An amusing story is told of a tame Jackdaw. While pilfering one day he found a half-glass of whisky which had been left upon a table, and on tasting it, he liked it so much that he drank a quantity. In a few moments symptoms of intoxication began to appear; his wings dropped and his eyes were half-closed. He staggered towards the edge of the table, probably intending to fly to the floor, but he had either lost the power of his wings or he was afraid to trust them. He stood, seemingly meditating what he should do, all the while reeling like a drunken man about to lose his balance. Presently his eyes were shut and he fell over on his back with his legs in the air, exhibiting every sign of death. An attempt was made to put some water down his throat, but he could not swallow it. He was then rolled in a piece of flannel, laid in a box and locked away in a closet. All the family, with whom he was a great pet, never expected to see him on his legs again. Next morning about six o’clock the door was opened, with the expectation of finding Jackie dead, but he had freed himself from the flannel and as soon as the door was open he flew out and hurried away to a basin-shaped stone, out of which the fowls drank, and copiously allayed his thirst. He repeated this several times that day and was none the worse for his exploit, but, with more forbearance than those who are endowed with reason, he never again would touch whisky. Claudia May Ferrin. COCOA. (_Theobroma cacao_, L.) The wretch shall feel The giddy motion of the whirling mill, In fumes of burning chocolate shall glow, And tremble at the sea that froths below! —Pope, “Rape of the Lock,” ii, 135. The cocoa-yielding plant is a tree varying from fifteen to forty feet in height. The main stem or trunk is much twisted and knotty, from which the branches stand out almost horizontally. The bark is thick, rough and of a cinnamon brown color. The leaves are alternate, large, smooth, entire, and of a deep green color. Flowers occur singly, more usually in clusters, from those parts of the branches and trunk formerly corresponding to the axils of leaves. Calyx deeply five-cleft, pale red. Petals pink. Fruit solitary or several together, pendulous, large, pear-shaped; each pericarp enclosing numerous brown seeds about the size of a hickory nut or almond, from which the chocolate and cocoa are made. The chocolate tree is a native of Mexico, Central America, Brazil and other South American countries. It is now extensively cultivated in most tropical countries of both hemispheres. The West Indian islands have numerous large plantations. It is also found in botanic gardens and greenhouses. There are several cultivation varieties.