310 
with them a sufficiency of provision to main- 
tain the siege; or that they made use of 
thre abstinence, which necessity, sometimes, 
duritig a long and rigorous’ storm, might 
probably‘occasion ; but they persevered for 
two days to defend the entrance within the 
barricade,—and the wren, finding she could 
not force an entry, raised the siege—quitted 
her intentions —and left the martins,without 
~ further molestation, in quiet possession of 
their domicile.”—Phil. Mag., and Fother- 
gill on Nat. His. ; 
. The following anecdote is illustrative 
of the same principle, and-in a very 
remarkable degree. 
“ The habitudes of the domestic breed of 
poultry,” says Mr. Egan, in-his Sporting 
Anecdotes, “ cannot possibly escape obser- 
yation; and every one must have noticed 
the fiery jealousy of the cock. It would 
seem that this jealousy is not confined to 
his _riyals, but may sometimes extend to 
his beloyed female; and that he is capable 
of eink actuated by revenge, founded on 
some degree of reasoning concerning her 
conjugal infidelity. An incident, which 
happened at the seat of Mr. B., near Ber- 
wick, fully justifies this remark. ‘My 
mowers (says he) cut a partridge on her 
nest, and itnmediately brought the eggs, 
fourteen in number, to the house. I or- 
dered them to be put under a very large 
beautiful hen, and her own to be taken 
away. They were hatehed in two days, 
and the hen brought them up perfectly 
well till they were five or six weeks old. 
During that time, they were confined in 
an out-house, without having been seen by 
‘any of the other poultry; the door hap- 
péned to be left open, and the cock got in. 
My housekeeper, hearing her hen in dis- 
tress, ran to her assistance, but did not 
arrive in time to save her life. The cock 
finding her with a brood of partridges, fell 
upon her with the utmost fury, and put her 
to. death. The housekeeper found him 
tearing her with his beak and spurs, al- 
though she was then fluttering in the last 
agony, and incapable of any resistance. 
‘This hen had been formerly the cock’s 
greatest favourite.’” ; ; 
The cunning of the fox is proverbial ; 
cand the fox of Norway possesses this 
quality in a very eminent degree, which 
the following brief anecdote will abun- 
dantly. testify. 
“In order to relieve himself of the fleas 
which ‘annoy him at) certain seasons, the 
Norwegian fox collects a bunch of straw, 
and, holding ‘it in his. mouth, gradually 
backs himself into the water, slowly wading, 
step by step, deeper and deeper still, in or- 
der te allow-time for-the fleas to retire, from: 
the‘unpleasant approach of the water, to 
the'warm and ‘dry parts of his od al at 
length, ‘having passed the neck, and being 
Naturalized Exotics: 
[Nov. 1; 
assembled altogether on his head, the crafty 
animal sinks that part also, leaving only his 
nose and the bunch, in his mouth, dry. As 
soon as he has discovered that his ‘numerous 
minute enemies ‘have, retreated into the 
trap prepared for them; he suddenly {lrops 
the straw, and scampers off well; washed; 
and exulting in the success, of his. stra- 
tagem.”’ stn dtiget 
The habits of the bee, the ant, 
and the spider, are, no doubt, well 
known to the reader; and I have al- 
ready adduced examples sufficient. to 
prove the proximity of the irrational to 
the rational animal. It may be ob- 
served, that évery living thing, even the 
most minute and despicable reptile 
is endowed with sagacity to enable it to 
procure its food, and, in many instances, 
to repel the attacks: of its natural ene- 
mies.. But we must not confound the 
instinct of the brute with the reason of 
man. “There is, indeed, a wide and 
essential difference between them :* for 
the one is excursive and illimitable, the _ 
other uniform and circumscribed. Rea- 
son, superadded to man, gives him pe- 
culiar and characteristic views, respon- 
sibilities. and destinations: . exalting 
him above all existencies that are: vi- 
sible, but which perish ; and associating 
him with those that are invisible, but 
which remain. Reason is that Homeric 
and golden chain, descending from the 
throne of God even unto man, uniting 
heaven with earth, and earth with 
heayen.””—Colton’s Lacon. 
(To be concluded in our next. ) 
—-_S—— 1 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
Sir: edi 
S two Societies have been instituted, 
to encourage the efforts of travel- 
lers and seafaring men to bring home the 
natural. productions of foreign. climes, 
a few instances are here added, of the 
probable advantages that would accrue 
from such efforts. unt: Hts 
Instances of trees and plants, natives 
of. very warm climates, ripening their 
fruits and seeds in England, viz. 
From the south of Europe :—Quince, 
pea, fig-tree, liquorice, parsley, onion, — 
leek, cauliflower, mulberry, &c. &e.i.> 
From Asia :—Peach, cucumber,, wal- 
nut, hemp, kidney-bean, horse chestnut, 
shallot, cherry, orange-tree, &c. &ce. 
From Africa :—Almond, bean; &c.* 
From South America : — Potato, 
ri 9 maize. Z > 
rts) 
Fs SUL t Bie 
* But if reason and instinct bese 
tirely distinct, what becomes of the « 
—Korr. -*“* oe 
tas 5 Fie 
HID SET 
