in the matter. He, therefore. supposes
that the sensations preceding death awaken an her
editary reminisccnce to speak, Of sensations feit
by the ancestors Of these creatures when they sougt
safety in the place which is now their graveyard
The necessity for this refuge, to have produced
habit so invetcra,e must have lasted for hundreds
or even Thousands of years Assuming this expla-
nation to be probable, he compares the instinct
of the huanaco with that OF the rattesnake, when
travels miles to go into winter quarters with It's
comrades. in the same den that has been used
by it's kind for generations. lie ADDS the
curious fact that the half wild horses Of pampas,
though they shun the farm while in health. al
most invariably come 20 the gate to die. III was
there that they felt the discomfort of the saddle
ond bride, it was there that they had felt re-
lief and now in their last pain they come there LOT
relief But the case is plainly one Of Individual
exn.rienee on the part of the horse, with which
hcredity has nothing TO do; and the a''egeu
instinct Of the rattlesnake aecpcns rather than
explains the mystery of the huanacos connuc..
To add to the difficulty 1t is to he remembered
that it is only in Southern Patagonia TINT thls
habit has developed in the buanaco. In the more
northern warmer regions no such instinct has occh
observed.
The book throughout is one TO be read Win
Measure Mr.. Hudson's views fresh and sug-
gestive. He is a native OF the country who'c
fauna he describes and he speaks Of all the Great
ures within the circle Of his wide ACQUAINTANCE
with an affection that is contagious. The reader
also begins to admire the Gaucho who is hardly
q man except on horseback-indeed the author
compares him to a parasite-the puma WIN i's
strange tenderness toward human beings; the bur
rowing vizcacha as interesting and apparently
far more sagacious than the prairie dog; the
strange birds which visit each other daily and
indulge in dances stately as minuet; the won
derful storms Of drsgonfies, and the inexpcable
ebb and fow in the tides OF life observable on
the South American plains. The author has q
coed story or two to tell even about the mephitic
skunk and about some unpleasant parasites. Inc
illustrations are scrviceable.