874 Dynamic Theon^y. 



the wind b} r a slow, labored and tortuous flight, as if it had been wounded, 

 or was struggling with an unwieldy burden. After a little the bird 

 lit on a boulder, and was earnestly engaged for five minutes at some 

 occupation the man could not then make out. He then resumed his 

 flight, this time much more steadily and directly, and when he came 

 within range of the spot where the keeper was concealed, he brought 

 him down, and with him a plump partridge which he was carrying, and 

 which was nearly destitute of feathers. Going back to the rock, the 

 keeper found all the missing feathers belonging to the partridge, 

 and it now became apparent that the hawk, impeded in its flight by the 

 action of the wind on the limp and pendent feathers of the partridge, 

 deliberately stopped on the rock and pulled them out. 



A curious incident that occurred recently on one of the bridges cross- 

 ing the river Limmat, which flows through the city of Zurich, illustrates 

 the sagacity of the gulls, or terns, which frequent the Swiss lakes. A 

 gentleman was in the habit of feeding the birds with the refuse of meat 

 of which they are very fond; and one day as they clustered eagerly 

 about his head, his hat was accidently knocked off, and fell into the 

 river. The lookers-on laughed at the mishap, and a boat was about pull- 

 ing off into the stream to secure the lost article, when, to the surprise of 

 every one, a gull was observed to dart down upon the floating hat. 

 After several ineffectual attempts, it succeeded in rising with the hat in 

 its beak. It flew straight toward the bridge, and dropped the well- 

 soaked hat at its owner's feet amid the enthusiastic applause of the by- 

 standers. ' ' Those who believe that animals have the f acult}^ of reason- 

 ing, will find their faith strengthened by this anecdote. Instinct could 

 never have led a gull to retrieve a benefactor's lost hat. " (Youths' Com- 

 panion, Nov. 28, 1889.) 



A Boston naturalist and his son Walter, eleven yenrs old, were fish- 

 ing at Lake Quinsigamond. Having caught some fish they put them in 

 an open basket, and placed the basket in the edge of the water, with 

 its rim about four inches above the surface of the water to prevent them 

 jumping out. But when the boy went back to see the fish next morn- 

 ing they were found to have all jumped out. He then proceeded to 

 catch another lot, and moved the basket to a hole he made in the sand 

 some distance from the water. The water in the sand filled the basket, 

 and in it he put his fish and waited near by so he could observe results. 

 * ' By and by, " says he, ' ' I saw one of the fish flop out of the basket and 

 land on the sand. By and by another one flopped out. After awhile 

 they had all jumped out and were floundering around on the sand. 1 let 

 each one stay there in the sun quite awhile but not long enough to suf- 

 focate, and then when all were pretty thoroughly punished, I put them 

 one by one back into the basket. After every one had jumped out I 



