AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 63 



We cannot end our journeyingswithout a glance at th e dearest little 

 home of all. What is it? I think you will all cry at once — the Ruby- 

 throated Humming bird's nest! It hardly seems possible that this 

 dainty soft cup, carefully covered with the tiny bits of grey lichens, 

 could be made by this little bird. How cunningly she hides it! It 

 seems but a knot of the branch upon which it is glued. 



But time is passing swiftly, and we must pass by many interesting 

 nooks. There are the woven pockets of vireo and oriole, the Fly- 

 catcher's nusery fitted up with the skin of a snake; here is the nest 

 of a Nuthatch tucked behind a bit of loosened bark; on every side there 

 are homes which tempt us to tarry. 



Besides our feathered friends there are many other little folks whose 

 nests we should like to examine; — wasps and hornets, the paper-mak- 

 ers, mice, squirrels and beavers in fur coats, fishes, toads, and even 

 alligators, but our journey has already been too long, so for the last time 

 we will speak the magic word, Cigam, and with a roll, and a toss the 

 enchanted rug goes sailing away to its ancient master, and we find our- 

 selves again by our own warm fireside. 



CENTRAL ACROSTIC. 



When the birds described below have been rightly guessed and 

 written one under another in the order given, the central letters will 

 spell the name of a bird noted for its sagasity. 



1. A bird with a long, sharp bill. 



2. A very shy bird found in many countries. 



3. The European Song Thrush. 



4. A common American thrush. 



5. A small sweet singing bird of bright plumage. 



Huldah Chace Smith, Providence, R. I. 



GLEANINGS, 



Then the snowbirds all said "Cheep and chee, 



Hurrah for ice and snow, 



For the girls and boys, 



Who drop us crumbs, 



As away to their sport they go!" 



Hurrah for the winter, clear and cold, 



When the dainty snowflakes fall! 



We will sit and sing, 



On our oaken swing, 



For God takes care of us all!" 



