ly lightly touch on the wonders of design in the structure and
functions of animals. Here is a feather, any feather, say, the feather
of an eagle. We quote the following on "One of Nature's Wonders--the
Feather'' from an article in a popular magazine:

"To most people a feather is just a feather, either pretty or plain
according to how the coloring strikes their individual fancy. Yet when
a feather is examined critically, it becomes a wonder and yet more
wonderful--it is amazing when its details are understood. Never was
there a thing better planned and builded for the uses intended.

"Take, for instance, a plain feather--say the tail feather of an eagle.
The long quill is made of feather-bone, that wonderfully light, yet
strong material that forms the rigid part of all feathers, so tough that
it is almost impossible to break it, yet so flexible it will bend into a
circle and then spring back like a bit of whalebone! Nothing that man
has ever been able to make can equal it.

"There is no blood, no nerves, no circulation and apparently no life in
a full grown feather, yet it does not decompose; indeed, it is one of
the hardest things in the world to destroy by any process of
decomposition. It retains its resiliency and all its flexibility for
years--all that is necessary is to keep it dry. It is finished all along
the rib (or quill) with a hard, glossy enamel on the outside and this
enamel keeps its polish as long as the feather lasts.

"From [tr. note: sic on punctuation] an engineering standpoint, or the
standpoint of the mechanic or artisan, there is absolutely no suggestion
of betterment to be made, for the feather is an exact, perfectly
finished product. Its long central quill tapers from base to point with
geometric precision, thereby giving perfect resistance to bending force,
and this is one of the combination of secrets that enables the bird to
fly as easily as man can walk. Also this long quill is hollow, thereby
all extra weight is done away with and added strength gained because of
the tube contraction; and to make it perfect from a mechanical
standpoint, the under side of the quill is reinforced by a doublerolled
thickening of the shell of the quill itself so that strains are
equalized.

"This long quill is also curved slightly, to meet air resistance again
and overcome it when the whole tail is spread, fan-like, to suddenly
alter a direction or check speed in flight.

"The long, soft side masses are f