Analysis of the movements of the wing, 160, 161
The kite-like action and waved movements of the wing, 166
The screws formed by the wing of the insect, bat, and bird, 174, 175, 176
The muscles, elastic ligaments, and feathers of the wing of the bird, 181
Sir George Cayley’s Flying Apparatus, 215
Flying Machine designed by De la Landelle, 217
Diagrams illustrating the true and false action of the wing, 228
The sculling action of the wing as seen in the bird, 231
The artificial wave wing of the Author, 237
Various forms of artificial wings by the Author, 241
The compound wave wing of the Author, 243
Diagrams illustrative of artificial wing movements, 250
Diagram illustrating the currents produced by the movements of artificial wings, 253
The locomotion of animals, as exemplified in walking, swimming, and flying, is a subject of permanent interest to all who seek to trace in the creature proofs of beneficence and design in the Creator. All animals, however insignificant, have a mission to perform--a destiny to fulfil; and their manner of doing it cannot be a matter of indifference, even to a careless observer. The most exquisite form loses much of its grace if bereft of motion, and the most ungainly animal conceals its want of symmetry in the co-adaptation and exercise of its several parts. The rigidity and stillness of death alone are unnatural. So long as things “live, move, and have a being,” they are agreeable objects in the landscape. They are part and parcel of the great problem of life, and as we are all hastening towards a common goal, it is but natural we should take an interest in the movements of our fellow-travellers. As the locomotion of animals is intimately associated with their habits and modes of life, a wide field is opened up, teeming with incident, instruction, and amusement. No one can see a bee steering its course with admirable precision from flower to flower in search of nectar; or a swallow darting like a flash of light along the lanes in pursuit of insects; or a wolf panting in breathless haste after a deer; or a dolphin rolling like a mill-wheel after a shoal of flying fish, without feeling his interest keenly awakened.