Long after
the time of life at which other species of rats are nibbling an
independent way through the world, U. BANFIELDI clings resolutely to its
parent, obtaining from her its sole sustenance. Not until the "infant" is
nearly half the size of the mother does it begin to earn its living and
trust to its own means of locomotion.
The presence of the echidna in three colours--black, grey, and straw--and
two species of rats emphasises the absence of marsupials, unaccountable
unless on the theory of extermination by the original inhabitants in the
remote past.
CHAPTER III
BIRDS AND THEIR RIGHTS
"As the sweet voice of a bird,
Heard by the lander in a lonely isle
Moves him to think what kind of bird it is,
That sings so delicately clear, and make
Conjecture of the plumage and the form."
Frankly it must be admitted that the idea of retiring to an island was
not spontaneous. It was evolved from a sentimental regard for the welfare
of bird and plant life. Having pondered upon the destructive instinct
which prevails in mankind, having seen that, though the offences which
man commits against the laws of Nature are promptly detected and
assuredly punished, they are yet repeated over and over again, and having
more pity for the victims of man's heartlessness and folly than regard
for the consequences which man suffers in the blows that Nature inflicts
as she recoils, the inevitable conclusion was that moral suasion was of
little purpose--that there must be more of example than precept.
Pages:
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151