Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 17.djvu/670

652 in every case the covering is a dead loss to the plant, except in so far as it aids the dispersion of seeds; and that it must have been developed over and over again in a thousand different cases by the action of the most widely different birds. It is impossible to believe that such a coincidence can be due to accident, impossible to doubt that it results from a genuine taste for sweet flavors.

There is even some reason to believe that birds care for and discriminate other tastes besides the fundamental distinctions of sweet and bitter. All the small birds in Jamaica are particularly fond of the little scarlet capsicums grown in gardens, and devour them so greedily, that the fruit has acquired the common name of bird-peppers. If we remember how very hard is often the almost horny covering of a bird's tongue, there is nothing remarkable in the fact that the pungency of the capsicum should be felt as an agreeable stimulant, probably having effects analogous to those of mustard, water-cress, or peppermint, with human beings. The oft-quoted liking of tropical pigeons for the nutmeg, with its aromatic coating of mace, points in the same direction. Parrots in captivity frequently display very decided preferences and antipathies in their food. Owls can not be induced to taste meat in the slightest degree tainted. Again, all birds have a most accurate notion of the difference between ripe fruits and the unripe sour ones, besides carefully choosing the sunny side of peaches, pears, and apricots. The very frequency of distinct sapid principles in fruits would seem to favor the same supposition, as they have probably been acquired for the special allurement of particular species. Indeed, the more we consider the origin and nature of succulent fruits, the more does it become clear that they have been developed to suit the tastes of animals having essentially identical sensations with our own.

The case of the nutmeg leads us naturally on to the consideration of smell. Here we may conclude with great probability that the large class of aromatic fruits has acquired its perfume for the sake of attracting birds, especially when we recollect that flowers have acquired exactly similar perfumes for the sake of attracting insects. And although the possession of scent as a means of sexual allurement is rare among birds, being probably confined to the musk-duck and a few other species, yet it occurs frequently among butterflies, and is represented among mammals by the musk-deer, beaver, and many other ruminants or rodents. Curiously enough, the similarity of taste thus testified extends to the vegetal world in the case of the musk-plant; while even certain carnivores, such as the cat tribe, are extremely fond of "valerian, lemon-thyme, camomile, lavender, and many plants rich in essential oils." On the other hand, a good observer notes that cats have their dislikes, and he has often seen a tabby "smell at a fig-tree, and turn away with the disgusted air of a connoisseur." We have no such strong facts in the case of birds, but the frequency of perfumes in those fruits which depend upon them for the dispersion of their seeds, coupled