Birds and Nature Vol. 11 No. 2 [February 1902]

In February the poppies bloom in splendor, and no season of the year is so beautiful, so radiant with glory as the poppy time. Coming after a spell of rainy weather, when the mists have lifted from the face of nature, they usher in the long summer.

In California the interest centering in the poppy is universal, and it is the most beautiful of California’s flora. It is the favorite flower, being the State flower, suggestive in color, divine in inspiration and poetry, besides the precious gold and orange to be found in this land.

The naturalist Adalbert von Chamisso arrived at San Francisco in 1816 on the ship Rurick. Seeing the poppy for the first time, he christened it Eschscholtzia (esh-sholts-i-a), after Herr Eschscholtz, his friend and companion of the ocean journey. The Spanish people call it El oro de copo (the cup of gold).

This poppy grows in portions of Oregon, Arizona and Mexico, but in California it has a beauty such as you can find nowhere else.

They grow about one foot high. The cups of gold rest on slender, graceful stems; the foliage delicate and olive green in color. This royal poppy is rich in coloring, cool and refreshing in the midst of tropical heat. It is one of the most characteristic and beautiful features of California’s scenery. Associated with it are sunny skies, beauty, sea breezes and waving palms.

Under the sun of a bright day the scene is like an Italian landscape – a blue sky without a cloud. The eye wanders here and there to the gold spread far and wide, and the question rises, Was there ever such flowers as these? Myriads of rich, gorgeous, brilliant poppies nod, lean, dance and swing their dainty cups of gold in the breeze. A mass of tossing gold, sheets of gold fire running up the valley, hill slopes and mountains. The pasture, mesa and uplands are all aglow. Poppies everywhere, found along the sea-shore in great patches, by the roadside, hid in the fence corners, in the green grass, at the edge of the woods, in the deserts and waste places. They appear like unfurled banners of a victor army, like waving billows in the breeze, like a golden sea, rippling against a blue horizon.

They are the flowers, around which the tourists linger, and they go into raptures over them. Gathered by armfuls, they are carried to hotels and pressed in books, then taken East, as souvenirs of this sunny land.

On “Poppy Day” the desks in the schools, the tables and mantels in the hotels are decorated with bouquets of the golden blossoms.

Children worship them in their delight and greet one another with “The poppies are in bloom!” then scamper off by dozens to the mesas, where they deck their hair with poppy garlands and race to and fro like butterflies, wading knee-deep in poppy dust of gold.

Above their happy voices the songs of the meadow larks can be heard, clear, mellow and thrillingly sweet.

A golden spell lingers around the scene, an influence that penetrates the soul.

Clara Hill.

QUARTZ

The crypto-crystalline (obscurely crystalline) varieties of Quartz are many. The following may be named as the most important: Chalcedony, carnelian, sard, chrysoprase, prase, plasma, bloodstone, agate, onyx, sardonyx, jasper, basanite, flint and hornstone. The distinctions between the different varieties are loose and are differently stated by different authorities. Some class agate, onyx, sardonyx, plasma and carnelian together as varieties of chalcedony, while others consider chalcedony a simple variety. The chalcedonic varieties of quartz agree in having a fibrous structure and in being somewhat softer (hardness 6½) and somewhat lighter (specific gravity 2.6) than crystallized quartz. They also break with more difficulty than quartz, being very tough. The varieties differ among themselves, chiefly in color.

Common chalcedony has a waxy luster and is usually translucent rather than transparent. The transparent forms are known as “oriental,” the translucent as “occidental” chalcedony. Common chalcedony has little color, shades of gray and blue being the most common, although other tints occur. It usually presents rounded surfaces which have grape-like, kidney-like or stalactitic forms. It occurs coating other rocks or minerals or lines cavities or fills veins and clefts. It is never, so far as we know, deposited in any other way than by percolating waters. At Tampa Bay, Florida, the waters containing chalcedony have penetrated corals and preserved them, often giving forms showing the shape of the coral outside and a cavity within. Throughout the “Bad Lands” of the West, clefts in the hills are often filled with sheets of chalcedony varying in thickness from that of thin paper to nearly an inch. These chalcedony veins ramify in all directions and often extend for many rods without interruption.

When the chalcedony is penetrated by branching forms of manganese or iron oxide the forms known as “mocha stones” and “moss agates” are produced. These are not due to vegetation any more than the similar forms of frost on our window panes. They are purely mineral in their origin. Moss agates are found in numerous localities in the States of Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and Montana. In the opinion of Mr. George F. Kunz “no stone that is used in jewelry in the United States is cheaper, more beautiful or more plentiful than the moss agate.” The best occur as rolled pebbles in the beds of streams. The name, “Mocha stone,” sometimes applied to moss agates is either due to the fact that those first used came from Mocha in Arabia, or it is a corruption of the word moss agate. The finest moss agates now known come from India. A white variety of chalcedony containing minute blood red spots is known as St. Stephen’s stone. Chalcedony was formerly used much more and more highly prized than at the present time. It was especially employed for seals and rings, but also for plates, cups and vases. These were often engraved in the most elaborate manner, the hardness and toughness of the stone making it well adapted for this purpose. The sentiment of the stone is: “A disperser of melancholy.” The name chalcedony is from Chalcedon, a city in Asia Minor, where the original chalcedony was found. This mineral was probably not like our modern chalcedony, however, being more probably a green quartz. This chalcedony is mentioned as one of the foundation stones of the Holy City in the Book of Revelations.

Carnelian is a red variety of chalcedony, sard a brown variety. All gradations between these shades of course occur, those of the reddish cast being the most common. The most highly prized color for carnelian is a deep blood red, appearing darker red in reflected light. The lighter red and yellowish shades are less desirable, stones of these shades being known as “female carnelians,” while those of the darker shades are known as “male” carnelians. The colors are due to oxides of iron and can sometimes be changed by heating. Thus the yellowish and brownish carnelians being colored by iron hydroxide can be changed by heating to red, the water being driven off and iron oxide left. The heating may be done in the sun or by some other slow means. Even olive green stones are changed in India to red by this process. The color may also be introduced artificially by allowing the stones to lie in a mixture of metallic iron and nitric acid, or of iron sulphate for a while. In this way the iron salt needed for the coloring matter can be absorbed by the stone and this is changed afterwards to oxide by heating. The best carnelians come from India, but good stones are also obtained in Siberia, Brazil and Queensland. Carnelians are cut usually in oval and shield-like shapes and were much employed by the ancients for intaglios. They believed them to have the power of preventing misfortune and they were much worn as charms.

Sard of typical brown color is much rarer than carnelian and possesses a high value. In other respects it is like carnelian. The sardius mentioned in the Bible as forming one of the stones of the High Priest’s breastplate was undoubtedly a carnelian. The name was derived from Sardius, a city of Lydia whence fine carnelians are obtained. The name carnelian is according to some authorities derived from the Latin word caro, carnis, flesh, and refers to the color of the stone, or according to others it is from the Italian word carniola which has the same meaning.

Chrysoprase and Prase are terms applied to an apple green to bright green chalcedony or compact, jasper-like form of quartz. Some authorities, however, call the green chalcedony plasma and restrict the term chrysoprase to the green compact quartz. The terms cannot be accurately distinguished. Most chrysoprase now in use comes from localities in the province of Silesia in Germany, where it occurs in thin layers and veins in serpentine. The green color here is due to nickel oxide which is present in the stone to the amount sometimes of one per cent. The first discovery of the stone is said to have been made by a Prussian officer in 1740. The stone was especially fancied by Frederick the Great so that he had two tables made of it and used it frequently in mosaics. The color fades with light and heat, but it is said can be restored by burying the stone in moist earth for a time. Beautiful chrysoprase comes from India and there are a few localities in our own country where it is found, it being usually associated with nickeliferous deposits. The name chrysoprase comes from two Greek words meaning golden leek and refers to the color of the stone.

Plasma, as already stated, is a name applied to green chalcedony, or by some to green jasper. The name comes from the Greek for image and shows that the stone was largely used for seals and other engraved work. Most of that known at the present time comes from India and China.

Bloodstone is a variety of plasma containing spots of red jasper looking like drops of blood. Another name for bloodstone by which it was chiefly known by the ancients is heliotrope. This name is derived from two Greek words meaning “sun turning” and refers to the belief that the stone when immersed in water changes the image of the sun to blood red. The stone was often used by the ancients for carvings representing the head of Christ, and one fine specimen of such work may be seen in the Field Columbian Museum. The ancients had a tradition that the stone originated at the crucifixion of Christ from drops of blood drawn by the spear thrust in his side falling on a dark green jasper. The stone takes a beautiful polish. To be of the best quality it should have a rich dark green color and the red spots should be small and uniformly distributed. The supply is obtained almost wholly from India, especially from the Kathiawar Peninsula west of Cambay, whence agate, carnelian and chalcedony are also obtained. Fine examples have also come from Australia and a few from Brazil. In present usage bloodstone is the “birth stone” of the month of March.

“Who on this world of ours their eyesIn March first open shall be wise,In days of peril firm and braveAnd wear a bloodstone to their grave.”

Agate was described in the June number of this magazine.

Onyx and sardonyx are varieties of agate in which the layers are in even planes of uniform thickness. This structure enables the stone to be used for engraving cameos. As is well known, these are so made that the base is of one color and the figure of another. This art of making cameos reached a high degree of perfection among the Romans and many superb examples of it have come down to us. The word onyx means a nail (finger nail) and refers to some fancied resemblance, perhaps in luster, to the human nail. Sardonyx is a particular variety of onyx in which one of the layers has the brown color of sard. Other kinds of onyx are those known as chalcedonyx and carnelionyx in reference to the color of the intervening layers. So-called Mexican onyx is composed of quite a different mineral from the onyx here considered, it being made up of calcite rather than quartz. Mexican onyx can be scratched easily with a knife while quartz onyx cannot. Mexican onyx has, however, the banded structure of quartz onyx and it is in allusion to this undoubtedly that the name has been applied. A sardonyx upon which Queen Elizabeth’s portrait was cut constituted the stone of the famous ring which she gave the Earl of Essex as a pledge of her friendship. It will be remembered that when the Earl was sentenced to death he sent this ring to his cousin, Lady Scroop, to deliver to Elizabeth. The messenger by mistake gave it to Lady Scroop’s sister, the Countess Nottingham, who being an enemy of the Earl’s did not deliver it to the Queen and the Earl was executed. On her deathbed the Countess confessed her crime to the Queen, who was so infuriated that she shook her, saying “God may forgive you, but I cannot.” The onyx is the emblem of conjugal felicity and by some is made the “birth stone” of the month of July. It is one of the stones prescribed for the ephod of the Jewish High Priest.

The sardonyx was supposed by the ancients to be a different stone from the onyx. To it was ascribed the property of conferring eloquence upon its wearer. It is mentioned in Revelations as one of the stones forming the foundations of the Holy City. Onyx and sardonyx which come from the Orient are esteemed of much higher value in trade at the present time than those prepared in Germany. There seems to be no good reason for this, however, as the latter can be so skillfully made that it is impossible to distinguish them from the Oriental stones.

Jasper is a name which includes in general nearly all varieties of impure opaque colored crypto-crystalline quartz. In color it may be red, yellow, green, brown, bluish and black. To many of the pebbles found on almost any sea or lake shore or in the beds of streams the name jasper may properly be applied. If it occurs banded, that is, in stripes of different colors, it is known as ribbon jasper. The different colors of jasper are due to the different impurities it contains. These may be clay, iron oxides or organic matter and at times reach a quantity as high as twenty per cent. The color often varies irregularly in a single stone, giving different effects and sometimes imitating paintings. Jasper which can be used in the arts is very widely distributed. Good red jasper is obtained in Breisgau and near Marburg in Germany. Much of the brown jasper comes from Egypt. What is known as “Sioux Falls jasper” from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is chiefly of a brown color. This stone was highly prized by the Indians for its color and is the “jasper” referred to by Longfellow in Hiawatha:

“At the doorway of his wigwamSat the ancient Arrow-makerIn the land of the Dacotahs,Making arrow-heads of jasperArrow-heads of chalcedony.”

The yellow jasper used for mosaics comes chiefly from Sicily, but as good could be obtained in many places in our own country. The green jasper of the present time is obtained chiefly in the Urals and is to a considerable extent worked there into ornamental pieces. The Chinese prize green jasper highly, the seal of the Emperor being made from it. Some jasper of a bluish shade is found in Nature, but that of a deep blue tinge is always artificially colored by Prussian blue. It is then sometimes known as “false lapis,” that is, false lapis lazuli. Ribbon jasper is found in Saxony, but chiefly comes from the Urals. The qualities which make jasper of use in the arts are its color, opacity and capacity for taking a polish. At the present time it is not much used except for mosaic work and for small boxes, vases and dishes. The ancients, however, prized it highly and used it extensively. It is one of the stones prescribed in the Book of Exodus to be worn in the ephod of the High Priest and also forms one of the gates of the Holy City as described by St. John in Revelations. It is probable that the jasper referred to in these instances was of a dark green color, as this was the tint most prized in early times. Green jasper was also called emerald in some instances. The banded varieties were much used for cameos, specimens of which are still extant. By taking advantage of the colors of the different layers, colored objects were made, such as one which shows the head of a warrior in red, his helmet green and breastplate yellow.

Basanite is also known as Lydian stone or touchstone on account of its use for trying the purity of metals. Its value for this purpose depends on its hardness, peculiar grain and black color. Different alloys of gold give different colors on the stone which one soon learns to recognize, and jewelers become very skillful in judging of the fineness of gold by this test. Also if an object is plated, by giving it a few strokes on the stone the different color of the gold and base will be revealed. It is simply a black variety of crypto-crystalline quartz, differing from jasper in being tougher and of finer grain and from hornstone in not being splintery.

Flint is likewise an opaque quartz of dull color. It differs from jasper in breaking with a deeply conchoidal fracture and a sharp cutting edge. It is also often slightly transparent and has a somewhat glassy luster. These properties have led to its extensive use by the Indians and by nearly all primitive peoples for the manufacture of weapons and implements. Hornstone is more brittle than flint and has a splintery rather than a conchoidal fracture. A number of other subvarieties of crypto-crystalline quartz occur, but they are not important.

Oliver Cummings Farrington.

MIDWINTER

The air is like a beryl, clean and clear,Intensified by gleaming points of blue.Sharp-outlined, distant sounds come ringing nearAnd crisply pierce the brittle silence through.The sturdy trees that yester-eve were grayIn dim and foggy veils, and half effacedBy winter rain that compassed them, to-dayArise like knights in crystal armor laced.The stiff, brown-fibered weeds beside the walkHave pinned, with each dull spike, a shivered star.An icy chime is rung from every stalkTo wandering step that clashes them ajar.The wood is bright as when the summer lostHer sun-gems in the deep, soft shadow-seas —Only the light is dagger-edged with frost,And breaks in spangles on the ice-mailed trees.– Hattie Whitney in The Ladies’ World.

A CATASTROPHE IN HIGH LIFE

Tertius, as his name signifies, was the third Maltese cat to occupy a very warm place in the hearts of a certain pet-loving family that lived on a quiet, tree-shaded street in a beautiful Eastern city.

His predecessors were both noted for their wonderful sagacity and great achievements, so he felt that he must improve all his opportunities if he was to keep up to their high standard. Just how they had obtained their reputation he did not know, and perhaps it was this ignorance that caused him to make his fatal mistake.

The beautiful house in which he lived had a large veranda on one side, over which ran a grapevine, and in this grapevine a pair of robins, most unwisely, decided to build their nest.

“It is a very beautiful spot,” said Mrs. Robin.

“Yes, and that arrangement in the center there will be splendid to lay the foundation on,” replied Mr. Robin.

“It is so picturesque,” returned Mrs. R., in a rapture of delight.

“And there will be such a nice shade for you, my dear, when the leaves are out,” added the thoughtful husband.

“It is a much finer situation than Mr. and Mrs. English Sparrow have for their nest in the eaves up above. Don’t you think so, Rob?”

“Indeed I do, wifey; but we must to work, for the morning is advancing. Now, you stay here, while I fly off and get the material.”

In a very few days as pretty a little nest was in the spot selected as you would want to see. Mr. Robin had brought all the material, while his helpful little wife had constructed the nest.

All this time their movements had been watched by the large, admiring, but greedy eyes of the ambitious Tertius, and one morning the chance he had so patiently waited for came. Mr. Robin started out, thinking in his kind little heart that he would get “little wifey” a particularly large and tasty worm for her breakfast, and he was so intent in scratching in the newly turned garden for it that he did not see the slyly, softly creeping Tertius. One bound, and poor little Rob was caught. He screamed, he scolded, but all to no purpose. Now was Tertius proud. He would carry his prize to his mistress, and she would surely say that his skill and prowess was far beyond that of either of his illustrious ancestors. So, thinking, with arched back and curling tail, he hastily gained the house and at once carried his prize to his mistress’ room. But alas for his well-laid plans! Alas for the praise he had looked for! Instead, to his intense surprise and anger, he was greeted with a cry of pain and alarm. The mistress who should have praised rated him well, the hand that should have stroked his smooth coat wrenched his prize from him. In his anger he tried to scratch her in return, but she had been too quick for him, and Robin was saved. Tenderly he was laid in a bed of cotton and placed on an upper veranda, once more in the sweet, balmy air. Cautiously he lifted his head, and as no shining green eyes or sharp paw were to be seen, ventured to hop to the edge of the basket in which his kind preserver had placed him. One more look around and he stretched out his wings and soared away.

“Oh, my dear Rob! I heard your cry. Where have you been? Do tell me all about it!” exclaimed Mrs. Robin on Mr. Robin’s return, and he, in a most graphic manner, granted her request; but, as we already know all about it, we won’t stay to listen.

As to Tertius, he has decided that to win his way to fame he must confine himself in the future to a war on mice.

M. Leila Dawson.

THE DOMESTIC CAT

In the old, old writings of the sacred Sanskrit language, that ancient language of the Hindoos, nearly two thousand years ago reference was made to the Domestic Cat. And so we know that Cats existed long ago and are a very ancient animal. But by means of pictures we are able trace their origin to still earlier times, for the Egyptian monuments abound in pictured Cats, and, stranger yet, in Egypt are found mummies of both the domestic and common jungle Cat. How very important it must have been considered! Think of burying the body of every forlorn, luckless Cat, and then realize the pains taken, not only to give it a burial, but to preserve it for ages to come; and this the Egyptians did, for doubtless it was to them the most sacred of all sacred animals.

Herodotus says that when one of their houses was on fire they first thought of saving the Cat, and afterward considered the matter of putting out the fire; also when a Cat died they cut off their own hair as a sign of mourning. When a person unintentionally caused the death of one of these animals he forfeited his life. We can readily imagine that small boys did not find amusement in chasing and plaguing stray Cats at that period of the world’s existence.

While we really do not absolutely know where the ancestors of our modern Cat were found, it is the general opinion that the Egyptian Cat was the first to be domesticated and that it gradually spread northward and eastward and westward, although the spotted Cats of India may have had a different origin.

In the tenth century the Cat had reached Wales, as laws were recorded fixing the price of Domestic Cats, and also penalties were fixed for their ill treatment and killing. After a kitten caught its first mouse its value was doubled, and a mother Cat was expected to have perfect eyes, ears and claws, to know how to catch mice and how to bring up her kittens properly.

The Domestic Cat is so common an animal that we do not realize how very interesting the study of it may become. First of all, we must remember that our pet kittens belong to that important division of animals known as “The Cat Tribe,” and which includes such ferocious and feared beasts as the lion, the tiger, the wildcat, the leopard, the panther and many others less common and less generally known.

All of these animals are most symmetrical and graceful; all have the round head set on a stout neck, the limbs of moderate length, the long tail and the soft fur which correspond in general color to its native surroundings. Because they are beasts of prey the teeth are adapted to life-destroying action; the tongue is thick and muscular, with fine, horny thorns which point toward the throat. With these the animal can most beautifully smooth and dress its hair, as well as strip the meat from off the bone when making a meal. The claws, ordinarily drawn up and out of sight, make an effective weapon when the angry animal stretches its paws. On account of its cushioned feet its step is silent and stealthy. All Cats can jump many times their own length, and most species are great climbers. The sense of hearing is most acute, and they see well at short range. The sense of touch is extremely well developed, and the most sensitive organ is the whiskers. A Cat with the whiskers cut off is indeed in a most uncomfortable position; it is at a loss to know what to do. The sense of smell is not very acute.