CHAPTER II 



FEATHERS 



ANY definitions of the Class of birds have been 

 given, but all fall short in some particular, or 

 are weak in having exceptions. Feathered is 

 the one word which always holds true. All birds have 

 feathers, and nowhere else in the w^orld are similar struc- 

 tures found. A feather, like an egg, is perfect in its 

 adaptation to the bird's requirements, and also, like the 

 egg, its structure is rather complicated. 



Structure and Development 



First let us look at the skin itself in which the feathers 

 grow. To skin a bird is an easy matter, for the skin, 

 or integument as it is called, is very slightly attached 

 to the muscles underneath. The skin of a dove is almost 

 like tissue-paper, and tears so easily that it is a marv^el 

 how the hundreds of feathers find a sufficiently strong 

 attachment. Thin as is this skin, it is made up of three 

 separate layers, but in order to make our feather-study 

 enjoyable by not overburdening it with too many details, 

 we will consider only the tw^o more important layers of 

 the skin — a deeper one, the dermis, and an outer, more 

 horny covering, the epidermis. 



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