Blue-grass blade. [volume] (Lexington, Ky.) 188?-19??, 1891-01-10

tant my knowledge OF the buz
zard.
An Illinois company lately in
corporated, with capital stool
of $2O,OOO,OOO, for the purpose o
building air ships, affords me
long desired opportunity of ven
tilatiug my knowledg of th'
buzzard.
/ Had the Congress that adopted
the eagle as the American EN-
blem, been less plagiar,, ts from
the efete governments of Eu'
rope, and more scientists, the
buzzard, instead of the eagle
would have spread his wings up.
on American banners and upor
"the dollar of the dadtiies," Of
the daddy of the dollsSs, as, il
always seemed to me, Would be
a better expression.
In matters of diet thesestwc
birds are equally untidy, and
while the buzzard makes himself
useful citizen, the eagle kills
lambs and pigs without warrant
of law. When it comes to "soar-
ing" as a trope for college boys
on commencement occasions, the
buzzard can lay it over the eagle
two to one, and get 80 much
higher than Gilroy's kite, or any
thing that au eagle can do, that
it would make an eagles head
swim to get there.
l am satisfied that in the soar
ing fight Of the buzzard as the
best and most familiar instance
of soaring birds, there lies a
secret which men, from Icarus
to this Illinois company, have so
far sought in vain, and which
when known, as l believe in this
age of progress it is daily liable
to be, will not only make aerial
navigation practicable, but will
make it possible for the bellies
and beaux of some near age to
pirouette through the sunset
in gay flying gowns and knick-
erbOckers, and bathe their silken
plumagc in the setting sun, with
all the safety, and inexpressibly
greater pleasure, than our park
habitues now have on the square
tailed cobs of English affecta-
tion. .~e,
In all of my quRlonings Of
scientists upon thisH AGt, 1 have
only come across one man who
had ever noticed the phenomenon
of the buzzard, and speculated as
to the practical conclusions dedu-
chile thcrefrom. He was Mr.. B.
F. Williams, a gentleman of in
dependent and original thinking
in this city.
Many of the older citizens here
may recollect my kinsman, Maj.
Tom Moore, who was Provost
Marshal of this city during the
war.
He was eccentric and witty,
and had but little conf ience in
the claims of the most advanced
science.
1 asked him once how he could
account for the phenomenon of a
buzzard rising from the earth
against the laws Of gravity, and
flying against the wind, without
"happing" his wings.
The Major answered that it
was "because Of the carbOnic
acid gas on the stomach of the
buzzard."
l once asked DR.. Robert Peter
about it, but he would not recOg-
nize that there was any unknown
phenomenon in the flight of buzz
yards and other soaring birds,
but claimed that they rose from
the ground and propelled them
selves on the same principle of
compression and resistance of air,
by the striking with the wings,
Just as other birds do.
l afterward suggested my ideas
to DR.. Dabaey, Presi lent of the
University OF Tennessee, and he
seemed to think them worthy of
investigation, but never reported
anything in furtherance OF my
opinions.
am not willing to be dogmat-
ic about these suggestions, but l
am satisfied that in this phenom-
enon of the birds soaring, as dis
tinguished from what think the
entirely different principle OF fly
ing in the more common way,
there is Il "working hypothesis
that scientists are not warranted
in ignoring.
While the amount and force oI
muscular action that a crow uses
in his flight could not proportions
ally be equalled by man, the eX'
penditure of physical force made
by a buzzard in sailing,ls no more
than man would use in extend
ing his arms and legs to tloa'
nnon cork buOYs uIOn the water