316 



LETTER L. 



striking with facility in the water, and assisting their 

 progress in that element for which they would be 

 wholly unfit, were they as long as those of most of 

 the kind last described. It is impossible, my dear 

 Sir, to examine the conformation of these two kinds 

 of aquatic fowl, of which one is destined to wade, and 

 the other to swim, without discovering unequivocal 

 proofs of an all-wise design : the same may be ob- 

 served of their plumage, which is peculiarly warm, 

 thick set, and unguineous, and every way calculated 

 to resist the attrition of the water, and prevent its pe- 

 netration to their skins. 



Before we proceed in our survey of this numerous 

 and useful class, it may not, vny dear Sir, be amiss to 

 remind you, that there are two or three species, among 

 which may be reckoned the coot, and the water-hen, 

 birds, too well known to need a particular description, 

 and which have neither the long legs of the crane 

 kind, nor the web-foot of the duck kind ; but are dis- 

 tinguished by their pinnated or finned feet, which are 

 furnished with jagged membranes, in order to assist 

 them in swimming, although not so perfectly adapted 

 to that purpose as the web-foot of the goose or the 

 duck. These appear to be an intermediate race be- 

 tween the long-legged and the web-footed classes. 



Nature, my clear Sir, in the immense variety of her 

 works, proceeds by regular gradations, thereby pro- 

 ducing that infinite diversity of forms and colours 

 which variegate her scenery, and excite our admira- 

 tion. 



THE FLAMINGO 



is one of the most remarkable of all water fowl* it is 

 one of the tallest and most beautiful. Its body, which 

 is at>6ut the size of that of the swan, is covered with 

 a plumage of the most brilliant scarlet colour. Its 

 legs and^neck are of so extraordinary a length, that 

 when it stands erect, it is between six and seven feet 

 high. Its wings, when expanded, reach about five 

 feet and a half: the bill, which is formed like a bow, 

 is partly red, and partly black, and not less than se- 

 ven inches in length. * The legs and thighs, which 



