84 The Building of the Nest 



before the unfortunate blunder of introducing 

 the English sparrow. But it is in the country- 

 only that we find boys really posted in the 

 matter of nests, and I wish I could add that 

 they always adopt the rules of hands 

 off" when these nests come under their 

 notice. It means far more mischief than 

 most people think to disturb a nest, and so 

 let every boy decide that he will not be 

 guilty of such wanton cruelty. This, how- 

 ever, does not shut off every boy and girl in 

 the land from studying these nests, and a 

 more delightful subjedl can never come under 

 youthful investigation. 



What is a bird's nest ? Every one knows, 

 after a fashion, and yet few have ever con- 

 sidered how much that bunch of twigs, hol- 

 low in a tree, or hole in the ground really 

 means. Like so much that is familiar, we 

 glance at it in a careless way and never stop 

 to consider its full significance. Except in a 

 very few instances, a bird's nest is never the 

 result of a single individual's labor. Even 

 if but one bird does all the work, there has 

 previously been a decision reached by two 

 birds as to where the nest shall be placed, and 

 how much this means ! At once we are 



