The Birds’ Calendar . 
a more unique companionship. And what a 
great little traveller the humming-bird is, dart- 
ing like an electric spark from torrid climes far 
up into the arctic regions with each returning 
spring, and back in the fall—the merest mote 
in the vast blue expanse. What would not any 
of us give for the opportunity of such a voyage 
as the birds make twice a year, and in sucha 
novel, exhilarating, and thoroughly comfort- 
able fashion? No time-tables, no tickets, no 
baggage. What a panorama of mountains, 
lakes, rivers, plains, and cities spread out be- 
neath the view in such an excursion through 
Labrador, Canada, the New England, Middle, 
and Southern States, Mexico, Central America, 
and far into the tropics. But the birds do not 
look at the matter in just this light, for ‘hey 
travel nights and rest in the daytime. Another 
instance of failing to appreciate one’s peculiar 
privileges, and exciting the indignant envy of 
the less favored but more worthy. What a 
pity that such a chance as the birds have 
should be literally thrown to the winds. This 
is only another aspect of the mystery involved 
in the child’s question, ‘‘ Why do all the small 
families live in large houses, and the large 
families in small houses?’’—an inquiry hav- 
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