206 NATURE STUDY. 



of the nest or is it done entirely from the outside ? Birds 

 employ both attitudes. Consider the material of which the 

 nest is made, and note the order and manner of arranging 

 the material. Make out a list of the material, as sticks, 

 grass, leaves, hair, feathers, soil, wool, down, stems, etc. 

 Consider the sources and localities from which the bird has 

 obtained it, for the purpose of showing how the environ- 

 ment is represented and appropriated in the kind of mate- 

 rial selected. Consider carefully its appropriateness as 

 nest-building material. Wh}^ use this kind of material ? 

 How is the fibrous material placed in the structure of the 

 nest ? Are the alternate strips in opposite directions ? Is 

 the nest simply lodged between the branches, or is the ma- 

 terial, in part, bound around them to secure it ? Is it built 

 in the crotch of an upright branch, or is it supported by 

 suspension from twigs attached to the sides of the nest ? 

 The following different manners of attaching nests have 

 been observed : i. Supported in crotches of erect branches ; 

 2, Supported by suspension from twigs attached to side of 

 nest; 3, Supported in a fork of a horizontal limb; 4, At- 

 tached b}^ the rim in the manner of a hammock. Mention 

 other waj^s of attaching nests. Has the bird used any 

 material of a kind designed to cement the parts together, 

 or to solidify the nest ? Give examples. 



3. Comparison. — The wise teacher will not attempt to 

 work with objects of this class without providing abun- 

 dance of material for comparison. This is to consist of a 

 variety of nests, and their data systematicall}^ and conven- 

 iently displayed before the ej'es of the pupils, and the re- 

 calling of a number of well-known examples of birds and 

 their nesting habits. A lesson on an isolated specimen 

 without any reference whatever to similar objects, or with- 

 out an equivalent in the form of pictures, stories, poems 

 and practical experiences relating to the objects under con- 

 sideration, is far from constituting the best kind of instruc- 



