1882 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
339 
A Uarsli Wren’s West. 
In the upper part of Sheep’s Head Bay, many sociable 
little Marsh Wrens build their nests in the “Cat-tails,” 
and last May two came so near our land, that the chil¬ 
dren, by climbing on a high fence, could look down and 
see them at work on their nest. They would disappear 
suddenly, then fly back with long pieces of sea-grass, 
and weave them ingeniously into shape. Work seemed 
to make them very happy, and they chirped their quick 
fright-note from early morning until long after night¬ 
fall. When we saw the nest smoothly and beautifully 
finished, and so thickly and firmly made, we thought it 
would be a snug resting place for a little brood. We 
soon began to wonder if the eggs had come, so one day, 
Uncle Will got on his “ hip-boots,” and waded out to 
the nest, and. found eight tiny brown ones. The little 
mother bird began to sit patiently upon them, and soon 
wakened into life, eight specks of wrens. One dark 
afternoon the wind blew from the Southeast, and the 
rain began to fall, and the little nest rocked violently 
in the weeds. The parent birds fluttered in distress 
about the nest as you see them in the picture, for they 
knew their little ones’ lives were in danger. The children 
went to bed with sober faces, fearing that before morn¬ 
ing their pets would be drowned, but when they arose, 
the sun was shining, and Uncle Will brought the wel¬ 
come news that the nest had withstood the storm, and 
the little birds were safe. We watched them carefully 
each day, but they soon grew too large for their nest, and 
flew away to think about building homes for families of 
their own. We did not like to have the nest destroyed, 
so it was carefully cut down, attached to the “cat-tails,” 
and afterwards fastened tastefully over the cabinet in 
the parlor. Aunt Ida. 
Answers to Puzzles in the June Number. 
The Shipwreck Puzzle.—o oooooooOOO 
OOOOOOOOOOOQOOOOOOO. 
Anagrams.— 1. Otherwise. 2. Displeasure. 3. Ser¬ 
viceable. 4. Dogmatic. 5. Ceremonies. 6. Aborigines. 
7. Spectator. 8. Handicraft. 9. Youngest. 10. Bache¬ 
lors. 
Square Word.— 
LARK 
ALOE 
ROSE 
KEEL 
Patchwork.— 1. Wattle. 
2. Orlop. 3. Origin. 4. Pur¬ 
vey. 5. Quill. 6. Lank. 
Metagram.— Forest, from which may be obtained the 
words, rose, ore, store, set, for, frets, rest, frost, fort. 
Cross Word.— Genuine. 
Arithmetic.—Geometry.—Euclid. 
All our young readers know something about arithme¬ 
tic, or the science of numbers, which treats of addition, 
subtraction, multiplication, and division. It is a most 
useful study, and however hard it may be, it is, after 
reading and writing, the most important and useful of 
all studies, no matter what occupation one may follow. 
To be quick at figures, including the use of fractions, 
helps one very greatly. It is a hard study for some, but 
the harder it is, the more important it is to drill one’s 
mind in it, and thus make up for any natural deficiency. 
The man or woman who is quick at figures, always has 
an advantage over those who are not. Indeed, as we 
have observed the course of individuals, of our old 
schoolmates of fifty years ago, and of multitudes of 
others, we fully believe that a boy or girl who can read 
and write fairly, and use numbers quickly and correctly, 
has many times more chance of success in life than one 
who lacks the arithmetic. And mental arithmetic, that 
is, working figures in the mind, without having to al¬ 
ways use slate or paper to bring in the aid of the eye, is 
very important. 
Geometry is also a very useful study. It formerly 
meant only the art of measuring the earth, or any dis¬ 
tances or dimensions on it. (Indeed, it comes from two 
Greek words, ge, or geo, the earth, and metron to measure, 
just as geo-graphy means a description of the earth.) 
—But now , Geometry means the science of magnitude— 
the correct measuring of lines, surfaces, and solid 
bodies, and their relations, and everybody has use for 
such knowledge. It is an excellent and most useful 
study for farmers, as well as all others. Many of our 
readers, no doubt, have studied it, or are doing so. 
Euclid is a name often used for Geometry, be¬ 
cause a Mr. Euclid was the earliest one who wrote 
a number of books on the subject. We wonder if 
many of our readers know that Euclid lived be¬ 
tween two and three hundred years before Christ, 
in the City of Alexandria, in Egypt ! At that 
early day he wrote 6 books on plain Geometry, 
3 on the Properties of Numbers, 1 embracing 
both of these, and 3 on Solid Geometry, or 13 Id all, 
which have come down to us from that early time. 
©l«t Sights with Slew Eyes. 
Out of the busy walks of daily strife, there is much of 
beauty if we could only see it, and it seems to me that 
the wealth of treasure the waves cast ashore, may fairly 
claim a share of our attention. It would be too vast a 
subject to make a study of all the shells of our Atlantic 
Coast, but perhaps a knowledge of some of the most 
common specimens would interest a heretofore casual 
observer, and add new interest to his strolls on the 
beach. The “ Skimmer-clam ” (fig. 1,) is the largest of 
all the clams on our coast, and 
received its name from the old 
Dutch settlers, who used the 
shells for skimming milk. 
They were used also by country 
grocer-men, for dipping up 
soft-soap. The shells, though 
rough on the out-side, have a 
beautiful polished lining, and 
shading of blue color near the 
edges, and are converted into 
really beautiful objects by 
artists, who paint Sepia sketch¬ 
es on their insides. Children 
at our seaside resorts are fond 
of gathering them, and dig for 
hours with them in the sand. 
Where cod and haddock fish¬ 
ing is extensive, these clams 
are collected in large quanti¬ 
ties, for baiting the trawl lines. 
They are kept in net-bags, 
suspended in fish-welis of 
vessels, and thus protected 
from the fish that would crush them with their teeth ; 
they often make attempts, however, and entangle their 
heads. These clams are very interesting in aquaria, 
where a bed of sand should be made for them to burrow 
in. If dropped suddenly on a gravel bottom, they jump 
about in despair, trying with their long foot to find a 
soft place. The thin slender “razor-fish” (fig. 2.) so 
called from its resemblance to the old-fashioned horn- 
handled razor, burrows downward into the sand, and will 
disappear almost instantly when alarmed. It has a 
long foot in the middle, which is pointed at the end; by 
this it raises itself to the entrance of its hole. Epi¬ 
cures consider this shell-fish a delicacy, and there are 
still heaps of the shells on Long Island, left by the In¬ 
dians, who used them as an article of food. No shells 
have been used in ancient or modern art, so much as the 
symmetrical Scallop Shell (fig. 3.) They were worn in 
the time of Christ by people who had been to the Holy 
Land, and were known as “ Pilgrim Shells.” They have 
a comb-like appearance, rounded ribs, and varying color, 
which can be made clear by dippiug for ten minutes into 
Muriatic acid, two-thirds diluted with water. Our’s are i 
too small to answer the English purpose of serving up | 
“ White-bait,” and “ devilled crab,” or to bake pies upon 
after their fashion. When living, the Scallop has a pe¬ 
culiar dancing movement, if alarmed, and when confined 
in aquaria, will dance about in comical fashion, if the 
glass is stiuck suddenly. Few people seem to know 
that this is the edible scallop, or if so, that the only part 
eaten is a powerful muscle that opens and shuts the 
shell. The beautiful “ rim,” or “ mantle,” which glis¬ 
tens like a row of pearls in the water, is never preserved 
except when used as bait for eel-pots. These shells 
were formerly much used for fancy work. The large 
ones were fastened in pairs at the hinge, and between 
them a stuffed cushion, made of a shape to fit, was fas¬ 
tened. This cushion, about an inch thick at the edge, 
and covered with velvet or a bit of figured silk, was 
glued- between the two shells. Small shells, an inch or 
two across, were used to cover pasteboard vases, but this 
use seems to have gone out of fashion. Figure 4 repre¬ 
sents the graceful pear-shaped Winkle, and has a brown 
out-side, and pink and yellow lining. The most inter¬ 
esting fact about this animal is. that it makes a beauti¬ 
ful, long, translucent egg-case, that often washes ashore, 
and reminds one of the lost necklace of a water-nymph. 
This spawn is made up of little cases about the size and 
Fig. 3.— THE SCALLOP SHELL. 
thickness of a two-cent piece, which are fastened to¬ 
gether in parallel position by a strong ligament. In 
each case are stowed away about two hundred eggs, only 
a few of which are hatched, those coming to life first 
having subsisted on the rest. The parent attaches the 
egg-case to some heavy object, and the deep dredge 
brings many jof them up. Those washed ashore have 
broken loose, and are generally dead. The flesh of the 
Winkle is tough, and seldom eaten. I have heard, how¬ 
ever, of a colony of negro fishermen, living near Key- 
port, N. J., who eat them after long cooking, and so 
many shells are seen about 
their huts, that the locality 
is known as “ Winkle- 
town.” The New Jersey 
farmers cook them also as 
food for ducks and pigs, 
and a veteran of the late 
war told me that soldiers 
made soup of them when 
on the coast. Fishermen . 
make practical use of these 
shells when tarring boats ; 
they fill them with hot tar, 
and use the spout-like end 
of the shell to direct the 
flow, hence, in many locali¬ 
ties, they have the name of 
“ladle-shells.” If ladies 
choose to collect them,they 
can be used ornamentally 
among rustic work, and are by no means unsightly when 
converted into hanging baskets. To make one of these, 
select a large shell, and attach three wires to hang it by. 
By the use of a drill, or even a small awl, holes can be 
bored, if you are careful and have patience. Two holes 
will be needed, one at each side of the broader part of 
the shell; and while it will be better to have one at the 
narrow spout-like part, the wire may be twisted around 
this. Fill the cavity of the shell with peaty soil, or 
woods’ earth, and set in it any small drooping plants. 
Aunt Ida. 
Fig. 2.— THE RAZOR shell. 
Fig. 4.—THE WINKLE. 
