d of
gems. It is the color of my throat, and from its rare and brilliant
beauty I get a part of my name. The ruby is worn by great ladies and,
with the emerald and topaz, whose bright colors I also wear, is much
esteemed as an ornament.

If you will come into the garden in the late afternoon, between six
and seven o'clock, when I am taking my supper, and when the sun is
beginning to close his great eye, you will see his rays shoot sidewise
and show all the splendor of my plumage. You will see me, too, if your
eyes are sharp enough, draw up my tiny claws, pause in front of a rose,
and remain seemingly motionless. But listen, and you will hear the
reason for my name--a tense humming sound. Some call me a Hummer indeed.

I spend only half the year in the garden, coming in May and saying
farewell in October. After my mate and I are gone you may find our nest.
But your eyes will be sharp indeed if they detect it when the leaves are
on the trees, it is so small and blends with the branches. We use
fern-wool and soft down to build it, and shingle it with lichens to
match the branch it nests upon. You should see the tiny eggs of pure
white. But we, our nest and our eggs, are so dainty and delicate that
they should never be touched. We are only to be looked at and admired.

Farewell. Look for me when you go a-Maying.

RUBY.

THE HOUSE WREN.

"It was a merry time
When Jenny Wren was young,
When prettily she looked,
And sweetly, too, she sung."

"In looking over an old memorandum book the other day," says Col. S. T.
Walker, of Florida, "I came across the following notes concerning the
nesting of the House Wren. I was sick at the time, and watched the whole
proceeding, from the laying of the first stick to the conclusion. The
nest was placed in one of the pigeonholes of my desk, and the birds
effected an entrance to the room through sundry cracks in the log cabin."

Nest begun April 15th.
Nest completed and first egg laid April 27th.
Last egg laid May 3rd.
Began sitting May 4th.
Hatching completed May 18th.
Young began to fly May 27th.
Young left the nest June 1st.
Total time occupied 47 days.

Such is the usual time required for bringing forth a brood of this
species of Wren, which is the best kno