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Bringing up a Humming-bird by Hand.
Some time ago we found in an oleander-tree in our garden a humming-bird's nest. Our curiosity and interest were so great that we could not resist peeping into it. We found two tiny birds, only a few days old, and as there were several of us children examining it we shook the nest considerably, and as it seemed insecure we changed it. The mother bird did not return that day, and we feared that by our carelessness we had driven her off, but the next day she appeared.
One of the birds fell from the nest and was killed, so that only one remained for us to watch. It happened that the tree was infested with ants, who soon discovered the little bird and bit it terribly. To relieve it I ventured to try and bring it up in the house, and so made a little nest out of cotton for it, and kept it on a shelf of flowers in my room. I fed it many times a day, on diluted honey, through a medicine-dropper. We were delighted to see that the little thing survived on this treatment, and we soon had a well bird on our hands.
One day while in my room I heard a strange noise outside the window, and looking out, I saw the mother bird, who had caught sight of her little one inside on one of the flower-pots. The little one had learned to fly by this time, so I opened the window and the two flew away together. We felt that we had accomplished the "wellnigh impossible"—bringing up a humming-bird by hand.
Geraldine Scupham.
Oakland, California.