&quot;272 THE REASON WHY 



&quot; The cock, that is the trumpet to the morn, 

 Doth with his lofty and shrill sounding throat 

 Awake the god of day.&quot; SHAKSPKKS. 



thes birds undergoes a triturating process in the gizzard, before 

 passing into the sto fnach ; thus it submits to a double digestion, 

 somewhat analogous to the triple digestive action of 

 the ruminants. 



858. The gallinidce have, generally speaking, three stomachs, and their intestines 

 are more lengthened than those of most birds, and furnished with two caecal 

 appendages, about six inches in length. These three stomachs are : the craw, or 

 pouch, into which the food is taken, as into little more than a simple store, where 

 it is sent gradually to the other parts of the digestive apparatus. In this viscus the 

 food undergoes very little change, though it may be partially softened. The craw 

 &amp;gt;pens laterally from the gullet. The second stomach is a dilatation of the gullet 

 itself, and is furnished with glands which secrete a peculiar ftuid ; and it is here, 

 also, thftt the drink of the bird mingles with its food. The third stomach is the 

 gizzard, the texture of which is very strong and muscular, and the inner coat so 

 hard and compact as to have the appearance of fii-m cartilage. The gizzard can 

 exert a very powerful action, so much so as to grind down glass and metals in* a 

 very short tune, without appearing to sustain injury. 



859. IVTiy do the gallinaceous birds lay and hatch their eggs 

 in nests upon the ground ? 



Because, being indifferent flyers, their young after incubatiou 

 are thus enabled to reach their proper habitat without the risk 

 of injury. 



860. Why are the legs of gallinaceous birds developed at 

 a very early stage of their existence? 



Because they are ground birds ; feed upon their feet ; and pass 

 the greater portion of their lives in walking and scraping. 



861. The newly-hatched birds require these organs developed very early, 

 being lesis provided with a formal nest than the young of any of the preceding 

 orders. 



862. Why has the cock a streaming and elegant tail ? 



In all probability this appendage, which is useless to him in 

 flying, while it adds to the dignity and importance of his bearing 

 in the eyes of his mates, assists and balances his body, which it 

 largely developed on the breast. 



