KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



J09 



sive look, signifying we would if we dared. 

 This look was understood ; our wish 

 thoroughly comprehended. A sweet smile 

 ratified that fact. Let us add — honor 

 bright ! — we have never seen that young 

 lady since. 



" Is it possible," mused we, after our 

 visitors had departed, " that such people as 

 these can be fond of birds ? Or can they 

 indeed be said to possess any of the finer 

 feelings of our nature? If so, 'tis passing 

 strange." But now for our return- visit to 

 the West-end aviary. 



Wq paid our visit late in the autumn. 

 Sir John Shoulder- knot, in the absence of 

 the family, ushered us into an elegantly-fur- 

 nished chamber. On presenting our card of 

 entree, the window was thrown up, dis- 

 closing a very pretty romantic village, 

 constructed just in the manner already de- 

 tailed. Our remarks on what we saw shall 

 be brief. 



Observing only one or two very miserable- 

 looking birds in the fore- ground of the pic- 

 ture, we anxiously turned round to inquire 

 the cause. Sir John informed us, that since 

 the inclement weather had set in, most of 

 the birds, having no lire or artificial warmth 

 near their habitation, had perished from 

 the cold. lie added, " I do not think, Sir, 

 the few which are left will live long." Nor 

 did we. The hand of death was visibly 

 about to close their eyes for ever ! 



We hesitated not to speak our mind fully 

 upon the cruelty of this neglect ; and inti- 

 mated to the man in plush, a desire to have 

 our remarks faithfully reported at head- 

 quarters. The rejoinder was short and 

 pithy : " Master says, Sir, if they die, they 

 die; if they live, they live.' 1 '' 



Not long after this, we heard that the 

 whole had perished; and that the wealthy 

 owner of the romantic village had been re- 

 cently seen in the classic neighborhood of 

 the Seven Dials (preparatory, doubtless, to 

 a re-fit), bargaining for a robin, a chaffinch, 

 and a hedge-sparrow, whose fate, alas ! might 

 too surely be foretold. 



We have introduced this episode, in con- 

 nection with the general subject, in the 

 hope that, when it meets the eye of other 

 similar bird-fanciers — very many such we fear 

 there are — it may carry conviction with it. 

 Every man and every woman, no doubt, do 

 " think" at some period of their lives. We 

 have, therefore, merely supplied the mate- 

 rials for their meditation. Qui capit ille 

 facit. Let those whom the cap fits, put 

 it on ! 



Mental Health. — Anguish of mind has 

 driven thousands to suicide: anguish of body few. 

 This proves that the health of the mind is of far 

 more importance than the health of the body. — 

 Colton, 



THE HYACINTH. 



At the present moment, the following parti- 

 culars in connection with this most lovely flower 

 will be read with lively interest. They are the 

 result of practical experience; and as such, 

 doubly valuable. 



There is scarcely a flower in cultivation which 

 so gratefully repays the attention bestowed upon it, 

 and which is so accommodating as the Hyacinth. 

 It will thrive in almost any soil, or medium ca- 

 pable of retaining moisture, and will flower al- 

 most as finely when grown in water or moist 

 sand as when planted in the richest compost. 

 The Hyacinth has long been a favorite with 

 lovers of flowers in all grades of society, and 

 deservedly so ; for there is not a habitation fit for 

 man where it will not deign to grow and bloom. 

 Its accommodating habits and easy culture bring 

 its beautiful spikes of sweet-scented flowers 

 within the reach of the inhabitant of a cottage, 

 and, in beauty and fragrance, it is not surpassed 

 by any plant with which the wealthy can grace 

 their drawing-rooms or flower-houses at Christ- 

 mas. Much has been written respecting the cul- 

 ture of this lovely plant, the greater portion of 

 which has, unfortunately, been calculated to de- 

 ter persons, dependent upon such sources of in- 

 formation, from attempting its growth. It is 

 usual with writers on the culture of the Hyacinth 

 to state that, to grow it successfully, a very rich 

 soil is absolutely necessary. The following are 

 the directions for the selection of proper soil, from 

 a treatise recently published— viz., " \ turfy 

 loam, ^ decayed cow dung, \ sharp or clean 

 river sand, and \ leaf soil, with which a bed of 

 the necessary size and two feet deep must be 

 formed, by those who would grow Hyacinths 

 property." 



The removal of the natural soil, and procuring 

 and replacing it with the above materials, in any 

 case would be a work of considerable expense, 

 and altogether beyond the means of many lovers 

 of early flowers. But we know from experience, 

 that any well-drained garden soil is easily ren- 

 dered suitable for the growth of the Hyacinth. 

 If the soil is of a strong adhesive nature, add two 

 inches of sharp sand, and as much good well- 

 decayed manure ; then dig the soil two feet deep, 

 taking care to nicely mix the sand and manure 

 with the soil as the work proceeds. Friable loamy 

 soils will require merely a liberal dressing of 

 manure, and deep digging. And it will be found 

 that the Hyacinth will produce equally fine spikes 

 of blossom grown in soil prepared thus, as when 

 planted in more expensive compost. The fact is, 

 the secret of having first-rate spikes of flowers 

 consists more in the selection of properly ripened 

 bulbs than in the soil in which they may be 

 grown. For, as in the case of other bulbous 

 plants, there is stored in the Hyacinth the embryon 

 of the blossom and a large amount of accumu- 

 lated matter; and the production of splendid 

 spikes of flowers is vastly more dependent upon 

 the presence of these in perfection in the bulbs, 

 than upon their being planted in expensive 

 composts. 



The best criterion which can be offered for the 

 assistance of purchasers in the selection of pro - 

 per bulbs is, that they should be proportionably 



