Morning journal and courier., 1893-02-18

which regarded the plantation trees. shrubs and hedges theirs as surely as their human owners.
 Among these were the following: The solviros, which live by sucking honey from the flowers. They have brilliant green jackets with yellow vests. As large as our robin, they live in gourd- to the under side of large tropio leaves. The male is ruminative; but its mate is full of joyous song. The mayitos are as large as our southern mocking- bird, and in form and action resemble them. Their backs are blue black; and they have eor- geous yellow breasts and a yellow clash ing along each wing. Their songs are precisely like those of the canary, but bolder and stronger.
 The negritos are here called the black canary birds. Their wings have 6 few dainty white feathers and their singing Is marvellous. The savsneros are delight. ful inhabitants of the shorter Cuban grasses, and have the form of our thrush. with dark puce-brown feathers, delicate ly mottled. clinging close to the frame; and their cheery chatter Is endless. 9th CT frequenters of the ground and grasses about plantation houses are the tstises and the chinchinguacos.
 They are alike black, and in their re- semblsnce to the American blsck-bird in form and movement. Both are melodi- ous but noisy. They flock in great mum bsrs and cry "K-ee .ing,-kI- ee. .ing-kl- ee-ing!-kl ee-ingl" with rythmic modu- lstions of silver bells. First the totises sound their triple notes, with rising scale, as if questioning. Then from hundreds ot hidden places answer Is made in de- scending scale by the chinchinguacos The notes are almost identical; simply re- versed. A singular fact is that when the former sing their tails spread laterally, and the latter perpeDdicularly. ThoC- sands at one time will flock about these home spots, ringing these bird-yoice chimes until the din is often startling.
 The csbreros are between the mocking- bird and canary In size, and are very beau tiful. They are mottled black, yellow and red in color. One Of their interesting characteristics Is to eat so freely as to barely enable them to remain upon branch of shrub, when they twitter and sing with wondrous and plsintiye sweetness Two dainty species are the tomegrines del pinar and the piorerss. Both are much smaller than the smallest canary, and but a trifie larger than the humming bird. For Its size the former has the most striking plu- mage Of all Cuban birds. With Robin Hood jacket of brightest green, its breast Is set with 8 silver crescent, while glesm- ing black, plume-liks comb surmounts its tiny head. Its notes are similar to those of the American robin, but with more of the piccolo in them than the flute.
 The piorers Is smaller with black and white back, @ white breast and red neck He is an incessant singer, with a pretty variety of drilled notes, But the zorales are the buffoous of these plantation chor- isters. They are the sizs of our wrens, of ash color, mottled with black and yellow, with yellow bills and feet. Their impish activity Is astounding. Differing from the crow, msgpie and mocking bird, they pos sess many of the qualities of each; though their gibes, taunts and tessings seem di- rected against other birds rather than hu- mans. Their initiative powers are marvel ous. They will mock the notes of all song birds to nicety of tone and meditation. and their range of mimicry reaches to fair imitation of the whinneyiDg of horse; while their ssucy pranks are supported by more than brsvsdo: for while each is s confirmed bsrrator in bird strife, the rss- calls are without exception undsunted fighters.
 A curious incident of a great industry having almost its origin, and certainly deriving it. necessary physical support, from 0 children's game, came to my mo- tice recently in Labrador. This game Is called copy" It i. similar under its peculiar conditions to that of your own children when they boisterously follow your leader"
 It Is indeed wild and dangerous pas time. but Is heartily encouraged by pa rents ss being the basis of sll success in seal hunting Wien the ice begins break ing up in March all Labrador and New foundlsnd children hall the arrival of their annual plsv spell with ioyous de- light. Copying consists In lesping from oLe floating el%b, or pan, of ice to another The most daring of leaders are selected, and the sport Is followed with ice remains. Its utility lies in Its educa- tive power. The very expertness and bravery thus engendered are the supreme requisites in youths and men ss seal hunt CTS.
 In the middle of the narrow strsits of Belle I-la, bstween. Newfoundland and Labrador, stands weird. desolste Belle Isle itself, the frs. land sighted on the grew some coast Th"re is lighthouse on Its southern headlspd, but no other sign of human habitation. The isisnd is simply tremendous monolith Of stone nine miles long and three broad, rising pTecipitously from the sea at the outer entrance of the strait. with not an iota of verdure upon its iron like sides snd top. l once sailed close enough to Belle Isle in a little schoon- CT to supply it's hardy keeper with & few newspapers and some comforting Ameri- can tobacco, which prompted this remi- niseeace from the skipper of our craft.
 "Yes," he said Tuminstively, "only once year any government vessel lsnds there; and the storms are so terrible that every time We sailors pass we dread to look up there, fearing the Eght'us I'll be blown away. How hard does the wind blowl Well. can't rightly give ye the v1ocity, bu. I can furnish facts. Twenty years ago-'n' we'll remember nina keeper named Vaughn had charge of the light. He got soEt O hsnkerin' srter green things. Awful foolieh; but tSus hard to git any body to s:ay there at all, so they lowed his scheme for gsrdiug. They took hull bost-losds of soil up there m made him gardlpg n acre big. Nothin' would grow on it, but he liked to dig in it probly. One evenin' wbirlin' sort or storm riz, 'n' sorter kept risin' all night. When Vaughn poksd his head out in the mornin' he couldn't Zee the garding nowhere. He didn't know at fust but he was lestle confused hisself, an climbed back an took hfo hoaripic. hrt Shari rraa mn erar1iup nO-