162 The Wilson Bulletin— No. 97 



sacks of grain or seeds were brought to our steamer at Haifa 

 some of us had wondered if some such sacks did not contain 

 sesame. We talked sesame, longed for sesame, but did not 

 see sesame (at least not to know it) until a gentleman of our 

 party bought some in Constantinople. After it had been seen 

 and tasted, I was of the opinion that it, served like rice along 

 with fish, had been eaten at a dinner on one of the Egyptian 

 railway trains. It did not look tempting, but proved to be the 

 most delicious fish I ever ate. Ancient Athenian wedding 

 cakes were said to have been made of roasted sesame seed, 

 mixed with honey. 



Customs and peoples are ever changing, but the more con- 

 stant landscape, as well as subjects in natural history, vary 

 little and help us in picturing the past of such countries, for 

 whose ancient rather than recent history we care more. That 

 Greece a few years ago was one of three European nations 

 that refused to join the ornithological union for the protection 

 of birds was known to me, yet the scarcity of birds exceeded 

 my expectations. While deploring such conditions we have 

 daily reminders of much we owe the ancient Greeks in our 

 scientific nomenclature of ornithology : Charadrius for the 

 lapwing or curlew, Chelidon for the swallow, Philomela for 

 the nightingale, and Halcyon for the kingfisher are unchanged 

 Greek names. Diomedea recalls the mythical story of the 

 companions of Diomedes, who, inconsolable because of his 

 death, were changed into birds. "Likewise Meleagris for our 

 turkey calls up the story of Meleager's ever-mourning sisters, 

 who were transformed into guinea-hens. 



Very naturally one becomes curious to know the ancient 

 Greeks' attitude toward and knowledge of birds. The comedy 

 of "The Birds," written by Aristophanes about 414 B.C., 

 throws a little light on these points. He mentions at least 

 sixty-seven species, more birds, we dare say, than the average 

 theater-goer of today can recognize. He pays tribute to the 

 economic value of birds as insect destroyers : both those "that 

 in the marshy glens snap up the sharp-stinging gnats," and 

 those that prey upon the destructive pests of vineyard, or- 



