I have a nice collection of curiosities, and if Ida B. D., of California, will kindly send me some shells from the Pacific coast, especially some abalone shells, and some sea-mosses, I will exchange any of my curiosities for them. My curiosities consist of stalactites, stalagmites, conglomerates, crystals, Indian arrow-heads (some of which are broken), gypsum, iron ore, and a great many pretty pebbles and stones that I find on the sand-bars along Green River. If she sends me any specimens, will she please mark the name and where each one is from?
John H. Bartlett, Jun.,
Greensburgh, Green County, Kentucky.
Jesse Hargrave.—The poet alluded to by Scott in the forty-first chapter of The Heart of Mid-Lothian, as "him of the laurel wreath," was Robert Southey, who was appointed poet laureate of England in 1813. The lines quoted are from Southey's poem of "Thalaba the Destroyer," eleventh book, thirty-sixth stanza.
W. W. S.—Many thanks for your kind attention in sending us the interesting facts concerning the nesting of English sparrows in trees. These little foreigners will pile the mass of dried grass, hair, and other rubbish which composes their nest, on any ledge or shelf which will support it, and if a decayed stump or deserted nest affords such support, they are quite as ready to use it as they are to take possession of the little houses which kind hands fasten to the branches of trees. They will also build in woodbine and ivy, the strong branches of which, clinging to the brick or stone wall, form a solid support, quite as good as the ledge over a window or door. Almost any corner is acceptable to these little fellows. A lady who had been absent from the city during the summer, on returning home found one of her chamber windows taken full possession of by the sparrows. The blinds had been closed, and the space between them and the window was stuffed full of rubbish, the birds using an open slat as an entrance to their cozy home. We know of no instance where sparrows have woven an independent nest, and fastened it to the branches of a tree, and for that reason we have not classed them among birds that build their nests in trees.
W., F., and S.—To make a boat scup set two upright posts firmly in the ground about four or five feet apart. Connect them at the top by a strong bar, across which at the centre fasten another bar at right angles. The boat, which should have a seat at each end, is hung by four stout ropes, one to each corner, so as to balance well, to the connecting bar. A rope passing from each end of the cross-bar enables the occupants to swing the boat forward and backward. The upright posts should be well braced. If you can visit some park or picnic ground where one of these swings is in operation, you will understand better how to build one.
William F. S.—The coins you describe belong to the class known as business tokens. They are issued by private parties, and are valueless.