safe from every missile except a rifle ball. 

 They have a habit of sittin^;' on the 

 branches in flocks, lifting their bills, clat- 

 tering them together, and shouting 

 hoarsely all the while, from which cus- 

 tom the natives call them Preacher-birds. 

 Sometimes the whole party, including the 

 sentinel, will set up a simultaneous yell 

 so deafeningly loud that it can be heard 

 a mile. 



When settling itself to sleep, the Tou- 

 can packs itself up in a very systematic 

 manner, supporting its huge beak by rest- 

 ing it on its back, and tucking it com- 

 pletely among the feathers, while it 

 doubles its tail across its back just as if it 

 moved on hinges. So completely is the 

 large bill hidden among the feathers, that 

 hardly a trace of it is visible in spite of 

 its great size and bright color, so that the 

 bird when sleeping looks like a great ball 

 of loose feathers. 



A naturalist writes of his observations 

 in the haunts of the Toucans as follows : 

 "We turned into a gloomy forest and for 

 some time saw nothing but a huge brown 

 moth, which looked almost like a bat on 

 the wing. Suddenly we heard high upon 

 the trees a short shrieking sort of noise 

 ending in a hiss, and our guide became 

 excited and said. Toucan !' The birds 

 were very wary and made off. They are 

 much in quest and often shot at. At last 

 we caught sight of a pair, but they were 

 at the top of such a high tree that they 

 were out of range. Presently, when I 

 had about lost hope, I heard loud calls, 

 and three birds came and settled in a low 

 bush in the middle of the path. I shot 

 one and it proved to be a very large Tou- 

 can. The bird was not quite dead when 

 I picked it up, and it bit me severely with 

 its huge bill." 



LADY-BIRDS, 



The other day, idly poking with my 

 umbrella at the base of a locust tree, I 

 exposed to view the winter quarters of 

 the largest colony of Lady-birds I had 

 ever seen. Hundreds of them were 

 crowded together, so sleepy that they 

 paid no attention to my "Lady-bird, 

 Lady-bird, fly away home ;" or perhaps 

 they resented the insinuation that they 

 'were not already in the coziest possible 

 place. Indeed, I think they were, for 

 the turf fitted up close to the bark and 

 formed a perfect protection from the 

 wintry winds. 



In the early fall, the Lady-birds look 

 up just such a nest, in which to hibernate, 

 as the one I discovered, and they do not 

 emerge from it until late in the spring. 

 They lay their eggs on the underside of 

 leaves, where the young larvae are 

 hatched. 



The Lady-birds are pretty little insects 

 — our familiar kind are a bright red with 

 black spots — and they are useful as well. 

 They feed upon fungi but are also fond 



of the aphides that are so injurious to 

 plants. In California the orange trees 

 receive great injury from year to year 

 from the "Scale," an insect which covers 

 the trees, finally almost destroying them. 

 The growers spray the trees but when 

 once the enemy takes possession, find it 

 almost impossible to free their groves. 

 Now to the Lady-bird the ''Scale" is a 

 great delicacy; if her services could only 

 be secured, while she and her family 

 were being feasted, they in turn could do 

 a great favor to the orange growers. 

 This thought has occurred to the scien- 

 tists of the Experiment Station of South- 

 ern California and already they have 

 received from Australia several pairs of 

 Lady-birds, very like our own species, 

 but larger and better fitted to cope with 

 the troublesome "Scale." These have 

 been established on the trees and the re- 

 sult is being noticed. Let us hope they 

 will like their new home and work, and 

 that they will finally rid the trees of the 

 dreaded enemy, the "Scale." 



Mary Lee Van Hook. 



17 



