USEFUL ARTS. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



DOMESTIC COMFORT. 



How to make Home comfortable. The Bed in its various Forms. The Feather 

 Bed of Man. The Eider-duck and her Plumage. The Rabbit and her 

 Down. The Long-tailed Titmouse and her wonderful Nest. The Hammock 

 of civilised Man and Savage. The Sailor's Canvas Hammock. The String 

 Hammock of tropical America. Nest of the Pensile Oriole. Silken Ham- 

 mock of the Tiger-moth and other Insects. The Mat Bed. Cocoa-nut 

 Matting. The Robber-crab and its Bed. Strength and Uses of the Cocoa- 

 nut Fibre. The Surgeon's " Cradle" and the Pupa of Tabanus. The Art 

 of Sewing and the Tailor-bird. Principle of the Umbrella and its Original 

 Use. Natural Umbrella on the Rosemary. Servants and Slaves, and the 

 Distinction between them. The Use of Slaves in hot Countries. Slavery in 

 the Insect World. The Ants and their Slaves. Ornamental Gardening and 

 Pleasure-grounds. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The Bower-birds 

 and their Pleasure-grounds. 



TT7"E now come to a different branch of the same subject, 

 namely, the means by which our dwellings are rendered 

 comfortable. 



After having procured a dwelling which can withstand the 

 elements, we nexb look for a bed on which to repose, and 

 which will ease the limbs and brain, wearied by the toils of 

 the day. 



Allusion has already been made to the ordinary feather bed 

 and its multitudinous natural springs. We now have to see 

 how the various kinds of beds are anticipated in Nature, and 

 will begin with the feather bed. 



As to our own beds, nothing need be said about objects so 

 familiar, although, in order to preserve the parallelism, it is 

 necessary to introduce an illustration on the right hand of the 

 page. 



On the left hand are shown two examples of natural feather 



