KIDD'S LONDON JOURNAL. 



201 



retreat. If they seek pleasure, it is of an 

 artificial kind. If they are amused, their 

 amusements are evanescent. Balls, theatres, 

 and the opera, are "delightful" doubtless. 

 Concerts, performed by men and women of 

 the highest celebrity and the most consummate 

 " art," are also attractive — very ; and we 

 much doubt whether those who are so 

 greatly pleased therewith would enjoy the 

 harmony which we would propose to sub- 

 stitute for them, in the vernal and summer 

 months. But give us, and those who love to 

 peruse our Jouknal, the voices of the fea- 

 thered choir, in their state of nature ; and 

 let us listen to them as we wander abroad 

 through the shady lanes, the fragrant or- 

 chards, and the verdant fields. Thus occu- 

 pied, the thoughts of man are purified ; and 

 however short-lived, from circumstances, 

 the pleasure may be, — yet how ardently does 

 he long for a renewal of such enjoyment, — ■ 

 " another stroll like the last !" 



It will be our aim from this day forward, 

 to cultivate such feelings as we have hinted 

 at; and as these al-fresco pleasures are 

 placed by Nature at the command of the 

 humblest individual in the kingdom, let him 

 steal a few hours (when he can lawfully 

 do so) from his grovelling occupation in 

 the cities, and at once bound into the open 

 air. Steam-boats, rail-roads, and locomo- 

 tives of all kinds, are not wanting to add 

 wings to the flight of such as would escape 

 from dust, dirt, and smoke. . An extra bed- 

 room, too, is obtainable from a country 

 friend, if asked for ; so that there is no avail- 

 able excuse for breathing bad air. And 

 then — to rise with the lark on the following 

 morning, and to see the sun gilding the 

 landscape with his earliest rays — what sight, 

 we say, can be compared with it ! Even 

 now, — 



Bright dews illume the grassy plain, 



Sweet messengers of morn ! 

 And drops hang glist'ning after rain, 



Like gems on every thorn. 



Would that our pen had eloquence enough 

 to devastate whole cities at this season ! j 

 However, we will, like our " gentlemen in 

 black," be satisfied with our " tenths " | 

 — simply because we can get no more ! 



ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE. 



originally from France, and is of so dire a nature, 

 that it is estimated to destroy fully one-third of the 

 canine race. Dogs of all ages are subject to it, 

 from a mere puppy upwards. It appears usually 

 when the animal is from six to twelve months 

 old. If the dog is more than four years old 

 when thus visited, it usually goes hard with him. 

 The disorder is highly contagious, and assimi- 

 lates closely in this respect with the mange ; also 

 with the farcy and glanders in the horse. Some 

 say that rock brimstone constantly kept in the 

 water given dogs to drink, acts medicinally. We 

 doubt it — simply because the brimstone is inso- 

 luble by water. Clean water, constantly sup- 

 plied, and plenty of it, is the best "physic" we 

 can recommend to keep dogs healthy.] 



The Distemper in Dogs. Can it be prevented? 

 I have heard of vaccination as applied to dogs, 

 with a view to render them proof against the 

 distemper. Can this be done ? and if so, how ? 

 I hardly need say, if such a discovery exists, it is 

 indeed invaluable. — Canis. 



[You are quite misinformed about this. There 

 is no preventative against the distemper in dogs. 

 Cleanliness and constant exercise are as likely as 

 anything else to keep your clogs healthy — but 

 they are all liable to the malady. It was imported 



Luminous Appearance presented by Dead Wood. 

 — Although doubt may perhaps be justly attached 

 to the reality of the luminous appearances in the 

 flowers of Phaanogams, unless indeed there be 

 truth in the odylic light described by Von lieich- 

 enbach, as emitted by flowers, among other 

 things, and only visible to somnambulists and 

 healthy persons (whom from their peculiar percep- 

 tive powers he calls " sensitives,") I can vouch 

 that the occasional phenomenon of luminosity in 

 dead wood, when observable, can be seen by all 

 persons possessed of ordinary vision. In evidence 

 of this I may mention that, when a boy at school 

 in Dumfriesshire, I remember when going through 

 a shrubbery in the dark with several companions, 

 stumbling over and breaking down a rotten 

 stump, which gave out so much light at the frac- 

 ture as to excite the immediate attention of all 

 present. The wood was so much decayed that 

 it could be crumbled in the hands, and so lumi- 

 nous that the features of a monstrous human 

 face, traced with the crumbled fragments on the 

 floor of the room where I slept, kept the inmates 

 amused and awake during half the night. The 

 light was of that wavy, smoky kind, exhibited by 

 traces of phosphorus, and frequently exemplified 

 in a common way, where one has made an abor- 

 tive attempt to ignite a lucifer match. — W. C, 

 Jun., Glasgow. 



On the present Scarcity of Salmon ; and a few 

 Thoughts on Eels- — Although eels, notwithstand- 

 ing their voracity, are not perhaps very destruc- 

 tive to salmon in their active state, their habits 

 are such that they would exterminate the species, 

 were it not for a very singular provision of nature, 

 which, as we do not remember ever to have seen 

 it dwelt upon or alluded to, it may be worth 

 while to notice in passing. The history of their 

 spawning is the converse of that of the salmon's; 

 for whilst the latter is oviparous, and produces 

 in fresh water, the former is viviparous, and 

 produces in the sea; and it so happens that when 

 the salmon is hurrying up towards the very 

 sources of rivers on the great errand of genera- 

 tion, the eel is hurrying on the same errand to 

 the depths of the ocean. Were the eel to remain 

 in the river after the salmon roe is deposited and 

 covered in, its voracity and habit of boring in 

 loose gravel, and even under large stones, would 

 disturb the beds, and lead to the annihilation of 

 the whole salmon tribe. But at this critical 

 time the two creatures are driven, by the same 



