76 Poachers and Poaching. 



its great spirit and endurance appear eminently to 

 fit it. 



Here I have only touched upon the speed and 

 power of flight, but the whole subject is one of 

 the most fascinating branches of natural history. 

 No reference has been made to the marvellous 

 movements of birds in the air, which constitute 

 the very poetry of motion the stationary 

 balancing, hovering, circling, and gliding, all of 

 which may be observed, especially among our 

 own birds of prey. 



Although much is known of the speed of birds 

 and animals, there are but few ascertained facts 

 concerning that of insects and fishes. The com- 

 paratively low intelligence of these two classes 

 of animals makes it difficult to direct them. 

 They rarely fly or swim in anything approach- 

 ing to a straight line, and experiments give 

 only approximate results. Pike in pursuit of 

 their prey seem to flash through the water ; and 

 salmon and trout move almost as quickly. The 

 Spanish mackerel, with its smooth, cone-shaped 

 body, is among the swiftest of fishes, and for 

 speed only finds a parallel in the dolphin. 

 There is a great similarity in shape between 

 these two, and both cut the water like a yatch. 

 The first follows the fastest steamers with the 

 greatest ease, in its dashes swimming at five 

 times their speed. The bonito is also a fast 

 swimmer; and all those fishes "trimmed " in like 

 fashion with him. 



