KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



249 



NOTICE. 



All the numbers of this Journal arc in ruiNT ; and 

 may be had from No. I. inclusive, price 3d. each. Also, 

 Parts 1 to 9, price Is. Id. each ; post-free, Is. 4d. 



As due notice was given to our Subscribers, early in 

 June last, to complete their Sets without delay, it is 

 hoped they have done so, as the Stock is now made up 

 into Sets, and very few "odd" numbers are on hand. 

 The price of the first two Quarterly, and the first Half- 

 yearly Volumes, will remain as before— until December 

 26th. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



Phrenology for the Million will be continued in our 

 next. 



Communications Received. — Tyro. Purchase the 

 "Naturalist;" of which there are 20 Nos. already 

 published, price 6d. each. Also Morris' "History of 

 British Birds ;" of which 29 Nos., at Is., are already 

 published. These works are admirably adapted to your 

 requirements.— J. L.— E. W.~ Bombyx Atlas. — P. G. 

 — Harriet. 



To Correspondents. — As we always print one number 

 of the Journal hi advance, such of our Correspondents 

 as may not receive replies to their questions in the cur- 

 vent number, must bear in mind that they are not for- 

 gotten. We pay marked attenton to all favors. 



KIDD'S OWN JOUSNAL. 



Saturday, October 16, 1852. 



WE HAVE BEEN MOST PLEASINGLY OCCU- 

 PIED during the last fortnight, in preparing 

 an Index to the third Quarterly 

 Volume of Our Journal (for " Autumn ") 

 — now just published. 



We were not wrong in predicting, that its 

 value would go on progressively increas- 

 ing. The " contents " surprise even us, 

 under whose hands all the materiel has 

 passed from week to week. We could hardly 

 have imagined that so many, and such curi- 

 ous matters, could have accumulated in so 

 short a space of time ; but so it is. 



When the fourth Quarterly Volume — 

 " Winter," is completed, we are inclined to 

 think w T e shall be pardoned, even though we 

 should feel a little " proud " of the year's 

 performances — under such appalling dis- 

 couragements as we have had to contend 

 with. 



We are now in the middle of October, 

 not ten weeks removed from Christmas. We 

 need not therefore feel surprised, that with 

 the progress of time, things out of doors 

 are undergoing some extraordinary changes. 



We have had some heavy rains of late, 

 and some cold nights. These have so acted 

 on the foliage of the trees, that, under the 

 influence of sun and wind, the trees are be- 

 coming gradually bare. Rain, sun, wind, 

 and frost, combined, are irresistible adver- 

 saries to our orchards, our flower gardens, 

 our woods, and our forests. 



That there may be no possible mistake 

 about the season, we now find ourselves sur- 

 rounded by wrens, hedge sparrows, tit-mice, 



and robins. All these are full of song, and 

 constant inmates of the garden. The wren 

 and robin, in particular, have taken full 

 possession of our grounds, and they dodge 

 us about wherever we go. 



We are not aware of anything more de- 

 lightful, than the many proofs of confidence 

 and affection we receive from these little 

 visitors. They so well know who loves 

 them, and with whom they are in safeguard, 

 that the joint intimacy soon becomes formed. 

 The song of the robin is just now remark- 

 ably fine. One single pair of these lovely 

 creatures has produced us this year no fewer 

 than eighteen. Of these, the greater part 

 remain in our vicinity, and the harmony of 

 their voices is indescribably sweet. We 

 shall have a jar of mealworms for them anon ; 

 and when they have seen this jar once, and 

 know its contents — keep them out of your 

 house, say we, if you can. The value of this 

 bird is little estimated in England. It is a 

 " common bird," and therefore has no beauty ! 

 Were it foreign, it would rank among the 

 rarest of the rare. So much for fashion ! 



Out-door amusements must not yet be re- 

 linquished. No crowding yet — if ever— round 

 large fires ; and consuming away in shut-up 

 rooms. Health is not thus to be had. Bound 

 merrily away— over hill and over dale ; and 

 conjure up, on your cheek, the ruddy tint 

 that tells of your being hale and hearty : — 



How fresh the air! what fragrance from the 

 ground 



Steams upwards, as the cloudless orb of day 

 Sinks to the west, and all the landscape round 



Basks in the splendor of his parting ray ! 



This is thy magic pencil, Autumn — thine 



These deep'ning shadows, and that golden 

 glow, 

 Rich as the gems which, in some Eastern mine, 

 Athwart the gloom their mingled radiance 

 throw. 



Remember, good people all, that this is the 

 very season for you to re-fit. The general 

 state of the weather, during the Autumn, 

 has a direct tendency to revive the natural 

 spirits of all whose constitutions have been 

 debilitated by excessive summer heat. 



There is plenty still, to engage us in the 

 fields. We may see the husbandman busily 

 occupied in ploughing up the arable land 

 for next year's crops ; and also the sower 

 scattering the seed for our future mainte- 

 nance. We may also note the gradual 

 approach of the feathered tribes to closer 

 quarters with mankind ; and observe how 

 their voices daily acquire strength. The 

 linnet, goldfinch, and skylark, are becoming 

 quite musical. The chaffinch too, and the 

 young thrushes, make their notes heard. 

 The swift has left us. Many too of the 

 swallow tribe are gone ; and those which lag 

 behind are about to follow. It is curious 



