NATURALIST'S CABINET. 



Anecdotes. 



The humming bird is seldom caught alive; a 

 friend of M. l)u Pratz had, however, this plea- 

 sure. lie had observed one of them enter the 

 bell of a Convolvulus ; and, as it had quite buried 

 itself to get at the bottom, he run immediately 

 to the place, shut the flower, cut it from the 

 stalk, and carried off the bird a prisoner. He 

 could not, however, prevail upon it to eat; and 

 it died in the course of three or four days. 



Charjevoix says, that he had one of them iu 

 Canada for about twenty-four hours. It suffered 

 itself to be handled; and even counterfeited 

 death, that it might escape. A slight frost in 

 the night destroyed it. 



Dr. Latham was informed by Captain Davies, 

 " that he kept these birds alive for four months 

 by the following method: He made an exact 

 representation of some of the tubular flowers, 

 with paper fastened round a tobacco-pipe, and 

 painted them of a proper colour: these were 

 placed in the order of nature, in the cage in 

 which the little creatures were confined: the bot- 

 toms of the tubes were filled with a mixture of 

 brown sugar and water, as often as emptied; and 

 he had the pleasure of seeing them perform every 

 action ; for they soon grew familiar, and took 

 their nourishment in the same manner as when 

 ranging at large, though close under the eye." 



