840 Rural School Leaflet. 



feathers while enclosed in the sheath and only slightly protruded 

 from the skin. 



To make her coat waterproof the hen carries an oil gland on her back 

 near the tail, from which she squeezes the oil with her beak and rubs 

 it on her feathers, putting the most on her neck and back and paying 

 least attention to the feathers of her under parts. 



When observing a plucked fowl, held upright, it is readily seen that 

 its wings correspond with our arms or with a four-footed animal's fore- 

 legs. The feathers of the wings are wonderfully adapted for their ser- 

 vice. The strong shaft of each feather is slightly curved and the tight 

 knit webs are set at a differing angle to the shaft. The short, stiff and 

 curving web is on the outer side of the feather and it overlaps the broad, 

 flat web as the wings lie folded or are spread for flight. When a bird 

 starts to fly it beats its wings very rapidly and the curving under surface 

 catches the air like the under side of an umbrella and lifts the bird 

 upward. With the down stroke the wing is hollowed below like a shal- 

 low cup and filled with air, but with the up stroke it bends at the joint 

 and is tilted sharply upward, cutting the air, and offering much less 

 surface for resistance, in this way the body is not pushed downward. 



While the wings uplift and carry it onward, the tail is the rudder, with 

 which the bird steers itself in whatever direction it wishes to go. For this 

 purpose the feathers have a different shape and texture from those on 

 the wings; they are straight-shafted, with webs equal on both sides, 

 overlapping like a fan. In flight the bird spreads them wide, and the 

 flexible joint of the tail can tilt them up or down, right or left, or at any 

 oblique angle, just as need requires. It is interesting to watch the 

 attempt to fly of a young robin whose tail is not yet grown. It is very 

 plain that it is helpless to choose where it will alight and only gains 

 the power of direction with the growth of its tail feathers. 



The feathers are not only useful but very attractive, particularly 

 those of the male bird. The rooster's long curving plumes, above the 

 true rudder feathers of his tail, his handsome collar feathers, his gor- 

 geous comb and wattles, so much larger and more highly colored than the 

 hen's, seem to have been given him merely for beauty, which has its 

 own use since it secures to him the admiration and obedience of his 

 flock. His evident pride and delight in showing off before his family 

 is very amusing. 



So we see that the uses of feathers to their wearers are very many; 

 they protect the body from cold ; from blows and scratches as they search 

 for food; they furnish means of flight and the power to direct the flight 

 at will; and they are also attractive. 



