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POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



"TO A GULL. 



M Soul of bereaved one, troubled and tossed, 

 Searching the sea for the one that was lost; 

 Skimming the air or riding the wave, 

 Seeking forever that precious one's grave ; 

 Bird of the sea, is it true, is it true, 

 That the soul of some mourning one lives within you ? 



u Whom art thou seeking, some brother or son 

 Who sank to his rest ere his voyage was done ? 

 Or was it a husband, or lover so brave 

 Who found an unmarked and untended grave ? 

 Bird of the sea, is it true, is it true, 

 That the sea holds the one who is dearest to you ? 



" Bird of the sea, when the dismal winds wail, 

 And the breast of the ocean is swept by the gale, 

 When the demons of storm in their fierce anger rave, 

 And you sink 'neath their wrath to a watery grave, 

 Bird of the sea, is it true, is it true, 

 That the loved and the lost you find waiting for you ? " 



To " those who go down to the sea in ships " it is most interesting 

 to watch the antics of the flock of gulls that follows a vessel, hour 



after hour, on the 

 watch for scraps of 

 food that may be 

 thrown into the sea. 

 The birds are sharp- 

 eyed and wise, and 

 not to be deceived 

 by anything short of 

 real crackers. A 

 traveler once tried to 

 cheat the gulls by 

 tossing out bits of 

 orange-peel and card- 

 board, but the birds 

 paid no attention 

 whatever until a 

 cracker was thrown 

 to them, when imme- 

 diately a wild rush was made and the cracker seized before it touched 

 the water. 



It has been thought by some that the gulls which follow a ship 

 all day return to the nearest land at night, and another flock appears 

 the next morning. Only recently an experiment was tried that dis- 



Herring Gull [Larus argeidatas). 



