Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-06-03
A NEW OCCUPATION.
To Domestieate Humming Birds as q
Boon to Plant Growth.

Inc Il. DolDedIt student at 1ldlk i+Hl-
versity, at Worcester, Mass, will Try
to domestieate these little birds, and
in so doing VIII bestow a boon on the
greenhouses; for IL domesticated the
birds will be set loose in greenhouses
to take care of the insects that infest
plants, and to aid in Characterization.
Miss Dolbear has already done some
important work with humming birds,
pat this summer her little captives-
the fun hundred if she is able To snare
that many-wil be watched in cages
big enough to include small trees and
many growing flowers. The university
has given Miss Dolbear space for her
experiments, and already flower seeds
have been planted in the cages so that
the birds may be studied under as nat
ural conditions as possible. 1t is of
greatest Importance, if the birds are to
be domesticated, that they breed in
captivity, and .iis especially Miss Dol
bear will work for this summer
! Previous to this time Miss Dolbear
has watched three birds in captivity
and studied their food and habits. She
gave them spiders and pomaee flies to
| eat raising the flies herself from de-
caying fruit, and discovered that tiny
| hiiu NtiSHiHS oiifS Iphl4 SitiHS Nphih
eat ten grams of honey a day. She
also discovered that the bird slept with
Tits long beak pointed in the air instead
of tucked under it's wing in the manner
| of most birds
All of her birds, she says, had a de-
| cided individuality and one daintily
| took its bath every morning from a
| giadiola blossom. Outdoors you will
/ f,,.J hot ~,
/ drops on the leaves" she said.
The manner in which Miss Dolbear
| entieed these three birds TO walk into
| her parlor sounds almost like a fairy
tale Noticing a bird flying about
among the flowers. she put bottle of
sweet water in the garden, with a mas
| turtium serving a stopper for the
| bottle. In a short time, the bird dis
| covered the sweet feast. and sunk its
| bill deep down in the blossom into the
/ bottle. Then Miss Dolbear began to
| gradually tear off the petals of the
blossom. until the day arrived when the
| bottle was left without its flower stop
| per- But the humming bird had learn
| ed by this time that sweetened water
| was in the bottle. and went unhesitat-
| ingly TO it for its drink. Then the bot
/ III Was I'll u a WiidoN 7iits anu
| the bird followed il there
| At last the bottle was brought inside
the room and the bird came in and be-
| came a captive The process is called
| tanning by the bottle habit
| In connection with this bottle habit
Miss Dolbear conducted a little expert
/ ment as much for her own pleasure as
| for any scientific value it might pos
| sess
| She put four bottles on the window
| sill. each with different kind of
sweetened water The bird tried them
all. decided he liked the honey water
| best. and on all subsequent trips pass
ed scornfully over the other bottles I'M
til he came TO his honey and water con-
| coction.
The tremendous strength of the
/ breast muscles III comparison with its
| size is one of the observations which
| Miss Dolbear made of her captive birds,
| this muscular strength being needed
| for the constant fluttering which the
| bird keeps up in order to maintain its
| balance when slipping honey from a
/ flower.
| This huttering. by the way. is kept
| up at such a speed that at present
/ lnelt Is Camera QUICK tHOuSH "
catch it. so humming bird pictures TAX
en- when the bird is poised over a flower
are invariably blurred and indistinct
/ The difficulties which Miss Dolbear
Will meet in catching her birds this
ksummer are many. They are so fragile
| that she dares not commission any one
to snare them for her. for fear the tiny
bird will be crushed by ciumsily man
| aged net.
| "And the birds are far too scarce"
| she says, for a single little life even
to be sacrificed"
The ruby-throated species is the only
kind east of the Mississippi, although
there are about 500 kinds on this con-
tinent. There are none at all in the 9TH
CT continent.
High winds, a sudden cold wave. or
| a sharp rainstorm is often fatal to the
little birds. and these things account
| somewhat for their rarity. But COM
| mercial purposes are also exterminat-
ing them, for in South America their
bright feathers are used for gay pic
| ture cards. and in Mexico they are be-
ing killed in order that their feathers
| may be sent to France for the manufae-
l ture OF dainty. wonderful shoes.
The birds begin to go north in the
| middle of May, and it is in that month
| that Miss Dolbear hopes to get the
| greatest number. Although the little
things are frail. they often fly as far
| north as Labrador.
In spite of the fact that Miss Dolbear
/ has been advised that 1t Will be practi-
| cally impossible to produce any new
| species of permanence she is determin-
| ed to try this thing at least, for she
| reasons that if there are 500 species 1t
| ought to be possible to so breed them
| that new species will be forthcoming,
| II know hybrids are not fertile, she
| says, "but / have visions of reproduce
| ing AT least one more beautiful spe-
i cies"
This work with humming birds is not
| Miss Dolbears first experience with
| birds, for since she was a little girl
| she has been petting and watching all
| the members of the feathered creation
| that she can find. Her father. the late
| Adolph e. Dolbear of Tufts College, a