History
Emperor Frederick II, in his thirteenth century treatise on falconry, was seemingly the first to discuss the function of the uropygial gland of birds. He believed that its product not only oiled the plumage but also provided a poison which was introduced by the claws of hawks and owls thus bringing quicker death to their prey. However, studies in 1678 on the question of the toxic nature of the uropygial gland secretion found no evidence to support Frederick’s contention.
Read more about this topic: Uropygial Gland
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“I am ashamed to see what a shallow village tale our so-called History is. How many times must we say Rome, and Paris, and Constantinople! What does Rome know of rat and lizard? What are Olympiads and Consulates to these neighboring systems of being? Nay, what food or experience or succor have they for the Esquimaux seal-hunter, or the Kanaka in his canoe, for the fisherman, the stevedore, the porter?”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“As I am, so shall I associate, and so shall I act; Caesar’s history will paint out Caesar.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The history of a soldier’s wound beguiles the pain of it.”
—Laurence Sterne (1713–1768)