HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times, 1924-5-29, Page 7By Laura B. Durand,
a characteristic product apparently succeede1 and tlie Cow -
a man. In it featuree we would ex- bird's ogg-has aserlsbe. , , dBut alas 'tile
, , ,
peet to see evidences of his mental lives of more precious birds have been
qualities and his tate. We expect sael.ifieed with it, -
to seo also whether its Pei -Pose is 02 The Cowbird is the only purely pare -
temporary nature or for long resi- sitics1 spacic,e among the perching
'Once. And WO adinit that hLs OPPOr- birds of Canada. There are numerous
families of birds 'included *in the
Perchers, and many speeles, in these
families.
The vast majority of Perchers •build
birds in this respect is sirrular to that nests. And those which do not, such
of man, Species of the'a,ltricial orders, as the Ntat-hat6hes and the Chickadees
those whose young arehelpless and and the Bluebirds, contrive snug
unfeatliered when born , and reeuire homes iii natural cavities in -trees,
feeding and attention for a consider- stuMps or posts. k
able time, hand substantial nests with. The Flycatchers (Tyranniclae) have
re* exce.ptions. ,Wlaile species of the in their family both very indifferent
precocial orders', those whose young nest -builders and skilled, almost su-
are born feathered and are ` able to prerne artists in this lino. Because a
leave the nest and fellow theis mether the glacid "builders., they average " up
almost immediately after being hatch- well, All are devoted mates and solic-
ed, make very little preparation for lions parents. All are dusIty brown
depositing their eggs, ancl some noth- or ashy-blaok rind gray ink -coloring,
ing Immo than a depression hollowed and all are more or less crested. The
by their breasts in the earth.
.tititity for materials and location is a
factor in 'parrying, out his will and
in ass'emblilig a home,
a In n,o small degree the situation of
Within the limits of these generali-
zations there are, however, wide varie-
ties in the practise and achievements
of birds innesting and in the same or -
'dere entire_ differences in this -respect.
• In the inter'esting order of the Ma-
crechires, a division of birds including
This is what they fill salmon cans with in BritiSh Columbia. IPhe Japan-
ese fishermen pictured have been culling over the clay's catch for "the big
ones." The Scene is on the Fraser River.
FlYeatchers have slightly hooked bills .
and tufts of bristles at the base of the
hill,T
The best k'nown. and Mo'st. conspicn-
a.
ous of fa,mily is ,the -Kingbird. It
builds a, excellent nest, open and
'
deep, in trees and carelessly disposed,
' '
ee
pendent braneh, prefecably that of an
elm, and at its extremity weaves a
pouch, hanging it from the branch. to
which it issattriched so firmly that not
eVen the :following -wild winds of
autumn can break it"from ita
moor-.
51 11
, ealmentof his treasuiecl
, ings.
the Swifts and Hummingbirds (the home was incompatible with his splens The Orioles display much discretion
name of the order deriving from the did ability to defend it. The feature
too, in deepening the pouch and liana
Greek `maltros," meaning eong, 'and 1 is worthy of study. The weak androwing the entrance at the top where
"Oheir," the hand, termreferring to tiny Brown Creeper builds its, cun-
the site is far from the protection of
, man and exposed to the attacks of
Crows, Jays and Blackbirds.
The great, family to which the
Finches, Sparrows, Grosbeaks, Bunt-
ings, Linnets, and others belong, di-
verse •as they are as species in their
features, of, plumage and song, com-
monly are clever nest makers.
The little Vesper Sparroy, however,
selects; or hollows it slight depres-
sion, -unlined, in the earth, shelterecl
by sorne .plant or shrub, in a grassy
field, to rear its family. I watched one
of these nests last summer, at Larnb-
ton, and noted that the parents made
quite circuitous visits and departures
to it. The three partly -feathered
young Vespers looked as uncomfort-
able as they could be.. The ground
seems to be suitable to the prolonged
nesting of altricial birds.
None of hte sea -birds ,.is a nest -
builder. The great families of cliff -
dwellers, like the Cormorants, and
Genets and Kittiwakes, make some
preparation for their eggs by piling
seaweedsmand stickstogether on the
narrow ledges over the water. 13ut
niany others deposit their eggs on the
bare rocks", or bare sand. The Terns
nest on the sand, malting depressions,
unlined; for their eggs. The little
black Tern visits the .interior;in nests
ing thne,"however, and collects trash
In which 'to- rear its young about the
edges a marshes. os
Inland water birds usually make la-
borious and clumsy nests, close be -
Grebes afe wet, and the eggs often
partly submerged.
side the wate,r, or floating upon its
surfaces The floating nests of the
The Petrels: burrow in the rubbish
, the length of- the distal part of the
wings) this extreme divereity occurs.
The species of the great family of the
Hummingbirds build the "most _ex-
quisite structures for their homes. no secret measures. He is alert to
They are masterpieces of art. The drive away eyen the Crows and Hawks
Soundation is firmly glued to a hors.. from his home domain. Yet he is
zontati branch, usaally in an „oak tree, only eight inches in length, smaller
or an apple tree, or other rugged kind than the Robin.
and above this the superstructure is The Great -Crested Flycatcher, who
woven of fine materials and softly •beasts of yellow or rusty brown in his
• lined. Then, the whole exterior is coat, is larger than the Kingbird and
beautifully decorated with lichens and quite as autocratic. He nests in a
-Spider-webs and fibres 91 moss. The hole in a tree which he sometimes
length of the Ruby-throated.PIumming- steals from a Woodpecker. And then
bird, the common summer resideiat of he lines the net with at snake
• Canada is only three and one-half skins -often leaving- an end hanging
ning nest cunningly behind a bit of I
loose bark, high an a tree. It is al-
most impossible to locate it. His
royal highnese, the Kingbird, requires
Since the death of her father,. three moiiths ago, Miss Ella FarnsWorth,
18 years old,' St. Paul, Minn., has been successfully carrying -on his black-
,
smith shop. She says wbmen can belie equal of man in this Hite of work. •
inches., and the nest when completed
is about two inches in diameter. 1..'he
,eggs match in size this elfin bird -home.
Two are, laid in June of about the 'di-
mensions of a natty hean. These
"winged jewels" are the smallest of
all birds, and yet build a nest as strong
as it via lovely. Their relatives, the
Whip-poor-wfill and the Nighthawk,
have entirely opposite nesting habits.
Neither species makes any nest. Their
eggs are' deposited on the bare ground.
I have found the eggs of* the Night-
, howk on the bare rocks ins-Mtiskolta,
and have, frequently seen tisern on the
bare gravel of city roofs.
The family of Swifts, fhi the same
order, both in Europe and America,
nest in chirnneys, or hollow trees, quar-
ries, or upright ,walls, and phew in-
• genuity, skill and determination in at-
ta,ehing a half -basket of twlgs, like
bas-relief, .to a perpendicular surface.
its a, nest. The Swift uses its saliva as
a glue and shapes the semi -circular
nest very cleverly. Its little eggs are,
long and narrow to match the narrow
cradle. '
Of an living being, of all the great
divisions of animal life, the birds Meat
nearly approach mankind in their
home habits sand solicitude for their
znatea a,nd Offspring. They appear to
be cuclowed With almost human erne.
bions. They display the uglier traits
• of humanity also—utter callonsness,
greed and indolence lead the 'Crows
and Jays to rob the itests ancl.clevour ,
the young of other birds. litter de-
pravity and meannees dictate the con-
duct of, the Cowbird. In sneaking
runong. the bindle's, watchinglier op-
portunity in the.. absence of smell
birds like the Chipping Sparrow, the
Iva -ashler, or the Vireos,
to slip upon their pretty, snug nests
and lay ainong their little eggs its
ugly larger one ,of whiteeipecled lVItli
brown, or grey and nearly an inch
long. It sometimes .throws out the
.rightful cgse's to make room for its
r6bber egg, li, never raids the nests
of birds of its own SiZe. Like the
coward among men., it viotenizes the
Weaker of its kind. Some of Its Vie -
texts make 'an effort to entwit the COss-- I
*bird by building a new floor tb' the
raided nest and laying a esmond let of
eggS. 'Phese double -floored nests have
been collected whore the deVice has
out—to scare away intruders. This, is
probably the most extraorclinary,of all
nesting birds,
nesting habits.
The whole natitre and habits of the
llttle fiycatching Wood Pewee, present
a marked contrast to those of the
dombeeering collector of snalreskins!
It haunts tail shady trete in the wood-
lands, And saddles its flat,„inossy nest
on a horizontal limb, harmonizing it
with its background quite as effect-
uallyas the Ruby -throated Humming
bird. ,It is a' beautiful ,nest, but not
so beautiful as the nest of tlie•Phoebe,
so often called the "Bridge Bird," be-
cause of "its practice Of building Its
comeact and exquisitely -finished nest,
in the sub -structures of bridges. There
it scours, the air of gnats and mosqui-
toes. The Phoebe has ,become demes-
ticatecl and loves to make its horne
und,er the porches of house doore and
in the cosy corners . formed by the
mouldings of verandahs, It should be
welcorne. for it is a 'tireless flycatcher.
Its nest becomes infested with!vermin
while its young are still unfledged, and
its human friends are urged to remove
,
the young, dust the nest with insect
powder as well, as each young bird be-
fore, retaining it, taking care not to
get the powder 111 the bird's eyes.
The ,Thrtish family are Sairly good
nest builders, but we all know that
the Robin is extremely careless of the
cateraal appearance of its halite. The
Bluebird prefers'a 'Woodpeckers' hole,
or a man-made bird box to building a
home of its own. Others of the family
nest at medium elevations ih 'the
woods, forming the neet o1 dried
graffsee.
It may be taken as a general rule
that birds nest on or about the plane
of their flight. Crows and HavvItS
carry their sticks, and build high in
tall trees. SparrOws-• ehoase the
•
crotches' of medium-sized trees or tall
shrubs for a location. Purely ground -
feeders and runners, like the/Plovers
and Sandpipers, nest upetf the ground,
The low reputation of the Blackbled
family' es fleet -builders is redeemed
and glorified by the amazing achieve -
df one of its niembc•na the 130 i -
more Oriole, which is acknowledged
to be one of the cleverest bird-erelii-
teals in the world. The female of the
species isthe builderShe selects a
on sandy, eoasts. Many species 0,1
ducks nest in hollows' in trees near
water. The Buffle-headeeand. *Golcren-
eyes among ,others, ,hale, this habit.
It is One of tht marvels of nature
how the ducklings tumble out of tbe
nest, qften quite -high in the tree, with -
ant 'injury, and make for their mere.
,natural element.
The ,subject of the homes that birds.
make for themselves is extensive and
absorbing. It offers many surpriSee.
1.Iow is the Bank Swallow ,able to bor-
row ,its nest, • having so small and
'weak, a tool in its bill? The King-
fisher is flinch lietternquipped for the
purn9se, .How is 1;rooding possible'
on nests so frail in structure as 'these
1 Of the Cuckooeand the Mourning.
`Dove? Why do the „Kinglets and the
Warblers Choose reniote evergreen
woods for their homes? Why', do
RObins and Wrens love the compel],
Rinsiiip'of man?
So She Had Heard,
"Now, Elsie," said the Sun.cla,y
school teacher to hersmall pupil,
"what I.S.••Our tlu,ty to our neighbor?" '
, "To Wait until they get ,settled and
then call on ',thern47 wa,s Elsie'sl reply.'
Lifting TUlip Bulbs.
Having regard for the best welfare
of the tulip bulbs, should it be neces-
sary to lift them to make room for
summer -flowering, plants, this has to
be done before they have finished the
ripening procese -whieh is so essen-
tial for the production of blo.,ms the
follawing spring. However, if the
operation is gone about carefully so ,
that their stems and leaves remain un-
injured and their fine roots are kept
so far as possible intact, they suffer
very little. '
a. They should be allowed to remain in
the bed as long as possible. If the
soil has become hard and dry, give it
a thorough soaking and after allowing
it to dry'tfe somewhat on the surface
the plants can be lifted with a digging
fork which allows one to get well un-
der the roots.
Keep as much _soil as possible on
the roots and, as they are lifted, re-
plant them quite close together in a
four -inch -deep trench in some spare
corner where they pan remaiu until
the ripening process is completed.
After the leaves and stems have died
down'they must be 'lifted, cleaned and
dried off. Spread iliem out thialy un-
der cover for a few days until they are
quite dry, then cut off the roots and
old stems.
Next spread them in shallow trays
or on paper in a dry, airy roOm or
shed but where the sun does not reach
them, for the dfying should be done
slowly. When the bulbs are quite dry
they are stored 'in bags or boxes until
they are again planted in October.
His Afternoon Job.
Satauel Gomptraatol`d alas tory.- about=
Joe Gillingovitch. Joe was busily
.smoking and watchinge-a, large build-
ing operation when ,the boss came up
to him ,and said: *
"Want a job?"
Leistrrely reinoving his pipe, Joe
said:
. "I can only work in the:mornings."
"Why can't you work afternoons?"
suspicionsly'demanded the boss.
"In the afternoons," Joe unblushing-
ly explained, "I haye toecarry a ban-
ner in the unemployed, parade."
Forks Over •instead.
"Tom's wife never allows him to
sPoon." •
•
"No, makes hthi fork over instead."
To a Child,.
The neets are in the hetlgerowtil
The lainha are en the grass,: :
With laughter sweet as innate
Thy hours liglitfooted pass,
My darling child of fancy,
My winsome prating, lass.
Blue eyes, with long brown
ThicketS of golden curl,
Red little Ilps disclosing
Twin rows of fairy Pearl,
10
Cheeks like the apple blossom,
Voice lightsome as the merle.
A whole spring's fickle changes
In every short-lived day,
A. passing 'cloud of April,
A flowery smile of May,
A thousand quick mutations'
'From graver moods to gay.
I know now what of fortune
The future holds for thee,
Nor if skies fair or clouded
Wait thee in days to be,
But neither joy nor sorrow
Shall sever thee from me.
Dear child, whatever changes
Across our lives, may pass,
I shall see thee still forever, a
Clearly as in a glass,
The same sweet child of fancy,
The same dear winsome lass.
—Lewis Morris
According to Signs.
An Irishman was walking along a
road beeido a golf course when he was
struck between the shoulders by ,a
golf -ball. The face of the blow al-
most knocked "him down. When he
recovered he observed a golfer run-
ning toward him.
"Are you hurt?" asked the player.
"Why didn't you get out of the way?"
"An' why should I get out of the
way?" asked Malachi. didn't know
there were any assassins round here."
"But I called 'fore, " said, the player,
"and when I say 'fore' that is a sign
for you to get out of the way."
"Oh, it is, is it?" said Malachi.
"Well, thin, whin I say tfoive' it is a
sign that you are going to get hit on
the nose. Toive!' "
rizes for Bonny Babies.
esiTaik.).744
a•lereaseas
Th0 Nati nal , 7.34by Week 'Council' is
endeityaring' fo,,(1113 cover the EmPirelg
bonniest baby,. ,IDUring:Ipanerlal Tiaby
Weelt, to be held at the "'British' EM -
Pisa Exhibition, Wefable'se in k the .
,
LATEST NEWS IN
M11) -OCEAN
fourth weekeifi July, the National Baby.
Week Councll wilj announce the' re-
sult ot their ,ComPetition p,nd.present
to the Winner a prize of $1,000."
The competition is open to the child-
ren of British 1.torn subjects throughout
the Empire, and will be divided into
three c1'asses-3 inonths to 9 months
of age; 0 months to 2 years of age;
and 2 years te 5 years of age.
From the entries for each class, the'
six bonniest and healthiest competit-
ors will be selected; and each of these
will reuelve a prize of $190. The
healthiest and best baby in each of
.the three classes will be selected by
the Imperial Judging Committee and
Itis ' or her prize money made up to
$500. The prize money oS the cham-
pion baby of all will be made up to
$1,400.
In the cast of the winners of $ 500
and $1,000, half the sum will be paid
In cash to the parents or any other re-
sponsible guardian of the winning
competitor, and the other half will be
paid ia the form of seine approved in-
vestment. ,
The regulations governing this com-
petition can be obtained froln the Sec-
retary, National Baby Week Council
117, Piccadilly, London, W.I.
No Encyclopedia Needed.'
Book Salesmen—"In these volumes
y,on` haVe the whole sum of human
knowledge in convenient form."
Mr. Meek—"Thanks, it's nouse to
me."
Book Salesman — "But your wife,
perhaps--"
Mr. Meek—"Oh, she knows it all al-
ready!"
' The Terrible Pun.
Mr. Jenkins—"Edith, didn't I ask
you a week ago to oil those casters?
They creak something a-erful."
Edith—"I knew you did, but there
is not a drop of castor oil in the
house."
This odd-looking creation is a working model of the' first locomotive ever
built. It is a brain -child of the famous English inventor Murdock'. After
trials in 1734 the idea was abandoned as impracticable.
Generous Jim.
Jim, the town loafer, walked into
the dentist's office and asked to have
an aching tooth extracted. Knowing
the.man's reputation for not paying
his debts, the dentist was loath to do
the work, but he did not have the
heart to turn a sufferer away; so he
pulled the tooth. As the fellow put on
his hat and slouched toward the door
the dentist remarked:
"Jim, that will be one dollar."
.Tim reached into. his pocket and
said reluctantly. "Wal, there's eleven
cents; take it out of that"
The dentist lo9ked him straight in
the eye. "You knew very well I can't
take a dollar out of eleven eents!" he
said indignantly.
"Wal, th.en," drawled Jim as he
stepped out of the door. "take it all;
yer welcome to it."
=Ts
The Ancient Optimist.
"Tell ine, darling," said the first wo-
man, "am I the only girl you have ever
loved?" •
"Up to the present time, yes," re-
plied Adam, "but—ah!—I have hopes."
—"—
Theo bright -faced, happy,looking boys hay6c ame out to kaanada toIn their way to Canadian citizenship.
They were brouritt oat treat the Old. Cotmtry from one of the Foglia hemee and Will be gradually absorbed in
suitable employment. •
sgaiasd
4‘*
The Gold -Brick Swindle.
A very olcl swindle—the gold -brick
trick ---has been attempted on the
heirs of a wealthy London man who
died recently. ^
A few weeks ago the will was
proved. A letter was received by the
executors, addressed to the dead man,
which read as though it was part of a
long correspondence and contai.peda
reference to a third party, to whom
the supposed recipient of the letter
was said to have given financial aid.
But the third party was represented
to be ill, though full of gratitude to
his benefactor, to whom he ha.d given
an equal share in a newly -discovered,
yet apparently promising, gold mine.
The ,wealty man was asked to come
out himself or send a trustworthy re-
presentative to look after the property.
But the executors in this. case had
heard of the swindle and handed the
letter to Scotland Yard.
If the executors had swallowed the
bait a messenger sent to. the United
States to receive the bullion would
probably have received bars, or bricks
of what appeared'genuine gold—in re-
turn for a considerable money deposit.
But the body of the bricks is lead,
with gold fillings at pointe, where bor-,
ings have been made to show their
"genif in eness."
The eat' 4.b1aq1cIves! plough
ipg ifss*a.;y,- ttalT.Y"
seas when 'the'stillflitcflOVIcIted t the '
door of niy.eta,teroon and `entered with
.the early 0511) )of tea. Outside I -could
hear the n evys oY's ' silent ,"Morning
paper!, All the winners!".
• The .staward got me a oony, and a
I lay 'back and sipped nay tea I, read
! the ocean newspaper in -comfort.
,
et rtea,i.snoti,ie,whdieeNh,ejloiain.sho,n.ataeof tIllveiropol:San
newspaper possible, but long before
radio girdled the world efforts were
being made by the leading shipping
companies to prtjvide a daily new
paper for the passengers.
k
Collectin News Al ead
1 Some of the early experiments in
ocean. journalism were both interest -
Ling and amusing. One of the first
'ocean editors was Purser Lancaster,
of the Lasitania, who ran the "Cunard
. Bulletin," the pioneer of ocean dailies,
in the pre -wireless days, sveien news
was extremely scarce at sea, Ile al-
ways experienced the greatest diffi-
culty in filling the paper, and, in con-
sequence used to spend mucji of his
time when ashore between trips in
malting a collection of newspaper cut-
tings. These were to provide "COPY"
for the ship's "daily" during the vo3r.:
age! Even then the news supply
sometimes failed, and some of the
same cuttings ha,si to appear in suc-
cessive issues.
There was oue little* paragraph for
whicli the ocean editorseemed to have
a great partiality. It described a
bomb explosion in "Warsaw. This
paragraph found its way into the paper
so often that A,tlaatic travellers came
to look for it, and were even disap-
pointed when the bomb experts had
a day off.
• The Bomb Had Moved.
But once the parser was so busy
with other things that the task of
bringing out the paper had to be left
to a subordinate. When the paper ap-
peared it Was, found that one of the
principal items of news was an ac-
count of a borab explosion at Barce-
lona, Coming on. deck later, Mr. Lan-
caster was chaffed by a paSsenger.
I see you've got that bomb story in
Mr: Purser," he said.
"1 see it has been reported, that
there, has been a bomb explosion at
Barcelona.," he corrected. "I knovr
nothing of it, sir; my bombs always
explode. in Warsaw!'
Since then, with the aid of wireless,
the (mean daily has beeome a real
newspaper, containing all the import-
ant political, social, and sporting news
of the .day, and often running to as
many as thirty -to pages in a single
issue. a., . •
When Princess 11,1arY was married,
the. "Cunard Daily Bulletin,"—three
thonsand miles. 'away at sea—publish-
ed a special illustrated wedding' Sup-
plement, accompanied, by a full des-
cription of the ceremony at Westmin-
ster. The account Was received by
wireless, and the ship's compositors
-
were setting the story in tha ,compos-
ing -room on board before the cheering
outside the Abbey had died down.
"Full Results!"
Another smart bit of ocean journal-
ism was accomplished by the staff of
the "Western •Mali," a paper publish-
ed, on hoard the ships of the Pacific
Stearn Navigation company -- now
amalgamated with the ...Royal Mail
,Steam Packet gompany--sailing be.
4ween British and South American
'ports.
On the day on.e Grand National was
run the Pacific liner Orcoma was near-
ing Monte Video. On the other. side
of the South American continent—at
Valparaiso, a sea voyage of 10,000
miles from Liverpool—was the Orcluna
another ship of the„ same line. •
The result of the race was received
at Valparaiso by. cable. ,The„Wireless
man of the the Orduna, who had been
a newspaper reporter before he took
to the sea, immediately flashed the
news across, the 960 miles of space
separating the two ships. It arrived
just as the early edition of the "Wire-
less Mail" was going to press, and
duly appeared in the paper the follow-
ing morning.
The tlood Orange.
The Isle° d orange is obtained by
grafting sweet -orange on to the stem
of the portiegrana,te.
This blending or fruits gives the
peculiar tint 91 pomegranate juice to
the juice of the blood orange, and
some tastes are so sensiave as to de-
tect,the sarnewha.t astringent ,flavor of
the pomegraaate In the:mare luscious,
juice of the orange.
The juice of the paiattge, whether
the, ordinary variety 'or 'the "blood,'
consists ot citric and malic acids, with
fruit sugar, eltratesof llmee and water,
It, is antiseptic in its action, and we
have the statement' of thc diarist, John.
Evelyn, that "the ,orange sharpens ap-
petite, exceedingly refreshes, and re-
s1st8 'putrefaction." Hence it is a dek
eirable truit to include in one's diets
ary.
•
• Sold by His &Other.
An African native living in a ,little
villagesin Chislehurst, Kent, 'England,
can look back upon a life Whiok has
been more eventful than any romance
and phial is, reminiscent of the days
Of "Uncle Tonfs 'Cabin." ,
This man is Arab' Makeppe, and be
was reseued from slavery by the great
African explorer, Dr. Livingstone.
"I was sold by iny brother sixty or
soventy years ago to Portliguase slave
traders," Makeppo said, "and we be-
gan our journey to the coast. The
men were tied twci-by-twe to wooden
Collars, WhiCh they wore even in their
.sleep; the ,women chained at Wriets
and ankles; the ,girls sopped like
horseur ancl" the little, ones free."
Livingethee wad his:men routed the
stayers and the explorer chose Arab
M kep po as his bodyServian t. The ex -
Slave afterwards came to England, and
is new ampleyed as 1 gasetener to a
private family Maitoppo, to this day
refers to Liaingstone as "the CoVern-
,nkr
What Loudon Needs Most.
wa,s, one of rastadon'a gray and
foggy daYS, says the 1.'L.Itier, svhers one.
American t,reetod another in Picea,
clilly,
"Lir al' Landoit's got xto s kya ern pet&
yet," reniarkncl the flrSt,
"Pity too," answetred the'othes, gess,
ing heaveistvatede, "I never SeAr
s.dcy that need,ed scraping
11
11
•.,