ed and
seventy-four feet. The Pyramid of Cheops is hardly as high as was this
tree when it stood erect. The average height of these marvels is from
three hundred to four hundred feet. They are situated in a valley
protected from winds, and are favorably located to promote their
growth, as well as to protect them from sudden gales or tornadoes such
as have prostrated large trees in our Yosemite.

The subject of large trees is one of more than ordinary interest; the
largest one known in the world is situated in Mascoli, near the base of
Mount Etna, on the island of Sicily. It measures one hundred and ninety
feet in circumference. It is a chestnut-tree, and still bears fruit in
abundance. The oldest tree is believed to be a famous cypress still
growing in Oaxaca, Mexico. Humboldt saw it in 1855, when he recorded the
measurement as being one hundred and twenty-six feet in circumference
and three hundred and eighty-two feet between the out-spread branches.
In Nevada, United States, stands what is well known as the "Dead Giant
Redwood Tree," which measures one hundred and nineteen feet in
circumference, and which is believed to have been growing in the days of
Julius Caesar. Near this mammoth are a dozen other trees, varying in size
from seventy-five to one hundred feet in circumference. The "Grizzly
Giant," monarch of the Mariposa Grove in California, measures ninety-two
feet in circumference. The largest tree in the United States stands near
Bear Creek, California, measuring one hundred and forty feet in
circumference. It is only by comparison with familiar objects that we
can realize these extraordinary dimensions.

[Illustration: EMU HUNTING IN AUSTRALIA.]

We shall be pretty sure to see in the woods of Victoria a most curious
example of bird-life and bird-instinct, in the instance of what is known
as the bower-bird. This peculiar little creature builds a cunning
play-house, a tiny shady bower which it ornaments with vines and highly
colored feathers of other birds, besides the yellow blossoms of the
wattle-tree and many light-green ferns. In this ingeniously contrived
sylvan retreat the feathered architect runs about and holds a sort of
carnival, to which others of his tribe gather. Here the little party
chirp vigorously, and strut about in a most ludicrous manner.

The glamour of gold-seeking has too much weight in inducing emigration
to this region of the South Seas. An industrious and worthy person is
sure to make