64 PROVIDENTIAL ADAPTATIONS. [CHAP. n. 



In the new-hatched young, likewise, of Pigeons, for 

 the first few days but slight differences between the 

 different breeds are to be observed, so contrary to 

 what we see in the gallinaceous birds, and in those 

 water birds which are hatched in a state capable of loco- 

 motion, and of feeding themselves ! These may at once 

 be determined by an experienced eye ; but it would be 

 difficult for a fancier to point out characteristics of a 

 little Pigeon just escaped from the shell. In the Piock 

 Dove, there is a dark mark at the tip of the bill ; in the 

 Nuns the feet are dark instead of fleshy yellow ; but they 

 mostly run all after the same pattern. Pigeons are 

 among those creatures that come into the world in a 

 very rudimentary state ; a wise ordinance, if we think 

 for a moment. The very helplessness of the chicks is 

 a convenience to parents that are obliged to be so much 

 absent from home, and have to provide sustenance for 

 their offspring often by long flights. 



But in the young of almost all creatures we may see, 

 with a glance, the Providential wisdom of the Almighty 

 in Creation, exemplified by the different degrees of de- 

 velopment of different organs in various creatures, in 

 the earliest stages of their existence, accordingly as those 

 organs are most demanded by their peculiar necessities. 

 The Foal, which, in a state of nature, has to follow its 

 mother over boundless grassy plains, has its legs extra- 

 ordinarily developed in proportion to the rest of its body. 

 For some months her milk supplies its principal nutri- 

 ment ; all it has to do, is to keep pace with her wander- 

 ings. The same feature is equally striking in Lambs 

 and Kids. We have elsewhere noticed an analogous 

 provision in the rapid growth towards usefulness in the 

 wings of Pea-chicks and little Guinea-fowl. The small 



