The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1885-10-30

Isw.-Aslapslng special Means 90 Accom-
pis>h Particular Kinda
What tiny little bird the swallow Vs.
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BOOK on ln'e'nsenee . An'"ar
tells the following stories about swal-
lows. that prove that these little birds
can give ~ lessons In helpfulpess. rs
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l''ie creatures ma. "e so'l''.''''' a'"'e
in spirit oil selfish iun. or because We
think them too small 70 have any feel-
ing;
Numerous. indeed. ARE the cases in
which swallows show a sympathy for
the welfare Of Their race A nest. con-
tanning young. had been beaten down
by iong-cont sued rains. and the brood
was thus exposed 10 the pelting storm.
Some members Of the family mnablting
the no So threw cloth covering over
the ruined nest. and thus saved the
newly-nedgcd birds from perishing.
but now loud outcries arose from the
parents. and from other swallows which
instantly Hooked 10 the place When
the storm had passed the covering was
removed. and then an extraordinary
scene was witnessed. The old birds
fed the Young. and Immediately all the
assembled swallows set to work in rails
inc an archei earthwork over the nest
linrS. and thus etlectually projected the
yo.Inr family. What could 4 COLONY Of
human settlers have done more for .
neiyhbor whose house had been de-
strovede No theory Of mere instinct
will expla,n such 4 proceeding. The
emergency was sudden. the remedy
novel and the means eliectnal.
..>omeshiny like reason is seen in the
following case: An American wren
took possession Of 4 martins nest. from
which the invader could not be expelled.
| The martins. however. kept watch over
| the intruder. and no sooner did the
wren leave the nest in search for food
| than the martins re-entercd. aud i'm
mediateiy manned n scheme for keep
! inc out The foe. They made the en-
trence 20 much narrower. and SO
| blocked no the passage. that il would
| be imposs,ple for the wren to get in
| while th- owners kept Al home. The
| enemy soon returned. and at fir~f tried
/ force. but the strangth and arrange
\ ment Of the defenees bafilei her The
1 foe now established a siege. watching
4 near the entrance for two days. But
| the martins bravely held out IN spite Of
! hunger. and at last. the patience Of the
wren giving way. she left the sAillfHl
defenders Of the fortress IN peace
Here. again. we find birds adopting
special means TO accomplish q psrticu-
lar end.
MIR. Jesse mentions the following as
illustrating the intelligence Of the swal-
lows in adarting even the materials Of
their nests 10 special situations. pair
II these birds built against the wall Of
limekiln chimney. The heat was 50
great a. 70 make the nest crumble 70
pieces; second and even a third shar-
ing the same fate Some scheme q
making or collecting new kind OF
material, capable o. bearing the heat.
must then have been devised. for the
fourth nest stood. For two succeeding
years the nests were built in the same
place. and always endured the heat
Between the first unsuccessful and the
last improved works Of the little archi.
fects. some progress must have been
made IN the composition or working ur
OF che material for the nest These
swallows were inventors in some way,
As clearly as Wedgwood was in hil
pottery improvements
Another incident. mentioned BY ths
same gentleman, supports . similar con
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