-THE COMMON-SENSE VIEW 175 



lives a race of rude mountain folk almost as 

 aboriginal in their ways and views of life, and as 

 unaffected by civilisation, as if they were in the 

 heart of Africa. They live huddled together in 

 one-room log-cabins without windows or floors, 

 eat bacon and cornmeal, carry on almost constant 

 wars, and execute the deputies of civilisation who 

 happen to stray into their illicit dominions, just 

 as they have done from the time these mountain 

 silences were first broken by them 150 or 200 

 years ago. 



Birds, as a rule, use a great deal of care and 



thought in the location of their nests. After they 



have selected a certain grove or field as the one 



best suited to their purposes, or as the one around 



which cluster the happiest memories, it usually 



requires several days of flying and peeping about, 



of spying and exploration, before the exact spot 



for the precious domicile is finally settled upon. 



It is a delicate matter for many birds, for security 



from sun, storm, and enemies must all be taken 



into account. Old birds, as has been frequently 



observed, build better nests and select more clever 



locations for their nests than the young and 



inexperienced. The nest-building habits of many 



birds are known to have changed during the past 



few hundred years. The American house-swallow 



did most certainly not build under the eaves of 



human houses 300 years ago, nor did the hair-bird 



ine her nest with horsehair as she invariably 



does now. The fact that wrens, swifts, and 



martins now build almost altogether in boxes and 



