The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-07-21
ANIMALS TOO RICH.
SOME OF THEM HAVE MORE ADvAN-
TAGES THAN THEY NEED.

In addition they have the perfect vel
tebrate structure which Sir Richar
; Owen so much admired, and can Their,
fore swim, climb and make their wa
in places where no other animal of sin
; liar size can go. They are the be'
equipped animals of their kind. Sid
by side with these are found snakes c
similar size and equal powers, exceI
that they lack the invincible letha
weapon. They only carry blank Cal
tridgss in the battle Of life. Evolution
seems arrested for no reason. They no
only fail to grow the poison tooth, bu
do not develop the power of crushing
their prey as the constructors do.
would be far easier for common gras
snake to kill frog by poison befor
eating it, as the cobra does, than 4
have to swallow il alive. 1t would saw,
it trouble to crush it, as "A young DO;
but it does neither, because it neithel
has developed, nor seems in the leas
likely to develop the necessary equip
ment for so doing.
BY the theory Of evolution the grass
snake ought therefore to go back in the
world, while the other common English
snake, the poisonous viper, armed with
weapon, powerful ms u protection and
means of killing prey, increased in
size and numbers and took its place.
Yet this is exactly what has not hap
pened. Grass snakes are larger and more
numerous than ladders, and there is nc
evidence that the absence Of the poison
fangs i'll any way endangers the survival
of the species.
1t is difficult to account for the alb
sence of any visible failure in life of in.
sect feeding creatures competing for ex.
istence on the same food, but with such
unequal physical means for obtaining it
as are possessed by the swallow, the
marmoset, the shrew, the chameleon
and the frog. In this list of five crea.
lures living upon similar food we find
that the physical appliances for obtain.
ing it range from the perfect develop
ment of speed in flight i'll the swallow,
the addition of hands for capture in the
marmoset, bodily quickness and activity
i'll the shrew, the power of assuming
color exactly similar to that Of environ.
ment i'll the chameleon, supplemented
by a special apparatus for shooting out
the tongue and capturing insects when
motionless, to the absence of any special
equipment ut all, except that of rather
long tongue, in the insect eating frog.
Yet the frog, destitute of all these
specialized appliances, lives just as well
as the swallow, the shrew, the marmo-
set or the chameleon, and at least one
species, the barking frog, finds that tc
get on in the world it has only to be
still and wait till creatures walk into
its mouth. 1t has acquired a skin color
suited to its environment and q large
mouth. But it is not, and could never
be, considered well provided for getting
its living
Our estimate of the physical means
and appliances necessary for the survival
and well being of animals is probably |
set too high. We judge the needs of all |
from the perfect development and ac-
quired powers of many, perhaps of |
most, which evolution has provided |
with appliances in excess of their real |
wants. Most animals are overequipped |
Evolution has run riot and provided |
them with means and metal far in ex-
cess of their needs, just as it has provid- |
ed them with an exuberance of orna-
ment which delights us, but must al |
ready have passed beyond animal COM
prehension.
Probably the cats, great and small,
would at once be named as the best
equipped of all classes of predatory
creatures, and the predatory creatures are
by necessity superior in most forms of
physique TO those on which they prey.
They are all built" on one plan, with
/ special armament of teeth, sheaths to
keep their claws sharp, muscles for
suddenly TO great distances,
padded feet to deaden the sound Of their
and color adapted for con-
'ealment. These acquired appliances are
n excess Of their wants.
The polar bear which cannot spring
md has no sheaths for its claws, and
has little obvious provision to aid it in
catches and kills animals
anger than those killed by the tiger and
AN kill them in the water The VOL
'erene, or glutton, which is heavy, slow
md has the feet of ferret, gets its liv-
ng as carnivorous animal no less well
han the tiger cats, which have far
more specialized equipment for their
york.
There is actual evidence from the fos.
ii bones of tigers that this excess of
quipment once went further and has
een discarded as superfluous. An OK
met species developed canine teeth of |
uch enormous size that it has been
famed the 'saber toothed tiger. " The
eeth were too long for its jaws, and the
modern species use shorter weapons,
ust as modern ironclads are provided
With lighter guns The curling tusks of
ONE OF the mammoths and the palmated
Iorns of the Irish elk were also in excess
4 requirements and are modified for use |
u the existing elephants and reindeer.
lany monkeys possess thumb, but
ONE do not, and there is no evidence
hat they are therefore at disadvantage
or their nonprogressive life.-London
spectator.
HOUSES BUILT IN TREES.