154 A CHAPIER ON INSTINCT, 



It will be necessary in describing this organ to give a short account of 

 the natural history of this remarkable bird. The Emeu, peculiar to New 

 Holland, is said to attain a height of more than seven feet, and in form 

 closely resembles the Ostrich, Its plumage is of a dark brown, mottled 

 with grey. The young are striped with brown and white. The wings are 

 very small, being scarcely visible when lapped close to the body. Its 

 flesh resembles that of an ox. Little is known of the habits of the animal, 

 but, from what has been gathered by travellers, they seem to be some- 

 thing similar to those of the Ostrich. The eggs, as stated by Cuvier, are 

 six or seven in number. In a carcass given to me by Mr, Sanderson, 

 bird-stufFer in this city, I found a number of well-developed eggs. The 

 sternum is destitute of keel. Its general appearance is that of a helmet. 

 The posterior margin is very broad, the inferior tapering considerably in- 

 wards. The Trachea in the Emeu is one of the most interesting organs 

 in the whole bird. About six inches from the lower larynx a very pecu- 

 liar organ is seen. It consists of a large opening in the Trachea, covered 

 by a thin membranous sack or pouch; the opening extends along ten of 

 the rings, and dilates at each extremity into a circular foramen. The bag 

 is attached all along the edge of this opening, which is about four inches 

 long. The rings of the Trachea, where this organ is situated, are broader 

 and more symmetrical in their arrangement than those of the other por- 

 tion. The sack or pouch when filled with air is about four inches and a 

 half long, (for it overlaps the foramen,) and an inch and a half in 

 diameter. 



In the Museum of Comparative Anatomy of the Edinburgh University, 

 there is a specimen exhibited, the pouch of which has a much larger cir- 

 cumference than the one now described. As to the use of this organ, it 

 is diflicult to decide, but most probably it is an organ of voice. Some 

 travellers have stated that the Emeu is heard during night to produce a 

 loud and hoarse sound. This noise may have its origin in this organ, but 

 before a right conclusion could be drawn, a great deal more would require 

 to be known of the natural history and habits of the bird. 



41, St. Andreiv's Square, Edinburgh. 



A CHAPTER ON INSTINCT. 



BY THB REV. F. 0. MORRIS, 

 ( Contimied from page 17.) 



As to the Dog, being, as he is, a favoured companion of many of us, 

 and an animal from whom this very domestication has naturally been the 

 means of drawing forth proofs of his latent faculties, and who, from the 



