458 
HUMMING BIRD. 
terials supply the place of it. They lay only two 
eggs, the size of small peas, and as white as snow. 
The time of incubation continues during twelve 
days, at the end of which the young ones appear 
about the size of a flesh fly. 
A companion of father Labat’s, who attended 
him during his mission in America, found a hum- 
ming bird’s nest, and took it home when the young 
were about fifteen or twenty days old. He placed 
them in a cage at his chamber window, and was 
surprised to see the old ones come and feed the 
brood regularly several times in the day. By these 
frequent visits they lost their shyness, and without 
any constraint came at length to live with their 
young ones ; all four of them frequently perched 
upon their master’s finger, and sung with the same 
freedom as in a state of liberty. They were fed 
with a fine paste made of wine, biscuit and sugar. 
“ I never beheld any thing more agreeable,” says 
Labat, “ than this lovely little family, that had 
taken possession of my companion’s chamber, and 
that flew out and in just as they thought proper; 
but were ever attentive to the voice of their master 
when he called them. In this manner they lived 
with him for six months ; but at a time when he 
expected to see a new colony formed, he unfor- 
tunately forgot to tie up their cage to the ceiling at 
night, to preserve them from the rats, and he found 
they were devoured in the morning.” 
It is very difficult to take this little creature alive: 
the friend of M. du Pratz, however, contrived to 
