66 



club of Hercules. The connection of the still more pow- 

 erful quills of the outer fan with the bones of the hand 

 is quite beyond all my poor anatomical j)erceptions, and, 

 happily for me, also beyond needs of artistic investiga- 

 tion. 



73. The feathers of the fan a are called the primaries. 

 Those of the fan b, secondaries. Effective actions of 

 flight, whether for suppoi't or forward motion, are, I be- 

 lieve, all executed with the primaries, every one of which 

 may be briefly described as the strongest scymitar that 

 can be made of quill substance ; flexible within limits, 

 and elastic at its edges — carried by an elastic central 

 shaft — twisted like a windmill sail — striking with the flat, 

 and recovering with the edge. 



The secondary feathers are more rounded at the ends, 

 and frequently notched ; their curvature is reversed to 

 that of the primaries; they are arranged, when expanded, 

 somewhat in the shape of a shallow cup, with the hollow 

 of it downwards, holding the air therefore, and aiding 

 in all the pause and buoyancy of flight, but little in the 

 activity of it. Essentially they are the brooding and cov- 

 ering feathers of the wing ; exquisitely beautiful — as far 

 as I have yet seen, most beautiful — in the bird whose 

 brooding is of most use to us ; and which has become the 

 image of all tenderness. " How often would I have gath- 

 ered thy children . . . and ye would not.-' 



74. Over these two chief masses of the plume are set 

 others which partly complete their power, -psLvtly adorn 



