tup: NATURALISTS’ COMANION. 
ID 
traordinarily fine gem. Only insignifi¬ 
cant quantities of emeralds and beryls 
have been found within our boundaries, 
but garnets, which although smaller, are 
equal to the best of Africa and Ceylon, 
are discovered on the Colorado River 
plateau. The amethyst is quite com¬ 
mon in New England, and appears in 
several places in the Southern States. 
One specimen, found near Cheshire, in 
Connecticut, rivals in color the best 
amethyst of Siberia j but the most re¬ 
markable native amethyst is that lately 
deposited in the National Museum by 
Dr. Lucas. It is a turtle-shaped, prehis¬ 
toric cutting, 2 | inches in length, 2 in¬ 
ches in width and inches in thickness, 
is transparent and flawless. Of all the 
gem stones, however, the greatest reve¬ 
nue in 1884 , ^ 10 , 000 , comes from 
smoky quaitz, the finest specimens of 
which are found at Bear Creek, in Col¬ 
orado. There are also many beautiful 
examples of less valuable stones which 
are in demand for cabinet collections, 
such as green feldspar, or Amazon stone, 
found at Pike’s Peak. 
The Birds. 
BY JUSTIN PRICE, MAUSTON, WIS. 
Birds constitute the second class of 
vertebrated animals. They are the 
most favored of all animals in their 
powers of locomotion, yet like the mam¬ 
malia most species are confined by 
geographical laws to particular districts. 
The most beautiful birds are found 
within the tropics, where with the ex¬ 
ceptions of two orders—the waders and 
swimmers— the number of species and 
individuals are the greatest. Birds are 
divided by the great French naturalist, 
Cuvier, into the following six orders: 
1. Rafales (birds of prey)—hawks 
and eagles. 
2 . ScANSORES (climbers)—pariotsand 
woodpeckers. 
3 . OsciNES (songsters)—robins and 
larks, 
4. Gallinacea (gallina, a hen)—do¬ 
mestic hen. 
5. Grallatores (waders)—snipe and 
heron, 
6 . Natatores (swimmers)—duck and 
penguin, 
Rapacers, the principal birds of prey, 
are vultures, eagles, hawks and owls. 
The vulture is the largest flying bird, 
sometimes measuring fifteen feet Irom 
tip to tip of wings. Humboldt saw this 
bird floating over the summit of Mt. 
Chiniborazo, at an elevation of 22,000 
feet. Scansores—Parrots, toucans and 
woodpeckers are the principal birds of 
this order. Woodpeckers are largely 
spread, being found in every quarter of 
the globe except Australia. Oscines are 
the most numerous order of birds, and 
include those most generally known in 
temperate regions, as the lark, thrush, 
robin and sparrow. Gallinacea—Birds 
of this order are more numerous in the 
Old World than in this country. Quail, 
pheasants, and pigeon are gallinaceous 
birds. Grallatores and Natatores, the 
waders and swimmers are far more numer¬ 
ous in the Polar and Temperate regions 
than in the Tropics. However the most 
remarkable species occur in the tropical 
climate. The South American and Af¬ 
rican ostrich, the cassowary, and Aus¬ 
tralian emu are the most gigantic of 
birds. The migration of birds is an in¬ 
teresting feature in natural history. 
Alexander Wilson estimated a flock of 
pigeons which passed over him while in 
Ganada, to have been a mile in breadth, 
240 miles in length, and to have con¬ 
tained 2 , 230 . 272 , 000 ’ pigeons, three 
birds having been assigned to the 
square yard. 
