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 
woman 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 camiehi, 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 camiehi, 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 
