TIMELY TOPICS

Northern Advocate, 9 April 1934, Page 4

TIMELY TOPICS

MIGRATION OF BIRDS.

In a papor on “Bird Plight ami Its j. Bearing on the Theory of Evolution,” j Captain Acworth said that Darwin | and his disciples erroneously supposed j that birds were free and could fly; where they liked, and evolve and, change their nature to suit their new r environments. “The laws of currents, and these alone, are responsible for the dispersal of birds,” declared Cap-j tain. Acworth. “Subject to these' laws, bird life ebbs and flows about. the world in harmony with the great ( seasonal winds. In addition to the j seasonal winds, however, there are; the permanent winds which impose) impassable barriers and which confine j the birds of the various species to 10-! calities agreeablb to their ' specific needs. To the uninitiated observer the power of flight must appear, ab most inevitably, to confer freedom upon those equipped to employ it, but creatures and airmen dependent upon flight for their movement are in reality in a stale of bondage which no earth-bound creature experiences. Birds are absolutely parasitical to the air in which they fly, which implies that under circumstances which regularly arise with the changing seasons they will be compelled to leave their homes without any Intention on their part. Herein, lies the secret of * migration. ’ It should, however, he pointed out at once that the compulsion under which the bird lies to leave borne constitutes a dam ‘.ging , criticism of the evolutionary theory that birds leave their homes ns a result of a biological urge handed down from prehistoric limes.” The sequence ■ of events, said Captain AcworHt, was .determined, not by any gleam of ; memory or reflecting capacity in the ■ bird, but by the changeless laws of physics and dynamics. If, therefore, birds were mindless, there could have 1 been no “evolution” of mind in birds, i Neither could there be any common 1 denominator between the brain of ■ bird and man, ns evolutionists claimed. I <£ <S> <•> <?> <£ i WORDS OF WISDOM. . Help thou thy brother’s boat across; , And 10, thine own has touched the shore. —Persian Proverb. ) <s> <s> <s><s> <s> c TALE OF TJIE DAY. |

“Now, boys,” said the schoolmaster, “suppose llioro arc five children and mother has only four potatoes to divide. Rhe wants to give each one an equal share. What is she to do?’’ One little fellow pup up his hand. “Well,” said the piaster. “Mash the potatoes, sir,” was-the reply.