296 ANDREW JACKSON HOWE. 



lar appendages are too long to be handsome. Pos- 

 sibly the display may be in mimicry of horns, to make 

 the creature appear more formidable to carnivorous 

 enemies. The widely branching horns of the elk and 

 moose are quite an annoyance in thickly wooded 

 countries, sometimes seriously impeding the animal's 

 flight. 



The tendency in the general evolution of plants 

 and animals seems for the best. In some instances 

 there is a wonderful provision made in the vegetable 

 kingdom for the diffusion of seeds. The maple, for 

 instance, has a winged seed, which in a high wind is 

 made to sail off to the distance of miles. Each seed 

 of the thistle has a feathery attachment which secures 

 the widest dissemination. Insects with highly de- 

 veloped wings may cross a vast expanse of territory 

 in a single day. The carrion fly goes with the velocity 

 of a bullet; the humming-bird is a swift flyer; and 

 the carrier-pigeon spans from sixty to eighty miles an 

 hour. The shape of the pigeon's body is admirably 

 adapted to cleave the air, and the long and slender 

 wings, moved by powerful pectoral muscles, com- 

 bine flying qualities which are unequaled. Gulls and 

 other well known sea-birds can remain longer on the 

 wing, but can not make headway at so high a rate of 

 speed. The albatross has been reported as following 

 a vessel in the Indian Ocean for two thousand miles, 

 or for fifteen days, and not rest a wing during that 

 time. Flocks of wild pigeons have been observed to 

 fly for twelve hours at the rate of thirty miles an 

 hour, covering a distance of three or four hundred 

 miles without partaking of food or drink. The out- 

 line of the bird has been copied by the makers of 

 ships; arid advantages have been gained by a study of 



