Retrospective Criticism. 169 



first " are easily seen by other vultures, who, through habit, 

 know the meaning of such stoppages." I wish the author 

 had told us how he became informed of this knowledge, 

 which the " other vultures" had acquired of these stoppages. 

 Let us suppose for an instant that the latter comers, after 

 travelling " hundreds of miles" had unluckily mistaken the 

 group of vultures perched on high trees; and, in lieu of 

 arriving at the tree under which dinner was waiting for them, 

 they had got to the tree under which all the dinner had been 

 eaten up. Pray, what were the hungry scavengers to do ? 

 Were they to proceed " hundreds of miles" farther, upon an 

 empty stomach, in quest of more stoppages ? or were they to 

 wait in patience, with the vultures perched on high dead 

 limbs of trees, till those stomach-filled birds should have 

 digested their food,, and were ready to start afresh? The 

 author assures us that " vultures perched on high dead limbs, 

 in such conspicuous positions, are easily seen by other 

 vultures, who through habit know the meaning of such 

 stoppages:" but then we have only his bare word for this 

 extraordinary circumstance ; and, notwithstanding what he 

 has said, my opinion is, that the coming-up vultures would 

 just as often have the bad luck to find themselves arrived at 

 the tree under which the dinner had been all eaten up, as the 

 good luck to get to the tree under which dinner was to be 

 found too tough to be eaten immediately. 



Towards the end of the account, our author tells us, that 

 " the power given to them (the vultures) by nature of dis- 

 cerning the approaching death of a wounded animal is truly 

 remarkable." By way of exemplification, he continues, " a 

 poor emaciated horse, or ox, the deer mired in the margin of 

 the lake, where the timid animal had resorted to escape flies 

 and mosquitoes, so fatiguing in summer, is seen in distress 

 with exultation by the buzzard. He immediately alights, and, 

 if the animal does not extricate itself, waits, and gorges in 

 peace on as much of the flesh as the nature of the spot will 

 allow." 



Here the author at once invalidates his assertion of the 

 remarkable power given by nature to the vulture, by the 

 insertion of the unfortunate little remark, if it does not 

 extricate itself. The vulture alights, ready to feed on the 

 flesh of the deer, if it does not extricate itself. Now, the 

 expression, if it does not extricate itself gives us to suppose 

 that it may extricate itself; and, if it does extricate itself, then 

 off it goes, and of course escapes from the vulture. Where- 

 fore, in this instance, nature would have given false inform- 

 ation to the vulture. um k 



