Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1903-01-29
ANIMAL INSTINCT.

| How much instruction does an animal
receive from It's parents? How much does
an animal know without any instruction
| from its parents?
These are questions which many Of our
field naturahsts are trying to answer at
the present time. and on which some of
them have taken very decided stands.
Personally. am inclined to believe that
the experiments which have been made
to date are not sufficiently exhaustive to
warrant the positive statements which
are made by certain OF our well-known
writer's. Some theories are so very inter
esting that enthusiastic young naturalists
are tempted to prove their correctness by
facts sorted and cut out to fit. This is
all ~ mistake. If there is any fitting to
be done, the theory should be made to fit
the facts, whatever they may be- no
theory is of any value unless it does |
have done little thinking on this subject
myself and | have tried few expert
ments, the results of which, though by
no means conclusive. tend, I think, to
prove TINT many animals. at least can
and do get along very nicely without any
instruction from their parents.
Leaving out the lowest forms of animal
Ire we know that, in the case of many
insects, the young never even see the
parents. as the latter die long before their
eggs are Matched: yet so far as we can
tell, these young know just as much, and
did their fathers and grandfathers. Prac-
tically the same Is true of many OF the
reptiles which. after depositing their eggs,
give their progeny no further care. In
young turtles, many hereditary tendencies
are strongly developed long before they
are Matched. Embryo swapping turtles
snap while still in the shell, and some
embryo painted turtles which removed
from the eggs weeks before the date Of
Matching could not only swim, but when
laid on their backs thrust out their head
and attempted to turn over by the very
same method adopted by adult turtles
Young alligators removed from their
shells, in the same way, snap their tooth
less jaws viciousy. Even in the case OF
N9iperous reptiles, it is doubtful If the
young receive any instruction which they
would not get along very nicely without
Last autumn l caught IA large water
snake and took her home, and in four
hours she gave birth to nineteen young
Tho mother paid not the slightest
attention to her family, vet the little ras-
Gals would coil and spring. open mouthed,
at my hand, as soon as they We're born,
and when dropped into pail of water,
few minutes later. swan with the great
est ease.
Certain birds belonging to very low or
ders do not ircubate their eggs but leave
them to be- Matched by the warmth of the
decaylng vegetation in which they are
laid yet the young of such birds. which
have never seen their parents or others of
their kind. swim. dive and exhibit other
family characteristics which must. Of
necessity, be inherited. In the case of
birds which hatch and rear their young.
it is difficult to say which traits are the
result of education and which OF hcredity.
until We know positively at what ages
different birds are capable of receiving in
strlction. However. We do know that any
family trait exhibited by young birds
Matched in an incubator and reared i'm a
brooder. cannot be the result OF instruc-
ton received from tho parent. and doubt
very much whether any naturalist could
distinguish incuba tor hat ched ducks and
hens from those Matched in the natural
way by reason of the superior education
of the latter. AS for birds Matched and
reared by their parents. it would seem
fair to assume that some Of their accom-
plshments, at any rate. are not taught
them as they lie helpless in the nest It
would hardly be reasonable to suppose
that n knowledge of swimming diving. or
bathing could BE- impaired to half feather
ed nestlings; or that these innocent look.
ing wobbly- youngsters were
capable of receiving practical instruction
in hiding, hunting or fishing. Yet it has
been my experience that birds whose habit
1t is to swim. dive or battle. will do these
things if taken from their parents before
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rnS. "'r'NS"iH ~ n''Nc d gnu SAL III