The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-08-10
BRED IN THE BONE
ORIGIN OF MANY FAMILIAR
ACTS OF MAN AND BEAST.
why Dogs Lick-Why Horses Try
Their Teeth Upon Trunks Of
Trees-The Lovers.

London Express.
About this time every year the farm
horses are turned loose in the pastures,
and the result is Immediately apparent
in scars upon the trunks and exposed
roots of the hedgerow trees. on which
they have joyously tried their teeth.
1t is not for provender that they thus
gnaw the bark of trees, for they nibble
the resinous pine as freely as the elm.
and viii even leave long toothscrapes
on newly painted gate. What attracts
them is the pleasurable sensation Of
substance. sensation which has been
denied them in the stable. although some
horses. in whom the taste has become
q mania, will practice incessantly upon
become confirmed ''cribbiters."
Why does L siye e horse pleasure thus
to drive his teeth into substances which
resist but yieids No doubt there is a
ing herbivorous animal, he has a keen
sense of enjoyment In biting into sub
stances which suggest the crisp frmness
of mature vegetables growth
Delight in Crispness.
Man inharits Similar taste in this
respect for Is there any one who has
not realized the added charm of sweet
meats which otter exactly the right de-
gree of coy resistance to the teeth? Take
ehocolate. for Instance; L may be ag.
grayatingly hard or mawkishly soft. but
Is delighkfuls ra1r take lettuce: II may
BE so cSisp sas almost to craclxle when
you bite or as sodden in texture as
teeth. TSsest one Is ! Joy; to partake OF
one is on Y<npeiled 10 make upon rare
Ysi ss rs no a,sss. quality
of the vSsetable In Its two phases are
identicalt 1t Is merely a matter of the
j.. ways ms which water is distributed in
its cells. Why, then, should we recos-
nizs SO wide a difference? Because we
are the descendants of frugivorous an
cstors, whom the struggle for existence
taught to eschew alike fruits that were
tough through immaturity or soft and
rsplodgy from oven -rpeness.
The dog. on the other hand, comes Of
lcarniverous ancestors, and when a puppy
whittles the table legs and insists upon
chewing an old pipe bowl, in spite OF
the taste of nicotine. which often makes
him sneeze and ultimately makes him
sick. Is unconsciously rehearsing the role
of his wild wolf forbears when they
polished their cleaning teeth upon the
Why Dogs Lick.
So cat. sprung from long line of
retractile-clawed hunters. loves better
than anything, when she lies doing be-
fore the fire, to drive her claws into
contracting them with the delicious sem
lsation which she has inherited Of the
grip of a living prey.
~ And it is not surprising that this lick
ing with the tonsue-whtch in some Of
the larger carnvora not only parts fur
or feathers, but actually strips the skin
of captured prey-should become a special
token of endearment with cats and dogs.
for every carcass of every animal has
its prototype in an act of violence. Ev-
y sign of affection is a modified men
se. Thus the human kiss can be traced
its analogues in the actions of other
eatures to be merely pretended bite
I'D the most passionate kisses tend to
alistic revival of the type.
This 1Iuth of the Matter.
When the lover throws his arm round
tne loved one 1t is the sense of capture,
active or passive, which thrills them
the ancestors Of humanity yielded only
to the lover who was strong to seize and
fierce to hold; and the echo of the ira
dition still makes the joy of that sur
burb under an umbrellas friendly shade.
when sweethearts take their evening
stroll When a mother flngs her arms
around an infant and hugs 1t there Is
plainly visible an intense desire OF vio-
lence, held in check only by the fear of
doing an injury to the beloved object.
Who has not seen fond mother often
make her children cry by the fury of
her caresses? Or, for the matter of that,
who has not seen a cat out of sheer ex-
cess Of affection. pounce upon her kit
, tens and grab them by the scruffs OF
their necks and bemaul them that they
positively yelled with pain and rage?
What is more common than to find
playful pats and slaps, the mimicry of
blows, given and received as privileged
<ens of affection?
'hus two frames OF mind in love are
turally constructed, and the respective
gins of such excuses of delight in
ielty or suffering as Sadism and Mas
1ism are revealed. They are merely
~
rage type of prehistoric humanity.
I. lose love was effected by violence and
maintained by force-exaggerated revi-
walls. in fact, of ancestral tastes.