KIDD'S LONDON JOURNAL. 



1G9 



battle, we grant; but our ammunition has 

 held out, and victory, we would fain hope, 

 is not very far distant. 



Still, we say to our good friends, — " Con- 

 tinue the helping hand, and the day is 

 our own. 1 ' 



ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE. 



Pigeons of different Kinds bred in a Boom. — 

 I am an amateur poultry- fancier on a small 

 scale, and residing in a densely populous neigh- 

 borhood, am obliged to confine the valuable 

 part of my pigeons (one pair of Croppers, one 

 pair of Jacobins, and one pair of Almond Tum- 

 blers), to a lofty room, with two windows. They 

 have for some time manifested a strong desire to 

 increase their numbers ; but I find, after their eggs 

 have been laid a day or two, in nests prepared for 

 their reception (partly by themselves), that the 

 eggs are uniformly thrown out, broken, and for- 

 saken. The pigeons are never disturbed except 

 when I feed them myself, which I do with barley 

 and hemp seed; and I am careful never to med- 

 dle with them. No vermin have ever been seen, 

 or can approach them. I suspect they are in the 

 habit of quarrelling, and that their eggs are 

 thrown out by an invasion on each other's nests. 

 Should I have a better chance by removing one 

 pair? Others succeed, I believe, in rearing 

 hrst-rate birds in this way, and I can't conceive 

 any other cause for my failure. Any suggestion 

 you or your correspondents can make, through 

 your valuable periodical, 'I doubt not will be 

 useful to many others who, like myself, have 

 similar tastes, and yet are compelled to live in 

 towns. — G. P. 



[It is bad management to have these various 

 breeds associated. Pigeons are very jealous birds, 

 and not altogether so moral as they ought to 

 be in their habits. They have drunk deep of 

 the vicious principles inculcated by that wan- 

 dering star, Prof. Owen. Separate therefore 

 the different families; thon will your eggs be 

 fruitful, and your increase constant. Pigeons, 

 like ourselves, prsfer to bo quiet and domestic. 

 No doubt our correspondent is aware that 

 jealousy is not exclusively confined to pigeons, 

 when the sexes are commingled and cannot 

 escape!] 



™ Cochin China Fowl. — A most remarkable Case 

 of Cure under adverse Circumstances.'— Many 

 thanks for your kind advice, so freely given me 

 in a former Journal, as to how I ought to treat 

 one of my fowls. — a Cochin China cock. You 

 recommended, among other things, change of 

 air, diet, and exercise. Well, what with your 

 advice, my skill, or luck, — which you will, I 

 have succeeded in restoring the poor bird to 

 perfect health; and for the benefit of that por- 

 tion of your readers who keep valuable poultry, 

 and may perhaps some time or other be in a 

 similar "fix," I send you my mode of operations. 

 Let me first state the symptoms of illness the 

 bird exhibited. These were, — loss of appetite, 

 dung of a dark-green color, ruffled feathers, 

 comb and wattles on the edges turning blue, for- 



saking the company of the hens. These being 

 the symptoms, I consulted thereon with my 

 neighbors who keep poultry. Some said the 

 invalid had got the pip; others that he had swal- 

 lowed poison ; and several of the " oldest inhabit- 

 ants" by way of consolation, told me the bird 

 was sure to die in a day or two. It is said 

 that " in a multitude of counsellors there is wis- 

 dom." Not so, however, in this case ; for all the 

 advice I obtained only puzzled, confused, and 

 made matters worse; until the thought struck me 

 that the bird might have swallowed something 

 indigestible. But how to arrive at the solution 

 of the mystery ? After a few words with myself 

 (and when a man talks to himself it is gene- 

 rally to the point), I made up my mind to im- 

 prison, and keep the bird without food for 

 twenty-four hours. I then visited him, and felt 

 the crop of the now hungry bird. Guess my 

 surprise to find, that the crop was as much dis- 

 tended as it was twenty-four hours before! "A 

 desperate disease requires a desperate remedy." 

 I therefore at once plucked the feathers off the 

 inflamed crop, and carefully cut the same open 

 with a pair of sharp-pointed scissors. The cause 

 for the illness of the bird now became apparent ; 

 the half-putrid corn, &c, quickly protruded 

 through the orifice ; then, with the handle of a 

 teaspoon, I brought forth two large pieces of 

 bone, which the poor bird must have swallowed 

 but could not digest. After washing out the 

 crop, the lips of the wound were sewed together 

 with silk: so that, instead of dying, Chanticleer 

 yet lives to ' crow the tale ' — I hope for the future 

 benefit of others of his tribe. — W. L. J. 



The Squirrel. — Your account of the squirrel is 

 truly interesting, and as I have one in a cage 

 who is nearly as tame as the one you speak of, I 

 feel unusually interested in the discussion of his 

 amiabilities. I feed mine on bread and milk 

 and nuts; acorns he does not seem to like. 

 Are fir cones good for him? — P. 



[French roll, moistened with new milk, fresh 

 twice daily, is the best general food. A Spanish 

 nut or two, occasionally, will be an extra treat ; 

 but these should be sparingly given. Your cage 

 should be a rotary cage. These little fellows 

 delight in flying about like lightning, and al- 

 ways mope if not so indulged. We shall have lots 

 more to say about the squirrel, as opportunity 

 offers. We should advise that neither fir cones 

 nor acorns be administered. In confinement, 

 squirrels prefer that which when at liberty they 

 refuse.] 



The Nuthatch. — Are you aware of the tameness 

 of the nuthatch, or lesser wood-pecker? I have 

 had a pair in my grounds all through the winter; 

 and they are amongst the tamest of my " wild " 

 birds. They come daily to my window to be fed, 

 and exhibit no signs of fear whatever. Both in 

 Summer and Winter, they are my most constant, 

 most welcome guests. Perhaps you will say a 

 word or two about these amiable denizens of our 

 woods, forests, and gardens, in your Journal. 

 It cannot fail to interest many of your readers. 

 The more extensively the habits of these pretty 

 and interesting creatures become known, the 

 more they must ever be admired. — P., Hants. 



[The Nuthatch is a merry little fellow truly, 



