xxii CURIOUS HOMES AND THEIR TENANTS. 



mind a desire or purpose to find out for himself or herself 

 all they can of these ruins, more interesting to Americans 

 than any that can be seen in the Old World, and to pene- 

 trate, if possible, at some time in his or her life the mystery 

 that surrounds them. 



Homes in the trees form a subject that is practically 

 inexhaustible, and scarcely needs any suggestion as to 

 the line of study in following it out ; though after the 

 inevitable comparison that offers itself to our mind be- 

 tween the rude attempts of untaught savages at building 

 homes in the trees and the skillful and workmanlike 

 habitations constructed by many sorts of birds, the bird- 

 like nests of many quadruped mammals excite our atten- 

 tion and curiosity, and lead us to inquire what other traits 

 these furry nest-builders possess in common with feathered 

 ones. The same lines of study may be pursued for homes 

 in the grass. 



Homes in the snow emphasize the fact that under simi- 

 lar circumstances men and beasts may possess pretty much 

 the same sort of homes — a fact that is further illustrated in 

 homes in the water. The lines of study suggested under 

 these two sections are, however, too obvious to require 

 special directions, and too numerous to receive justice in 

 the limited space here available. 



The use of portable houses admits of a great number of 

 instances not mentioned in the letterpress. These are to 

 be found among the caddice worms, caterpillars, and other 

 insects, as well as many more curious examples than those 

 described in the text. Among the hermit crabs the pupil's 

 line of investigation will naturally lie in this direction. 



Among the homes classed as miscellaneous, in the last 

 section, are those whose oddity, though the most striking, 

 is by no means the chief element of interest ; they illus- 

 trate the extreme adaptability of living creatures of many 

 sorts, including mankind, in accommodating the most un- 

 promising materials and situations to their need of some 



