that of mere honey-gatherers. The service they render in pollenizing
the flowers is worth far more to the world than endless stores of
honey. There are a number of flowers that are so adjusted that their
pollen cannot of itself reach the stigma but is so disposed that it is
certain to be carried away by any bee or moth that chances to visit
it, while the stigma is so placed that an incoming bee is certain to
reach it on first alighting on the flower and dust it with the pollen
which has accumulated on the hairs on the under portion of the bee, or
has clung to his legs; this, of course, causes cross-fertilization, a
peculiar and wonderful provision of nature, which seems to be necessary
for the preservation of fruits and flowers and for the improvement of
the different kinds. Whole volumes have been written on this subject,
which even now is not entirely understood, but a single case will give
a little insight into the matter. The common primrose will produce even
from seeds selected from the same pod, two different kinds of flowers,
in about equal proportions, which are sterile of themselves. But each
kind may, by means of the good offices of the bee or other honey-loving
insect, fertilize the other. If no bees or other insects visit either
of these flowers no seed can be produced and the life of the plant ends
in a single season. Cross-fertilization is necessary to some plants and
beneficial to all. Nature has so devised it and has accordingly made
the flowers conspicuous to insects by painting them, in most cases, a
different and brighter hue than the foliage of the plant, making the
blossom, in some cases, give forth a pleasant odor, and in nearly all
cases causing the flower to secrete the nectar which the insects love.
Flowers which do not attract the insects by their bright colors, odor,
or nectar, are generally adapted to cross-fertilization by the wind or
are partly or wholly fertile in themselves.
It is a pretty well established fact that the flowers which we
particularly esteem, the bright-colored, perfumed, nectar-producing
varieties, owe their existence to the bees. We also owe the fruits
which we love to the selection of the bee to a large extent. Some
of the best varieties of strawberries are entirely sterile and must
be planted in close proximity to fertilizing varieties in order to
bring forth any fruit at all. Some varieties of pears also require
fertilization by the bees, and cannot bear fruit if bees are excluded.
Even the apple is not perfect unless fertilized by the bees, five
distinct pollenizations being required to perfect a single blossom,
and in places where orchards do not bear it is often found that the
introduction of four or five hives of bees for each one hundred trees
will cause them to bring forth fruit in abundance.
So, whether we wear bright flowers, or eat fruit or honey, or stroll
through meadows sweet with clover, the handiwork of the bee follows us
and impresses us with the fact that our little friend lives only to
give us sustenance, sweetness, and pleasure.
BIRDS AS SHEPHERDS.
In Venezuela there is a species of crane, called by the natives the
Yak-a-Mik, which is easily tamed and trained to look after a flock of
sheep or take care of the inmates of the poultry yard. When these are
placed in charge of this bird it may be implicitly trusted to take
them to their feeding places in the morning and bring them safely home
at night, not forgetting to hunt for and collect any stragglers. The
Yak-a-Mik displays all the traits of character usually associated with
the faithful sheep-dog. It can be amusing, too, for, while its usual
gait is slow and sedate, it can execute the most fantastic waltzes and
strike all sorts of absurd attitudes. A German agriculturist, Herr
von Seyffert, had one of these cranes which took charge of a herd of
heifers, driving them to and from their pastures. It also kept order in
the poultry yard, stopping all fighting and disorder.
[Illustration: PRES. BY VAUGHN'S SEED CO.
AMERICAN MISTLETOE.
1/2 Life-size.
COPYRIGHT 1899, NATURE STUDY PUB. CO., CHICAGO.]
THE MISTLETOE.
WILLIAM K. HIGLEY.
From very early times plants, animals, and even minerals have played
an important part in the expression of religious ideas and in the
execution of religious rites. Among the plants, sacred, and closely
allied to the mystic life of a portion of the human race, there is
none more interesting and rich in legend than the mistletoe. This was
associated with religious observances before the time of Christ and was
mentioned by our earliest historians.
There are over seventy species of this peculiar plant. Both the
American variety (_Phoradendron flavescens_) and the European, or true
mistletoe (_Viscum album_), belong to a family of parasites, so called
because they derive their nourishment entirely or in part from some
other plant instead of taking it directly from the soil. Owing to the
presence of the green coloring matter (_Chlorophyll_), in the stems and
leaves, the mistletoe is not entirely parasitic, but is to a certain
extent self-supporting, drawing but a portion of its nourishment from
the tree on which it grows.
It is found both on deciduous and on evergreen trees. In some locations
in Europe it is especially abundant on the apple tree and, if in the
right climate, there are few tree species which are exempt from serving
as its host.
The mistletoe is an evergreen shrubby plant of slow growth, attaining a
length of about four feet and its duration of life is practically that
of the tree on which it grows. The leathery leaves and rugged stems are
yellowish green in color and, in the axils of the leaves, are the small
and insignificant flowers, which ripen about Christmas-tide into pearly
white translucent berries. The seeds are probably distributed through
the agency of fruit-eating birds which, after eating, wipe their beaks
on the trunks and limbs of trees, leaving the seeds snugly planted in
the crevices of the bark.
In Scandinavian mythology we find the mistletoe used to cause the
death of one of the favorite gods of the Norsemen, Baldur, the god
typifying the beautiful, the good, and the wise. In this myth other
friendly gods, fearing Baldur's death, with his mother, exacted an
oath from animals, plants and minerals that they would not injure him.
Unfortunately, however, the mistletoe was forgotten and Loki, the god
of evil, knowing this fact and jealous of Baldur's beauty, gathered
a branch, and taking it to Hödur, the blind god of brute strength,
directed him how to aim it. Baldur was pierced by the mistletoe and
fell to the ground, dead.
But it was in "Merrie England" that the mistletoe was held most sacred,
most revered. The Druids, the early priests of the Gauls and Britons,
were accustomed to retreat to the oak groves for their mystic rites.
The mistletoe was not often found upon the oak, but when discovered,
was the occasion of special rejoicing and peculiar ceremonies, being
cut with a golden hook, and white bulls were sacrificed under the
favored tree. We are told by some authorities that as the oak was the
symbol of God, the All-powerful, so the mistletoe became the symbol
of man, receiving his life and sustenance from God. There are other
interesting myths; and, in fact, the mistletoe is closely woven with
many beliefs and rites of the Druids.
At Christmas-tide the mistletoe is largely used for decorative
purposes, especially in England, where the custom is ancient, and also
in our own land, where each holiday season finds more and more of this
unique plant gracing chandelier and window, until we, too, may some day
find our maids all kissed--
"Under the mistletoe bough."
THE EAGLE.
Bird of the broad and sweeping wing,
Thy home is high in heaven,
Where wide the storms their banners fling,
And the tempest clouds are driven.
--_Percival._
The bald eagle became the bird of our nation in the year 1873. It is at
home in all parts of North America. Its nest in the top of a lofty tree
is a common landmark in Maine, and on the great mountain peaks of the
western states the nest is usually placed upon the rock where no man
nor beast is able to climb.
The American eagle lives in America only, but an eagle living in the
Old World looks very much like it. The American bird is larger than
the one found in Europe. It is believed that the bird of our country
sometimes visits Europe, for an eagle is seen there at times that seems
to be our own bald eagle.
The birds that have beaks and claws like those of the eagle are very
much like the cat family upon the ground. They are all fierce hunters
and live upon weaker animals and birds. The greatest of all the cat
family is the lion, the king of beasts. The greatest of the cats of the
air is the eagle, and he is called the king of birds.
As the cats have claws and teeth for catching and tearing their prey so
the eagles have beaks and talons which are strong and sharp. The cats
come quickly upon their prey without the least noise. So do the eagles.
They come down from the sky like lightning and nothing is swift enough
to get away, unless it is warned of the eagle's coming.
An eagle sometimes lives to be over one hundred years old. Many years
ago it was said that an eagle never dies of sickness nor of old age,
but that its beak grows out of shape in its last years so that it
cannot eat.
All people have admired the eagle. The Indians of America have always
liked to wear the feathers of the king of birds, and in Scotland the
chief was known by the feather of an eagle which he wore in his bonnet.
It often happens that a young eagle looks much larger than its father
or mother. This is because the first feathers of the wings and tail are
longer than the ones that grow in their place when the young eagle has
once shed them. The young eagle is also darker than the old one. This
is why some people have made mistakes in writing about them without
knowing a young eagle from an old one.
Eagles of the same kind are not always of the same color. Some are
darker than others and the markings are not alike. Some young eagles
shed their downy feathers early and wear the dress of grown-up birds.
Others keep some or all of their baby feathers five or six years. And
there are some very old eagles still wearing some of the downy feathers
of their first dresses.
Eagles kept in cages lose some of their fierce ways and change the
colors of their dress. But they do not forget that they are eagles. A
large cat once went under the bars of an eagle's cage to get the meat
which had not been eaten by the bird. Down came the eagle, tore the cat
to pieces, and ate him in a hurry.
The bald eagle is very fond of fish. I have seen him on a bright day
sailing high above a lake where I was fishing. He was so slow and lazy
that I did not think he was fishing too. But when he saw a fine large
fish near the top of the water he came down like a flash, struck his
claws into the fish, and flew away to his mate in a tree upon the land.
Sometimes the eagle gets the fish hawk to do the work for him. Waiting
on the branch of some tree upon the shore he sees the fish hawk flying
about over the water looking for his prey. As soon as a fish has been
caught and the hawk is coming ashore to eat it, the eagle frightens the
hawk so as to make him drop his fish. Then the eagle catches it again
before it strikes the water.
It is because he is such a robber that some of the people of America
did not like to have him chosen to be the bird of our nation. They felt
that we ought to have a bird that is good towards all the other birds.
A poor family once lived for a long time by robbing an eagle. The
father climbed to the nest and took away the meat which the eagle
brought for its young. Every day he got food for his family from
the eagle. When the young birds were almost ready to fly he cut the
feathers from their wings so they could not leave the nest. Then he
tied them in to make sure of his own meat every day. The young ones
cried harder when tied and the old ones thought they were hungry and
brought them more flesh.
When the young are old enough to fly the old eagles fly above them as
if to show them how easily it is done. If the young do not try to fly
when the old ones think it time, they are pushed out of the nest as if
to kill them. But the young wings flutter so that the bird does not
fall hard, and the old bird flies under her young one to prevent any
harm.
The eye of this bird is so keen that it can see a small animal much
farther than the animal can see the great bird. When out of sight in
the sky the eagle can see a hare as it comes out of its hole. It comes
down so fast that it sometimes catches the hare before it can get back
to a safe place.
When the sky is clear the eagle flies very high, but on cloudy days he
keeps nearer the ground. He likes to fly over waterfalls because fish
are to be caught as they pass over the falls. At Niagara Falls eagles
are often seen because animals are sometimes carried over the falls by
the rushing water, and the birds can get them easily.
The eagle likes to face the sun and fly towards it as if he thought he
could reach it. For a long time people wondered how he could face the
sun so without being made blind. But we know now that he has a covering
for his eyes that keeps them from all harm from the strong light. If
you watch a chicken you may see it has two eyelids for each eye. So
has the eagle. The eagle has a sort of eyebrow of feathers that may
help protect his eyes from the strong light.
While the eagle is graceful in flying he is not at all so in walking.
Few birds are so awkward on their feet. His great claws are made for
catching his prey rather than for walking. He can tear things with them
and use them in fighting, but he has not much use for them upon the
ground.
When they cannot get the food that suits them best eagles will
sometimes steal farm animals. Lambs, or even full-grown sheep are
easily carried away. They have been known to attack children and carry
them off. But they do not often do this, and they have been known to
carry them a little way and then set them down again as if the load
were too great or they did not wish to eat them.
A story is told of a man who lived a long time ago, and who had but one
child, a little girl. He wished to adopt a poor little baby boy, but
his wife did not wish to take care of the boy. He had the baby carried
to the top of a tree in which was the nest of an eagle. The baby was
placed in the nest so he could not fall, and the man and his wife
walked under the tree. The child cried so that the lady heard him. She
supposed it had been carried there by the bird. Great haste was made to
get the baby down, and the lady was so pleased to think she had saved
the child from being eaten by the birds that she kept the little one as
her own son.
Eagles hunt in pairs. One flies about near the ground to scare the game
from the bushes and trees, while the other keeps watch from above to
swoop down on the first thing that comes in sight. While their young
ones are in the nest the old birds are very active. They are fierce if
anyone comes near the young.
Sometimes they show as much cunning in taking their prey as any of the
cat family. In flying down to catch animals upon the ground they take
care to fly so that their shadow will not frighten their prey. An eagle
has been known to destroy an animal too large to be picked up by flying
at the animal fiercely as it stood upon the edge of a steep place. The
wings of the bird frightened the animal so as to drive it over the
cliff to meet death upon the rocks below.
(_Continued on page 36._)
NUTS.
1. The English walnut (_Inglandaceæ_) has a thin shell. This nut is
much esteemed and is an important article of commerce. It yields by
expression a bland fixed oil, which, under the names of "walnut oil"
and "nut oil," is much used by painters and is a common article of food.
2. The peanut (_Arachis_) is also called ground nut and earth nut. It
is cultivated in all warm regions of the globe, and its usefulness is
such that it is likely to extend. It was introduced from Peru into
Spain, and thence into France. It succeeds in favorable situations and
yields from eighty to one hundred fold. Its cultivation is so general
in the eastern parts of Africa, and even in the interior, that doubts
have been therefore entertained of its American origin, of which,
the most eminent botanists seem to be quite satisfied. The fruit is
sometimes eaten raw, but generally boiled or roasted. The importance of
the plant is chiefly owing to the fixed oil contained in it, which is
used for the same purposes as olive or almond oil.
3. The Brazil nut is the fruit of the _Bertholletia excelsa_, a large
tree of the order _Lecythidaceæ_, found chiefly on the Orinoco. The
shell is very hard, and contains a rich, oily meat in one piece like
an almond. The Portuguese early carried on an extensive trade in these
nuts. They are now chiefly imported from Para, and continue to form an
article of great commercial importance. When fresh, they are highly
esteemed for their rich flavor; but they become rancid in a short time
from the great quantity of oil they contain. This has been largely
extracted for use in lamps.
4. The hickory nut (_Carya alba_) abounds near the great lakes and in
some parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The nuts are in considerable
demand and are sometimes exported. The shell is thin, but hard, and the
kernel sweet. The oil, which was used by the Indians as an article of
food, was obtained from it by pounding and boiling.
5. The filbert is the fruit of the _Corylus avellana_ or hazel. The
kernel has a mild, farinaceous, oily taste, agreeable to the palate. In
England filberts are usually large hazel nuts. The American hazel nuts
are of two other species.
6. The chestnut (_Castanea vesca_) is eaten raw, boiled, or roasted, or
is ground into meal and puddings, cakes, and bread are made from it.
The tree is common to Europe and America.
7. The pecan (_Carya olivalformis_), sometimes called the Illinois nut,
a species of hickory nut. The shell is thin and the meat well flavored.
The tree grows in North America, chiefly in the Mississippi valley, and
in Texas, where it is one of the largest of forest trees.
8. The almond (_Amygdalus_) grows on a tree about twenty or thirty feet
high, a native of the East and of Africa, but has now become completely
wild in the whole south of Europe. It is planted for the sake of its
beautiful flowers, which resemble those of the peach in form and color.
The wood of the tree is hard and of a reddish color, and is used by
cabinet-makers. But it is chiefly valued on account of the kernel of
its fruit, well known by the name of almonds, an important article
of commerce. It is mentioned in the Old Testament, and appears to
have been cultivated from a very early period. It was introduced into
Britain as a fruit-tree before the middle of the sixteenth century, but
it is only in the most favored situations in the south of England that
it ever produces good fruit. It is successfully cultivated in southern
California. Almonds are either sweet or bitter. The bitter appear
to be the original kind, and the sweet to be an accidental variety,
perpetuated and improved by cultivation.
[Illustration: Life-size.
COPYRIGHT 1899, NATURE STUDY PUB. CO., CHICAGO.
Almond.
Chestnut.
Brazil nut.
Filbert.
Peanut.
Pecan.
Hickory nut.
English walnut.]
THE BIRTH OF ATHENA.
BY EMILY C. THOMPSON.
It is a study, interesting to some of our modern scholars, to fathom
the depths of obscurity and bring up from the hidden past, from the
minds of men long departed, their conceptions of the beings whom they
worshiped. Still more interesting is it to surmise and conjecture the
origin of these marvelous beings. Charming books have been written
upon these subjects and they prove fascinating to the reader who, with
vivid imagination, can follow the theories of each author and the long
fantastic proofs. The gods of the Greeks, those anthropomorphic beings,
throbbing with life, radiant with beauty, the ideal of all that is
fair and lovely, and yet the prey of human passions and desires, are a
never-ending source of delight to classical students.
All theories start from the supposition that the gods had their origin
either in physical or mental phenomena. Many try to trace out the
effect which the world of nature with its wonders, its beauties, and
its fearful realities, has had upon the savage and primitive mind, and
how from these impressions arose the main gods of the Greek religion.
Of course there are scholars on the other side who will not admit
that there is any physical aspect of any of the gods. So the conflict
rages, exciting, even absorbing, but inconclusive. The method of proof
must depend largely upon the actual remains of that civilization
which are still left for us in the literature and art of that people.
The Greeks had an established theogony very early, as we know by the
"Theogony" of Hesiod, which still remains. In this the parents of the
gods were traced far back, to Gaia, the earth, and Uranus, the sky, who
themselves were sprung from Chaos. A minute relationship was figured
out between all their deities which is to us almost too perplexing to
follow. Many names in this theogony are names taken from nature, as
those above, and so the scholars get a basis for their investigations.
Athena was one of the principal goddesses of this race, the virgin
goddess of wisdom and of the arts of life, especially honored at
Athens, the seat of ancient culture. Could any goddess seem farther
removed from anything physical or material?--and yet we find many
theories from competent, earnest scholars, brought forward to prove
that such a relationship did exist. The birth of this goddess as
recorded by the ancient writers was peculiar. At a blow given by
Hephæstus (Vulcan) or Prometheus, she sprang from the head of Zeus, the
great god of Olympus, clad in her armor, full-grown, and perfect.
A few quotations will tell us the story and show us all upon which the
scholars have to base their theories about the origin of the goddess
and her nature.
Homer presents Athena to us as the daughter of Zeus, and of Zeus alone,
but he does not tell anything about her birth. She seems to be the
spoilt darling of her father, or as one German writer calls her, _sein
anderes Ich_. She wears the ægis of her father and sometimes all his
armor, as she takes an active part in the battles, aiding her beloved
Achæans.
Hesiod, Theogony, 886-900; 924-926.
"Zeus, the king of the gods, made Metis first his bride--Metis,
most knowing of gods and of mortal men. But when she was about to
bear the glancing-eyed goddess Athena, then deceiving her mind by
craft, by winning words, he swallowed her, by the shrewdness of Gaia
and starry Uranus, for thus they advised him, that no other of the
ever-living gods might gain kingly honor in place of Zeus. For from
her it was decreed that there should spring clever children; first
the glancing-eyed maiden, Tritogenia (Athena), having equal strength
with her father and wise counsel; but that then she would bear a son,
king of gods and men, with overbearing heart. But first Zeus swallowed
her, since the goddess purposed both good and evil for him.... So
he himself bore from his head the glancing-eyed Athena, terrible,
strife-stirring, leader of the host, the unwearied, revered one, whom
the din of battle, wars, and combat delights."
Pindar, Olympian VII, 33-38.
"Then the golden-haired one (Apollo) spoke from the fragrant shrine of
the temple, spoke of the voyage from the Lernæan shores straight to the
sea-girt island where the king of the gods, the great one, moistened
the city with golden snowflakes, when by the arts of Hephæstus, by
his brazen ax, Athena springing down the crest of her father's head,
uttered the war cry with a mighty shout, and Heaven and Mother Earth
shuddered before her."
Homeric Hymn to Athena XXVIII.
"Of Pallas Athena, honored goddess, I begin to sing, with glancing
eyes, of many counsels and kindly heart, revered maiden, savior of
cities, valiant, Tritogenia, whom Zeus himself bore from his sacred
head, clad in her arms of war, golden, all-radiant. Wonder held all
the immortals as they looked upon her. She quickly sprang before
ægis-bearing Zeus from his immortal head shaking her sharp spear. And
great Olympus trembled terribly beneath the weight of the glancing-eyed
one, and the earth about resounded fearfully, and the sea was moved,
agitated with its purple waves, and the salt water was poured forth
on a sudden. The glorious son of Hyperion (the sun) stopped his
swift-footed steeds for a long time until the maiden Pallas Athena took
her arms from her immortal shoulders and all-wise Zeus rejoiced.
"So hail to thee, daughter of ægis-bearing Zeus! But of thee and of
another song I shall be mindful."
Lucian, Dialogi Deorum VIII.