THE MUSEUM. 



27 



horny shield on the forehead and a 

 point like a needle. 



The nests ot the Pendulas are woven 

 entirely of long tough grass and often 

 are six or eight feet in length, and are 

 so strong and closely made that, al- 

 though they sway with the slightest 

 breeze, yet even in the hurricanes they 

 are seldom blown down or the eggs 

 broken. The lower part of the nest is 

 a large pouch which tapers to a point 

 and is fastened to the tip of a branch 

 by a single strand. The opening is 

 about half-way up the side and so cun- 

 ningly designed that it is very difficult 

 to discover being merely a small slit 

 held tightly closed by the weight of the 

 lower part of the nest. In the tropics 

 the greatest enemies of the birds' eggs 

 are the monkeys, and it is to foil these 

 mischevious pests that the Pendulas 

 build such curious nests and select 

 such open situations in which to put 

 them, for doubtless the yellow-tails 

 have learned by experience that the 

 monkeys rarely venture out of the pro- 

 tection of the forests 



You have all read of the ' 'tailor bird, " 

 who builds his home within leaves sewn 

 together by the aid of his bill for a 

 needle and a tough root for a thread. 

 But this feathered tailor is not unique 

 in his manner of nesting, for in the 

 same country with the "yellow-tails" 

 and motmotsis found a little black and 

 orange oriole, who uses the needle giv- 

 en him by Nature with even greater 

 skill than the better known tailor bird. 

 This fellow selects for a home a new 

 and large banana leaf, the two droop- 

 ing sides of which he sews together 

 with grass. Not only are the stitches 

 so fine as to be hardly noticeable, but 

 the little sewer even takes the precau- 

 tion to run the stitches with the grain 

 of the leaf and close beside one of the 

 narrow veins. Inside of the green and 

 living pocket thus formed, the nest of 

 soft hair and grass is built, and the 

 mother rears her young in safety, with 

 never an outward sign of the hidden 

 treasures within. 



Football. 



There is much in December Outing 

 which appeals to college men and all 

 who are interested in amateur sport. 

 There are ten pages of football matter 

 alone, comprising dates, scores, and a 

 concise description of all the important 

 games played in the East, Middle West, 

 and South, finely illustrated. It is just 

 this record matter which makes Out- 

 ing invaluable. It is in the handiest 

 form for reference, and is to be found 

 nowhere else. 



Librarian of Congress Writes on 

 Library Work. 



Herbert Putnam, librarian of the Con- 

 gressional Library at Washington, D.C., 

 has written an article for publication in 

 The Ladies Home Journal on "What it 

 Means to be a Librarian." This voca- 

 tion and its requirements are probably 

 less understood than those of almost all 

 other callings demanding special train- 

 ing, and Mr. Putnam's article will be 

 helpful in pointing out the entrance to a 

 constantly widening field of employ- 

 ment. Mr. Putnam, previous to his ac- 

 cepting his present position, was libra- 

 rian of the Boston Public Library, and 

 is regarded as the head of his profession; 

 consequently, his article will have the 

 especial value of being authoritative and 

 practical. 



The Rajah's Diamonds. 



In an article on the "The Romance of 

 Lockmaking,"in Cassell's Magazine for 

 December, Mr. Randall Roberts tells a 

 good story of the ingenious device by 

 which the disappearance of an Indian 

 potentate's diamonds was brought to an 

 end. "His Highness applied to Messrs, 

 Chubb to help him out of his difficulty. 

 It should be mentioned that only seven 

 of his servants had. access to the box 

 which contained the jewels, and appar- 

 ently it ought to have been an easy mat- 

 ter enough to discover the culprits; but 

 the thefts were so well organized that 

 all ordinary methods of detection failed, 

 and whether the rajah dismissed his ret- 

 inue or put them to death on suspicion, 

 the thefts continued with unvarying 

 regularity. 



