are among those in which affection for their young is exhibited in the highest degree. — The nest-making instincts of animals seem to be a very essential part of their constitution; and even in the most perfect domestication are still retained and exhibited; although the accommodation to circumstances which is also manifested shows something-and that not inconsiderable-of reason. Some of the most beautiful images in the Bible are those having the nests of birds as their subject. The exiled Psalmist envies the swallow and sparrow safely building in the very courts of Zion (Psa. lxxxiv., 2, 3); the prophet. Obadiah reproving Edom for her haughty spirit and belief in the security of her rockhewn dwellings, likens her to the eagle with her nest "among the stars" (Obad. 4); and Jeremiah (xlix., 16), predicting the destruction of Bozrah, declares that though her nest be as high as that of the eagle, it shall be brought down. The same writer (xxii., 23) appropriately describes the dwellers on Lebanon as making their nests among the cedars, and in another place (xlviii., 28) advises Moab to make her nest like the dove, in the sides of the hole's mouth." The Mosaic law forbade the finder of a bird's nest to take the mother-bird, but at the same time did not, in general, allow either eggs or young ones to be taken.

This subject of nests is usually confined to the nests of birds, and most notices are based on The Architecture of Birds (Charles Knight, London, 1831), the original observations in which are by Professor J. Rennie. The subjects of his treatment include ground-nesters, squatters, and miners; builders of mounds, of umbrellas, of domes; masons; carpenters; platform-makers: basket-makers; weavers; tailors; felters; cementers. But if we look at these divisions from the point of scientific classification, it will immediately be seen that the shape, size, and locality of the nest of any given species depend on its capacities, which will appear in its beak, wings, and claws; and on its habits, which may have been modified by a thousand considerations of climate, of companionship, or imitation. General influences as to the practice of particular species may be best drawn by the following classification, based on Cuvier, but partly Reichenbach, partly Willoughby.

But the desire of birds to build nests corresponds to that of men to make houses, or beasts to construct lairs. They are a shelter for the young, or a refuge for the old; as with mammals, the higher the order of intelligence, the more protection is needed by the young, so that the young eagle must have its food torn up for the first few weeks, while the young ostrich scuttles out of the sand almost ready to take care of itself from birth. Nor do birds' nests differ in shape, material, or adjustment from the works of insects, beasts, even crustaceans. The following is a summary of nest-builders, disre garding the minute divisions of the list of Rennie:

First, Burrowers.-First of mammals is the mole, so voracious, active, and fierce that if the creature had the size of one of the tropical fera, it may be questioned whether any animal has existed which could conquer it. The burrow is most complex of all, and the nest separate from the house. Then come shrews and musk-rats, the fox, all the weasels and badgers, chip-squirrels and woodchucks, and the rabbit. All have a distinct nest within the hole, and generally means of escape by extra passages. Burrowing birds: The sand-martin, the kingfisher, puflins, jackdaws, and sheldrakes; the stormy petrel, ike all fish-eating birds; living in the midst of filth and stench; woodpeckers, the starlings and the creepers; the toucan, large of beak but small of strength, unable to excavate its hole in the knot of a tree. Reptiles, tortoises, crocodiles, and snakes, with all the crab kind of crustaceans, and the whole horde of boring mollusks. Scorpions and spiders, who have tunnels, towers, and trap-doors; insects, beetles, including the curious mole-cricket and the ant-lion; and all the numberless insects that bore into every article not made of metal or stone.

Second Hang-nests.-The beautiful little harvest-mouse, one of the smallest mammals in the world, builds a true pensile nest, round, and, curiously enough, without opening. So does the squirrel, when he hangs his summer nest (for he makes two) from the end of

some slender bough, but these are almost the only animals light and active enough to rival the birds in this peculiar industry. Hanging-nests of all shapes-bottles, scoops, extinguishers; with tails, with concealed openings-belong in enormous variety to the tropical species; and in this country we all know the humming-birds, the orioles, the fly. catchers, and all the warblers. Among insects the best-known are the wasps; but many ants, the moths, and some spiders come into this category. There is one fish, but it seems wrong to include here the pupa of insects.

Passing to the creatures which build, rather than burrow or weave, we have: Building mammals. Two Australian species only and our own musk-rat; but the birds are very numerous. The oven-bird, the blackbird, and the song-thrush, martins of all kinds, swallows of all kinds, the curious birds of Australia which hatch their eggs in mounds of rotting leaves and twigs; the titmice, wrens, the eastern lyre and bower birds. Among insects we have white ants and mud-building wasps. But a whole class of buildings may be separated and called sub-aquatic. Here belong fishes, the little stickleback and the hassar; but the most wonderful of all such creations may be seen in the depths of a pool. The water-spiders, caddis-flies, all pupa-cases and larvæ-nests; and here may be added corals, serpulæ and terebella. Social habitations, communities of creatures, whether all of the same species or mixed, by sufferance and by intrusion, are very common. The beaver, emblem of quietness and industry, is an example from mammals; but in birds we have the curious sociable-weaver of South Africa. Among insects, bees, hornets, some moths, some butterflies, and several curious kinds of ants, mostly from Africa. Parasitic nests, inhabited by the cuckoo and the cow-birds, the sparrow-hawk and the kestrel, crow-blackbirds, occasionally the sparrow and the stork. Among insects, whole families of flies pursue the luckless moths and caterpillars, making of their cocoons, or their living bodies, nests for the generation of a swarm of destroyers. Here come most of the gall-insects, the leaf-miners, and the parasite breeze-flies, and the curious companion of the snail, the drilus. Branch-builders are represented, as may be imagined, mostly by birds, yet we have among animals the dormouse and the loir; among birds, rooks, crows, herons, all finches, the eagle, the chat, the mocking-bird, the water-hen, some warblers, some humming-birds, some shrikes, and the hedge-sparrow. These all make open, usually round nests, on the fork of a branch, and woven of twigs or of miscellaneous trash. Here come also some spiders, many moths, and several species of strange nest-building insects. To sum up, a nest, visibly so, and for that purpose only, strikes us more commonly in birds than elsewhere, though upwards of one-half of them make no nest, and many others steal places already fitted to their use; but the fact is, many mammals have distinct and real nests; crustaceans and reptiles commonly construct them, and they are and must be the rule with all insects when undergoing the changes necessary to their development.

NESTS, EDIBLE, an important article of commerce between the eastern islands and China, and of luxury in China, are the nests of several species of swallow (q.v.), of the genus collocalia. The best known of these birds, C. esculenta, is about 4 in. in length, 11 in. expanse of wing, dusky black above, pale ash-color beneath. The nest is shaped like that of the common swallow, and adheres to a rock; vast numbers being found together-often in absolute contiguity-in caves of the eastern archipelago; as those of the same and allied species are in other islands of the East Indies. The nests themselves are formed of grass, sea-weed fibers, small leaves, etc., and are attached to the rock by a sort of bracket, made of a gelatinous substance, which is the part really eaten. This was formerly thought to be made of sea-weeds, but is now known to consist of saliva, which the swallow exudes from the salivary glands under the tongue. The nests are collected by means of ladders, and often by means of ropes, which enable the gatherers to descend from the summit of a precipice, like the rock-fowlers of the north. The gathering of the nests takes place after the young are fledged, thrice in a year. In the Chinese market the nests are sold for from $10 to $35 per lb., according to the quality, and they are, of course, used only by the most wealthy, chiefly for thickening rich soups. The imports at Canton are reckoned at 1200 piculs, or 168,000 lbs., representing about 8,400,000 nests. The nests are very wholesome and nourishing, but quite devoid of the peculiar properties which the Chinese ascribe to them. Five caverns at Karang, Bollong, in Java, contain 330,000 swallows, and yield annually about 500,000 nests. The Dutch export them to China. The nests weigh about half an ounce each.

NETHERLANDS, THE KINGDOM OF THE, lies between 50° 46′ and 53° 32′ n. lat. and 3° 23′ and 7° 12′ e. long., is bounded on the n. by the North sea, e. by Hanover, and the western part of Prussia, s. by Belgium, and w. by the North sea. Its greatest length from north to south is about 195 miles, and its greatest breadth from the west, on the North sea, to the extremity of Overyssel on the east, about 110 miles. It contains 12,648 sq.m., with a population, in 1895, of 4,859,451, and an average density to a sq. m. of 384. The following table, taken from the Statesman's Year-book of 1897, gives the area and population of the eleven provinces according to the censuses of Dec. 31, 1889, and Dec. 31, 1895, respectively, with the density per sq. m. in each province.

Netherlands.

The population has nearly doubled since the census of 1829 and the average annual rate of increase between 1880 and 1895 was between one and two per cent. The division of the population, according to sex at the census of 1895, was 2,404,556 males and 2,454,895 females. In that same year, 33.6 per cent. of the total population was resident in the 21 large cities, the proportion of urban to rural population having steadily advanced since the census of 1869. The increase of the population has been due to excess of births over deaths and not to immigration. At the census of 1889 there were only 47,888 persons of foreign birth living in the country. Nor is emigration important. In 1895 only 15,919 emigrants, including foreigners as well as natives, sailed from Dutch ports. On Dec. 31, 1895, there were 21 towns in the Netherlands with a population of over 20,000, and of these Amsterdam had 456,324; Rotterdam, 276,337; the Hague, 185,744, and Utrecht, 94,305. Other leading towns are Groningen, Haarlem, Arnhem, Leyden, Tilburg, Maastricht, Nymwegen, Dordrecht, Nieuwer-Amstel, Leeuwarden and Delft.

Physical Aspect. The land is generally low, much of it being under the level of the sea, rivers, and canals, especially in North and South Holland, Zeeland, the southern part of Gelderland, and Friesland. Along the west coast, the low lands are protected from the sea by a line of sand-hills or dunes; and where that natural defense is wanting, strong dikes have been constructed, and are maintained at great expense, to keep back the waters. The greatest of these dikes are those of the Helder and of West Kapelle, on the east coast of Walcheren (q.v.). Engineers, called the officers of the Waterstaat, take special charge of the dikes and national hydraulic works. A hilly district stretches from Prussia through Drenthe, Cveryssel, the Veluwe or Arnhem district of Gelderland, the eastern part of Utrecht, into the Betuwe, or country between the Maas and the Waal. This tract of country has many pretty spots, is of a light, sandy soil, well watered, and, when not cultivated, is covered with heath or oak-coppice. The greatest part of the Netherlands is very fertile, the low lands and drained lakes, called polders (q.v.), being adapted for pasturing cattle, and the light soils for cereals and fruits.

Islands, Rivers, Canals, Etc.-The islands may be divided into two groups, of which the southern, formed by the mouths of the Schelde and Maas, contains Walcheren, South and North Beveland, Schouwen, Duiveland, Tholen, St. Philipsland, Goeree, Voorne, Putten, Beyerland, Ysselmonde, Rozenburg, and the island of Dordrecht. The northern group contains the islands at the entrance of the Zuyder Zee and along the coasts of Groningen and Friesland, as Wieringen, Texel, Vlieland, Terschelling, Ameland, Schiermonnikoog, and Rottum. In the Zuyder Zee are Marken, Urk, and Schokland. The chief rivers are the Rhine, Maas, and Schelde. Important branches of these are the Waal, Lek, Yssel, Roer, etc.

Water-ways are more numerous than in any other European country, the immense tracts of meadow-land and the fertile polders being girdled by large canals, and cut in all directions by smaller ones for drainage and communication. Those of most importance to the national trade are, the North Holland canal, constructed 1819 to 1825, to connect the port of Amsterdam with the North sea; the Voorne canal, from the n. side of Voorne to Hellevoetsluis, which shortens the outlet from Rotterdam; the South Willemsvaart, through North Brabant, Dutch and Belgian Limburg, from 's Hertogenbosch to Maastricht. Besides these, there are numerous important canals, connecting rivers, and cutting the kingdom into a network of water-courses. To improve the entrance to the Maas, the Hoek of Holland has been cut. A canal through the Y and peninsula of Holland was opened Nov. 1, 1876. Other important canals are the Willemsvaart in Overyssel, the Dedemsvaart, the Damsterdiep, the Ems canal, the Winschoterdiep, the City canal in Groningen, the North Willems canal, etc.

Railways have been constructed to the extent of 1674 miles, which were open to traffic in 1895, affording communication between the principal cities and villages of the Netherlands with Prussia and Belgium. Part of the railways belong to private companies and part to the state, the latter owning 886 miles in 1895. Most of the telegraph lines are owned by the state, the length of state lines on Dec. 31, 1895, being 3,500

CLIMATE, AGRICULTURE, PRODUCE, ETC.-The climate of the Netherlands is mild in winter and comparatively cool in summer, but exceedingly damp, owing to the proximity of the sea. There are heavy rains, especially in the latter part of the summer. During the dry season the exhalations from the canals and bodies of standing water are injurious to health, especially in parts of North Holland, South Holland, Friesland and Zealand. The climate of the interior provinces is more healthful than that of the provinces on the coast. Northwesterly and southwesterly winds prevail and in the winter season are charged with moisture and are stormy.

The majority of the farms are small and worked by the owners. In the provinces of Zealand, Groningen, South Holland and North Holland, the large estates are numerous, but petty culture prevails in North Brabant, Gelderland, Limburg, and Overyssel. The land is highly cultivated, and though formerly rude methods were employed, important improvements in recent years have brought about a great advance in agricultural production. In 1889 over 34 per cent. of the surface was employed as pasture land, and in the raising of tobacco, hemp, flax, flowers, etc., and only 25.8 per cent. was employed in the raising of food products. Nearly 7 per cent. of the surface was under forests. The chief cereal and vegetable crops are wheat, rye, oats, barley, buckwheat, potatoes, beans, peas, hemp, hops, various grasses, flax, tobacco, beetroot, chicory, seeds, etc. Market gardening is followed with success, especially in Utrecht, North Holland, South Holland, and parts of Gelderland, Friesland, and North Brabant. Apples, cherries, and pears are raised in abundance in various parts of the country; and the floriculture of the Netherlands has been famous for centuries. The last named industry is followed especially in North Holland, South Holland, and in the neighborhood of Utrecht, Breda and Arnhem. Cattle raising is one of the most important sources of wealth. Good strong breeds of horses are raised as well as large numbers of sheep, swine, and goats. Bee raising is an important industry, and dairy products, especially cheese, which is exported largely to England, yield a considerable income.

MINERALS.-Owing to the lack of wood, coal and turf are used for fuel. In regard to coal, the Netherlands are chiefly dependent on foreign supplies, importing largely from England, Prussia, and Belgium; though in some parts of the country, as for example in Limburg, enough is produced for local needs. There are extensive turf moors in the provinces of North Brabant, Zealand, Overyssel, Utrecht, North Holland, and South Holland. The production in 1864 amounted to 42 million tons. Soon afterwards the tax on turf was abolished, and though exact statistics are lacking, it is certain that the annual amount has greatly increased. Five-sixths of the turf is obtained from the four northern provinces. The country is poor in metals. There are a few blast furnaces in Gelderland and Overyssel, the latter province having some deposits of iron ore which is smelted at Deventer.

MANUFACTURES, INDUSTRY, ETC.-The statistics of the manufactures in the Netherlands are deficient, but there is evidence that their importance has greatly increased in recent years. At the close of 1895 there were 4,812 steam engines employed in manufactures as compared with only 507 in 1853. The statistics of 1895 show that there were 530 distilleries, 507 breweries, 11 sugar refineries, 30 beetroot sugar manufactories, 96 vinegar manufactories, and 50 salt works in the country in that year. Among the leading manufacturing towns are Amsterdam, Haarlem, Rotterdam, Schiedam, Leyden, Dordrecht, Hilversum, Zaandam, Zaandijk, Wormerveer, Utrecht, Amersfoort, Tilburg, 's Hertogenbosch, Maastricht, Roermonde and the cities and villages in the eastern part of Overyssel. There are large iron foundries and machine shops in Amsterdam, The Hague, Leyden, and Delftshaven. There are important paper manufactories, oil refineries, distilleries, breweries, sugar refineries, salt works, tanneries, dyeworks, and manufactures of cigars, tobacco, silk, cotton, woolen goods, shoes, and gold and silver articles. Formerly the motive power was supplied by windmills, but steam is becoming yearly of more importance as a motive power. The hydraulic works in the Netherlands are the most complete in the world. Many people are employed in the immense inland shipping trade, which the numerous canals have fostered. The Dutch have always been distinguished as active and successful fishermen. The herring fishery is especially important, its produce being valued, in 1895, at 6,151,777 guilders. There are productive oyster beds, oysters being an important article of export. Anchovies are obtained in large numbers in the Zuyder Zee, and there are besides important fisheries of cod, ling, turbots, flounders, shrimp, haddock, as well as salmon, eels, etc., in the rivers of the interior.

The government has made efforts to improve the condition of the working man, and to promote harmony in his relations with the employer. In the spring of 1897, an important measure was passed, creating labor bureaus for the purpose of watching the interests of masters and working men, by collecting statistics, giving advice, framing rules and regulations in the interest of, and at the request of interested parties, and preventing and settling difficulties; the bureau to consist of one-half masters, elected by the masters of trades represented, and the other half of working men. As to wages, the rate is much lower than in the United States, but the exact statistics are hard to obtain. It would appear, from a report in 1897, that laborers received 74 cents per hour, and worked on an average 66 hours per week, thus earning $4.75 a week. The pay of mechanics was of course higher, carpenters, masons, stone-cutters, and plumbers receiving on an average 93 cents per day, and working on an average 11 hours a day. Factory operatives received from $3.40 to $7.00 a week, but women workers received only from $2.40 to $4.00 a week. Gratuities, or "tips," play a much more important part in the remuneration of employees than in the United States, being often given even to painters, gasfitters, carpenters, etc.