One of the add() methods defined in the Container class has the following signature.
Component add(Component comp)
Adds the specified component to the end of this container.
http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.3/docs/api/java/awt/Container.html Since Menu is not a type of Component. (i.e. Menu doesnot inherit from Component, inherits from MenuComponent), it cannot be used to invoke the add() method of Container class, hence cannot be added to a Container.