KLDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



125 



General Indications of Spring.— I send you 

 the following indications of Spring, which were 

 observed by the late Robert Marsham, Esq,, of 

 Stratton, in Norfolk ; and were read before the 

 Royal Society, April 2, 1789. Mr. Marsham 

 died in 1797", at the age of 90.— C. F. T. Y., 

 Stockhigh Pomeroy, Devon. 



Indications. 



♦Thrush sings 



Snowdrop appears . . 

 *liing Doves "coo" 



Turnip flowers 



Hooks build 



Hawthorn leaf 



Birch 



Sycamore 



Elm 



Mountain Ash Leaf.. 



Horse Chesnut 



Maple leaf 



Wood Anemone blows 



Lime leaf 



Young Rooks 



Chesnut leaf 



Swallows appear.. 



Oak leaf 



Ash leaf 



Beech leaf 



Nightingale sings 



Cuckoo sings 



Hawthorn flowers 



Earliest 



Dec. 4 

 „ 24 

 „ 27 



Jan. 10 



Feb. 2 

 „ 11 

 „ 21 

 „ 22 



Mar. 4 

 „ 5 



Latest. 



>J 



10 



99 



15 



99 



16 



)) 



19 



99 



2(5 





28 



99 



30 



99 



31 



Apr 



112 



)> 







>> 



7 



»> 



9 



)> 



13 



Feb. 13 



„ 10 



Mar. 20 



June 18 



Mar. 14 



April 22 



May 4 



„ ^ 



„ 6 



o 



>> ■ 



„ 2 

 >i 7 



April 22 



May 7 



April 24 



May 12 



April 26 



May 20 



„ 26 



„ 10 



„ 19 



„ 7 



June 2 



Greatest 

 Diffe- 

 lence. 



81 days 



48 „ 



Ob- 

 served 

 in 



83 





47 



129 





55 



40 





53 



70 





59 



72 





52 



71 



>> 



57 



63 





47 



57 





43 



52 





47 



53 





34 



37 





30 



49 





43 



29 





52 



45 





36 



27 





62 



50 





50 



54 





36 



35 





53 



42 





59 



29 





51 



50 



99 



59 



56 years 

 55 ,, 



• * In the place whence I date this, the Ringdove coos 

 all the year round ; and I have frequently heard the 

 thrush singing on a mild day in the second week in 

 November. 



Man a Savage. — I have often, my dear sir, 

 pondered over your remarks about man being at 

 heart a savage ; and I confess I see too much reason 

 to take your view of the question. The daily 

 records compel one to believe it. Reading, a few 

 days since, Miss Bremer's last work, my eye fell 

 upon the following recorded act of barbarity prac- 

 tised upon a little bird at sea. Wearied by its long 

 flight, it had taken refuge in the rigging of the 

 vessel in which Miss B. sailed ; and here is her 

 note as to the reception given it : — " I have been 

 annoyed to-day, by the behavior of some gentlemen 

 to a little storm-driven bird which sought for rest 

 in our vessel. Wearied, it settled down here and 

 there upon our cordage, but was incessantly driven 

 away — especially by two young men, an English- 

 man and a Spaniard, who seemed to have nothing 

 to do but to teaze this poor little thing to death 

 with their hats and handkerchiefs. It was dis- 

 tressing to see how it endeavored again and again, 

 upon its wearied wings, to follow the vessel; and 

 again panted to alight upon its cordage or masts, 

 only to be again driven away. I was childish 

 enough to persecute these young men with my 

 prayers, that they would leave this poor little 

 creature in peace. But it was to no purpose ; and 

 to my astonishment, neither did any of the other 

 passengers take the little stranger under their 

 protection ! I called to mind that I had seen in 

 Swedish vessels little storm-driven birds treated 

 differently — left in peace, or fed with bread-crumbs. 

 The end of the pursuit here was, that after the 

 bird had left its tail in the hand of one of its tor- 

 mentors, it was soon taken ; it was then put into 

 a dark cage, where it died in a few hours. — /once 



was also a cruel child. But then I did not under- 

 stand what suffering was ; and what animals are. 

 I received my first lesson in humanity to animals 

 from a young lively officer, who afterwards died 

 the death of "a hero in the war against Napoleon. 

 Never shall I forget his reproachful glance and 

 tone, as he said to me, ' The poor worm ! '^ It is 

 now more than thirty years since ! " — This bar- 

 barity appears inherent among the human race. 

 To kill, worry, and persecute helpless animals, is 

 called "manly sport." From the very lowest to 

 the very highest, the feeling is the same,— -the 

 practice is all but universal. Is it not shocking ? 

 — Sarah K., Newport, Isle of Wight. 



[It is shocking. But no argument will ever 

 alter it. Use sanctions cruelty. Children are 

 taught it from infancy. It grows with their 

 growth, and it strengthens with their strength. 

 Read carefully the remarks on this subject in 

 " Phrenology for the Million," page 101, of the 

 present number.] 



The Human Brain. — Sir Bulwer Lytton, in a 

 late speech made at Edinburgh, thus graphically 

 recorded the wear and tear of the human brain. 

 " In these days," said he, " half our diseases arise 

 from the neglect of our body in the over work of 

 the brain. In this railway age, the wear and tear 

 of labor and intellect go on without pause or self- 

 pity. We live longer than our forefathers ; but we 

 sujfer more from a thousand artificial anxieties 

 and cares. The> y fatigued only the muscles. We 

 exhaust the finer strength of the nerves ; and when 

 we send impatiently to the doctor, it is ten to 

 one that he finds the acute complaint (which is 

 all that we perceive) connected with some chronic 

 mental irritation, or some unwholesome inveteracy 

 of habit." How true !— how sad ! — W. K. 



Observations on the Weather for January, — 

 at Barnsley. — There was rain or snow on 19 

 days ; but in general in small quantities, except 

 on the 4th, 7th, and 8th: — first heavy snow, 

 averaging from 10 to 20 inches, and in some places 

 drifted by the high winds to such a depth, as to 

 make some of the lanes and roads impassable ; 

 then sleet, changing to rain. The quantity fallen 

 in the whole month was three inches — probably 

 much more, as some of the snow flakes would be 

 blown off the weather-guage unmelted. The 

 highest point of the barometer was 30 in. 30. on 

 the 26th, the lowest was 28 in 30. on the 8th. 

 The highest point attained by the thermometer in 

 the town was 25 deg. in the shade, on the 30th ; 

 in the country the same day it was 48 deg. The 

 lowest registered in the town was 12 deg., on the 

 morning of the 3rd ; and in the country 9 deg., on 

 the 2nd and 3rd — probably lower in the night. 

 The winds have been from N.N.E. to S.E.S., 

 S.W. and W., the last few days in great force. 

 The severity of the frost during the limited period 

 of its existence, was more intense than has been 

 remembered by any one here. The pools, canal, 

 and even the river Dearne, were speedily frozen, 

 to the satisfaction of thousands of sliders and 

 skaters. The ice was from 7 to 10 inches thick. 

 It has been a hard time for the feathered race. 

 Hunger has made strange companionship, and 

 hard and soft-billed birds have flocked round the 

 haunts of man, too often to their destruction, as a 



