20 BKITISII P>IJM)S, THEIR EGGS AND NESTS. 



are, speaking generally, such in their shape and markings as often 

 to suggest the formation of a group out of such and such 

 different species producing them. But the merry-thoughts and 

 the bones they are immediately connected with, the keel-like 

 breast bone and the side and wing bones,* will be found to do 

 the same thing, with respect to the collection of three or four 

 (or more) such groups of birds, as I have just called them, into 

 what is termed a Family. Thus, if our readers could get the 

 opportunity of looking at the merry thoughts and breast-bones 

 ot half-a-dozen different Hawks, they would find, with a degree 

 of variation according to the various species selected, a very 

 obvious and striking correspondence or resemblance. The 

 breast-bone, in every case, would show great depth of keel and 

 strength of substance; and the merry-thoughts would be seen to 

 be firm and strong, and of great or considerable substance. 

 Next, if the corresponding bones of about the same number of 

 birds of the Owl-kind (Stric/idm), were taken and compared with 

 those of the Ealcon-kind just spoken about, while the mutual 

 resemblance of the Owl-kind bones was seen to be quite as great 

 and obvious as in the case of the Hawks ; the difference between 

 the said bones of the Owls and those of the Hawks would be 

 altogether strange and half startling, from its greatness and 

 sudaenness. The deep keel and the strong substance of the 

 breast-bone in the Hawk has given place to a shallow keel and 

 weak walls in the Owl, while the curved, strong, broad, solid 

 merry-thought has become a fork with thin, straight, weak, 

 yielding slu'^KS. So great and plain is the difference that any 

 sharp intelligent boy could almost directly pick out for himself 

 all the Hawk bones, and all the Owl bones, and put them in 

 their several groups. And if he did, I think he would say to 

 himself, and most likely to some other person, as soon as he "met 

 with one likely to be able to answer him, What does this 

 difference in these bones of these birds of different families 

 mean ? In plain words, it means difference in powers of flight. 

 Any of our school-boy readers who wanted to prise his strong 

 school-box open, because he had lost ids key, would not taKe 

 his pen-knife for the purpose, because he would think it foolisn 

 to use so weak an instrument for so strong an effort. A great 

 strong chissel would be much more likely to serve his purpose. 

 And so is the work of God's hand. If a long, strong wing has 

 ,',o be moved rapidly, and even vehemently, the motion, like all 

 animal motion, must be given by muscles. But the muscles 

 must be fixed to what they are intended to move, or they cannot- 

 net on it ; and they must be fixed at some other point also, of 



* I don't give the scientific names of these bones, for obvious reasons. 



