316 



KIDD'S OWN JOUENAL. 



and on the hive being opened immediately after- 

 wards, nearly the whole population was on the 

 wing. It seems one of those cases which would 

 teach us that the proceedings of these small 

 people are not always to be bound down by laws 

 of instinct, though the reason which guides them 

 may not be apparent. As it is, the extinction of 

 the family must soon take place. I should be 

 much obliged for any suggestions which may en- 

 able me to save the hive, whose small population 

 can scarcely linger out till swarming time, and 

 singularly enough there have been drones in an 

 adjoining hive since the beginning of March. — 

 C. H. 



How to Keep Gathered Fruit and Flowers al- 

 ways Fresh. — Fruit and flowers may be preserved 

 from decayand fading by immersing them in a solu- 

 tion of gum-arabic in water two or three times; wait- 

 ing a sufficient time between each immersion to al- 

 low the gum to dry. The process covers the surface 

 of the fruit with a thin coating of the gum which is 

 entirely impervious to the air, and thus prevents the 

 decay of the fruit, or the withering of the flower. 

 A friend of ours has roses thus preserved which 

 have all the beauty and fragrance of freshly plucked 

 ones, though they have been separated from the 

 parent stem since June, 1853. To insure success 

 in experiments of this kind, it should be borne in 

 mind that the whole surface must be completely 

 covered ; for if the air only gain entrance at a 

 pin-hole, the labor will all be lost. In preserving 

 specimens of fruit, particular care should be taken 

 to cover the stem, end and all, with the gum. A 

 good way is to wind a thread of silk about the 

 stem, and then sink it slowly in the solution, which 

 should not be so strong as to leave a particle of 

 the gum undissolved. The gum is so perfectly 

 transparent that you can with difficulty detect its 

 presence except by the touch. Here we have 

 another simple method of fixing the fleeting 

 beauty of nature, and surrounding ourselves with 

 those objects which most elevate the mind, refine 

 the taste, and purify the heart. — C. G. 



The Crystal Palace. — Art v. Nature. — I have 

 just returned from abroad, my dear Sir, and learn 

 that the great Crystal Palace, at Sydenham, is 

 to be opened June 10. I hear too that the 

 " soft-going " Pharisees of the day have caused 

 Venus and her attendants to be habited in petti- 

 coats, the " Graces " to be huddled up in sack- 

 cloth, and all the natural beauties of the human 

 figure to be carefully kept out of sight, &c. &c 

 Worse than that. Morality is to be shocked at 

 every turn. Hideous plaster patches are to be 

 attached to all the fair forms iu the Sculpture 

 Courts; and ourselves, wives, and daughters, are 

 condemned to listen to the ribald jests of passers- 

 by, which (after the public discussions in the 

 newspapers) will be neither few nor restrained. 

 An edict in council has gone forth. Their fiat 

 has been pronounced. The patches are ordered, — 

 and put on! The "joke" is already in every- 

 body's mouth ; and people are prepared in count- 

 less numbers to go and crack jests innumerable 

 at the expense of public morals. " Somebody " 

 has got to answer for all this; and I hope "some- 

 body" will meet with their due reward. The cant 

 of the present day is monstrous. Our teachers, 



as they call themselves, are a bad lot. A nice 

 idea have they, truly, of the fine arts, purity of 

 heart, and elevated sentiment ! We wonder how 

 they can admit females into the nursery where their 

 boys are ! It must be " improper, " according to 

 their own showing ; for anything natural is, in 

 their sight, abhorrent. Alas ! for the deception, 

 hypocrisy, and morbid feelings of morality that 

 prevail amongst us. We are, as you very justly 

 say, an artificial nation. Raise your voice, my dear 

 Sir; do, I entreat you. Then shall we be " honor- 

 able exceptions" to the Maw-worms of the day. — 

 Walter, Cambridge, May 22. 



[We have been wondering, "Walter," what had 

 become of you ! We look upon you as one of our 

 best allies, and glory in promulgating your whole- 

 some sentiments. We have in our very first article 

 (see p. 258) anticipated your wishes ; and we 

 are rejoiced to think that we are both animated 

 by "one " feeling. Let us blush for those who are 

 in "authority over us;" — they cannot do it for 

 themselves ! ] 



The Monster Steam-Ship. — The contracts have 

 just been signed, for the completion and launching, 

 within the space of two years, of an enormous 

 steam-ship, for the Eastern Steam Navigation 

 Company, which will put the Himalaya, the 

 Great Britain, the Duke of Wellington, and other 

 " monsters of the deep" into the shade, for she 

 will be of the vast size of 22,000 tons burden, or 

 10,000 tons register. I give her principal dimen- 

 sions as follows. — 



FEET IN. 



Extreme length of main deck 700 



Ditto ditto of keel : 680 



Ditto breadth of beam 83 



Depth of hold 58 



Length of principal saloon 80 



Height of ditto 15 



Number of decks Four. 



TONS. 



Tonnage (builders' measurement) 22,000 



Tonnage 10,000 



Carries of coal in tons 10,000 



Stowage for cargo 5,000 



Number of first-c ass cabins 500 



Horse-power (nominal) of engines for paddles 



and screw combined 2,800 



Means of propulsion, screw and paddles combined, 

 as well as an immense quantity of sail. She will 

 have ample accommodation for second and third- 

 class passengers and troops. Her bottom, decks, 

 and sides, will be double ; of a cellular form, with a 

 space of two feet six inches between. She will have 

 fourteen water-tight compartments, and two divi- 

 sional bulk heads. Her immense proportions will 

 admit of her carrying sufficient fuel to accomplish 

 a voyage round the world. She is designed by 

 Mr. Brunei, on the principle of the Britannia 

 Tubular Bridge, and is being constructed in the 

 yard of J. S. Russell, Esq., Millwall.— C. F. T.Y., 

 Stockleigh Pomeroy. 



Treatment of Oreenhouse-PlanU during the 

 Summer. — I generally take an opportunity now 

 and then of visiting the gardens of my neighbors ; 

 and on such occasions endeavor to profit as much 

 as possible by what I see, whether in the way of 

 excellence or defect. Both may alike be auxilia- 

 ries to improvement : the one, pointing out what 

 should be imitated ; the other, what should be 

 shunned. To an instance of the latter class, I 



