pirao ( pronounced /^--rc?/^). Brazilians 

 are very fond of the dry farina and 

 throw it into the mouth by a movement 

 so dexterous that it does not powder 

 the face. 



This is the bread of Brazil. Though 

 wheat bread is sold in the bakeshops 

 of the cities, it is not used to any great 

 extent in the rural regions. 



Theie is another species of mandioca 

 called aipin (pronounced ipce7i),\v\\\c\\, 

 cannot be converted into farinha. It 

 matures in eight months and has no 

 poisonous qualities. It is a staple 

 article for the table, being baked like a 

 potato, and its taste resembles that of 

 a roasted chestnut. 



TRAVELING BIRDS. 



Cleaving- the clouds with their moon-edg-ed pinions, 



Hig-h over city and vineyard and mart; 

 April to pilot them; May speeding- after; 



And each bird's compass his small red heart. — Edwin Arnold. 



RIVER valleys, coast lines, and 

 mountain chains are the ways 

 followed by the migrating birds; 

 and frequent observations have 

 determined the fact that birds travel 

 at great heights, many as much as a 

 mile from the earth. This may be one 

 of the reasons why the tiny creatures 

 have such keen sight; for from this dis- 

 tance they can obtain a far-reaching 

 view of the surrounding country and 

 ■distinguish landmarks readily. 



If the weather is stormy or foggy, 

 then the birds are obliged to fly much 

 lower; and, too, it is then that the lights 

 along the coast attract them and such 

 countless numbers perish by being 

 beaten against the lighthouses, many 

 more birds being killed in the fall 

 season of migration than in the spring, 

 when the weather is less stormy. 



They fly in vast numbers,, and often 

 on still nights they can be heard call- 

 ing to each other. A good idea of 

 their number can be obtained by the 

 use of a telescope, which, if focused 

 on the moon, will often show the birds 

 on a brilliant background so that they 

 can readily be discerned. The motion 

 of their wings can easily be seen in this 

 way, and the immense numbers of them 

 better realized. 



A good way to form an idea of the 

 distance covered each year by the birds 

 as they migrate is to take a single 

 bird and note its journey. The bobo- 

 link makes his winter start in August, 

 rests awhile in the marshlands and then 

 visits the rice belt of the Southern 

 states, doing damage directly and in- 



directly each year to an amount cover- 

 ing several millions of dollars. Then 

 he flies over Cuba, and there his 

 name is cJiambergo. Next he lingers 

 along the coast of Yucatan, then goes 

 on south through Central America and 

 the island of Jamaica, in which place 

 they call him "butter-bird," on account 

 of his great plumpness, the result of 

 the rice-feeding, no doubt; and from 

 this place he makes one continuous 

 long journey for over four hundred 

 miles to Brazil, where he spends the 

 winter. Here he stays until early 

 spring, and then, if no accident has 

 come to him, he will again' brighten 

 our months of blossoms by his chipper 

 presence and his delightful song. 



One of the most curious things ob- 

 served in the fall migration of birds is 

 in this same bobolink. By some man- 

 ner of means many of these birds have 

 gone west, some as far as Utah, to 

 spend their summers, and when the 

 winter is coming they, too, take their 

 flight south, but not by the direct way 

 through Mexico, and then to Central 

 America, as would seem most natural, 

 but following their hereditary instincts 

 they come back to the Atlantic coast 

 and journey down it, along the whole 

 way to Florida, then across to Cuba, 

 and on with those from New Jersey 

 and New England until the winter 

 resting-place is reached. This bird 

 gives a most conclusive and interesting 

 illustration of the permanency of bird 

 routes and the " hereditary habit " of 

 the winged flocks. — Bafigor Commercial. 



73 



