180 



KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



stantly fresh red sand, scouring his tray, &c, 

 &c, these needful instructions have been 

 fully given under the head of the " Nightin- 

 gale." It is only necessary for us, to enforce 

 the propriety of their literal observance. To 

 repeat them here, would occupy valuable 

 space to little purpose ; the subject is in- 

 divisible, and all the papers which have 

 appeared will necessarily be referred to by 

 the amateur bird-fancier. By the way, we 

 must repeat one of our early instructions — 

 and that is — see that plenty of clean fresh 

 water be given him, twice daily, to drink. 

 This is important. 



His dwelling being constructed and fur- 

 nished, let us now speak of his diet. For- 

 tunately for his admirers, although he is, 

 when at liberty, an insectivorous bird, yet 

 his constitution is stronger than that of the 

 nightingale, and he will thrive upon less 

 succulent food. The change, however, must 

 be gradual, and he must every now and then 

 be treated to some of his favorite bonne- 

 bouckes, such as a spider, earwig, wood-louse, 

 or meal-worm — so tended, he will live long 

 and happily. 



There are two sorts of general food to 

 which he may be accustomed — bullocks' liver, 

 boiled and grated (the " nut " of the liver) ; 

 and German paste, sweet-bun, and the yolk 

 of egg boiled hard — the whole rubbed fine 

 with the hand. This must be given fresh 

 every morning, and the pans always scalded 

 to keep them sweet and wholesome. 



As far as our experience goes, we much 

 prefer German paste to the bullocks' liver. 

 It sometime 1 ! happens that a bird will occa- 

 sionally partake of both, alternately given ; 

 every now and then, too, a little raw, lean, 

 scraped beef, and egg, as recommended for 

 the nightingale, forms an agreeable, as well 

 as a salutary change. Thus much general. 

 Having thrown out a hint or two about what 

 this bird delights in, and regards as luxuries, 

 we feel sure he will get many an occasional 

 " treat " between meal-times — one that is 

 " not in the bill." A loving Mistress, a 

 tender-hearted Master, and an idolising Miss, 

 hardly need to be u prompted " in the matter 

 of kindness to a " pet." With them, it is 

 "native and to the manner born." 01 si 

 sic omnes 1 



OTES EY A NATUKALIST. 



HARDRA FORCE. 



At the south-west corner of the 

 North Riding of Yorkshire, among fells and 

 scars without number, is situated the town 

 of Hawse, at an elevation of not less than 

 1000 feet above the sea. The whole forma- 

 tion here is mountain limestone ; hence, the 

 hills, one and all, present the tabular form 



characteristic of this formation, as well as 

 the succession of rocky scars stretching in 

 lines along their surfaces ; probably to 

 remind us that there is really something 

 hard beneath the luxuriant vegetation which 

 always clothes a limestone hill. A few of these 

 scars assume a form so different from that 

 which we would naturally expect, that a 

 passing notice of one of the most wonderful 

 of these may not be without interest. I 

 extract an account of one from my diary, 

 and add that it was written on the spot 

 one fine day in April, about eight in the 

 morning. 



I am under Hardra Scar, with a spraying 

 column of water falling over and in front of 

 me from a height of a hundred feet. I ant 

 in the upper end of an amphitheatre whose 

 breadth is perhaps even greater than its 

 depth ; and whose extreme end opens out 

 into a delightful view of some of the finest 

 hill scenery in Yorkshire, and even takes in 

 a portion of Westmoreland. The probable 

 length of the deep recess seems to be about 

 four hundred feet. To my right the descent 

 is made by means of a steep stair, formed by 

 pieces of slab from the rock, damp, and 

 covered here and there with moss, golden 

 saxifrage and seedling ferns ; above it a 

 group of jackdaws are chattering most joy- 

 fully, and ever and anon some one of the 

 troup, as if hired especially for the purpose, 

 will sweep across the airy eddy, formed by 

 the fall of such a mass of water, and be borne 

 down by it, from his straight career, his 

 glossy black plumage washed by the clear 

 spray. From the stair on my right I de- 

 scended a mound of broken shale, covered, 

 but sparingly, with grass and moss; and so 

 round to my present seat, where I sit like 

 an ancient priest at the high altar, in one of 

 the most magnificent temples ever formed by 

 the hand of nature, or of art. To my left, 

 a promenade round the pool is but a few 

 inches above its present level ; and above 

 that, rises the wall rock majestically: hanging 

 with long tresses of ivy, and here and there 

 in its interstices supporting a solitary ash, 

 a cluster of fern, or a knot of grass. The 

 rocky walls belong entirely to the carboni- 

 ferous group; and what appears remarkable 

 is, that they exhibit a perfectly equal and 

 unbroken stratification all round ; thus 

 showing that the three walls were not formed 

 by separate upheavals. The solution of the 

 difficulty regarding the origin of this scar, 

 appears to me to be as follows : — A silver 

 stream coursed merrily down a mountain 

 side ; and by some strange commotion 

 beneath, its channel suddenly gave way, and 

 was swallowed up in the dark bosom of the 

 earth, sinking to the depth of a hundred feet 

 or more : the stream rushed on to meet its 

 parted waters, but ere it again found its 



