44 ME:,IOIR OF CAMPER. 



" When," says he, " I examine the internal struc- 

 ture of animals, I am forced to admire an observa- 

 tion of the great Galileo that we are ever meet- 

 ing with new wonders ! Thus was I ravished, and, 

 as I think, not without reason, at the beautiful dis- 

 covery in birds I made in February 1771, and com- 

 municated immediately to my friends. The bones 

 of the wing, the clavicles, the bones of the chest, 

 the ribs, the vertebrae of the back, and in many also 

 those of the skull, and of the legs, are quite hollow, 

 without marrow, and receive into their cavities, along 

 with the respiration, common air, which renders the 

 birds lighter, and more capable of raising themselves 

 in the air. This is a discovery which is entirely 

 new, and which I made whilst busied about the me- 

 chanism of their respiration. I was aware, accord- 

 ing to the statement of Galileo and Borelli, that the 

 bones of birds are thin and hollow, so aiding them 

 in their flight : the general function of respiration 

 was also so well known, as to require no explana- 

 tion ; but the respiration in the bones of the trunk, 

 wings, and legs, merits a more particular detail. 



" I call it a discovery, because I do not know an 

 author who gives the least hint of it. Count Mar- 

 sigli knew that the bones in the pelican were hollow 

 and very light ; but he never dreamt of their con- 

 taining air, nor of the manner in which it obtained 

 entrance into them. Buffon was well acquainted 

 with all that was known on this point previous to 

 his time, and he made good use of that knowledge 



