Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1883-04-21
FLYING"

To the Editor ofthe Scientific American -
Notwithstanding all your amusing correspond
ent has cited in the issue of Feb. %, concern
ing that remarkable turkey, the albatross still
remains, think, the largest flying bird. That
is, it is the largest bird whose efforts at flying
may be taken as Il high example of the eX-
penditure OF vital energy for that particular
form OF locomotion; it is, in short, the highest
type Of 'hying creature" considered essen
tally rs such, and in flying will undoubtedly
surpass any other bird.
Though less perhaps in weight than the
turkey, he spreads a far greater nSi ing surface
to the air and performs the mere act of flying
in far more representative manner than
other birds of greater strength.
In the article to which Mr.. Goodsell refers
l think neither. weight nor bulk, or more
properly speaking volume, is meant, but
rather that the albatross is simply the largest
apprO >imation to lying machine that nature
has given us, and as such is the best model,
and in so far he is undoubtedly right. In the
ne Nt paragraph, however, your correspond
ent states that which is far more open to crili-
cism.
The Bird" he says, speaking In very
general WY. has the same relative udvali-
tage with his wings in the air as the man has
with his legs on the ground, has he not -
Well, | should say most empbaticaIiy not,
and at the same time believe this same mis-
conception lies at the base Of most devices for
flying that have been condemned on their
"a tiAoi. utIS - io use III UctiiS sciGnIluC
b: halves. and think, had the author of that
lntere. ting comparison between the five tur-
keys and the man made simple draughI.
illustrating what the turkeys may be fairly
estimated 10 do at one end of the rope and
what the man will DO ut the other. he would
have seen the ebSurditv Of the situation. And
yet the birds do have IN certain sense great
er muscular power than the man &; but thi.
assertion must not DC taken with too broad 81
meaning il only means that they have great
er propor;ionsi strength for particular pi.r-
pose; IN other words, aXerted through a par
tlcuiar Set Of muscles: or, 10 be still more
precise. OF the total amount Of vital energy OF
his SYSTEM the bird can use far Fre!iter pro
porJional part in the exercise Of those parti.ti-
lar muscles adapted To locoinotion than man
or any vertebrate animal can do: and tnru-
nately for the mechanic. 10 make things cSi.-
si>,enf, we lind conversely that nature has
Also made u far greater proportion of the en-
tire machinery of the bird system subservient
to this method of eNpending his energy A
muscle burns more or less carbon and devel-
ops more or less heat in proportion to its size.
In no other animal do we find any muscles tn
compare in relative size 10 the breast muscles
oil the bird, consequently no such relative ey.
pendIture Of the total energy Of the system.
1t Is for these reasons that the comparison
Instituted WAS absurd. MatLematcalv speak,
Ing, the quantities compared We're not homo
geneous. Aerial navigation is probably not
beyond the contrivance of human ingenuity :;
aerial flight however is, and is evidently not
within the design of nature. -
+. JARVIS PATTEN,
United States army.