A MIDSUMMER PRINCE. 229 



grasses, dry roots, lichens, long and slender mosses, and 

 other advantageous materials often supplied by man's art. 

 Among different species the structures vary in shape from 

 resembling a compact ball to nearly every bottle- shaped 

 gradation of form, until they exceed three or four feet in 

 length. Many species being gregarious, they breed numer- 

 ously in the same vicinity or on the same tree, resembling 

 in this and other respects the weaver- birds, to which they 

 are closely allied. But for us our Baltimore's nest possess- 

 es the most attractions ; arid as I shall have much to say 

 concerning this tine example of a bird's architecture, I can- 

 not begin better than by quoting Nuttall's description of it. 

 It would be impossible for me to say anything different, 

 and as well : 



" It is begun by firmly fastening natural strings of the 

 flax of the silk- weed, or swamp hollyhock, or stout artificial 

 threads, around two or more forked twigs, corresponding to 

 the intended width and depth of the nest. With the same 

 materials, willow down, or any accidental ra veilings, strings, 

 thread, sewing-silk, tow, or wool that may be lying near the 

 neighboring houses or around grafts of trees, they inter- 

 weave and fabricate a sort of coarse cloth into the form 

 intended, toward the bottom of which they place the real 

 nest, made chiefly of lint, wiry grass, horse and cow hair : 



