120 CURIOUS HOMES AND THEIR TENANTS. 



camel ttat has run all the substance of its humps 

 into a neck of preposterous length in its efforts to 

 reach and graze upon the foliage ; and this tree the 

 social weaver birds almost invariably and very wisely 

 choose for their nests, for, indeed, its fiber is almost 

 as tough and stout as that of the hearts of tlie Dutch 

 folks themselves, who have with such indomitable 

 resolution and endurance defended their homes 

 against all invaders. 



The material of which the nest is constructed is 

 no less strong and wiry. It consists of a grass which 

 almost seems as if created for the purpose ; so long, so 

 flexible, so unbreakable and untearable are its blades, 

 that it makes the best and most enduring of mats, and 

 was formerly used by the Bosjemens or Bushmen 

 (hence called Booschamannie grass) to weave into im- 

 penetrable defenses against the javelins and arrows of 

 their enemies. 



A single pair of birds often set to work on a nest 

 of this kind, carrying the grass to a tree and com- 

 mencing in a wonderful manner to weave it com- 

 pactly into a little rain-proof roof. The next season 

 the progeny of the parent birds come back, select 

 mates, and the old homestead is enlarged to suit their 

 convenience, much as we have seen some little cabin 

 built about with wings and additions to accommodate 

 married sons and daughters who came home to live 

 with the old folks. 



The narrow structure now widens, and beneath 

 the compactly woven shelter the nests close their 

 ranks and hang shoulder to shoulder, like the cells in 



