Contributions to the theory of natural selection. A series of essays ... By Alfred Russel Wallace ...

ON INSTINCT IN MAN AND ANIMALS. 205
be so self-evident that they may be taken for granted.
No one has ever yet obtained the eggs of some bird
-which builds an elaborate nest, hatched these eggs by
steam or under a quite distinct parent, placed them
afterwards in an extensive aviary or covered garden,
where the situation and the materials of a nest similar to that of the parent birds may be found, and then
seen what kind of nest these birds would build. If
under these rigorous conditions they choose the same
materials, the same situation, and construct the nest
in the same way and as perfectly as their parents did,
instinct would be proved in their case; now it is only
assumed, and assumed, as I shall show further on,
without any sufficient reason. So, no one has ever
carefully taken the pupme of a hive of bees out of the
comb, removed them from the presence of other bees,
and loosed them in a large conservatory with plenty
of flowers and food, and observed what kind of cells
they would construct. But till this is done, no one
can say that bees build without instruction, no one
can say that with every new swarm there are no bees
older than those of the same year, who may be the
teachers in forming the new comb. Now, in a scientific inquiry, a point which can be proved should not
be assumed, and a totally unknown power should not
be brought in to explain facts, when known powers
may be sufficient. For both these reasons I decline to
accept the theory of instinct in any case where all
other possible modes of explanation have not been
exhausted.