THE NATURALISTS' COMPANION. 
53 
sun and the [)laiiets continiiallj 
loose heat, then there will come a 
time in the far future when the sun 
itself shall go out in everlasting 
night, and the planets cool down s(' 
that the ‘‘eternal ' snow'’ would be 
liot compared with the degree of 
cold throughout all s})ace where 
everything shall be dead. 
BALTIMORE ORIOLE, 
(ICTERUS UALRULa). 
Of all the birds which are inhabi¬ 
tants of this coniitry, but few sur¬ 
pass the Baltimore Oriole for rich¬ 
ness of plumage and melodiousness 
of song, which consists of from four 
to ten full, loud and mellow notes. 
The true Oriole is not found in tins 
country, being a resident of Europe. 
But the Baltimore bird, or Balti¬ 
more Oriole as it is called from its 
resemblance to the European Oriole, 
is peculiar to this continent, being 
found from Canada to Brazil. It 
is the most beautiful of our sum¬ 
mer visitors, the plumage being- 
very brilliant, particularly so in tue 
male, which has its head, neck, fore 
part of back and the tail glossy 
black; its quills, excepting the first, 
are. margined with white ; the whole ( 
under part of wing covert« and pos¬ 
terior part of back is bright orange 
and Vermillion ; the breast, under 
part of neck and the end of the tail 
feathers are tipped with dull orange. 
Its bill and feet are of bright blue 
color. The above plumage is when 
the bird is three j^ears old, before 
wliich time it is mixed with olive 
brown. The female Oriole is, as in 
the (?ase of most birds, less beauti¬ 
ful than the male, though it still 
presents a very charming appear¬ 
ance, being brownish-black mixed 
with dull yellow on the neck and 
fore jiart of back, while on the hind 
[»art of back, it is covered with 
brownish-yellow, brightest on the 
rump. The Baltimore Oriole builds 
a very curious, ingenious and won¬ 
derfully interesting nest, it being a 
pendulous cylindrical purse-shaped 
pouch of six or seven inches m depth, 
and suspended from the end of a 
lofty branch. This remarkable 
structure is generally made of long 
grass, although other material, such 
as horse hair and thread, is some¬ 
times used, and is woven with great 
nicety. The bottom of the nest is 
lined with some soft material, such 
as thistle blows and the like. The 
eggs of this marvelously beautiful 
songster are from five to six in num¬ 
ber, about an inch long, pale brown 
in color and spotted and lined with 
dark brown, making a very hand¬ 
some egg. The Orchard Oriole, 
which arrives in May, is nearly the 
same in plumage and general ap¬ 
pearance. It lays five eggs, of a 
whitish-pink, dotted at the end with 
purpE spots. Harry Harris, 
Edinboro, Pa. 
A woman in Norwich, Conn., 
some time ago wanted to dispose of 
a cat and some kittens. She tried 
to give them a little laudanum in 
their milk first; to make them easy 
to handle. But the old cat refused 
to drink the doctored milk, cuiied 
the kittens awaiy from it, and then 
covered up the saucer wdth a mat. 
The cats still live.— Golden Hays. 
Ink spots may be removed from 
eggs by means of a weak solution of 
chloride of lime. — A. A. Journal. 
