MY HOME ON THE HILLTOP. 103 



curious specimen of the flycatcher family extant. He 

 was a quaint little chap, only four inches in length, 

 but with a bill over half an inch wide and nearly 

 three quarters of an inch long. He is known as the 

 " spoonbill," or the duckbill flycatcher, from having 

 this odd, spatulate protuberance. The general desig- 

 nation in Latin of the flycatchers, the generic name, 

 is Musicapa (musea^ a fly, cajpio^ to take), but this 

 little pug-nose is called the Todus jplatyrynehus^iYom 

 the Greek, meaning that he has a broad snout. ^ 



"During this Time," says Crusoe, "I made my 

 Rounds in the Woods for Game every Day, when 

 the Eain permitted me, and made frequent Discov- 

 eries in these Walks of Something or other to my 

 advantage." 



One never walks abroad in the woods without 

 making discoveries of importance, if he keep his eyes 

 about him. In one of my rambles I made an im- 

 portant addition to my stock of useful articles by the 

 find of the soapberry tree. And I was nearly out of 

 soap, too, at this time, so that the " find " was oppor- 

 tune. 



The "soapberry," or "soap seed," grows on a 

 tree some forty feet high, which is in bearing sev- 

 eral months in the year. The seed is black, inclosed 

 within a yellow skin, and is about as large as a com- 

 mon marble. The Creoles use the skin, which is 

 viscid, as a detergent, in lieu of soap, and it is often 

 used to wash clothes with. The seeds, after they are 

 cleaned, are worn as beads by the children. Another 

 thing used for removing dirt is the leaf of the " soap 



