FOREHEAD OF THE ROOK. 53 



in question. He who is clever enough to assign 

 the true cause why the feathers and bristles fall off 

 will, no doubt, be able to tell us why there is a bare 

 warty spot on each leg of the horse ; and why some 

 cows have horns, and some have none. He will 

 possibly show us how it came to happen that the 

 w^oman mentioned by Dr. Charles Leigh had horns 

 on her head ; which horns she shed, and new ones 

 came in their place. Perhaps he will account for 

 the turkey's putting out a long tuft of hair, amid the 

 surrounding feathers of the breast. Peradventure 

 he may demonstrate to us why the bird camichi, of 

 Guiana, has a long slender horn on its head^ and 

 two spurs in each wing, in lieu of having them on 

 its legs. By the way, who knows but that some 

 scientific closet naturalist may account for these 

 alar spurs of the camichi, through the medium of 

 that very useful and important discovery, the qui- 

 nary system. Thus, for example's sake, suppose 

 these said spurs were once normal or typical on the 

 legs ; but, by some rather obscure process, having 

 become aberrant, they made an approach or passage 

 to the wings ; while the bird itself was progressing 

 in the circle, or leading round, in order to inosculate 

 with the posteriors of its antecedent. He who 

 clearly comprehends the quinary system will readily 

 understand this. 



If I had time just now, I would call in question 

 the propriety of the assertion, that the rook " is fur- 

 nished with a small pouch at the root of the tongue;" 

 and I would finish by showing the reader that the 

 E 3 



