1829.] 



Domestic and Fweisti. 



571 



ciful consistencies ? If the wool does not 

 sell, it cannot be grown, and muttpn must 

 go with it ; and then the whole country 

 suffers — eating philosophers and all. The 

 present and temporary remedy is protection, 

 and a strong one — there is no danger from 

 smuggling so bulky a commodity ; and the 

 futiu-e permanent and absolute remedy is 

 improvement of our own wool, wliich can 

 only be accomplished by more care and at- 

 tention, by Iceeping sheep in more equal 

 temperature ; cool in summer, and warm in 

 winter, draining lands, &c. Messrs. Ken- 

 nedy and Grainger talk like very rational 

 men on these matters, biassed as they evi- 

 dently are, on many topics connected with 

 the interests of landlords. 



A brief Account of the Coftsseian in the 

 Regent's Park, 1829 A very effective ac- 

 count of this stupendous performance, de- 

 scribing the building, the painting, which 

 covers 40,000 feet, the conservatories, and 

 all the rest of the wonders of the fairy scene. 

 Eight litliographic outlines give a tolerable 

 conception of the prodigious extent, and 

 midtitude of objects, comprised in the paint- 

 ing ; but no stranger, the describer well ob- 

 serves, can comprehend the varieties, vast- 

 ness, and amazing effects of the Colisseum, 

 by any account, however diffuse, and how- 

 ever eloquently written. Every body, how- 

 ever, likes to know something of what he 

 has to see, before he goes — to prepare 

 against suqjrise a little, to set his mind in 

 order, and know where to direct his attention 

 — to qualify, in short, for a perfect concep ■ 

 tion when there, and the full fruition of the 

 scene. 



The Heraldry of Crests, 1829 An en- 

 larged edition, it seems, of Elvin's Heraldry, 

 the copyright and plates of which, after 

 the original proprietor's death, wlio was 

 both editor and engraver, fell into the hands 

 of the present publisher. The favourable 

 reception of the former edition prompted, 

 of course, a new one, to which an addition 

 of a thousand new crests has been made — 

 making tlie whole amount to more than 

 ;{,oOO — constituting thus the largest collec- 

 tion known, relative to a " branch of the 

 science of Heraldry, at no period more 

 held in interest than at the present, and 

 equally adapted to the use of the artist and 

 tlie public." The engravings exhibit the 

 crests of every peer and baronet, and also 

 of nearly every distinguished family in the 

 kingdom. A dictionary of terms is added, 

 and copious indexes of tlie bearer's names. 

 These .'Sj.jOO crests are borne by, probably, 

 at least 20,000 families, the principal of 



which only of course can be specified in the 

 index ; but where the line is drawn we do 

 not know, and the drawer liimself is per- 

 haps not able to tell. The engravings an- 

 s-.ver the purpose well enough, but might 

 have been better, and more up with the ac- 

 tual advance of the art. 



The Gardens and the Menagerie of tlie 

 Zoological Society delineated. Parts I. and 

 II. — The commencement of a work sanc- 

 tioned, it seems by the Council, superin- 

 tended by ]\Ir. Vigors, the secretary, and 

 written by Mr. Bennett, the vice -secretary. 

 Here is a combination of power — though 

 we do not exactly understand what ]\Ir. 

 Vigors's superintendance is to do, nor what 

 is likely to be the special advantage of the 

 Council's sanction. But this is after the 

 modern manner — the more parade, the more 

 seductive and taking. The book, however, 

 is a beautiful specimen of engraving, paint- 

 ing, and paper, and Mr. Bennett's descrip- 

 tions highly respectable. The first portion 

 pubhshed — the work is intended to be a 

 monthly, or a two-monthly one, we do not 

 know which — consists of six quadrupeds and 

 four birds, all drawn, and very tastefully 

 drawn, from the living species in the Gar- 

 dens. The quadrupeds are the Chinchella, 

 from Chili, an animal whose fiu" is well 

 known, but tlie animal itself is the first of 

 its species seen in this country; the Ratel, 

 something like a badger, from the Ganges ; 

 the Wanderoo monkey ; the Hare-Indian 

 dog, from the jMackenzie river ; the Esqui- 

 maux dog ; and the Barbary mouse, a little 

 striped animal, so scarce, that Desmarest 

 questions its existence — the " Gardens," 

 luckily, had a whole nest of them. The 

 birds are the Condor — the crested Curasson 

 — and two I\Iaccaws, of very brilliant co- 

 lours. The curasson is one of the very 

 birds we were calling upon this somewhat 

 obtrusive society to try and domesticate, for 

 the purpose of adding to our very limited 

 stock of eatable birds. The success in Hoi- 

 land, to which we alluded in noticing 3Ir. 

 Griffiths' very extensive and excellent work 

 on the Animal Kingdom, now in a course of 

 publication, has been, it seems, interrupted, 

 but it may not be too much (we are happy 

 to find Mr. B. himself observing, of course 

 with the "sanction of the Council") to ex- 

 pect that tlie Zoological Society may be 

 successful in perfecting what was there so 

 well begun, and in naturalizing the Curas- 

 son as completely as our ancestors have 

 done the equally exotic, and, in their wild 

 state, much less familiar breeds of the tur.t 

 key, the Guinea fowl, and the peacock. 



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