KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



69 



presses it to the bark of the tree, and thus 

 becomes its friend. 1 have a fair example of 

 this in my own park. On a bleak brow 

 there stands the hollow remnant of an oak, 

 which, in the days of its prosperity, measured 

 full twenty feet in circumference. Fourteen 

 years ago, I planted ivy on its eastern side. 

 But to this day, that portion of the bole 

 facing the west remains uncovered by the 

 ivy, which, in its annual attempt to surmount 

 the difficulty, is arrested in its course, and 

 ultimately driven back by the fury of the 

 western gales. 



If we wish to see ivy growing in all the 

 luxuriance of health and beauty, we must 

 plant it at the root of some tall Scotch tir, 

 in a low and sheltered situation. Nothing 

 can be more charming or lovely to the sight, 

 than the widely-extending mass of verdure 

 with which it will clothe the bole of the tree. 

 I have a remarkable Scotch fir here with 

 ivy round it. The ivy sends its horizontal 

 branches out from the bole to a distance oi 

 six or seven feet in vast profusion, and its 

 verdure is so perfectly in unison with the 

 foliage of the fir. that, when you are standing 

 at a little distance, you will be charmed with 

 the additional beauty which it confers upon 

 its stately supporter. 



I have ever cultivated with great success 

 my three favorite evergreens — the yew, the 

 holly, and the ivy. They give food and 

 shelter to many species of British birds, which 

 are so sadly persecuted by gardeners and 

 gamekeepers, throughout the whole extent 

 of the land. I consider the ivy more service- 

 able than the other two, as its berries ripen 

 at a season of the year when the ordinary 

 food of the fields is far from being plentiful. 

 The berries of the holly are abundant at the 

 same time, but the birds are not nearly so 

 fond of them. 



Without these ever-verdant auxiliaries 

 close at hand, I should have but a poor 

 chance of observing the habits of our birds 

 with satisfaction to myself. Writers on 

 ornithology may consult volume after volume 

 of other writers on ornithology who have 

 gone before them ; and they may extract 

 from the pages that which in their judgment 

 may appear the best — but unless they them- 

 selves have spent years in the field, and those 

 consulted have done the same, it is to be 

 feared that their labors will fall short of 

 their wishes. Errors unintentional, and false 

 surmises, and rash speculations will creep 

 into their works, in spite of every precaution 

 to avoid them. Their production, in truth, 

 will be, — 



" similis volucri, — non vera volucris." 



Probably, my statement that ivy is not inju- 

 rious to the tree which has lent it a support 

 may be at variance with the opinion of those 

 who are learned in botany. If so, I beg to say 



that I have living forest trees, of all ages 

 and descriptions, to bear me out in what I 

 have advanced. 



In conclusion, I wish to say a word or two 

 of mutual indentation produced by the union 

 of two forest trees. Near the walk which 

 leads to the flower-garden may be seen a tall 

 English elm and a Scotch fir growing in close 

 embrace. By twisting the leading shoot of 

 one tree annually round that of the other, 

 the trees have become deeply embedded in 

 each other's folds. The elm being of stronger 

 vegetation than the spruce, I have taken the 

 precaution of curtailing the lateral branches 

 of the former, lest it should prove too much 

 for its weaker partner. 



CliAKLES WATERTON. 

 Walton Hall. 



MOKE ABOUT "LITTLE THINGS." 



THE PHENOMENA OE DEW. 



Everybody talks of the dew which falls ; 

 and everybody imagines he knows all about 

 it. Yet would he, if pressed for an explana- 

 tion, be sadly puzzled to give it. Now, as none 

 of us are " too old to learn," let us carefully 

 consider the matter. It is just the very sea- 

 son to do so. 



To give a popular definition of dew, it will 

 suffice to say that, — when the direct influence 

 of the sun is removed in the evening, the sur- 

 face of the earth, in consequence of the cease- 

 less activity of caloric to maintain a state of 

 equilibrium, radiates a portion of its super- 

 fluous temperature into surrounding space ; 

 and as the temperature of the air immediately 

 in contact with the surface thus becomes 

 reduced below the point of saturation, a part 

 of its water is condensed in the form of dew. 



Ever since the time of Aristotle, the phe- 

 nomena and cause of this deposition have 

 engaged the attention of philosophers ; but 

 until comparatively recent experimental in- 

 vestigations, all our views on this subject 

 were merely speculative. The fact that the 

 bodies on which dew is deposited, have inva- 

 riably a lower temperature than the ambient 

 air, had been pointed out by Dr. Patrick 

 Wilson of Glasgow ; but while this coldness 

 was supposed to be the effect of the deposition 

 of dew, it was reserved for Dr. Wells to 

 make the important discovery, that it always 

 precedes the formation of dew, and is in reality 

 the cause of this aqueous vapor. 



Prior to the appearance of Dr. Wells's 

 elegant "Essay on Dew," it was a disputed 

 question among philosophers, whether the 

 phenomenon is produced by the rising of 

 vapors from the earth, or by its descent from 

 the atmosphere. The circumstance that the 

 glass-bells with which gardeners cover plants 

 during the night have, in the morning, their 

 interior covered with moisture — gave origin 



