again descends, but with less force than before; and when he comes up again, is generally incapable of descending, but suffers himself to be wounded and killed with long lances, with which the men are provided for the purpose. He is known to be near death when he spouts up the water deeply tinged with blood.

The whale being dead, is lashed along side the ship. They then lay it on one side, and put two ropes, one at the head, and the other in the place of the tail, which, together with the fins, is struck off as soon as he is taken,

to keep these extremities above water. On the off side of the whale are two boats, to receive the pieces of fat, utensils, and men, that might otherwise fall into the water on that side. These precautions being taken, three or four men with irons at their feet, to prevent slipping, get on the whale, and begin to cut out pieces of about three feet thick and eight long, which are hauled up at the capstan or windlass. When the fat is all got off, they cut off the whiskers of the upper jaw, with an axe. Before they are cut, they are all lashed to keep them firm; which also facilitates the cutting, and, prevents them from falling into the sea. When on board, five or six of them are bundled together, and properly stowed; and after all is got off, the carcass is turned adrift, and devoured by the bears, who are very fond of it. In proportion as the large pieces of fat are cut off, the rest of the crew are employed in slicing them smaller, and picking out all the lean. When this is prepared, they stow it under the deck, where it lies till the fat of all the whales is on board; then cutting it still smaller, they put it up in casks in the hold, cramming them very full and close. Nothing now remains but to sail homewards, where the fat is to be boiled and melted down into train oil.

A late improvement has been made in the method of discharging the harpoon, namely, by shooting it out of a kind of swivel or musquetoon; but it does not appear that since this improvement was made, the whale fishing ships have had better success than before.

The flesh of this animal is a dainty to some nations; and the savages of Greenland, as well as those near the south pole, are fond of it to distraction. They eat the flesh, and drink the oil, which is a first-rate delicacy. The finding a dead whale is an adventure considered among the fortunate circumstances of their lives. They make their abode beside it; and seldom remove till they have left nothing but the bones.

CLASS SECOND-BIRDS.

Vertebrated animals with red and warm blood, respiring by lungs, and the young of which are produced from eggs. Body covered with feathers, and general conformation organized for flying.

THE arrangement of birds into orders, has for its basis the conformation of the bill and feet; which are adapted to their different modes of living and food. Birds of prey are characterized by a hooked bill, and feet armed with strong and crooked nails. Climbers are those, the structure of whose feet is calculated for motion on an inclined or vertical surface; and webfooted birds are evidently adapted for swimming. Others, again, have the legs very long and naked, for wading; and a large number, with the claws short and feeble, live chiefly on insects. But though it be thus easy to separate the more strongly marked groups into extended families, yet it has been found extremely difficult to distribute them in subordinate groups, so as to facilitate the knowledge of species in a class so widely extended. In adopting the arrangement of Temminck, therefore, though his orders are more numerous, than those proposed by Cuvier and Vieillot, yet the families of the latter are in much greater number; and in an elementary work, it has been judged proper to follow that system which involves the least change of the established nomenclature, as likely to be most generally useful.

Birds support themselves, and direct their flight in the air, nearly in the same manner as fishes do in the water. But they are also calculated for motion on the ground; some families for motion on the surface of the water, or even, to a certain degree, through a mass of the same element; and their structure is varied to suit these different kinds of motion.

The part of the spine in birds which corresponds to the back, is immovable, and the only portions of the vertebral column capable of motion, are the vertebra of the neck, and those of the tail. Their pectoral members, or arms, are elongated to wings, proper only for flight. These members, or wings, composed of one long finger and the vestiges of two others, are furnished with long, stiff, but elastic feathers, disposed like a fan, which follow the movement of the bone, and, when extended, occupy a large surface. The wings are attached by a double clavicle, and are supported by a broad sternum, carinated in front like the keel of a ship. This sternum is formed of five pieces firmly joined together; and the greater or less ossification of these pieces, is always relative to the powers of the bird for

flight. The long feathers attached to what my be termed the hand, generally to the number of ten, are termed prima, the secondaries, variable in number, are those attached to the fore-arm; d the scapulars, are the smaller feathers, which are attached to the humerus. In describing birds, the term remiges is also used, to denote the feathers of the wings, which serve as oars; and rectrices, those of the tail, which have been considered to act as a rudder. The smaller feathers, which cover the base of the wing and tail, are termed tectrices. The anterior extremities, destined to support them in flight, can neither be used for prehension nor support, and birds thus take objects from the ground by their mouth. The neck is elongated, and the body thrown forward, that the bill may easily reach the ground. The pelvis is lengthened, to furnish an attachment for the muscles, which support the trunk upon the thighs; and there is an arrangement of muscles going from the pelvis to the toes, in such a manner that the weight of the animal bends the toes, and enables it to sleep perched upon one foot.

The bony part of the tail is short, but it carries a row of strong feathers, which, spreading, contribute to support the bird. The number of these feathers is generally twelve, sometimes fourteen, and in the gallinæ eighteen. The legs have a fermur, and a tibia, and the tarsus and metatarsus are represented by a single bone. The toes are attached to the tarsus, and are generally three before and a kind of thumb behind; which, however, is sometimes wanting. In the swallow it is directed forwards. In the climbers, on the contrary, the external toe and thumb are directed backwards. The number of joints increases in each toe, counting from the thumb, which has two, to the external toe, which has five. Birds with toes entirely free, are adapted to walk or hop on a horizontal surface, such as the domestic fowl. Others with two toes behind and two before, such as the parrot, walk with difficulty, but climb with facility; and others again, such as ducks and swans, with the toes united by a membrane, are chiefly calculated for motion in the water. The bill in birds is covered with a corneous substance, and as these animals swallow their food without mastication, they are not furnished with teeth. The upper mandible is formed chiefly of the intermaxillary bones, prolonged behind into two arches, of which the internal is composed of the palate bones, and the external of the maxillary and jugal bones; and this mandible is united to the cranium by elastic laminæ. The bill is constructed less for bruising the food than for seizing and dividing it; and thus from the greater solidity and length of this organ, the nature of the food may be inferred. The bill, or beak, is sometimes furnished at its origin, with a fleshy or membranous caruncle, which is called the cere; and sometimes the beak is prolonged upon the forehead into a kind of horn or helmet, as in the calao. The two mandibles moveable upon one another, through the medium of an intermediate bone, placed at the articulation, is a distinguishing anatomical character, in the structure of the jaws of birds. The quills and feathers are composed of a bearded or

webbed stem, hollowed at its base; these webs or horizontal feathers are again themselves webbed by still smaller ones; and the texture, strength, lustre, and general form of these feathers are infinitely varied. The feathers fall off twice a year, and this change of plumage is termed moulting. In some species, the winter plumage differs from that of the summer; and in the greater number the female differs from the male, in her colors being less bright. The young generally resemble the female. The brain of birds has the same general characters as that of the other oviparous vertebrated animals, but is distinguished by its proportionally greater volume, which often exceeds that of the Mammalia. But this apparent magnitude is caused by tubercles analogous to the corpora striata, and not by the hemispheres, which are very small and without circumvolutions. The cerebellum is of considerable size, without lateral lobes, and almost completely formed by the vermiform process. The trachea or windpipe, in birds, is formed of complete rings. At its bifurcation, is a glottis, provided with muscles, termed the inferior larynx. This is the organ which produces the voice of birds; and it is afterwards modified by the length, breadth, and elasticity of the trachea, and its orifice in the throat. The upper larynx is simple. The cavity of the thorax is not in birds separated by a fleshy partition from the abdomen. The lungs adhere to the spine, and communicate with many membranous sacs, situate in the abdomen, under the axilla, and even in the cavities of the larger bones, the substance of the bill, and in the fistulous portions of the quills. The great quantity of air which birds respire, appears to have effect upon all their motions. They respire, it may be said, as well by the branches of the aorta, as by those of the pulmonary artery. It is believed that the 'temperature to which the bodies of birds is raised in hatching, and the great muscular force which they exert in almost continued flight for many days, depends upon the action of the air upon the blood. Birds, like all the vertebrated animals, possess five senses; but in this class, that of touch is least perfect. Their feathers prevent them from receiving, by immediate contact, the impressions of the object which they touch; and their feet are enveloped in corneous laminæ, or scales, which materially blunt sensation. All enjoy the organ of sight; and by a particular mechanism in the structure of the eye, they are enabled to perceive objects at a distance with the same facility as when near the body. Besides the two ordinary eyelids, there is always a third semi-transparent one placed at the internal angle of the eye, which, by the assistance of a remarkable muscular apparatus, may be drawn before the eye like a curtain. The cornea is very convex. Although birds have no external cartilaginous ear, all appear to enjoy the faculty of feeling. Some of the nocturnal birds have the auditory opening surrounded by feathers. The organs of smell are concealed in the base of the bill, and the breadth of the nasal openings determine their form. The sense of smell in the vulture and raven, is said to be so very acute, that they can smell carrion at a very