THE MUSEUM. 



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•great difficulty, diagonaly; and not at 

 all, in a line paralel with its flat sur- 

 face. 



In nine cases out of ten, these bould- 

 ers will be found lying upon one of 

 their flat sides with its long diameter 

 in a nearly north and south line, and 

 the south end of the stone slightly ele- 

 vated. I have e.xamined more than 

 two thousand boulders of this class 

 and know of but one instance where 

 the north end is elevated, and but four 

 or five where the long diameter extend- 

 ed m any other direction than that just 

 described. Sometimes these boulders 

 will be found in an upright position, 

 resting upon a thin edge which is im- 

 bedded 111 the earth. In such cases 

 the 11. it surfaces are almost invariably 

 towards the east and west, respective 

 ly. I know of but two exceptions to 

 this rule. 



Now, if we accept the theory, th tt, 

 at one time the continent was covered 

 with a vast sheet of ice, the formation 

 of which had broken these stones from 

 their original resting places; and that 

 they had become firmly frozen into the 

 solid mass; and that the continent 

 then sank below the level of the ocean, 

 the waters of which penetrated be- 

 neath the ice, raising it, and bearing 

 it towards the south; and that the 

 warmer water gradually softened the 

 under side of the ice, until the stones 

 were released and dropped to. the 

 ground, then the similarity of position 

 is readily explained. In fact it forms a 

 substantial corroboration to that 

 theory, for a little reasoning will show 

 that the position in which the stones 

 are generally found is the one in which 

 they would most naturally fall when 

 loosened and dropped. 



But there is another feature, which. 



though in no way disputing the theory, 

 is not so easily explained. In a large 

 proportion — probably one-third — of 

 all the instances, the stones are found 

 in nests of three, five, seven, or nine, 

 and sometimes more. An even num- 

 ber of stones, is seldom, if ever found. 

 The stones are always lying with their 

 flat surface together, with a thin layer 

 of "rotten stone" between, and the 

 central stone is always much the larg- 

 est, while they decrease regularly and 

 rapidly both above and below. 



This disposition of the stones pre- 

 sents two interesting problems, which, 

 at present, I make no attempt to solve. 

 The first is, why do the nests always 

 contain an odd number of stones.' 

 The second is, why are they always in 

 the same relative positions as to size.' 

 I shall be glad to receive, through the 

 c 'lumns of the Museum, any hint as 

 to their solution. 



C. O. Ormsbee, 

 Montpelier, Vt. 



''Do Birds Reason?" 



Under the above caption in your 

 November number Mr. E.Kroy of Kitt- 

 son Co., Minn., gives a very interest- 

 ing article, which would seem to prove 

 that birds do reason, at least so far as 

 to the protection of their nests and 

 young, and in other respects they seem 

 to be void of reason I have similar 

 experiences as Mr. Kroy with the Spar- 

 rows and Wrens. A few years ago we 

 had Bluebirds, Wrens and Swallows 

 breeding in the yard, the Bluebirds 

 and Swallows have disappeared while 

 the Wrens hold their ground with the 

 English Sparrows but I imagine it is 

 on account of the boxes I put up for 

 the Wrens — I now make the entrance 



