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KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL 



Its contents were also maigre during its second 

 phase. On the surface floated a green bunch 

 of watercress ; in the middle sported a leash of 

 stickle-backs, whose only pleasure was to Jfight 

 and dissect each other alive with their dorsal 

 thorn. At the bottom pined a pair of cray-fish, 

 hating the light, disgusted at being stared at, 

 refusing to eat, and denouncing in their heart of 

 hearts the villanous temptation of the dead dog in 

 a faggot, which had brought them into this pale 

 captivity froni their dear dark holes on the river's 

 bank. Be pleasant they would not, unless at night, 

 when we were all upstairs and fast asleep. Their 

 hearts were more obdurate than mine. They stood 

 out so well, and refused to be comforted so com- 

 pletely, that we turned them into a brook, to take 

 their chance. And yet they might have been 

 amusing, if they had not proved so nocturnal and 

 shy. They are the very miniature of the esculent 

 lobster, only of stronger build ; and greater tenacity 

 of life ; with the further claim to close relationship 

 by turning red when they are boiled." — The last 

 few paragraphs remind me of the collection of 

 zoophytes, molluscs, and other curious marine " fry " 

 now exhibiting at the Zoological Gardens, Regent's 

 Park. Have you seen this remarkable sight, my 

 dear Sir ? If not, do ; pray do. There is enough 

 to laugh at for a month at least ! — Helen W. 



[Thank you, kind Helen, for your valuable aid. 

 We are indeed grateful for such services — so 

 freely rendered ! We have seen the " Vivarium " 

 in the Zoological Gardens; and we have 

 " laughed" — aye roared, at the doings of that "odd 

 assemblage " of living marine characters. You 

 will find an account of it in a former page (351).] 



Insects, Ligustri, &c. — I may, perhaps, have 

 been rather hasty in forming an opinion about 

 Ligustri, mentioned in your last number. Let 

 me, therefore, pay respect to the superior know- 

 ledge of " Bombyx Atlas." I imagined that the 

 larva had not been pierced by an ichneumon, 

 because, on dissecting it, I did not observe any 

 of those minute maggots which I have seen in 

 insects thus attacked. A subject of some interest 

 was recently propounded to me, and perhaps some 

 of your correspondents can throw some light on 

 it. The question debated was this — whether 

 Moths and Butterflies continue a fixed time in 

 the pupa state. If they do so usually, how can 

 we account for the great variations we sometimes 

 meet with ? Are they occasioned by differences 

 in feeding, temperature, &c? Thus, for instance, 

 three caterpillars of Cucullia Asteris, which 

 entered the earth on the dates September 20th, 

 21st, and 23rd, made their appearance from the 

 chrysalis on the three following days — July 6th, 

 7th, and 9th. But again, three caterpillars of 

 Vinula formed their cocoons on August 15th, 

 18th, and 19th, respectively. Of these, the last 

 appeared on the 1st of June, the second on the 

 7th, and the one that changed first came out on 

 the 9th. Insects would appear therefore to be 

 uncertain in the time of their appearance ; so that 

 we cannot rely on the statements in books re- 

 garding the time of obtaining them. The larva 

 of Ocellata, for instance, is usually said to arrive 

 in September to its full size. Of these, two were 

 reared last year. One was full-grown in July, 

 and the other at the end of August. Also in 



May I have taken several moths, usually said to 

 occur in June. — Ceevra. 



London Milk. — Do you believe, Sir, that one 

 half or one quarter of the article sold in London 

 as " milk," ever formed a part and parcel of the 

 animal known as a cow ? I have heard strong 

 disputes about this, and I refer to you as an " au- 

 thority " to settle the point. — Arthur J., Regent's 

 Park. 



[The article which is facetiously sold in London 

 as " milk," has been repeatedly analysed, and in 

 very many cases has been found quite innocent of 

 any acquaintance with a cow. It is a most hor- 

 rible compound, for the most part, whose use habit 

 alone has reconciled to the palate. We hold it in 

 supreme abhorrence. There are thousands of poor 

 animals (we grant) confined in sheds, cellars, 

 stables, and hovels, which really are " cows ; " 

 and by deluging their stomach with watery grains, 

 some considerable quantity of sky-blue fluid is 

 forced from them thrice, or oftener, daily — yet is 

 this quite inadequate to supply a millionth part of 

 London. Then again, large supplies of milk now 

 arrive from all parts of the country daily. This 

 may be milk when it arrives ; but it is no secret 

 that one gallon of it is, by the aid of water, 

 converted into at least four gallons ; and happy 

 ought we to be even then, if it reaches us in that 

 state. But, alas I no. The further process of 

 reduction and addition, however, we will not 

 inquire too closely into. We have heard it given 

 in confidence, but it is too disgusting to repeat. 

 And as for the manufacture of " London Cream," 

 this would be far too shocking to meet the eye of 

 our readers in detail. It is plain, then, that there 

 is not a sufficient supply of " milk " to admit of 

 only one person in a thousand getting an ho- 

 moeopathic taste of it daily (we speak of London 

 and the suburbs). The statistical account of the 

 number of cows kept, proves this ; and the ascer- 

 tained quantity of milk sent up to assist in the 

 supply, still further confirms it. " Ignorance " 

 in this matter is " bliss. " In our recent ramble 

 through Hampshire, we did indeed get a taste 

 of " milk." A taste ? a feast ! In a certain home- 

 stead, to which we have alluded in another part 

 of our paper, we saw some very noble-looking 

 cows, whose symmetrical proportions quite de- 

 lighted us. Our kind hostess, observing the in- 

 terest we took in the farm-yard and its associa- 

 tions, asked us — "if we were fond of milk?" Our 

 reply was — a look in the affirmative. We added 

 that, as we lived near London, it was very long 

 since we had tasted any real milk. We ob- 

 served a slight telegraphic communication pass 

 between the mistress and a most good-tem- 

 pered domestic, attached to the yard ; and 

 in a few moments there stood before us, 

 in a pretty chamber, a bowl of the richest 

 milk that was ever brought to table. The snow- 

 white froth on it heaved like the waving of a 

 syllabub ; and the aroma exhaled from it was 

 quite a nosegay. Never shall we forget the kind 

 look of that farm -servant, as he recognised the 

 delight with which we quaffed from his mistress's 

 royal bowl, and praised his handywork in its 

 quick presentation on the table. (By the way, what 

 a treat it is, to see how these domestics, in the 

 heart of the country, love and esteem their em 



