THE VULTURE. 
115 
affords them an opportunity of tearing it off ; but they are 
then as often disappointed of their expected feast, for the flesh, 
when in a very decayed state, becomes almost fluid and runs 
off, to the great disappointment of the hungry birds. 
Naturalists are a good deal divided as to the faculty by 
which these birds are enabled to discover, in a most surprising 
manner, a dead or dying animal at the distance of even many 
miles. 
In travelling over the immensely wide deserts of Africa, 
where there is not a blade of grass to tempt a living bird or 
animal, and no inducement therefore for birds of prey to 
scour those vast wildernesses in search of game, should a 
camel or other beast of burden drop under its load in the 
train of a caravan, in less than half an hour there will he 
seen, high in the air, a number of the smallest specks, moving 
slowly round in circles, and gradually growing larger and 
larger as they descend in spiral windings towards the earth ; 
these are the Yultures, hut whence they come, or by what 
sign or call they are collected at a height beyond the reach of 
the human eye, is still a mystery; though we are much 
inclined to suspect that they derive their information from an 
indiscriminate use of both these senses, possessed of an acute- 
ness far beyond our experience or comprehension. 
Instances without number might he mentioned, in which 
the gifts of sight and smelling seem to rival each other. We 
will add the following respecting the power of each, related 
by an intelligent observer of nature in Jamaica : two relating 
to the sense of smelling, the two others to that of sight, and 
a third including both, with the addition of hearing. A poor 
German emigrant, who lived alone in a detached cottage, rose 
from his bed, after a two days’ confinement by fever, to 
purchase in the market some fresh meat for a little soup, hut 
before he could do more than prepare the several ingredients 
of herbs and roots, and put his meat in order for the pre- 
paration of his pottage, the paroxysm of fever returned, and 
he laid himself on his bed exhausted. Two days passed in 
this state of helplessness, by which time the mess of meat 
and pot-herbs had putrefied. The stench becoming very per- 
i 2 
