and its manner of feeding, as for the 

 elegancy and brilliancy of its colors. It 

 flies so swiftly that the eye cannot follow 

 its course, and the motions of its wings 

 are so rapid as to be imperceptible to the 

 closest observer. Lightning is scarcely 

 more transient in its flight, nor its glare 

 more bright than its colors. 



The most violent passions at times an- 

 imate these small creatures. They often 

 have dreadful contests when they believe 

 that any other bird, even if it is one of 

 their own kind, is trespassing on what 

 they consider their own domain. They 

 are fearless of mankind and in feeding 

 will allow persons to come very near to 

 them but on too near an approach they 

 dart away with wonderful swiftness. 



"A friend of mine informs me," says 

 Dr. Latham, ''that he kept these birds 

 alive for months by placing artificial 

 flowers with the bell of the flower, fas- 

 tened to a tobacco-pipe and painted a 

 proper color; he then placed them in a 

 natural position in the cage where the 

 little creatures were confined; the bot- 

 tom of the tubes were filled with a mix- 

 ture composed of brown sugar and wa- 

 ter, as often as emptied; he had in this 

 way the pleasure of seeing them perform 

 every action, for they soon became fa- 

 miliar, and, though close under the eye. 



took their nourishment in the same man- 

 ner as when ranging at large in the open 

 air." 



I watched a Hummingbird one day 

 nearly three hours trying to locate its 

 nest which I thought was somewhere 

 near at hand. Finally it entered a rose 

 bush near where I was standing; care- 

 fully I parted the branches and there was 

 the nest, but just as I located it, they, for 

 both the birds were present, made an 

 attack on me, attempting to strike me 

 in the eyes, they came and went in al- 

 most incredible swiftness, and I was 

 glad to retreat. As soon as I was away 

 from the bush they returned to their 

 home to protect it from further invasion. 



The tongue of a Hummingbird is 

 formed much like that of a woodpecker, 

 being curled around the head, under the 

 skin, and thus capable of being darted 

 to a considerable distance. Like many 

 other little creatures, the assurance and 

 impudence of the Hummingbird is re- 

 markable. It is easily tamed, and for 

 that very reason it has been known to 

 domesticate itself in an hour's time after 

 capture, and even when released it has 

 returned again to partake of the dain- 

 ties which it had tasted during its cap- 

 tivity. 



George V/. M^cNinch. 



MIDSUMMER. 



Hushed are the songs of birds. 

 And wearily the patient herds 



Of dun-road Jerseys, seek the shade a-field 



Or slake their thirst amid the oozy shallows 

 By shrinkage of the pasture stream revealed. 

 Deserted, brown and dusty lie the fallows ; 

 While, outHned on the hills against the sky, 

 Flocks of white sheep, close-shorn, in silence lie. 



— Mrs. Cora A. Matson Dolson. 



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