ITS AGE COMPUTED. 35 



times that of a mouse ; and the life of a dog is three 

 times that of a hedge-hog ; and the life of a horse is three 

 times that of a dog ; and the life of a man is three times 

 that of a horse ; and the life of a goose is three times that 

 of a man ; and the life of a swan is three times that of a 

 goose ; and the life of a swallow is three times that of a 

 swan ; and the life of an eagle is three times that of a 

 swallow ; and the life of a serpent is three times that of 

 an eagle ; and the life of a raven is three times that of a 

 serpent ; and the life of a hart is three times that of a 

 raven ; and an oak groweth 500 years, and fadeth 500 

 years." 



The Rev. W. B. Daniel alludes* to " the received 

 maxim that animals live seven times the number of years 

 that bring them to perfection," upon which computation 

 the average life of an eagle would be twenty-one years. 

 But this maxim is founded on a misconception. Fleurens, 

 in his treatise " De la Longevite Humaine," says that the 

 duration of life in any animal is equal to five times the 

 number of years requisite to perfect its growth, and 

 that the growth has ceased when the bones have finally 

 consolidated with their epiphyses, which in the young are 

 merely cartilages. 



Like many other rapacious birds, eagles are very fond 

 of bathing, and it has been found essential to supply them 

 with baths when in confinement, in order to keep them 



* " Rural Sports," vol. i. p. 246. 



