Evening star., 1902-01-25
The Birthplace Of the Beautiful
Water Lilies.
A STUDY OF NEST BUILDING
Some Wonderful Weaving in
Their Construction.
USE OF THE MICROSCOPE

Written for The Evening Star.
In the swamp which 1 often visit, are |
numbers of the tall, nodding leaves OF the |
nelumbo, the cousin of the beautiful Egvp- |
tian lotus Large handsome shields are
they, borne by heavy stem placed under |
the center. One summer day as wadeo
through the swamp plucking the sulphur
colored blossoms which showed above the
level of the leaves wondered how TINS
plant of tender pulp could push Its way
up through the heavy mud under the
water.
The following spring 1 watched and as
soon as the plants began to appear on the
surface of the water the mystery was
solved. The leaf was so tightly rolled and
turned that it became sharp point TO
the heavy tough stem and l know thar
instead of retarding the passage through
the mud it really helped 1t. One OF the IL
lustrations shows the rolled leaf as II nrsl
appeared above water. In another Is
shown the manner of turning on the stem
as the leaf finds itself clear OF the water.
When it begins to unroll, the growth Is
very rapid and it is soon quite large lear
ready to catch the direct rays OF the sum
mer sun.
l. After all this satisfactory observation OF
the wonderful adaptation of the leaf to
help itself through the mud, l could no.
understand how, though tightly rolleo 1.
strain. I examined quite NUMBER Oh
rolled leaves and some of those wide OPEN
Then the secret was easily explained. Inc
ribs of the leaf radiate from the center
where the stem joins and are slightly waVy.
l found one Of these ribs straight ana
heavier than the others, which in the rolled
leaf was the seeming continuation OF the
main stem as it comes to the surface, ana
gave it strength to do the work of push
| ing through the mud. Any one can see this
| for himself by growing some of these huge
| lilies in tub or pond. They are very
| hardy.
More About Birds Nests.
| Nest building. is an extremely interesting
study in bird life, as the student contfn-
ually finds something new to ponder over.
| The material used for this home making
for the young is governed largely by the
! location. When nest is placed in the
| heavy part of a tree, either saddled on
| large limb or in main crotch, twiSs or
| sticks are used. In such places there is
| little danger of the nests being shaken
| violently, so it is made very shallow. These
| nests often mere platforms of sticks SO
roughly put together that you may see the
| sky through the interstices. The green
! heron, commonly called the hy-up-t the
| creek" constructs such nest, and the
mourning dove the same when building in
| a tree.
When the bright little English sparrow
| makes a nest in a hole in building or in
! sheltered place, she merely piles the ma
terial together in rough manner, taking
| no care other than to make comfortable
| bed of chicken feathers for her fragile
| eggs. When she can find no spot protected
| from the storm she selects her material
| with more care and takes pains to make
| dense, firm structure.
| The swallows use mud for building their
nests and place them under caves in
side barns or outbuildings, where there is
no danger of rains running them Birds,
such as the ''pewee fiycatcher," that glue
10 tO nf a
| a wooden projection, take care to place
them the elements will not cause them
| to fall.
Birds whose nests hang on long, flexible
twigs amid waving cattals or sedges
use long, fbrous material. The nest is
woven with great care. The Baltimore
orioles long, pendulous nest is an exqui-
site bit of weaving. His cousin, the red
winged blackbird, binds several blades and
stems of the cattails into the circumference
of it's firm nest. The weaving is so thor
finds the falling blades still held firmly to-
gether.
Birds Flying Machinery.
Since mans ingenuity has made air-ship
building not only a possibility, but prob
ability, with marked achievements promised
in the very near future, more has been
thought of and learned about the fight
feathers of birds than ever before. Man
has finally come to see that the close and
interesting study of the inhabitants of the
atmospheric kingdom is essential to prog
ress in this new mode Of navigation. How
birds fly has always been a subject the
| naturalist has loved to discuss, but the
recent bent of mans inventive mind has
brought it nearer to earth. so to speak,
than all the text books ever published. Its
interest is therefore, greatly enhanced;
hence, to some description will go.
The long quill feathers of a birds wing
show the greatest resistance possible with
extreme lightneSs. The whole FRAMEWORK X
of the main quill is light and strong, a
hollow, horny tube that is elastic. But
really the most wonderful parts of the
feather are the small hair-like veins which
start from each side of the quill and form
the part which gives the bird the power
of flight. Viewed by the naked eye, they
appear almost like threads, but under the
microscope the real formation is seen. Each
is in itself miniature feather and its
small veins overlap very much as the flight
feathers of the wing pile gracefully upon
each other.
This overlapping. can be by taking
a birds wing and spreading it wide. The
longer veins of each quill feather over the
shorter ones of the next quill give it tre
mendouS resistance In comparison to its
, weight In just this same way are the
veins small barbs made to overlap, the
longer ones crossing the shorter ones tt
, give great strength.
, Every lady who has rumped quill II
her hat has experienced much difficulty il
? trying to give it it's normal position. NJ
: matter how carefully it is pulled anC
worked, 1t is impossible to bring it to JUS
: the same smoothness again. This is caused
{ by the perfect overlapping Of these small
| barbs, which again bear small hooks II
! | hold them firmly in place, making tn,
: whole feather a perfect web.
= These everyday things which a cheal
microscope reveals make the possession O
t one a great help and inspiration to tn,
, child, who soon learns to bring thing
! | which it's elders take for granted to a tes
by magnifying. Thus they learn for them
selves Books are good things for the stu
; | dent of nature to have, but microscop
) teaches the lessons first hand. and sucl
| lessons are always remembered, Will
: those from books are often lost.
Tendencies I'm Zoology.
| From the Popular Science Monthly.