256 



NATURE S TEACHINGS. 



axes are figured. One of them is very remarkable. It is an 

 ancient war-hammer made of black stone, and is shaped 

 exactly like a pickaxe, except that one end of the head is 

 carved into a semblance of some animal's head. The handle is 

 passed through an oval hole in the centre, just like our pick- 

 axes of the present day. This remarkable example of the art 

 of the Stone Age was found in Bussia. The head was nearly 

 a foot in length. 



Nature possesses many examples of this principle, of which 

 I have chosen two, namely, the Woodpecker and the Nut- 

 hatch. 



The wonderful power of beak possessed by both these birds 

 is familiar to every one, but it is not so generally known that 



NUTHATCH. 



WOODPECKER. 



they do not merely peck after the usual fashion among birds, 

 i.e. delivering the stroke with the force derived from the neck 

 alone. These birds have an additional leverage. Grasping the 

 tree firmly with their feet, they not only peck, but swing their 

 whole bodies with each stroke, bringing their weight to bear 

 upon the object. They thus convert themselves into living 

 hammers, the feet acting the part of the human hand, the 

 body of the bird being analogous to the handle of the hammer, 

 and the head playing the same part in both cases. 



In England these birds are not known as well as they ought 

 to be, partly because they are both very shy creatures, and 

 partly because the gradual extinction of forests has deprived 

 them, and especially the Woodpecker, of their undisturbed 

 homes. Yet those who are early risers may see both birds in 



