DWELLINGS 1629 



stinctively fasten thereon," he stated, "beautiful 

 pieces of flat lichen, the larger pieces in the middle, 

 and the smaller on the part attached to the branch. 

 Now and then a pretty feather is intertwined or 

 fastened to the outer sides, the stem being always so 

 placed that the feather stands out beyond the surface. 



In spite of their lack of skill and the inadequacy 

 of their organs, fish are not the most awkward archi- 

 tects. The species which construct nests for laying 

 in are fairly numerous; the classical case of the 

 stickleback is always quoted, but this is not the only 

 animal of its class to possess the secret of the manu- 

 facture of a shelter for its eggs. 



A fish of Java, the gourami (Osphronemus olfax), 

 establishes an ovoid nest with the leaves of aquatic 

 plants woven together. It makes its work about the 

 size of a fist, takes no rest until it is completed, and 

 is able to finish it in five or six days. It is the male 

 alone who weaves this dwelling; when it is ready a 

 female comes to lay there, and generally fills it; it 

 may contain from six hundred to a thousand eggs. 



Without doubt the class of birds furnishes the most 

 expert artisans in the industry of the woven dwelling. 

 In our own country we may see them seeking every 

 day to right and left, carrying a morsel of straw, a 

 pinch of moss, a hair from a horse's tail, or a tuft of 

 wool caught in a bush. They intermingle these ma- 

 terials, making the framework of the construction 

 with the coarser pieces, keeping those that are 

 warmer and more delicate for the interior. These 

 nests, attached to a fork in a branch or in a shrub, 

 hidden in the depth of a thicket, are little master- 



