198 SENSORIAL FUNCTIONS. 



duck, Fig. 119, with the olfactories laid bare. They pass 

 out of the orbit of the eye, o, in two large branches, an 



Fig. 119. 



upper one, u, and a lower one, /, the branches of each be- 

 ing spread over the contiguous parts, both within and 

 without, being merely protected by the surface, except at 

 the extremity of the beak, where there is a horny process, 

 p, for this purpose. 



616. Jludubon's Experiments on the olfactory Powers of 

 Vultures. It is the common opinion that vultures, and 

 other birds of prey, have the power of smell so acute that 

 they can discover by this means, the effluvia of a carcass 

 at great distances. But it now appears from the observa- 

 tions and experiments of that celebrated ornithologist, Mr. 

 Audubon, that these birds in reality possess this sense in 

 a degree far inferior to many of the carnivorous quadru- 

 peds, and that so far from guiding thejn to their prey, at a 

 great distance, it is hardly sufficient to indicate its presence 

 when near at hand. 



617. The following experiments appear satisfactory on 

 this subject : Having procured the skin of a deer, Mr. 

 Audubon stuffed it full of hay, and after the whole had 

 become completely dry and hard, so as to emit no smell, 

 he placed it in the middle of an open field, laying it on 

 the back, in the posture of a dead animal. In the course 

 of a few minutes he saw a vulture approaching- for a 

 feast; and quite unsuspicious of the deception, began 

 the attack as usual, in the most vulnerable part. But 

 finding nothing to his taste, he next, with much exertion, 

 tore open the seams of the skin, appearing earnestly 

 intent on getting at the flesh, which he expected to find 



