A LITERARY, SCIENTIFIC, AND INSTRUCTIVE FAMILY PAPER. 



Conducted by WILLIAM KIDD, of Hammersmith,— 



Author of the Familiar and Popular Essays on "Natural History;" "British Song 



Birds;" "Birds of Passage;" "Instinct and Reason;" 



" The Aviary and its Occupants," &c. 



"the OBJECT of our work is to make men WISER, WITHOUT obliging them to turn over folios and 



QUARTOS.— TO FURNISH MATTER FOR THINKING AS WELL AS READING." — EVELYN. 



No. 11.— 1852. 



SATURDAY, MARCH 13. 



Price \\d. 



Or, in Monthly Parts, Price Id. 



BIRDS OF SONG.* 



Give me but 

 Something whereunto I may bind my heart, 

 Something to love, to rest upon,— to clasp 

 Affection's tendrils round. Mrs. Hemans. 



Introductory Chapter. 



We are aware that the very extensive 

 Series of Papers which we have undertaken 

 to write on this most popular and prolific 

 subject, are looked forward to with great 

 anxiety ; and when we consider the many 

 thousands of individuals to whom such 

 matters are of every-day moment, the task 

 is an important one. 



It must not be imagined, that because we 

 instruct persons how to select their birds, 

 and how to treat them when in confinement 

 — we are therefore advocates for their im- 

 prisonment. No : this we repudiate alto- 

 gether. The whole tenor of our remarks in 

 the columns of the Gardeners' Chronicle for 

 many years past, will prove the contrary. 

 "We would not, were it in our power to pre- 

 vent it, have any bird, excepting the 

 Canary (which is a lawful and happy cap- 

 tive), deprived of its liberty, and doomed to 

 pine in captivity. But as people will keep 

 birds, be it our grateful task to ameliorate 

 their captivity. 



We are a true Waterton at heart, and 

 love to see every one of the feathered tribe 

 in the full enjoyment of that liberty which 

 is their native right. Then are their songs, 

 songs of joy, — their tameness in our gardens 

 is a mark of confidence ; their residence in 

 our grounds a proof of affection ; their com- 

 panionship a matter of inexpressible delight. 

 All these enjoyments have been ours ; they 



* By an arrangement entered into with the Proprietors 

 of the Gardeners' Chronicle Newspaper, all Mr. 

 Kidb's popular Articles on " British Song Birds " and 

 " Natural History," which appeared in their Paper, have 

 now become his own property by purchase. They will 

 all be Rc-printed in this Journal, with many New and 

 Important Additions. 



will continue to be ours. Excepting a few 

 choice canaries — perhaps unrivalled for the 

 excellence of their music, not a bird of any 

 kind have we immured within prison walls. 

 Our aviary was long since dismantled, and 

 nought now remains to us but the pleasant 

 memory of the past. We loved our birds, 

 and they loved us. 



It will hardly be surmised that we could 

 have written so many years for the Gar- 

 deners' Chronicle, without receiving during 

 that time, from all quarters of the world, in- 

 formation of the most valuable kind con- 

 nected with Natural History. This we have 

 treasured up carefully, and we shall place 

 the whole at the disposal of our readers ; 

 interweaving it, as we go on, in our general 

 remarks. 



By Naturalists generally, we have been 

 highly complimented on the extent of our 

 practical knowledge ; and we have received 

 a universal vote of thanks from them, for 

 having put down and silenced certain 

 visionary theorists, who are opposed to all 

 new discoveries simply because they are 

 beyond their own shallow comprehension. 

 This mode of action we shall still pursue ; for 

 science is progressive, and every successive 

 week brings something novel and interesting 

 before our view. 



As every eye has been on us and our 

 Avritings for so long a period, and many 

 cavillers have been ready to pounce upon us 

 the moment we committed any error of 

 speech — it is a cause of rejoicing with us 

 that we have achieved so signal a triumph. 

 Moreover, it gives the public confidence in 

 us as their future Guide. i 



We bring to the subject we have under- 

 taken to discuss, a long and very interesting 

 experience ; and, as we travel onwards, we 

 shall be able to introduce a multitude of 

 anecdotes that will prove of no little in- 

 terest to our readers. 



We have placed on record more than 

 once, the opinion, that people who love 

 dumb animals are seldom unworthy raem- 



Vol. I.— New Series. 



