SOME SUGGESTIONS FOB BIRD STUDY. 97 



board around the bone of the uppermost part, and also 

 near the free end. The small " thumb wing " should be 

 drawn outward and a tack placed so as to keep it in the 

 outward position. The wing may be left to dry and 

 stiffen. In a week or two it may be removed from the 

 board, when it will be found ready for use. Care should 

 be taken in removing the wing from the body to remove 

 the bone of the upper arm entire, and to cut away any free 

 flesh adhering to the wing. 



All clean bones of birds not cooked bones, as they are 

 apt to be oily and discoloured which can be obtained 

 should be kept to illustrate lessons. In fact an entire 

 skeleton of a moderately large bird such as a rook, pigeon, 

 or fowl is desirable, and dealers supply these beautifully 

 cleaned and set on stands at a reasonable price. Failing 

 an entire skeleton, the teacher should endeavour to possess 

 some or all of the following bird bones : 



A Breastbone. 



Bones of the wing, fastened together in correct positions 



Bones of leg. A Backbone. 



Adaptations. 



In all our structural studies our point of view is that of 

 adaptation or fittedness of the whole and of its parts to 

 the conditions of life under which the organism is placed. 

 That is to say our inquiries are directed towards noting 

 the suitability of the parts examined to the uses to which 

 they are put or to the conditions under which they act. 



It should be understood that whilst in many cases we 

 are able to apply the principle of adaptation with great 

 clearness, we cannot always do so. This is probably 

 mainly because of our ignorance of all the facts bearing on 

 the point. Sometimes it is because we are apt to forget 

 that organisms have all a very long past history and what 

 we see at present can only be correctly interpreted by 

 remembering that it has a meaning with reference to 

 the past as well as to the present. This past history is 

 often the explanation of a seeming want of adaptation, and 

 it should be borne in mind. 



N. S. 7 



