12 



KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



in a barn, at the upper end of which an owl was 

 located, evidently watching the movements of 

 puss. As soon as the latter had succeeded in 

 getting her little family into a quiet sleep, she 

 gently withdrew, for the purpose of obtaining the 

 necessary aids for the body corporate. She had 

 hardly left the barn when the owl descended, 

 and after narrowly scanning the kittens, he took 

 them with great care, one by one, and without 

 injuring them in the least, placed them safely in 

 his own domicile. Puss returned, but found the 

 objects of her care gone ! With the sagacity of 

 her tribe, she began an exploration of the barn 

 for her progeny, and at length discovered the 

 place of their retreat; but here her difficulties 

 were not complete. The owl had got possession, 

 and would not budge an inch; a terrific battle 

 ensued of three quarters of an hour's duration, in 

 which both were severely injured — and puss came 

 off triumphant. She immediately took her kittens 

 off to their old quarters; but the owl was so 

 seriously wounded in the battle that he died the 

 following day." — Is it not a good thing, Mr. 

 Editor, that the owl is dead? he cannot now be 

 called in as " a witness." — James E., Maidstone. 

 [These marvels are only now " beginning." 

 They may be looked for in extenso daily. The 

 above certainly was a " remarkable " owl !] 



Gold and Silver Pheasants. — All hail, Mr. 

 Editor, to your " Consulting Journal ! " And let 

 me congratulate you on your new resolution. 

 May it answer the desired end ! It shall, if un- 

 ceasing energy on my part can avail anything. 

 I have a pair of beautiful gold pheasants ; their 

 eggs are plentiful, but the hen never wants to 

 sit. I therefore rear young birds under bantam 

 fowls ; strange to say, they all invariably die from 

 the third to the fifth day. I am convinced there 

 is something wrong in their diet, that I am un- 

 acquainted with. I expect very shortly to have 

 a brood hatched, and therefore feel anxious about 

 the mode of treatment. "Where can I procure a 

 hen silver pheasant? [Address a note to Mr. 

 Baker, " Pheasantry," King's Road, Chelsea, 

 enclosing a stamp; he will tell you the price, and 

 recommend you a good bird.] My male bird is 

 a sad savage in his temper and disposition ; will 

 he be likely to pair with, and take kindly to, a 

 young hen? [Certainly not. He is a Turk.] 

 He has already played the part of Bluebeard to 

 some ten bantam hens. \_Has he ! At once, then, 

 reduce his stature by a head. He is useless to 

 breed from. Procure a pair of young " silvers " 

 immediately; then will you escape all disap- 

 pointment.] I shall be so greatly indebted to you 

 if you will answer my questions. — Arthur H. 



[You ought to rear your young pheasants 

 under larger fowl — not under bantams. They 

 require much more warmth than can be 

 imparted by these little creatures ; and they ought 

 to have a mother, if we may so speak, of 

 altogether larger proportions. Feed them on soft 

 food, and let them have flies, worms, and insects, 

 in preference to grain, when so very young. 

 Above all things keep them clean, and let their 

 habitation be free from contamination of every 

 kind. Extreme cleanliness is a " domestic 

 talisman," and ought to be practised throughout 

 all creation; yet is it but very little regarded. 



We shall no doubt be able to offeryou, through 

 the medium of our columns, much minute infor- 

 mation about golden pheasants and their progeny. 

 Meantime, these remarks will serve your present 

 purpose.] 



Philosophy of Combustion as shown by a Common 

 Candle. — How very few of us, Mr. Editor, are 

 practically conversant with the commonest 

 principles of cause and effect ! I was much 

 struck the other day by the following, which I 

 found on papa's table, in the Builder. Thinking 

 it just the thing for a periodical of popular 

 science like yours, I have copied it and now send 

 it you. " Before you put your candle out, look j' 

 at it. .It has been burning some time unsnuffed, 

 and gives little or no light; the wick is long, and 

 is topped by a heavy black clot — a lump of un- 

 consumed carbon. Take the candlestick in your 

 hand, and move it gently from side to side ; the 

 superfluous wick burns away, and the candle is 

 again bright. When you ask yourself why this 

 is, you learn that flame is hollow, and as it 

 admits no oxygen, which is necessary for com- 

 bustion, the wick which it surrounds remains 

 unconsumed, and diminishes the light. When 

 the flame, by motion, leaves the wick exposed at 

 intervals to the oxygen of the atmosphere, it 

 speedily burns away. Note the valuable deduc- 

 tion from this fact — the formation of a wick 

 which constantly turns outward and reaches the 

 exterior air, and so gives us a candle requiring 

 no snuffing. There is much philosophy in the 

 burning of a candle. The wick you may think 

 is intended to burn and give light; but this is not 

 exactly the fact. The wick is simply to bring 

 the melted tallow, or oil, if in a lamp, into that 

 finely divided state in which it is best fitted for 

 combustion. The heat applied to 'light' the 

 candle, decomposes into its constituents the small 

 quantity of tallow next the wick : heat and light 

 are produced in the operation, and the heat so 

 produced carries on the decomposition." — Let us 

 hope that the Public's " Own Journal " will be 

 the means of making many other of these 

 delightful facts known to the inquiring mind. 

 My aid, dear Mr. Kidd, in so good a cause, shall 

 assuredly not be wanting. — Laura C, Finchley. 



[Miss Laura! you are a dear girl; a jewel in 

 your papa's crown; a perfect philosopher in 

 petticoats. You stand enrolled " one of us." Con- 

 tinue active in the good cause, and command 

 our services at all times. Try something " ori- 

 ginal." There is evidence in one part of your 

 epistle to us (not printed), that you are a girl of 

 much thought and accurate perception.] 



Chickens, — What is the Cause of their sud- 

 denly dropping off? — Dear Mr. Editor, — We are 

 sadly plagued this year with our chickens, 

 which, when nearly reared and about to be taken 

 from their parents, suddenly die. This is not 

 the case with a few of us only, but with most 

 of us. How is it? Do pray prescribe for us; 

 for in our parts you are an idol. We all say, 

 among ourselves, " May the Editor and his pet 

 Journal live for ever !" — Sarah W., Worcester. 



[Miss Sarah! gently, if you please. Do not 

 get into our good graces by flattery. We value 

 the regard of yourself and towns-folk highly; 



