KIDD'S LONDON JOURNAL. 



themselves in company with a third — an uninvited 

 guest. He looked so spruce withal, and his 

 scarlet liveiy so new and handsome, that they 

 fell in love with the little rogue at first sight. 

 The " impression " seemed mutual ; for from that 

 very day, Master Bobby was a constant atten- 

 dant on their footsteps — coming under their 

 chairs, then on the rail of the chair, and, finally, 

 installing himself master of the work-table. Of 

 coarse, these familiarities were reciprocated, and 

 his little majesty was fed on many a delicate 

 morsel of savory fare. By no means shy was he ; 

 but he was " constant " to his " first love ; " and 

 never did my sisters stir out without finding him 

 either present to receive them, or within call at 

 the earliest intimation given of his presence 

 being considered desirable. From this time, he 

 fed daily from their hand, and also from the 

 hands of all our household, for he made himself 

 quite " at home " with us all. lie knew a stran- 

 ger in a moment, and his fine, quick eye, seemed 

 to look them through ere he ventured to become 

 familiar with them. At this time, I was gradu- 

 ally recovering from a long and protracted ill- 

 ness, and was one day conducted into the garden 

 to sit for a short season on the lawn. Neither 

 the white dress in which I was habited, nor the 

 couch on which I lay, seemed to disturb the se- 

 renity of Master Bob. He soon discovered that 

 I was " one of the family ; " and honored me with 

 unreserved confidence, by feeding from my hand 

 and sitting at my elbow. The worst now re- 

 mains to be told. Several neighboring robins 

 feeling jealous, watched their opportunity to 

 "strike" him as he was in the act of flying 

 towards us; and we fear the combat was a 

 ''mortal" one, for our "pet" from that very 

 hour has been seen no more! — Anne E. 



[We are much obliged for this little anecdote, 

 as it will pave the way for many extraordinary 

 anecdotes of the robin, in which we ourselves 

 are personally interested. By and by, we shall 

 introduce these in all their freshness. The robin 

 spoken of by our fair correspondent was, beyond 

 all doubt, slain by his jealous rivals. There is 

 no bird in the whole creation so savage as this 

 saucy fellow. He proves the truth of the saying, 

 that " jealousy is cruel as the grave."] 



Is Groundsel 'good for Song -Birds in Winter? 

 — I thank you for writing me privately about 

 a cure for my sick birds. Unfortunately, we have 

 no watercresses here at this season; however, I 

 have given the goldfinch some apple. Is 

 groundsel good for birds in the winter? — An In- 

 quirer, Glasgow. 



[Groundsel and chickweed are excellent food 

 for birds, when ripe and well seeded. When, 

 however, the frost has touched them, they be- 

 come poisonous, and must be altogether laid 

 aside.] 



"Cats;' are they not "Vermin?" — I have 

 carefully read all your admirable " Treatises on 

 Natural History," in the Gardeners' Chronicle, 

 and feel sure the interest you have excited there- 

 by will be even added to, by the issue of a Paper 

 of your own to discuss these matters more at 

 large — more con spirito and con amore. In one 

 of your chapters on Song-Birds, you spoke of 



the sad havoc the " cats " had made with your 

 feathered family, and how you had asked the 

 cats "to supper" on a subsequent occasion — the 

 " last supper " you significantly hinted they 

 would ever require. On that same occasion, you 

 characterised cats as " vermin," and I heartily 

 respond to your remark. They are "vermin." 

 I, like yourself, am fond of " pels," and have 

 many of them; but those cats! those cats! How 

 did you get rid of them ? Pray speak it out, pro 

 bono; for neither can gardens flourish, nor birds 

 be happy, where these vermin abound. Stamp 

 yourself at once a " public benefactor," by pub- 

 lishing a " secret " which I know you possess. — 

 X. Y. Z. 



[Well said! We confess to the fact of our 

 being " pledged" to publish this recipe; and we 

 redeem the pledge now, in order that the favor 

 may come with a better grace. Let our corres- 

 pondent carefully peruse page 28 of our London 

 Journal. There he will find, under the head of 

 "To all who have Aviaries," something spoken 

 of called Carbonate of Barytes. A little of this, 

 artfully rubbed into the skin of a fried or boiled 

 sole, or incorporated with a little hashed beef, 

 will " immortalise " all cats who partake of it- — 

 their names alone existing in the pages of history. 

 Let us emphatically state, lest we be thought 

 cruel — a charge never yet brought against us — 

 that this is an easy mode of " removal." No pain 

 whatever is occasioned; nor could the electric 

 current itself do its work more certainly, or more 

 speedily. The common barytes in powder, price 

 sixpence per pound, is sold by Dymond in Hol- 

 born. The common is far preferable to the finer 

 powder; the one is active, the other neutral. We 

 learned these particulars from " a near neighbor " 

 of ours, who, like Samson, slew in one night, 

 enough cats to throw half " Our Village " into 

 mourning. We are greatly his debtor, and we 

 now pay the debt of gratitude.] 



Propagation of Eels. — Many thanks, Mr. Edi- 

 tor, for so boldly putting down the attempt to 

 prove, by means of telescopes, that eels are gene- 

 rated from spawn. No proof whatever exists, as 

 yet, of this being the case ; and all respectable 

 authority, backed by keen observation, is decid- 

 edly opposed to the theory. I write the sentiments 

 of very many beside myself, and we shall watch 

 eagerly to see who comes forward to vindicate 

 the new and strange doctrine. — Piscator. 



[The above, one of many other similar com- 

 munications, will suffice for our present purpose ; 

 but as we have before quoted from the Gardeners' 

 Chronicle, we think it right to give the sentiments 

 of another writer therein (Jan. 10), whose 

 opinion coincides with our own, and that of the 

 scientific public generally. The writer, who has 

 assumed the signature of "Tau," says — " The eel, 

 like the viper question, is a very curious instance 

 of the firmness with which many popular opinions 

 are maintained, although when the grounds of 

 them are examined, no satisfactory proof of their 

 truth can be produced. In this view, I think 

 the discussion of both these points in your paper 

 has been very useful — not merely as an inquiry 

 into two very curious and interesting points of 

 natural history, but as a caution to distinguish 

 between facts and appearances ; in short, as in- 



