What does the vulture resemble the eagle in?  A. In size and in some of its habits.  Q. In what does it differ from the eagle?  A. In having a neck and head either naked or covered with short down.  Q. What is the difference in the manner in which they feed?  A. The eagle seeks its food over hill and valley, and lives entirely on prey which he takes alive, while the vulture seeks out dead and putrid carcasses.  Q. For what reason do you suppose is the vulture’s neck not covered with feathers as the eagle’s is?  A. If they had feathers on their necks, like eagles and hawks, they would soon become clotted with blood.  Q. Why would this happen?  A. Because they are continually plunging their necks into decayed flesh and bloody carcasses.  Q. How do vultures sit?  A. In a dull, mopeing manner.  Q. Where do they generally sit?  A. On tall dead trees.  Q. Do they continue thus long?  A. Yes, for several hours.  Q. What is the cause of their thus sitting so dull and inactive?  A. The great quantity of food they have eaten.  Q. Is there any description of vulture forming an exception to the general character of those birds?  A. Yes, that particular kind called the snake eater.  Q. Where is this bird a native of?  A. Of Africa.  Q. Why is it called the snake eater?  A. On account of its singular manner of destroying serpents, on which it feeds.  Q. Describe the manner in which this bird kills its prey.  A. He waits until the serpent raises its head, and then strikes him with his wing, and repeats the blow until the serpent is killed.  Q. What do the natives of Asia and Africa call the vulture?  A. The scavenger.  Q. Why?  A. Because they are so useful in eating dead carcasses.  Q. How is this useful?  A. It clears the ground of them; otherwise, in those warm places, they would be the cause of much disease.  Q. What does this shew us?  A. That the good God has created nothing without its use.  Q. What is the largest bird of the vulture kind?  A. The great condor of South America.  Q. What does its wing often measure from tip to tip?  A. Twelve feet when spread out.  Q. How do the natives of South America often catch the vulture?  A. The dead carcass of a cow or horse is set for a bait, on which they feed so ravenously that they become stupid, and are easily taken.

THE CROCODILE.

I hope you will not put your dirty hands on this picture of the crocodile.  The live ones have hard scales on their backs, and such a many teeth, that they could bite a man’s leg off; but there are none in our land, only young ones that sailors bring home with them.  The crocodile can run fast; those are best off who are out of his way.  He lives by the water; he goes much in it; and he can swim well.  Young ones come out of eggs, which the old ones lay in the sand.  Some beasts eat the eggs, or else there would be too many crocodiles.  The crocodile can run fast if he runs straight, and those who wish to get out of his way run zigzag, and he takes some time