186 THE PTARMIGAN-GROUSE. 



climes. He who alone maketh us to differ, and 

 whose wisdom adapts every creature to its ap- 

 pointed station, has singularly suited the ptar- 

 migan to his alpine home. The fur-clad nobles 

 of Russia are not provided with so complete a de- 

 fence from the wintry blast, as these wild tenants 

 of the snow-covered mountains. Like the house- 

 hold of Solomon's good wife, they need not fear 

 the snow, for they are clad in double garments. 

 Every part of their bodies is clothed with a thick 

 down, and this again is covered by so close and 

 massive a plumage, that the snow and rain can- 

 not penetrate it, nor the icy gale pierce through 

 it. Their feet and toes, instead of being naked, 

 like others of their tribe, are furnished, like their 

 legs, with downy feathers, very long and close, 

 and far more abundant in winter than in summer. 



Their food consists of berries, heath, alpine 

 grasses, and the buds of mountain plants and 

 shrubs. In winter they are said to feed chiefly 

 on the buds of the rhododendron and pine ; 

 these being completely, and often very deeply 

 covered with the snow, they could not reach 

 them but for another gift of nature, which 

 enables them to open these store-chambers 

 wherein their winter's provision is so bountifully 

 laid up for their use. Strong claws of a very 

 peculiar structure, long and broad, enable them 



