BY THE WAYSIDE 
07 
seeds oMl ^ swa]l ™ 
beeas or the nutrneo- 
lULiueg. Ihev traverse 
wide stretches of sea and land in a few 
: hours, and deposit the seeds not only 
tionTI; t better fitted for germina - 
bird’s " 7 1631 and moisture of the 
birds system. By a similar process 
ousands ot acres of land have been 
covered with' trees of different kinds, the 
birds acting as Nature’s agents in the dis- 
i » enil nation of plants. 
Darwin found in six grains of earth 
ldhering to the feet of a plover three dif 
erent kinds ofseeds, and in mud sticking 
r I ,7c ° ducks and geese shot in 
"gland he found the seeds of plants pe- 
f icl th VlCt ° ria Nyanza ’ in Ce »tral 
■ nca, thus proving not only the extent 
I, lgrat,on - but also the possibility of 
ants appearing in strange localities 
'rough the agency of these birds 
■ In tne mud on the feet of a Texas 
eerthe seeds of five different kinds of 
r s and grasses common in Texas 
ire found by a mieroscopist after the 
uval of the animal in New York. 
None of the great inventions of man 
i compare in rapidity of travel with 
it of some birds. That solitary cruiser 
he deep, the frigate bird, can cross the 
j antic Ocean, a distance of two thou- 
miles, m a single night. The won- 
ml bird must travel at the average 
r 01 at Jeast one hundred and fifty 
[I is nn hour, a feat far surpassing any 
S'mobile or locomotive that has vet 
l|i built. Fast express trains often 
1 ami maintain the speed of ninety 
ldM' l of > th ^ or s hort distances, but the 
'cllerf 1 ,f ejh0 " nds 0f the rail 
ovTwlA ' e c °mmon chimnev 
, 0 W, which sometimes for hours 
tains an average speed of from 
- t0 one hundred miles an hour 
Those Haunting Notes. 
There was a peculiar sound from the 
-<■*».b. „ 
tne Budlovers society sot in • r 
r n . - in the window 
afternoon 1 ' '* C ° Unt, ' y h °'" e 0,16 
She quickly took hersmall “Bird Guide 
Zed"'T pr “ u 
ic sound Ccime a fr ain 
do2 fliir.™?; J d ; n expression ° f 
■she was hopeful ‘ eatUre8 ’ bu * Sti11 
notes°HW ,0bab ' y kn °' V ™ any ° f the bird 
such ’ ng so near the woods and in 
“Can a qU1 t 1, Sp0t ’” she said to her friend. 
Can you tell me what bird that is?” 
hat, said her friend, briefly “i s 0U r 
goat. We shall have to move him fZ 
ther off. Youth's Companion. 
Gulls love society. They always nest 
m colonies and live together the “tS 
r. They are most useful birds about 
a er-fronts of our cities. These 
gul shave developed certain traits thll 
bfrdLfth 38 r birdS rather than 
buds of the sea. In southern California 
leg ° n 1 haVe wa tched flocks of 
, ; Iea ^ e the ocean and rivers at day- 
reak and sail inland for miles, skirmish- 
g about the country to pick up a living 
m the fields following the ploj all the 
f; °'! s ’ as blackbirds do, and fi^hti,^ 
at the farmer’s heels for angleworms. \ 
have seen others rummage daily about 
pigpens and gorge on the offal thrown 
ou rom the slaughter houses. If any . 
bird is useful to man, the gull is certainly 
S economic importance as a seav- 
enger .—A merican Magazine. 
