BIRD FLIGHT* 



THE question why man cannot fly may be answered 

 in a very simple and yet. satisfactory manner : He 

 has not been organically constructed for that pur- 

 pose. That may seem like cutting the Gordian knot, but, 

 after all, it is the only explanation that can be given. 

 You might as well ask why man cannot clutch a perch 

 with his foot after the manner of a bird or a monkey, for 

 the response would be the same his foot was made for 

 walking, and not for prehensile purposes. On the other 

 hand, the bird cannot grasp an object with its wings, 

 while a man's hand is well adapted for the performance 

 of such a function. Nature's motto in her whole realm 

 seems to be: " Every creature after its kind." 



When we look at the structure of the flying birds, we 

 see at once that they were formed for swift locomotion 

 through the air, just as plainly as the lithe skiff was made 

 to glide over the water or, the carriage to spin over the 

 land. In the first place, the body of the bird is compara- 

 tively light that is, in proportion to the width, strength, 

 and extent of its wings. By its thick, light, airy covering 

 of feathers its body is made still more buoyant, besides 



*Reprinted by permission from "The Evening Post," New York. 



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