CHAPTER VIII 



ORNAMENTAL PLUMES 



I. Feather Structure. 2. The Rise of Ornamental Plumes. 

 Plume Hunters. 4. The Fall of Ornamental Plumes. 



Feather Structure 



The most outstanding feature of the bird is its 

 feathers. They are its inheritance, the unique 

 indisputable badge of the avian class. Like the 

 fur of a mammal, they act as a body covering to 

 aid in the maintenance of an even body tempera- 

 ture, so essential to all warm-blooded creatures. 

 They are insulators against heat and cold, neutral- 

 izers of climate and elements. 



Several million years have passed since the 

 leathery scales of some long-extinct reptile began 

 to develop a plumose character. Those special- 

 ized scales finally altered into what we term 

 feathers, a change which took place at a time of 

 which we have no record. The only trace of a 

 pre-f eathered condition is now found in the early 

 embryo, a replica of which is also seen in the em- 

 bryo of an alligator. If we had no proof of their 

 origin it would be difficult to believe that such 



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