ITS AGE COMPUTED. 
35 
times that of a mouse ; and the life of a dog is three 
times that of a hedge-hog; and the life of a horse is three 
times that of a dog; and the life of a man is three times 
that of a horse; and the life of a goose is three times that 
of a man; and the life of a swan is three times that of a 
goose; and the life of a swallow is three times that of a 
swan ; and the life of an eagle is three tunes that of a 
swallow; and the life of a serpent is three times that of 
an eagle; and the life of a raven is three times that of a 
serpent; and the life of a hart is three times that of a 
raven; and an oak groweth 500 years, and fadeth 500 
years.” 
The Rev. W. B. Daniel alludes* to “ the received 
maxim that animals live seven times the number of years 
that bring them to perfection,” upon which computation 
the average life of an eagle would be twenty-one years. 
But this maxim is founded on a misconception. Fleurens, 
in his treatise “ De la Longevite Humaine,” says that the 
duration of life in any animal is equal to five times the 
number of years requisite to perfect its growth, and 
that the growth has ceased when the bones have finally 
consolidated with their epiphyses, which in the young are 
merely cartilages. 
Like many other rapacious birds, eagles are very fond 
of bathing, and it has been found essential to supply them 
with baths when in confinement, in order to keep them 
*\ “ Rural Sports,” vol. i. p. 246. 
