Ill 



THE FLIGHT OF BIRDS 



LITTLE GLIMPSES OF A LARGE 

 MATTER 



MY interest in the flight of birds be- 

 gan, years ago, while I was read- 

 ing a remarkable book, The Reign of 

 Law, by the Duke of Argyll. This book, 

 published in 1866, has a chapter which 

 contains a scientific discussion of the ma- 

 chinery of flight. One example used in 

 this discussion is the swift, "a creature," 

 as the author says, "whose wonderful and 

 unceasing evolutions seem part of the 

 happiness of summer, and of serene and 

 lofty skies." 



In this accidental manner the swift was 

 fixed in my range of interest, but I never 

 actually saw a swift until my home came 



