Various

“ If disturbed, or suddenly frightened, the Ousel will flit up or down the stream. Sometimes the bird will wing its way to the opposite bank. It delights in the water, and spends hours in wading about and seeking its food among the pebbles and sand. The cute little fellow bathes almost constantly. Every few minutes it will dip its plump little body under the water, and then shake its feathers.
The bird is always cheerful and full of action. Never for an instant is the Ousel at rest. It is always on the move, uttering its short, plaintive chirp. The Ousel is not wild, nor even timid. ”

“ Few things in nature are more beautiful and impressive than a river bursting from the hillside, its clear water sparkling in the sunlight, seeming joyous at being free from its captivity. Among the most celebrated and beautiful of subterranean rivers is the Sorgues of Dauclûse, in France. ”

“ At present that stylish pine is all mixed up with dowdy maples and poplars, the water view is completely blocked, and we wedge our way with difficulty where we once stepped freely along a tiny track beaten hard in the thin sunburnt pasture grass, running diagonally to a breach in the wall flanked by barberries, and out into the big field which, dipping suddenly to the level of the beach, becomes a grassy swamp. ”

“ All its actions, in wantonness or in severity of the chase, display the dash of the athletic bird, which, if lacking the brute strength and brutal ferocity of some, becomes their peer in prowess—like the trained gymnast, whose tight-strung thews, supple joints, and swelling muscles, under marvelous control, enable him to execute feats that to the more massive or not so well conditioned frame would be impossible. ”

“ A bird like him is a boon and an ornament to the streets and parks of any city that he graces with his presence. No selfish recluse is he—no, indeed! In no dark gulch or arid wilderness, “far from human neighborhood,” does he take up his abode. He prefers the companionship of man to the solitudes of nature. ”

“ All unprejudiced authorities are agreed that the habitual use of tobacco acts injuriously upon the system, no matter in what form or manner it is used. It is stated that there is no nicotine in tobacco smoke, that is during the combustion the nicotine is changed chemically, but it is nevertheless true that there are more or less poisonous gaseous compounds in the smoke. Not only is the tobacco habit injurious to the system, but it is also nasty and filthy. The tobacco stench not only permeates the clothing, but also the entire system, the breath and the atmosphere about the users of tobacco. ”

“ The legs of the Swallow-tailed Kite are so short that they are practically useless for locomotion and it seldom lights on the ground. Like the marsh hawks, it obtains its food while flying close to the ground; or, if its prey be an insect, it pursues it in the air. Dragon flies are dainty morsels for this graceful bird. At no time is the Kite’s alertness and control of every muscle in its body more clearly shown than when it is pursuing these insects. ”

“ From Maine to Florida they range, and less frequently are met along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico so far as Louisiana. How bright and dainty they are! Whole meadows are radiant with their blushing loveliness. Probably if they consented to live far away from the sea, they would lose some of the deep, clear pink from out their lovely petals, since all flowers show a tendency to brighten their colors as they approach the coast. ”

“ No substance, whether animal, vegetable or mineral has been the cause of so much discussion and variation of opinion as to its utility as tobacco. As one extreme may be mentioned an eminent older botanist who questioned the desirability of the discovery of America by Columbus because as a result was introduced into the civilized world this poisonous weed. Others again cannot find words suitable to laud its virtues, considering it a plant especially created for the benefit and pleasure of man, without which life would be dull and profitless. ”

“ The antics of the Swallow-tailed Kite during the mating season are particularly interesting. An observer of bird life says: “Of all aerial performances I have ever witnessed, the mating of the Swallow-tailed Kite excels. Ever charming and elegant, they outdo themselves at this season. In Becker County, Minnesota, in the spring of 1886, they chose as their mating ground an open space over the mouth of an ice-cold brook that made its way out from a dark, tangled larch swamp. ”

“ The earth is nature’s great filter, cleansing and purifying the water from the impurities of the soil. As it passes through strata of gravel or clay, it becomes pure and wholesome to drink. Sometimes water passes through a stratum containing sulphur, iron or magnesia, and so we have mineral wells and springs. There is in Brown County, Illinois, an iron, a sulphur, and a magnesia spring within a few feet of each other.
Having considered underground streams and lakes, artesian wells, and geysers in a general way, we will now proceed to notice some of the most remarkable of each. ”

“ Cigar smoking is usually considered less vulgar and less disgusting than smoking a pipe, but there is certainly nothing more disagreeable to the nostrils than the conglomerate stench from a poor cigar. The well diluted aroma from a good cigar is very pleasant at a distance.
The injurious effects resulting from the continued habitual use of tobacco may be summarized as follows: If the habit is begun very early in life (five to ten years) the mental, moral and physical development is checked or stunted. At all times the habit is apt to produce chronic dyspepsia; the heart’s action is weakened ”

“ There are several species of tobacco, of which the above is the most highly valued, and they are all natives of warm countries, as southern Asia, India, South America and the West Indies. Tobacco is very extensively cultivated in nearly all warm countries, especially in the southern United States and the West Indies.
The history of the cultivation and use of tobacco is shrouded in uncertainty. Some authorities affirm that it was extensively used for smoking and as snuff and cultivated on a large scale in China, many centuries before the discovery of America. ”

“ While all tobacco habits are filthy, there are degrees of filthiness. “Snuff dipping,” which is extensively practiced by men and women of the poorer classes of the south, is unquestionably the most filthy habit. A stick moistened with saliva is dipped into snuff tobacco and rubbed on gums, teeth and tongue. Next in filthiness is the old fashion of putting snuff into the nostrils; a habit which we are pleased to note is rapidly dying out. Next follows the chewing habit, which is very extensively practiced by laborers, with whom smoking is inconvenient or forbidden ”

“ Now the long, sunny summer days are coming, and I am waiting eagerly, for when the warm weather comes my dear little master and his mother and baby sister are coming for a long visit. Then I’ll be the happiest dog in town, for I’ll have to go walking with two playmates and my mistress.
It is strange how few people understand dogs, or any other animal for that matter.
The majority seem to think that all we are good for is to be kicked and abused.
The people at both my homes are as kind to their animals as to their children, and love and care for us just as we need. ”

“ The Swallow-tailed Kite usually builds its nest in the tallest trees of wild localities, where it is quite concealed by the foliage of the smaller branches. The nest is often constructed with sticks and twigs, but when obtainable, Spanish moss or the fibrous inner bark of the cottonwood is used to make a thick and substantial lining. Some observers state that the material is collected by the female, but that the male assists in the construction of the nest. He is certainly a faithful mate, for during the period of incubation she seldom leaves the nest and he brings food to her. ”

“ It will find its way into cavities, large and small, or following some underground channel or stratum, it may burst forth a clear and sparkling spring, or it may flow on a rivulet, or river, and perhaps enter into a great subterranean lake. The underground fountain or lake that keeps an artesian well spouting from year to year may be fed by a stream or lake in the heart of some distant mountain. Some artesian wells cease to flow after a while, showing that the fountain that supplies them is at least partially exhausted. We do not know to what depth water penetrates the earth. ”

“ What could this chipper little city chap be, with his trim form and pretty manners, in such marked contrast with those of the alien English sparrow? Afterward he was identified as the house-finch, which rejoices in the high-sounding Latin name of Carpodacus mexicanus frontalis. He is rather an exclusive little bird, his range being only from the eastern border of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific coast, chiefly south of the fortieth degree of north latitude in the interior regions.
He is certainly an attractive little fellow, and I wish we could offer sufficient inducements to bring him east. ”

“ The Fire-weed is one of the most interesting of the wild members of the family. It is abundant in dry fields and along roadsides throughout that portion of North America lying north of North Carolina, Kansas, Arizona and California. With its spike-like racemes of rather broad purple or sometimes white flowers, it beautifies many waste places from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. A plant of the Fire-weed is a continuous bouquet, for it blossoms from June to October. ”

“ Half way down stands a magnificent pitch pine of most luxuriant growth and very peculiar shape, quite tall, yet stretching one broad curving arm down the slope close to the ground, like a great delicious tufted green mattress. ”

“ According to recent observation the sweating process, which develops the aroma, is initiated by microbes and that the special aroma of each brand or culture variety of tobacco is the result of the action of a certain species of microbe. German scientists have succeeded in developing the flavor or aroma of Havana tobacco in tobacco raised in Germany by adding the sweating microbe of Havana tobacco. Further experiments in this line are in progress.
At the present time tobacco is cultivated on an enormous scale, the United States producing more than all European countries put together. ”

“ So far as is known no member of this group of animals has ever ventured on land or into fresh water. All are inhabitants of the ocean and are found from the tide-washed shore to the abysses of the sea.
The present article deals with the true starfishes (Asteroidea) and a good idea of the general structure may be gained by a careful examination of a specimen of the common five-finger (Asterias vulgaris) so common on the New England coast. It is made up of a central disk or body, from which extend five rays or arms, whence the name starfish. ”

“ To one not accustomed to the use of tobacco even very minute doses of nicotine (1-7 gr.) produces severe symptoms of poisoning, accompanied by very depressing nausea, vomiting, feeble pulse, muscular weakness, extreme pallor and cold sweat; in brief, there is an “all gone” feeling. As a rule the system recovers quite rapidly from the awful depression. A tolerance to the effects of tobacco is readily established, as all who are addicted to its use can testify. I have seen a tobacco chewer swallow the entire quid without any noticeable ill effects. ”

“ I suppose that my history is not a very important one, but it will show how a dog can love and appreciate and tell what a truly happy life I have had so far, because I have been with good-hearted people.
I am not a very old dog yet, but I hope to live many years with my kind friends in the beautiful home I now have, and wish all animals were as well off as,
Yours truly, Dick. ”

“ Alice’s Thrush, or the Gray-cheeked Thrush, has an extensive range covering the whole of North America from the Atlantic coast westward to the Plains and northward to the regions beyond the Arctic Circle and is abundant along the Arctic Coast. Mr. Ridgway says: “This bird and the robin are the only species of our thrushes that cross the Arctic Circle to any distance, or reach the shores of the Arctic Ocean. It occurs from Labrador all around the American Coast to the Aleutian Islands.” It also frequents Siberia. ”

“ Starfishes are very destructive to the oyster beds along the Atlantic coast of the United States, thousands of bushels of oysters being destroyed in a few days by them. The little starfishes attack the young oysters and as the former increase in size they move about in vast numbers, resembling in this respect the grasshoppers and locusts of the west and being fully as destructive. ”

“ In the desert of Sahara artesian wells have become of great value in making the country near them habitable, as the flow is sufficient to irrigate large areas of land. Two new villages have been built in the desert and two hundred thousand palm trees have been planted about these wells. In the Western part of the United States, where the rainfall is limited, many artesian wells have been bored, the water being largely used for irrigation. In California more than forty thousand acres are irrigated from flowing wells. ”

“ Grace and sprightly action characterize the Water Ousel. It is as quick as a flash. The bird never deserts the stream. No difference how attractive may be the wooded banks, it does not lose itself in the sylvan depths. ”