Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1865-10-03

fore, you 6nd clow citizens, or hedglings, or eggs
or the grave parents Of the state, discussing or
msditatlng upon It's common interests. Nothing
can be more curious than secion of such bird
mound, with It's various cells and compartments
laid open to the view.
From this cycopean style of architecture, the !
distance is prodgous to the house Of the tailor
bird, which selecLs for ls habilation the inside Of
leaf, qnd with its bill and claws, sews It's house
To it. 1t takes iilament # fine grass, and steady
iug the leaf with one Of its feet, uses its bill for
needle, OF rather for bofer; then having made |
little hole it introduces the grassy fament into |
the edge Of The leaf and afterwards doing as much I
for the ether edge weaves between both a sort Of
herrng-bone netting, strong enough to support
| It's nest. Within this net it immed aiely begins
building until il has wrought small soft purse,
sufficiently capacious TO contain The female and
her eggs. The babson being completed, she /
enters tail foremost, leaving her liue head and
bill visible ut The top OF the purse situated direct
y under the leafs stem, aud forthwith commences
! her maternal duties. Now begins tie business OF
the male, which flies backwards and forwards IN
search OF such delicaces as bis lady loTesj and
having been successful, approaches the leaf and
with true marital tenderness, puts them gently
into the female mouth. lie then seats himself
upon branch overhead, and watching bis help
mate es she swings 10 and fro in her airy couch
tWt,ers or sings lncessanty to keep up her spirits.
Among us the most accomplished brd.arcbl'
tect Is the wren, which IN compliment to his
building powers, is by our neighbors called The
roii,iet, or ittIe king and certainly no king has
a more comfortable dwelling. The most flexible
grass roots, the finest grass the solles moss, the
most delicate down from It's own breast, constitute
The ma erias Of this beautiful structure, which
forms perfect sphere of dark emerald green.
This ed6ce has two doors, one az which the little
king or queen enters the other through which It
smerges when it desires to stretch ls wings or
plume its feathers. When at home, the point Ct
the bill and the tip Of the tail are visible at the
opposite entrances, while the yauited roof protects
it from raindrops, and assists IN concentrating the
heat by which the regal fedglings are hsicbed.
The builder Of St. pau's, when projecting hrs
magnificent dome, may have taken hInt from
his ancestors, the wrens. But unwilling % ancu-
mulate all her gilts on Que Of Der children nature
has left the roatid quite without tue power oi
charming Madame Wren by bis voice, q fact to
which Shakespeare alludes when he says
The nightingale q she should sing BY day,
| when every goose is cack as would be bought
SO better musician than the vre1
But this uumusca character does not belong 10
all the varieties OF the wren, since there is one
kind which may be regarded asa songster With
respect to external appearance, there are few
northern birds more favored thsn the golden
crested wren, the feathers q whose crest, as they
glance and culver, aok ike sprays Of Furnished
gold 10 toe suut cams. The war recently declared
against these little people is as absurd as j. is
cruel. Supposed TO be the gardener enemies,
they have been hunted down without pity or re-
morse whereas, instead Of destroying the fruit,
they only eat the insects which 90 really destroy
liz, ard should therefore be esteemed as lue
winged scavengers, who clear away from gardens
very much tha, is pernici5us. Il we understood
our own interest, we should look upon our d.
. minutye ally, not exceeding two drhchms 10
weight, mucn as the TURKS 90 upon the stork,
when they reverence for its hlial piety. Il con-
tempt can dwell within breasts so small the wren
e must surely fes II for the stone curlew which
IS TOO ignorant or too lazy 10 build q nest 81 ell
6. avs is eggs on the bare ground, where they are
0 crushed by Hodges loot, or by the piow.
l. The country people n France ove the song Of
!, the wren, which is most agreeable in The month
'I OF MAY, that being the breeding season. 10
e many French provinces, The rustcs IN ertsln so
+ great respect for the rOieid, that they not only
!, abstan from injuripg it, but will not SO much as
l. touch It's nest, built sometimes against tie sides
j. of their houses or stables, though generally q
l. thick bush or fuifoliaged treeis preferred Like
i nearly oil other birds, the wren takes fancy to
q some particular locality, where it will construct
x It's ha6aton 10 spite OF dangers and difficulties.
s It's eggs, from ten TO twelve in number, are about
s the sze Of peas, and when they ere hached il
e becomes so fierce and pugnscous, that il will at
|. tack large birds, and put them TO flight by the
q punctures Of lis sharp bll. II is the sm,lIes oil
IL European birds, and holds, therefore with US The
le plsee vh ch the humming- bird occupies IN Asia
D. and America. This diminuliye creature, which
s. as ingenious as Il is bfectonate, forms its tiny
mes, with cotton or fine eky hlamenIs which II
e twines and arranges so as 10 sfird the soiiesl
D. conceivable couch for its eggs which never exceed
~ two in number aud ressmble small white beads
10 dotted with brigh, yellow, The young when
Is they srst emerge from the shell, are little larger
than dies, ana perfectly naked, though fine down
u soon appears Upon the skin, which gradually rper
"a into feathers so brilliant and dazz ing in color as
s. not to be exceeded by the rlrsst gems. or even
sr by The tints Of the rainbow. So great, in iact il
nc the beauty of these birds, that the ladies Of the
D. countries in which they abound suspend them To-
le stead Of diamonds as drops 10 their earrings.
" Tiny as the humming.bird is, neither th'
IN eagle nor the condor exceeds it 10 love for IL
re- Young. A French missionary, during his resi-
~ denos in Surinam, took a hummirg-btd's nest il
ss' which the young we're JUS, hatched, and PLACED
nj on the sill OF an open window in a cage. Th
ne parents, as he conectured, followed their young
and brought them food, the male and female b
OF turns, which they introduced between the bars c
no the cage. At leng,h, finding that no atemp, wa
e( ,,d. - harm them, they Grew fond of the placf
ne and perchng upon the top Of the cage, or dyin
y" about the room, rewarded the worthy priest o
u their music for the delicate fave he soon learne
We TO provide for them. This was sort OF sol
lVs paste made Of biscuit, Spanish wine, and sugar
VI and nearly transparent Over this they pAsse
sfs their .oug tongues, snd when they had satshe
ne their hunger either fell asleep or burst forth int
4e' song. Familiarity If it did not in their cas-
~ breed cont mpt, al least bsnlshed all appreher
I'M sion, for they aighted on the priests head, G
eT psrched ON his inger where their long, rainbow
on ike tail. aoated like little ribbons in the ali
e'' But all earthly pleasures have an end RAJ at
te up the hummiog- birds, nest and all, and left Ii
re- moor missionary to seek for new companions.
ms Down among the coral.reefs in the Southei
'nu Pacific YOU meet with other bird structures whlc
'he u their way deserve equal attention. Here u
'nu sea eagles build their nests, alwals, II posslbl
'us, in the came set aud, ii their be such eonye
ese ience. on the sams tree. On small Wild Hat
oi the ocean, too confined to allure inhabitants, az
's' apparen,ly too arid for vegetation, there gre
ilth nevertheless one tree, on which pair OF hshIn
'1e sacles erected their dwelling. There these or
lou' Of the waves, contemplating their vast emplr
na' sat slot IN their eyrie male aud female, looSli
'me AZ their eggs, aud dreaming OF the future. y