KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



381 



fell asleep, and in the morning was found dead 

 upon the ground, with all the appearance of suffo- 

 cation, evidently occasioned by the discharge of 

 mephitic gas from the plants during the night." 

 Instances of men having slept in woods during the 

 night, and being found dead in the morning, are 

 not uncommon. These facts ought to be registered 

 in Our Own Journal. — Sylvia. 



Lemon Juice, a Cure for Rheumatism, Colds, 

 Coughs, Sfc. — As we have all been living so long 

 on water, and many of us nearly under water, Mr. 

 Editor, it is no wonder if some of us should 

 be " groaning and bark-ing," as you word it. To 

 cure these bad propensities (which, I agree with 

 you, are annoying to listen to), hear what one of 

 your contemporaries says: — "lam prepared, by 

 experience of its benefits, to state, that those who 

 dwell in damp districts or damp houses, and are 

 hence subject to rheumatism, coughs, colds, &c, 

 will find the free use of lemon juice, where it 

 otherwise does not disagree with them, a most ef- 

 fectual preventive as well as remedy. I have 

 found the regular use of a wine glassful or two a- 

 day, so strengthen a very delicate constitution 

 liable to colds on the slightest occasions, that it 

 defied not only damp, but every inclemency and 

 exposure."— The foregoing is a very simple and 

 a very cheap remedy. At all events it is worth 

 a trial. — Alice. 



[Thank you, Alice. The " water" you speak 

 of, has been in our house for several weeks ; and 

 at this time of writing, our cellars are flooded ; 

 the water is at least fourteen inches deep. 

 The same " event" has happened to all our neigh- 

 bors , right and left ; so that we will all go to 

 work at once with the "lemon juice;" and try its 

 effects. Lumbago has well-nigh crippled us; 

 and our neighbors' "bark" may be heard from 

 one end of" Our Village" to the other. Surely 

 Hammersmith is a "damp district!" 



Diseased Hyacinths grown in Glasses. — Your 

 correspondent, " Fedelta," who complains that 

 the roots of her Hyacinths are mouldy and slimy, 

 and who asks the reason of it, — may take it 

 for granted that the bulbs, previous to use, w T ere 

 put in too damp a place. When bulbs are 

 not properly protected, a small imperceptible 

 fungus attacks the root. This, when exposed to 

 much moi3ture and warmth, rapidly increases in 

 bulk, making itself visible in the manner de- 

 scribed by " Fedelta." Wherever practicable, these 

 excrescences should be cut off, the glasses tho- 

 roughly cleansed by washing, and fresh water 

 supplied. Rain water is best for this purpose, — 

 provided it has not been suffered to stand very 

 long. — Flora G., Worcester. 



Large Mushrooms. — The species of mushroom 

 alluded to by " G. P. of Tipton," at page 220, 

 was probably the Agaricus Georgii, commonly 

 enumerated amongst the edible mushrooms of 

 this kingdom. They have been abundant in 

 this neighborhood (Gloucestershire) during the 

 past autumn ; growing upon, and in the vicinity 

 of manure-heaps in sheltered places. Many of 

 them have attained the size of a dinner-plate. 

 They are coarser in structure than the Agaricus 

 Campestris, or common mushroom, of a paler 



color underneath; and when boiled, turn of a 

 yellowish brown, and are very deficient in flavor. 

 If not decidedly prisonous, they are extremely 

 unwholesome. I have myself partaken of them 

 on two occasions, in different years, and each time, 

 after about an hour's indescribable uneasiness, 

 my stomach has rejected its offending contents. 

 They however make excellent catsup ; that con- 

 diment being used in such small quantity that 

 its deleterious effects are not felt. Moreover, I am 

 of opinion that the continued boiling necessary 

 to make it keep good, destroys in a great measure 

 the poisonous quality. In this I am borne out by 

 the following case recorded in the " Penny Cy- 

 clopaedia: — A lieutenant in the French army, 

 and his wife, ate some mushrooms supposed to be 

 of a wholesome kind, at ten in the morning. 

 The same evening, they were both attacked with 

 severe colic, and the next day they both died. The 

 person from whom the agarics had been procured, 

 as well as all his family, had eaten abundantly of 

 them without inconvenience ; but it appeared 

 that the latter had well salted, and then boiled 

 them for a time. They had afterwards pressed 

 the agarics before eating them ; precautions which 

 the unfortunate lieutenant had neglected. — J. J., 

 M. R. C. S. 



The " Jumping Tooth-ache" in the Whale. — 

 There is a very amusing- article^ Mr. Editor, in 

 the "Journal of an American Whaler," that I 

 am anxious to see transferred to Our Journal. 

 It refers to the capture of a whale, and I have 

 copied it in the words of the writer — " Among 

 the ailments to which the sperm whales are sub- 

 ject, is the 'jumping tooth-ache.' It operates 

 on their nervous system as it does upon that of 

 mankind, — rendering them crabbed and fractious. 

 Just at day-break one morning, whilst we were 

 cruising on the 'off-shore' ground, a violent 

 commotion in the water about two miles ahead, 

 resembling breakers, attracted attention; it 

 continued unabated, until we were within fifty 

 rods of it. Then, on a sudden, a sperm whale 

 (for such it proved to be) threw his entire body 

 into the air, and fell back into his native element, 

 with a tremendous report. Of course the yards 

 were hauled aback, and the boats lowered, but 

 several minutes elapsed before it was deemed 

 prudent to oppose the monster. Finding how- 

 ever that he had no idea of becoming quiet, we 

 advanced with caution, and succeeded in 

 securing one iron firmly in his back. This 

 rendered him more restless. Giving him plenty 

 of slack line, we removed to a respectful dis- 

 tance, — hoping he would sound, or retreat. 

 But he was not disposed to do either. So, 

 taking our oars, we pulled sufficiently near to 

 give the boat-leader an opportunity to lance 

 him. He seemed to be aware of our inten- 

 tion, for he turned and rushed towards us 

 with the design of giving us a " fowing." 

 This we narrowly escaped. For the next half- 

 hour he chased us, and we had much difficulty 

 in avoiding him. When near us he turned on 

 his back, and raising his jaw, disclosed two 

 handsome rows of ivory. Among terrific objects, 

 surely an enraged whale holds a prominent place ! 

 An hour passed in unavailing attempts to ac- 

 complish the desired object. The whale became 



