Vertebrata. Zoohfficctl Cdkctions. ;2S9 



always remove them from the nest ; and, in the present «?ase, the remaining 

 eggs are soon removed, and may sometimes be seen strewn about in the 

 vicinity of the nest. In the case of the cuckoo, matters are differently managed; 

 for the young bird of that species very ungratefully jostles out of the nest 

 all his foster brothers and sisters, that he may have room enough for himself. 

 If we are fond of admiring the wisdom of nature, we ought to mingle reason 

 with our admiration ; and here we might be tempted to suspect her not ^ 

 wise as we had imagined ; for why should the poor yellow-throat have been 

 put to the trouble of laying all these eggs, if they are, after all, to produce 

 nothing ? This is a mystery to me ; nevertheless, my belief in the wisdotfi 

 of nature is not staggered by it. 



As the young cow bird grows up, its foster parents provide for it with 

 great assiduity, and manifest all the concern and uneasiness at the intrusiob 

 of a stranger, that they would do were their own offspring under their charge. 

 When fully fledged, the young bird is of a sooty brown colour. Long after 

 it has left the nest, it continues to be fed by its affectionate guardians^ unul 

 it is at length able to provide for itself. 



[Though not zoological, the following extracts are characteristic.] 



Description of a Cane-brake. ■^— The cane formerly grew spontaneous^ 

 over the greater portions of the State of Kentucky and other western dis- 

 tricts of our Union, as well as in many farther south. Now, howeveP, 

 cultivation, the introduction of cattle and horses, and other circumstances 

 connected with the progress of civilization, have greatly altered the face of 

 the country, and reduced the cane within comparatively small limits. It 

 attains a height of from twelve to thirty feet, and a diameter of from one to 

 two, and grows in great patches resembling osier-holts, in which occur plants 

 of all sizes. The plants frequently grow so close together*, and in course of 

 time become so tangled, as to present an almost impenetrable thicket. A 

 portion of ground thus covered with canes is called a Cane-brake. 



If you picture to yourself one of these cane-brakes growing beneath tl^e 

 gigantic trees that form our western forests, interspersed with vines of many- 

 species, and numberless plants of every description, you may conceive hovT 

 difficult it is for one to make his way through it, especially after a heavy 

 shower of rain or a fall of sleet, when the traveller, in forcing his way- 

 through, shakes down upon himself such quantities of water, as soon reduce 

 him to a state of the utmost discomfort. The hunters often cut little patha 

 through the thickets with their knives, but the usual mode of passing through 

 them is by pushing oneself backward, and wedging a way between the 

 Stems. To follow a bear or a cougar pursued by dogs through these brakeS) 

 is a task, the accomplishment of which may be imagined ; but of the diffi- 

 culties and dangers accompanying which, I cannot easily give an adequate 

 representation. 



The canes generally grow on the richest soil, and are particularly plentiful 

 along the margins of the great western rivers. Many of our new settlers 

 are fond of forming farms in their immediate vicinity, as the plant is much 

 relished by all kinds of cattle and horses, which feed upon it at all seasons, 

 and again because these brakes are plentifully stocked with game of various 

 kinds. It sometimes happens that the farmer clears a portion of the brake. 

 This is done by cutting the stems, which are fistular and knotted, like those 

 of other grasses, with a large knife or cutlass. They are after%vards placed 

 in heaps, and, when partially dried, set fire to. The moisture contained 

 between the joints is converted into steam, which causes the cane to burst 

 with a smart report, and when a whole mass is crackling, the sounds resemble 

 discharges of musketry. Indeed I have been told that travellers floating 

 down the rivers, and unacquainted with these circumstances, have been; 

 induced to pull their oars with redoubled vigour, apprehending the attack o£ 

 a host of savages, ready to scalp every one of the party* . i' 



