54 



KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



are occasionally visited and always fed by their 

 old teacher. His duty, now, is to check or en- 

 courage them in their " piping," by various motions 

 of the head and mouth, according to the degree 

 of excellence they have attained in music. "When 

 they repeat the same stave twice, he scowls and 

 blows upon them. When they perform correctly 

 he waves his head like a " Great Mogul," and 

 shows signs that he is pleased. These motions 

 the birds perfectly comprehend ; and by dint of 

 perseverance on the part of the teacher, and 

 practise on theirs, they acquire the habit of piping 

 that never leaves them till death. Now, as regards 

 the teaching of these birds — imitative though they 

 be, it must be tiresome, indeed ! It must be 

 remembered, that one false note renders a bird 

 " faulty." Herein the difficulty ! Our English 

 bullfinches have no song. It is a mere twitter. 

 They are pretty birds, truly, and very affectionate, 

 but cannot be named among song-birds. The 

 value of "German piping bullfinches," ranges 

 from one guinea, upwards. They must never be 

 purchased of people who deal in parrots, or indeed 

 any " noisy" birds. Bought at such places they 

 are valueless, as you must be well aware. — 



Emma T , (an old fancier,) Belgrave Square. 



[We think you, Madam, for this kind and 

 friendly communication, which we know to be very 

 correct in all its details. Our English bullfinch 

 is, as you say, not musical, but "very affection- 

 ate." We shall have much to say in his praise, 

 when his turn comes round, in our series of 

 " British Song and Cage Birds." The suggestion 

 in your note, about the nightingale and black- 

 cap, shall most assuredly be borne in mind. We 

 never can, never will, lose any opportunity of 

 singing their praises. They will be here again 

 in ten weeks ! ] 



Rooks. — I crave your advice, Mr. Editor, in a 

 matter of difficulty. I am particularly fond of 

 rooks ; and have been well pleased to find myself 

 surrounded by them — my house being situate 

 near some large trees used by the rooks as a 

 colony. Now, unfortunately, the nests of my 

 favorite birds have been robbed by idle boys. 

 This has so disconcerted the rooks, that they 

 have taken their departure. There are now no 

 nests remaining in the trees ; although the birds 

 are still numerous in the neighborhood. Can you 

 tell me, my dear Sir, how I can entice them 

 back ? — Frederica. 



[The removal of the nests from your trees, is 

 deeply to be regretted. Birds so disturbed sel- 

 dom, if ever, take kindly to their original haunts. 

 There are no direct means to entice them back, 

 unless you could have a quantity of artificial 

 nests placed in their old positions. This might, 

 at a future time, induce some stragglers to re- 

 connoitre ; and if undisturbed, they might be pre- 

 vailed on to remain. It is worth an effort to re- 

 pair "the mistake" committed. A recurrence of 

 it, we need hardly say, would render all further 

 attempts at a reconciliation fruitless.] 



The Cockatoo. — This, Mr. Editor, is a charm- 

 ing species of bird ; and so affectionate ! Pray 

 mention this in our Journal, for the sake of 

 invalids, who can have no more faithful and fond 

 associate in the time of sickness. I have had 



two of these birds. One is dead ; but the sur- 

 vivor is equally attached as the other was. He 

 keeps guard over me, whilst I sleep ; and no per- 

 son dare approach me unless he pleases. Even the 

 doctor, if he chances to give me pain, " suffers" 

 for it ! AVhen I leave the room, my drawers are 

 carefully watched ; and nothing is ever permitted 

 to be removed from the table. When I have 

 been moaning, from excessive pain, and any one 

 has remained with me an undue time — woe be to 

 them ! My watchman has flown at them by 

 way of a hint, and followed them to the door, 

 pecking all the way at their feet. For himself, 

 he cares nothing — he eats little indeed ! All his 

 delight seems in watching my progress. He 

 has Ins liberty in doors and out of doors ; but he 

 never attempts to leave the premises. — Patience, 

 Devon. 



Timidity and Ferocity combined. — The ready 

 insertion you have given, Mr. Editor, to my 

 many little anecdotes of animals, induces me to 

 6end you yet another curious fact. Some little 

 time since, I had a puppy six months old. He 

 was of a middle size ; and would run and yelp 

 at the sight of another dog, however small. Now 

 there was a large and savage bull-dog, living two 

 doors off, in the village of Twickenham. This 

 beast, from some unascertained cause, would 

 seek every opportunity to worry my puppy, who 

 bore all patiently. One day however, a very wet 

 day, the bull-dog rolled the puppy in the mud, — 

 keeping him there until he was nearly smothered. 

 However, being hard pressed, and fearing for his 

 life, the little fellow turned round and showed 

 fight. His first sharp teeth were just grown. 

 With these, he seized his enemy by the side of 

 the neck. In the struggle to retain his hold of so 

 powerful an adversary, the carotid artery was 

 severed. Blood streamed out, and the bull-dog 

 lay prostrate — He was dead ! This did not 

 " satisfy" his conqueror, who forthwith turned a 

 bitter enemy to all his race. No dog could pass 

 him without insult, or undeserved punishment. 

 He flew at them all ! nor would he accept chas- 

 tisement from me, his master. One day he 

 attacked a little boy, who was upon the' premises, 

 just as I returned home in my "jockey-boots" from 

 a long ride. I immediately struck him with my 

 whip. He turned upon me at once, and furiously 

 bit through the double leather of my boot. 

 Next day, my man said to me, — " Master ! you 

 will soon lose ' Bounce ;' his name is ' up,' 

 ever since he settled the bull-dog.' True words 

 these ! Within a week he was stolen. He dis- 

 appeared in the night, and I afterwards learnt 

 that his new prescribed duty was to be the guar- 

 dian of a barge on the Kiver Thames. His sire 

 was a retriever, between the setter and Newfound- 

 land ; his dam was a Blenheim spaniel. He 

 had a twin brother, the bravest sporting dog I 

 ever knew. He would leap from a rock fifty or 

 more feet high into the water, to recover the 

 game his master had shot. I gave him to Mr. 

 Thomas, of Teddington. — Verax. 



More of the " Blue-Cap." — Do not look grave 

 Mr. Editor, when I tell you I once had a bird, 

 who of his own free-will would " live in a cage." 

 You may say it is unnatural ; and so it is — an 



