The Descent of Man

sion. (9. I am indebted to Prof. Newton for the
following passage from Mr. Adam's 'Travels of
a Naturalist,' 1870, p. 278. Speaking of Japanese
nut-hatches in confinement, he says: "Instead of
the more yielding fruit of the yew, which is the
usual food of the nut- hatch of Japan, at one
time I substituted hard hazel-nuts. As the bird
was unable to crack them, he placed them one
by one in his water-glass, evidently with the
notion that they would in time become softer—
an interesting proof of intelligence on the part
of these birds.") Low powers of reasoning,
however, are compatible, as we see with mankind,
with strong affections, acute perception,
and a taste for the beautiful; and it is with these
latter qualities that we are here concerned. It
has often been said that parrots become so deeply
attached to each other that when one dies
the other pines for a long time; but Mr. Jenner
Weir thinks that with most birds the strength of
their affection has been much exaggerated. Nevertheless
when one of a pair in a state of natu-