98 
BY THE WAYSIDE 
curving branch of a climbing rose¬ 
bush at the front porch, just beside the 
door and in plain view from the large 
plate glass window of the parlor. Dur¬ 
ing the January just past we spent a 
few days in this home of our friends 
in Palo Alto. There was the nest still, 
though you would not have observed it, 
if your attention had not been directed 
towards it. It looked Lke the mossy 
green knots which grow on the sweet- 
brier rose, only it was brown. It had 
been constructed out of brown fibre 
which sheathes the naked stems of the 
palm trees and cut off from the ends 
of the fronds. Some fine date-palms 
were growing not far from where the 
nest was located, so the building ma¬ 
terials were most convenient. The 
nest was about two inches wide at the 
top, and tapering in a mound-shaped 
manner outside to the same depths per¬ 
haps, the inside hollow for the eggs 
being daintily lined with soft bits of 
the palm fibre. It was so> woven on and 
around the branch of the rosebush as 
to appear a part of its growth. 
A monastery containing an exquisite 
pipe-organ has recently been added to 
the charming Glen wood Mission Inn 
at Riverside, California. In February 
this was dedicated, the occasion being 
made by the gifted Master of the Inn, 
a Peace Meeting to which all the not¬ 
ables wintering in the region were in¬ 
vited. Among them were John Muir 
and John Burroughs—“the two Johns," 
a friend in Pasadena, who knows them 
both well, calls them. It was a dis¬ 
appointment to those present that Mr. 
Muir was called north just at the time 
of the meeting, but Mr. Burroughs was 
there for the day and night exercises. 
It was indeed a pleasure to me to 
clasp the hand that has written so much 
and so divinely about the great W( 
ot nature, and to see tiie sparkle! 
Ins bright, keen eyes as he asked : 
nad seal the bird on the nest on 
rosebush at Palo Alto. lie had, 
said, been much interested in obsen 
the humming birds in California, 
lie, too, had noticed that their nurtl 
was greater here than in the east. 
Our travels took us back to Palo J 
at the end of March, and behold! tl 
was a humming bird on the self-s 
nest! and in the nest were two 
eggs, the size of small peas! Su 
it was the same birds. They 
built the nest up from the top al 
an inch higher with the fibre and 
small gray lichen gathered from 
mossy trunks of the liveoaks nea 
The birds seemed to sit on the to] 
the nest, having its head always to 
window, and always on the watch, d 
ing instantly from the nest if one 
proached the window inside or starte 
go to the door. The hearing, as wei 
the sight, of the humming bird mus| 
very acute. There were fewer le; 
near the nest this year than last, 
the bird was more exposed, and bee; 
the porch and entrance were in ■ 
stant use, the bird had to leave 
duties many times. Once it rema 
off its nest two hours while a bev} 
fair maidens held a merry party on 
veranda. It worried us all to see i 
distressed and restless, but it had cht 
this site so close to human habitat 
and had to make the best of it. 
R port of Secretary of Wisconsin Audi 
Society/ 
On the evening of Friday, June 9. 
annual meeting of the Wisconsin Ai 
bon Society was held at Madison in 
Public Library. According to the ( 
