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KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



the left hand ; with the right hand, they draw the 

 body through with extreme rapidity, till the 

 finger and thumb are brought up to the head. 

 The poisonous fangs are then removed, and the 

 creature has to commence its mysterious course 

 of instruction. . . The following anecdote, 

 given by Mr. Johnson, proves that danger is not 

 completely avoided, even when the venomous fangs 

 are removed. " A man exhibited one of his 

 dancing Cobra-di-Capellos before a large party. 

 A boy, about sixteen years old, was teasing the 

 animal to make it bite him. It actually did so; 

 and in an hour he was dead. The father of the 

 boy was astonished, and protested it could not 

 be from the bite — for the snake had no venomous 

 teeth. He vowed that he and the boy had often 

 been bitten by it before, and without any bad 

 effect. On examining the snake, it was found 

 that the former fangs were replaced by new ones, 

 not then far out of the jaw, but sufficient to bite 

 the boy." — This, Madame, proves to you that the 

 venom, is deposited in the fang, from which it 

 passes into the wound. The bite and poison are 

 one operation and effect combined.] 



The Vocative of " Cat." — I rejoice to see, Mr. 

 Editor, that the name of " Cat" is not to be alto- 

 gether banished from Our Journal. [Certainly 

 not — " Pussy." Many of our fair readers have cats 

 which they dearly love ; and we, of course, love 

 them also, — for their sahes. If cats have good 

 qualities, pray let us record thein. We pride our- 

 selves on acting with fairness.] Such being the 

 case, I send you an anecdote of the Archbishop 

 of Dublin, who, you know, is dearly fond of a 

 joke. He " cracks," I cannot say how many of 

 them, daily. Well; being recently worried by 

 some pedantic grammarian, he challenged his 

 tormentor to decline the commonest noun — " cat," 

 for example. The pedant contemptuously pro- 

 ceeded thus: — 



" Nominative—a cat, or, the cat. 



Genitive — of a cat, or, &c. 



Dative — to or for a cat, or, &c. 



Accusative — a cat, or, &c. 



Vocative — O cat." 

 " Wrong ! (shouted the Archbishop) Puss is the 

 vocative of cat, all through the United Kingdom ; 

 and wherever else the Teutonic dialects are spoken." 

 The pedant slunk out,dumb-founded ; and the arch- 

 bishop felt fully justified in emptying the bottle 

 of old port, whose cork had just been drawn.- — 

 Puss. 



An ailing Grey Parrot. — My parrot, which used 

 to be always talking, — and talking to the purpose 

 too — is very ill. For the last six months, his 

 feathers have been falling off in quantities, and 

 he is all but silent. His diet is hemp-seed; and 

 occasionally soaked bread. Help me, dear Sir, 

 do.— Emily B., Biggleswade. 



[Give your bird canary-seed ; and some fine 

 plain bread once a-day; and be sure to change 

 his water every morning. Keep him out of the 

 reach of draughts, and " pet" him as you would 

 a sick child. Discontinue his hemp-seed as soon 

 as possible, and read our article on " Parrots," 

 Vol. I., page 153. The beginning and ending of 

 your letter (slightly altered by us) have won us 

 quite over. Write when you will, — freely and 



fully. We will cure your bird for you. llely on 

 this, Emily, and your faith will be honored.] 



Cheap) Glass, in connection with Window Garden- 

 ing', a novel and pleasing Application. — -"All hail!" 

 Mr. Editor, to cheap glass! Ever since its in- 

 troduction, I have seen the possibility of cheaply 

 applying it for various economic purposes, such 

 as glass walls, lining to common walls, &c, &c. 

 At the present time, I propose to construct the 

 lower panes of windows, whether in shops, 

 chambers, or other places — double; somewhat on 

 the principle of a Ward's case. I would therein 

 introduce Ferns, bulbs, and what not, calculated 

 to realise a pretty, living, vegetable screen. Such 

 an arrangement would constitute a pretty blind. 

 I would also furnish a most extensive, and at the 

 same time, varied addition to the great pleasures 

 derivable from the kingdom of flowers. That, 

 too, under circumstances in which nothing of the 

 kind has been hitherto accomplished or contemplated. 

 The plants I insert in a little zinc pan, containing 

 earth ; and I make the pane moveable, with a 

 view to introduce water. — Henry M'Cormac, 

 M.D., Belfast. 



Who can say, — What shallbe done " to-morrow?" 

 — Sir, — When on a visit to Whitby, Yorkshire, 

 during my annual week's holiday, I wound my 

 way up the 194 steps that lead to the church, 

 and entered the churchyard, where the following 

 verse, on a gravestone, attracted my attention, 

 and found its way into my memorandum book, — 

 it conveys a deep lesson. — W. Smith. 

 " To-morrow I will better live," 

 Is not for man to say ; 

 To-morrow can no surety give, 

 The wise make sure to-day ! 



Ostriches. — Their JS ests, Eggs, and Mode of 

 Hatching, Sfc. — Some time since, Mr. Editor, 

 you, and the world at large, were debating — . 

 whether the Ostrich sat upon her eggs, or not, 

 or whether they were hatched by the sun. A 

 gentleman just arrived from Northern Africa, 

 speaks very strongly upon the matter in his pub- 

 lished Travels. His remarks refer principally to 

 hunting and shooting the Ostrich ; but they de- 

 scribe incidentally what we are all so anxious to 

 know; viz. the making of the nest and the in- 

 cubation of the Ostrich. The subject is truly in- 

 teresting. Ostrich shooting, he says, is practised 

 only, or chiefly, during the period of incubation ; 

 it is to it we are principally indebted for the ac- 

 quaintance which the Arabs have gained with 

 the habits of these singular birds. The pairing- 

 season is the month of August. The reumda 

 (female) is generally shy, and the delim has often 

 to pursue the object of his choice at full speed 

 for four or five days, during which he neither 

 eats nor drinks. When, however, she has con- 

 sented to be his, she never again quits him till 

 the young ones are reared ; and the bond between 

 them is equally respected by all their com- 

 panions: there is no fighting about mates, as 

 among some other gregarious species. The 

 period of incubation begins in the month of No- 

 vember, and presents the best opportunity for 

 shooting the ostrich. At this season, also, the 

 feathers are in the finest condition, though the 



