106 MECHANISM OF THE BONES. 



from thrusting by, as it is not directly under the sup- 

 port : that is. we see the wisdom of God, but we dis- 

 cover no other cause. Every natural tendency that 

 we can conceive of, would have been precisely the 

 reverse. The same remark will apply to instances 

 without number in the animal frame, where a happy 

 construction is apparently the opposite of a natural 

 effect, and can only be referred to a designing Intelli- 

 gence. 



B. This is certainly very skilful and striking ; but 

 I would ask why the necesity of the oblique position 

 of the thigh bone ? 



T. If you will endeavor in walking to place it in 

 a straight position, by keeping the feet so far apart that 

 the limbs shall be perfectly parallel to one another and 

 perpendicular to the ground, you will find it produces 

 a rolling effect when you rise from one foot to the oth- 

 er, as if mounted upon stilts. This is relieved by the 

 dishing or oblique direction of the bones — and you 

 will perceive it could be avoided in no other mode. 

 Dr. Bell, in the Library of Useful Knowledge, has 

 some curious remarks upon the form and position of 

 the thigh bone, showing how it is calculated for 

 strength in consequence of the obliquity, and in which 

 he compares it to the dishing of a wheel. 



But there is another provision in this remarkable 

 structure which invites our attention, — the manner 

 in which the hip joint is secured. 



A. The joints in general, are united by means of 

 a strong band of gristle encompassing the heads of the 

 bones. This is the case in the ball and socket joint at 



