The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-07-26

dnu laPpAhS "Aon uoA'Euo5
jumping into the trapeze alongside of his
playfellow, putting his arms round his
neck, and sitting there with his cap on
his head and pipe in his mouth, swing
ing backward and forward in amicable
enjoyment with the son of his doctor. y
Correspondence N. Y. Herald.
How Birds Improve in Nest.Bnilding.
You often will meet with the statement
in books about birds and birds'-nests, that
each species goes on, year after year and
generation after generation, building its
nest in precisely the way which has all
ways been followed by its ancestors. 1t
is said that birds build their nests entire
ly by instinct, and that no improvement
ever takes place, but that each bird se-
lects place for its nest, and gathers the
materials, and goes through the process
of building n exactly the way which has
been followed for thousands of genera
tions. 1t is also stated that young birds
know how to do all this without any in
struction, and make their first nest as
skilfully as those old birds which have
had experience, and have raised several
broods of young. These statements are
made so often by writers upon natural
history, that it would seem as if there
must be q good reason for them, and yet
not one Of them is true. Birds do not
always 20 on building their nests in SIM
liar places to those in which their ances-
tors built, but whenever better places are
offered them, they soon learn to take ad-
vantage of them neither do they stick
to the same material for one generation
after another, but whenever more suita-'
Bile material issplaced within their reach,
they often learn how to use it, so that
their. nests are much better than those
built by their ancestors; neither is it
true that they never improve the shape
of their nests, nor that the young birds
are as skilfnl architects as the old.
You all know thatonly afew 3hundred
years ago there was not 4 barn or Chin
ney within the United States, unless,
perhaps, those singular clif:dwelling
people in New Mexico and Arizona, of,
whom we know so little, had barns and
chimneys. At any rate, we know that
on the east side of the Mississippi, at the
time when the white men discovered and
settled the country, there we're no people
who knew anything of architecture.
The barn and chimney swallows were to
be found here then as they are to-day,
but of course they were compelled to
build their nests in hollow trees and
caves, or any other suitable places which
they were able to find. AS soon as white
men spread over the country and erected
buildings, these birds, which had never
before seen barn or chimney, soon
that these places are much
more warm and dry than rotten trees and
damp caves, as we'll as better protected
from storms i and'it, probably did not
take many years for the swallows to dis
cover that snakes and birds and beasts of
prey did not dare to approach such pla-
ces. These wise birds, then, improved
upon the habits 6f their ancestors, and
gave up their old savage life in the woods,
in order to share the benefits of civiliza-
tion. - rt--,-it. 49,
It seems as natural now for barn.
swallow to make its nest in barn, as for
a cat-bird to build in q bush or atree;
but it is plain that this has not always
been the case, and that these birds have
been wise enough to change their mode
of life.
Itis very certain that few hundred
years ago orioles could have known moth
ing about string or carpet-ravelings, and
must have confined themselves to such
striney fbres as can be found in natu-
raj state; and those orioles which build
their nests at q distance from houses,
still make use of grass, flax, the fbres of
silk-weed, and other things which they
are able to find; but of course much
stronger and, more-durable nest can be,
woven from stro. 8 thread and string!
and the birds have not been slow to dis
cover this and to act accordingly.
A few years ago Pouchet, French
naturalist, who was then engaged in writ.
ing book upon natural history, wished
to have an engraving made of the nest
of the common European house-martin.
The nests in his collection were nearly
fifty years old, and, thinking that the
artist would be able to make much bet
ter picture from new and perfect nest
than from an old one, he employed a
man to collect a number from the walls
of the houses in Paris.
Upon comparing these with the old
nests in his collection, Pouchet found
that there, had been.a,very great improve,
ment in the architecture of these birds
within the last fifty years. He says that
the old nests are globular, or forming
segment of a sphere with a very small
opening, just large enough to
allow the passage of the birds inhabiting
It; and the accounts Of all the ancient
writers agreesin describing this asrthe
form of the nest in theirday 8 The new
nest lis in. tho form of the quarter of
hollow semi-oval, this giving three flat
surfaces for attachment instead of one,,
and affording much more room on the
floor of the nest. The opening is no
longer a round hole, but q long trans
verse slit, between the upper edge of the
nest and the wall of the building to
which it is attached, thus allowing the
young to put their heads out and enjoy
the fresh air, without interfering with
the entrance and exit of the parents.
NJ. Pouchet says that, besides the advan-
tages of more room inside the nest, in
creased facilities for access and greater
it is also more secure from the
invasion of enemies, and better protected
from the entrance Of cold rain, and is
thus decided improvement upon the
old form.
Many of the naturalists who have.
studied the habits of birds with the
greatest care have satisfied themselves
that young birds are not as skilful as the
old. Nearly one hundred and fifty years
ago Leroy, q French naturalist who
spent his life in studying the habits of
the wild animals of Europe, published
book, which has lately been translated
into English, on the Intelligence and
Perfectibility of Animals In this book
he says that it, isrimpossible that a con-
sta;ltsarid attentive Observer should fail