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KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



composedly, although perfectly exposed and sur- 

 rounded by workmen. The workmen have, how- 

 ever, placed a few brambles round and above 

 her, to form a shelter, and she will permit any 

 person to put in their hand and caress her on the 

 back without making any movement than that of 

 looking you in the face, as if to ask your for- 

 bearance and protection. This appeal has not- 

 been made in vain to the hardy sons of toil who 

 discovered her retreat, who take especial care, by 

 watching, to protect her alike from the ruthless 

 invasion of birds'-nest-taking urchins, as well as 

 from the incursions of children of larger growth. 

 It is pleasing to note this good-feeling among the 

 rustics. I only wish it was more general ! — 

 James L , Chester. 



A Remarkable Flight of Ant Flies. — ■ The 

 following, which emanates from one of the in- 

 mates of " Leasam House, near Rye," is a curi- 

 ous narrative of a curious sight: — " On Tuesday, 

 August 17, about five o'clock in the afternoon, I 

 was in Romney Marsh, when I saw a dark 

 column, which I at first thought was smoke. It 

 was a quarter of a mile from me, and its length 

 was upwards of a quarter a mile, and its breadth 

 I should think from 50 to 100 yards. On its ap- 

 proaching me, I found it was* composed of ant 

 flies, which seemed to have suddenly collected 

 together from all quarters of the marsh. After 

 the column had passed me, it crossed the River 

 Rother, where it left millions and millions in the 

 water; the water was quite darkened by them. 

 Still, notwithstanding this loss, and the millions 

 which were left behind on the ground, trees, 

 hedges, &c, the column appeared undiminished, 

 as I could see it like a wreath of smoke a mile 

 and a half ahead oi me, and I could easily trace its 

 course by those left behind. My workmen, who 

 were at work three miles from the place I first 

 observed it, saw the column, which they thought 

 likewise was smoke, but from the air being filled 

 with flies, they soon found their mistake. How 

 far the column was observable I know not, but 

 for a good four miles ; it travelled rapidly, at the 

 rate of six or seven miles an hour. The wind 

 was in the east; it was very sultry, and there was 

 all the appearance of a thunder-storm, which 

 took place in two hours afterwards. Kirby and 

 Spence mention a similar flight of ant flies in 

 1814 in Kent, and in 1812 in Suffolk. The ex- 

 traordinary circumstance is, that the ant flies 

 seem all to have taken wing at the same moment 

 from all quarters of the marsh, almost thirty 

 miles in length, and to have collected together so 

 quickly. At first I thought the column must 

 have come over from the Continent, but one of my 

 men who was collecting ants' eggs for me, tells 

 me, on a sudden he found himself covered with 

 these flies, and on looking up he saw the strands 

 of grass covered with the flies, which ran to the 

 top of the strand and then took wing. They were 

 all on wing in about five minutes from the time 

 he first observed them, and from that time, 

 although he continued getting ants' eggs, he 

 found hardly a fly left in the nests. The man has 

 collected eggs for me some years, and he says 

 he thought there were fewer eggs and flies than 

 usual this year. Several persons were wit- 

 nesses to this fact, and some tell me they think 



the column was more than a mile in length. The 

 flies were from the nests of the small red ant." — 

 As the writer has given his locus in quo, as a 

 voucher for the " truth" of the above, I have 

 transmitted it to you for insertion, if you con- 

 sider it worthy a place in Our Journal. The 

 effect produced by such a multitude en masse, 

 must have been singular indeed! — J. T., 

 Windsor. 



Sagacity of the Pig. — Having had an oppor- 

 tunity of noticing the contrivance practised by 

 some young pigs, in a case of difficulty, I should 

 like to see the same recorded in the Public's 

 Own Journal. In the yard I allude to, was a 

 pig-house, and a fowl-house. There was also a 

 wooden door on hinges, opening to the street in 

 the same yard. In this, towards the bottom, was 

 a hole, cut sufficiently large to admit any of the 

 fowls if they happened to be shut out in the 

 street. It was so contrived, that any small 

 animal from without, could gain entrance; but 

 nothing within could pass out. This difficulty 

 was caused by two leather hinges; which 

 were nailed on, inside the yard. One very 

 wet day, I was standing in the fowl-house, 

 watching a litter of young pigs that were playing 

 near the gate. They evidently wanted to get out, 

 and seemed to be cogitating what to do to 

 accomplish their object. A sudden thought 

 seemed to strike them. Two of the party ran 

 grunting up to the hole in the door, and steadily 

 began to gnaw the leather hinges that held them 

 prisoners ; nor did they cease gnawing, until they 

 had eaten through the leather. The impediment 

 being thus removed, each little grunter trotted 

 knowingly out. — Verax. 



Early Rising — " Another " Useful Hint. — The 

 difference between rising every morning at six 

 and at eight, in the course of forty years, amounts 

 to 29,200 hours, or three years, one hundred and 

 twenty-one days, and sixteen hours, which are 

 equal to eight hours a day for exactly ten years ; 

 so that rising at six will be the same as if ten 

 years of life were added, wherein we may com- 

 mand eight hours every day for the cultivation of 

 our minds and the despatch of business. — 

 Fanny M. 



A Domestic Flint, connected with the Walls of 

 Bed-rooms. — Many a fever, says a correspondent 

 in " Household Words, ,J has been caused by the 

 horrible nuisance of corrupt size used in paper- 

 hanging in bed-rooms. The nausea which the 

 sleeper is aware of on waking in the morning-, 

 in such a case, should be a warning needing no 

 repetition. Down should come the whole paper 

 at any. cost or inconvenience; for it is an evil 

 which allows of no tampering- The careless 

 decorator will say that time will set all right — 

 that the smell will go off — that airing the room 

 well in the day, and burning some pungent thing 

 or other at night in the meantime, will do very 

 well. It will not do very well; for health, and 

 even life, may be lost in the interval. It is not 

 worth while to have one's stomach impaired for 

 life, or one's nerves shattered, for the sake of 

 the cost and trouble of papering a room, or a 

 whole house, if necessary. The smell is not the 



