THE GIZZARD 15 



another turkey swallow the terrible pill. It re- 

 mained sixteen hours in the gizzard, after which I 

 opened the bird and found only the ball minus the 

 lancets; these had all been broken, three of them, 

 their points and edges entirely blunted, being found 

 in the intestines, the nine others having been ejected. 

 As for the gizzard, it showed no trace of a wound. ' 



"You see, my little friends, a bird's gizzard is the 

 most wonderful organ of trituration in the world. 

 What are the best-equipped jaws in comparison with 

 this strong pouch which, without suffering so much 

 as a scratch, reduces glass to powder and breaks and 

 blunts steel needles and lancets? You can under- 

 stand now with what ease the hardest seeds can be 

 ground when the gizzard of the granivorous bird 

 presses and rolls them pell-mell with small stones." 



"Where glass and steel are broken up," said 

 Emile, "grain ought to turn to flour as well as in a 

 mill." 



