Wandering Birds and Men. 285 



it decays so slowly. The moss, however, grows 

 thickly on that side, and if not removed would 

 completely cover it. Moss prefers the shade ; and 

 so in the woodlands the meadows on the north or 

 shady side of the copses are often quite overgrown 

 with moss, which is pleasant to walk on, but destro} T s 

 the herbage. But on the south side of the roof, the 

 rain coming from that quarter, the wind and sun 

 cause the thatch to rapidly deteriorate, so that it 

 requires to be constantly repaired. 



Now, instead of working their holes into the 

 northern slope, sheltered from wind and rain, nine 

 out of ten of the sparrows make their nests on the 

 south, and, of course, by pulling out the straw still 

 further assist the decay of the thatch there. The 

 influence of light seems to be traceable in this ; and 

 it does occur whether other birds that use trees and 

 bushes for their nests may not really be guided in 

 their selection by some similar rule. The trees and 

 bushes they select to us look much the same as 

 others ; but the birds may none the less have some 

 reasons of their own. And as certain localities, as 

 previously observed, are great favorites with them 

 and others are deserted, possibly Feng-shui may 

 have something to do with that also. 



The nomadic tribes that live in tents, and wander 

 over thousands of miles in the East, at the first sight 

 seem to roam aimlessly, or to be determined simply 

 by considerations of water and pasture. But those 

 who have lived with and studied them say that, 

 though they have no maps, each tribe, and even 

 each particular family, has its own special route and 

 special camping-ground. Could these routes be 



