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As the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them."-ECCLESIASTES IX.

The sharp beak,

objects, such as worms, insects, seeds, &c. therefore, serves as a fine pincers, enabling them to take hold of their food conveniently.

1042. Why have snipes and woodcocks long tapering bills?

Because they live upon worms which they find in the soft mud of streams and marshy places; their long bills, therefore, enable them to dig down into the mud after their prey.

1043. Why have woodcocks, snipes, &c., nerves running down to the extremities of their bills?

Because, as they dig for their prey in the soft sand and mud, they cannot see the worms upon which they live. Nerves are, therefore, distributed to the very point of their bills (where, in other birds, nerves are entirely absent) to enable them to prehend their food.

1044. Why have ducks and geese square-pointed bills?

Because they not only feed by dabbling in soft and muddy soil, but they consume a considerable quantity of green food, and their square bills enable them to crop off the blades of grass.

"Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and everything that moveth therein."-PSALM LXIX.

1045. Why has the spoon-bill a long expanded bill, lined internally with sharp muscular points?

Because the bird lives by suction, dipping its broad bill in search of acquatic worms, mollusks, insects and the roots of weeds. The bill forms a natural spoon, and the muscular points enable the bird to filter the mud, and to retain the nourishment which it finds.

1046. Why has the spoon-bill long legs?

Because it wades in marshy places to find its food. Its legs are therefore long, for the purpose of keeping its body out of the water, and above the smaller acquatic plants, while it searches for its prey.

1017. Why have the parrots, &c., crooked and hard bills?

Because they live upon nuts, the stones of fruit, and hard seeds. The shape of the bill, therefore, enables them to hold the nut or seed firmly, and the sharp point enables them to split or remove the husks.

1048. Why can a parrot move its upper as well as its lower bill?

Because by that means it is enabled to bring the nut or seed nearer the fulcrum, or joint of the jaw. It, therefore, acquires greater power, just as with a pair of nut-crackers we obtain increased power by setting the nut near to the joint.

1049. Why have animals with long necks large throats? Animals that graze, or feed from the ground, generally have a more powerful muscular formation of the throat than those which feed in other positions, because a greater effort is required to force the food upward, that would be needed to convey it down.

1050. Why are the bones of birds hollow?

Because they are thereby rendered lighter, and do not interfere with the flight of the bird as they would do if they were solid. Greater strength is also obtained by the cylindrical form of the bone, and a larger surface afforded for the attachment of powerful muscles.

"And my hand hath found, as a nest, the riches of the people; and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped."-ISAIAH X.

1051. Why do all birds lay eggs?

Because, to bear their young in any other manner, would encumber the body, and materially interfere with their powers of flight.

As soon as an egg becomes large and heavy enough to be cumbersome to the bird, it is removed from the body. A shell, impervious to air, protects the germ of life within, until from two to twenty eggs have accumulated, and then, although laid at different intervals, their incubation commences together, and the young birds are hatched at the same time.

CHAPTER LIII.

1052. Why have birds with long legs short tails? Because the tails of birds are used to guide them through the air, by a kind of steerage. When birds with long legs take to flight, they throw their legs behind, and they then serve the same purpose as a tail.

The fins of fishes are to them, what wings and tails are to birds, enabling them to rise in the fluid in which they live by the reaction of the motions of the fins upon its substance.

Speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee; and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this."-JOB XII.

1054. Why are the fins of fishes proportionately so much smaller than the wings of birds?

Because there is less difference between the specific gravity of the body of a fish, and the water in which it moves, than between the body of a bird, and the air on which it flies. The fish, therefore does not require such an expanded surface to elevate or guide it.

1055. Why have fishes scales?

Because scales, while they afford protection to the bodies of fish, are conveniently adapted to their motions; and as the scales present no surface to obstruct their passage through the water, as hair or feathers would do, they evidently form the best covering for the acquatic animal.

1056. Why do fishes float in streams (when they are not swimming) with their heads towards the stream?

Because they breathe by the transmission of water over the surface of their gills, the water entering at the mouth, and passing over the gills behind. When, therefore, they lie motionless with their heads to the stream, they are in that position which naturally assists their breathing process.

1057. Why have fishes air-bladders?

Because, as the density of water varies greatly at different depths, the enlargement or contraction of the bladder regulates the relation of the specific gravity of the body of the fish to that of the water in which it moves.

1058. Why have whales a very large development of oily matter about their heads?

Because their heads are thereby rendered the lighter part of their bodies, and a very slight exertion on the part of the animal will bring its head to the surface to breathe air, which it constantly requires.

1059. Why have birds that swim upon water web-feet?

Because the spreading out of the toes of the bird brings the membrane between the toes into the form of a fin, or water-wing,

"And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the son of man hath not where to lay his head."-MATTHEW XIII.

by striking which against the water, the bird propels itself along.

1060. Why have birds that swim and dive short legs?

Because long legs would greatly impede their motions in the water, by becoming repeatedly entangled in the weeds, and by striking against the bottom. Waders, however, require long legs because they have to move about through the tall vegetation of marshy borders.

1061. Why have the feet of the heron, cormorant, &c., deep rough notches upon their under surface?

Because, as those birds live by catching fish, they are enabled by the notches in their feet, to hold the slippery creatures upon which they feed.

1062. Why have otters, seals, &c., web-feet?

Because, while the feet enable them to walk upon the land, they are equally effective in their action upon the water, and hence they are adapted to the amphibious nature of the animals to which they belong.

1063. Why do the external ears of animals of prey, such as cats, tigers, foxes, wolves, hyenas, &c., bend forward? Because they collect the sounds that occur in the direction of the