RIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



371 



wing, — young schemes and projects, — young life, 

 — young love (though the last is especially subject 

 to a " worm i' the bud "), — and a hundred other 

 young associations, all of delightful kind, are 

 linked with the Rosebud. An ample bed of Roses 

 in full bloom has no parallel among the productions 

 of the earth. The habits and colors of the several 

 varieties, are varied almost without end ; and yet 

 there is great beauty in each of them. Then the 

 perfume with which they embalm the zephyr as it 

 plays over them, is quite unique ; nothing among 

 other flowers can be compared to it. Most of the 

 fragrant flowers have something of a sickly nature 

 in their perfume, which, while it gratifies the sense 

 for a little, soon brings a heaviness over the mind. 

 This is especially the case with bulbous-rooted 

 flowers — such as hyacinths and lilies, which contain 

 a small portion of prussic acid, and a much larger 

 portion of diluted carbonic, which soon brings the 

 perfume to the ground. The odor of the Rose, on 

 the other hand, is all-exhilarating, floats light and 

 buoyant on the breeze ; and, besides being the 

 most delightful to the sense, it gives tone and elas- 

 ticity to the mind. In most instances the odor of 

 a flower dies along with it, and the decaying petals 

 are offensive to the nostril ; but not so the Rose. 

 We find it yielding a variety of fragrant liquors, 

 which do not require the corrosive ingredients 

 which are in many of the compound essences of 

 the shops; and Attar of Roses, especially when 

 prepared in the valley of the Ganges, where square 

 miles are devoted to the growth of this flower, 

 is now almost the only substance which, weight 

 for weight, is more valuable than gold. — Hearts- 

 ease, Hants. 



The Voice of the Skylark. — I cannot wonder 

 at this bird of Heaven being such a favorite with 

 Our Editor. He is indeed a lovely fellow ; as all 

 must acknowledge who see and hear him in his 

 upward flight. Hogg calls this bird " the emblem 

 of happiness," and he certainly does diffuse hap- 

 piness on all around him. His is " the " voice 

 that sings at the portals of the golden sky its 

 grateful hymn of contentment, and pours out its 

 heart full of adoration to the Supreme Being. He 

 is the lowliest dweller on the green-sward, — the 

 loftiest soarer skywards. There is a sweet cheerful 

 lesson to be learnt from that voice in the air — one 

 of contentment, light-heartedness, and gratitude. 

 And what bird has so good a right to sing " at 

 Heaven's gate " in the summer sky, as this gentlest 

 and truest of birds ? He never wanders from his 

 nest, and his native land, but dwells ever among us, 

 making the very clouds musical during the spring, 

 summer, and autumn ; and gathering together, in 

 the silence and gloom of winter, in friendly flocks, 

 when his song ceases. He is then too often destroyed 

 to supply the table of the luxurious ! Nor, whilst 

 speaking of this charming songster, may we forget 

 his kindred bird, the woodlark ; for his song also is 

 very sweet, when he warbles in the choruses of 

 spring. Less brilliant than that of the lark, it has 

 great softness and tenderness ; and after sunset, 

 when his sun-worshipping cousin has sunk in 

 gentle silence on his grass-sheltered nest, the 

 woodlark, perched on the largest branch of some 

 neighboring tree, and looking down on his nest, 

 which is placed beneath the shelter of a May-thorn 

 hedge, or hidden by rank grass and gigantic dock- 



leaves, trills a placid and soothing lullaby. I quite 

 agree with you, my dear sir, in believing that we 

 may learn many a practical lesson from these 

 sweet creatures. I never fail to carry out, to the 

 best of my ability, the many hints kindly thrown 

 out by you for my individual benefit. I know 

 many others, too, whose sentiments are in unison 

 with my own. — Helen W. 



[We are proud, fair Helen, — pleasingly proud, 

 to have such a coadjutor as yourself. You are 

 perfectly correct in the feelings you cultivate, and 

 are to be commended for spreading them far and 

 near. Rely upon it, ours is the true philosophy.] 



The Poultry Fountain. — I observed in your 

 last, an announcement of a Poultry Fountain, 

 which was said to be useful to amateurs. Do you 

 know anything about it, or have you seen any of 

 them in use ? — John F., Marlow. 



[The fountain you allude to (we have two of 

 them in use) is the registered invention of Messrs. 

 Baker, King's Road, Chelsea. It is a cheap and 

 very clever contrivance for supplying pure water 

 to the poultry-yard, — its contamination by dirt, 

 being rendered impracticable: The great secret 

 of success in keeping fowls healthy, lies in the 

 practice of giving them a constant supply of pure 

 water. We must, and do ever insist upon this. 

 Half the complaints we receive about sickness in 

 the poultry-yard, arise from the impurity of the 

 water that is given to the inmates. Messrs. Baker's 

 fountains are well calculated to remedy this evil. 

 By placing them in a horizontal position, they are 

 readily filled, — there being only one opening, which 

 is below, immediately over the trough; when full, 

 they are placed upright, and immediately become 

 self-supplying. It must be remarked, that no more 

 water flows from the reservoir than is actually 

 required, and it will continue to flow so long as 

 there is any left The fountains are so prepared 

 that they cannot corrode, and therefore may be 

 used without fear.] 



Chloroform administered to a Horse. — A 

 few days ago, says the Editor of the Bris- 

 tol Times, chloroform was administered, under 

 the direction of Mr. J. G. Lansdown, to a horse 

 belonging to Messrs. Matthews and Leonard, of 

 this city, and called " Sambo." The object of 

 giving it to him was, that they might be able to 

 shoe the animal with less difficulty than they 

 usually experienced ; his violence on such occa- 

 sions being so great, that it took seven men six 

 hours to perform the work, and then only at a risk 

 of having their legs broken. The experiment 

 was successful ; for after gradual doses had been 

 administered for half-an-hour, the animal com- 

 menced a sort of dance on all fours, which he in- 

 creased rapidly, and finished by raising himself 

 up and falling backwards in a corner of the shoe- 

 ing shop. He was then dragged out, and re- 

 mained perfectly motionless until one fore and one 

 hind foot were shod, the chloroform being conti- 

 nued in small doses all the time. The two shoes 

 were put on in ^twenty minutes ; he was turned 

 over, and in eighteen minutes the other two were 

 completed. While the operation was going on, 

 the animal got into a sweat, and continued so un- 

 til towards the end, when he became rather cold : 

 he was then well rubbed all over, and was got on 



