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KIDD'S LONDON JOURNAL. 



fanciers generally keep their nightingales or other 

 birds that they consider tender, in a close cage 

 with wires only in front, thinking it will keep 

 them warm and preserve their health; on the 

 same principle I had my largest cage made, only 

 with green baize at the top to keep them from 

 injuring their heads when on their passage; at 

 the same time, I had a less cage, wired all round 

 except on one side, and I was surprised to find 

 that the birds were always more healthy in that 

 than in the close one, where some of them were 

 frequently ill ; and I generally found, that when 

 removed into the open cage, they soon recovered. 

 I therefore had the close one altered last spring 

 with wires at both ends and iront, and a close 

 back, that there might be a free circulation of air, 

 which I supposed the birds wanted, and since 

 that time they have all been in excellent health. 

 I had observed before, that the nightingales 

 always sang better in an open cage than in a close 

 one !" Now I have kept my nightingales in close 

 cages, and have always seen them in such among 

 fanciers. Can you or any of your readers give 

 any information as regards close or open cages 

 for this class of birds? — E. C. 



[We shall have a great deal to say about this 

 when we treat of the Nightingale, who will be 

 amongst us in another fortnight, or thereabouts. 

 The sort of cage entirely depends upon where, 

 and with whom the bird is domesticated. If a 

 bird loves its master, it will sing in an open as 

 well as a close cage; yet we advocate the latter, for 

 reasons hereafter to be given.] 



Cats. — Having read in your Journal several 

 anecdotes of Cats, perhaps the following may be 

 deemed worthy of adding to the store. — We 

 have an old cat who is constantly in the habit of 

 opening and shutting the wash-house door (which 

 leads into our back kitchen) whenever he wishes 

 to come in or go out. In the former case, if none 

 of us are by to admit him, he will run round to 

 the front kitchen, and scratch at the door until 

 he be admitted. This cat will also remove the 

 cup off the milk -jug (not put his paw in), tilt the 

 jug on one side, and. by these means obtain its 

 contents. The latter exploit I have witnessed 

 myself, but how he managed to remove the cup 

 I never could discover. Probably there is an 

 instinct in the feline class beyond what is gene- 

 rally imagined. They know their friends from 

 their foes, though the latter may pretend to kind - 

 ness. I have marked this in our cat. He never 

 can be made to become sociable with a certain old 

 man who occasionally calls to see us ; but gene- 

 rally on his appearance makes a bolt under the 

 sofa until he is gone. Are cats physiognomists? 

 Our parrot, too, has a great dislike for this same 

 old person, and retreats, on his entrance, to the 

 furthermost end of the cage.— Jane. 



March 3rd, 1852. 



f We think, Mademoiselle, you have clone quite 

 right in submitting this case to us. We know 

 not who the " certain old man" maybe, who pays 

 a visit at your house ; but this we do say, — be- 

 ware of him! The cat would never bolt under 

 the sofa on his appearance, neither would the 

 parrot retreat to the remote end of his cage, on 

 beholding him, were he what he ought to be. 

 Depend upon it, his visits to your domicile have 



some " hidden meaning" in them, which your 

 sagacious animals are aware of, and try to make 

 you sensible of. Be timely warned, and rate 

 yourself at a proper value by keeping the " old 

 man" out of the house. " Old men" should 

 always keep at home.] 



A Household Robin. — At a gentleman's house 

 at Darby Dale, a robin has taken up his abode 

 for three successive winters ; having free access 

 to the house by day, with leave to go or return, 

 and the privilege of selecting from a well-filled, 

 larder. He generally roosts in the kitchen on a 

 Christmas bough, which is still preserved for the 

 purpose. He comes in for the night, just about 

 dusk; having been singing merrily all day to the 

 domestics in return for so many favors granted. 

 Every year it builds its nest in the trunk of a 

 tree, and feeds its young with something nice 

 selected from the larder. It will then fearlessly 

 fly from room to room, and make friends with all 

 the inmates. — G. H. 



SONG BIRDS IN ENGLAND AND IRELAND. 



In the Cork Examiner of February 25, 

 there is a long Letter, addressed to us as 

 Editor of this Journal, and signed "J. A. B." 

 The writer after going into a long detail on 

 Politics, with which, thanks be to Provi- 

 dence, we have nothing whatever to do, — 

 denies our statement that " larks are slaugh- 

 tered wholesale in Ireland, because of their 

 depredations on the wheat crops, &c." He 

 is, moreover, very angry with us for play- 

 fully hinting at the broils of Ireland, and for 

 jokingly ascribing the refusal of certain 

 birds to " come and sing there/ 1 to the dis- 

 tressing convulsions of " that unhappy 

 country." He gives us full and fair credit 

 for ornithological lore ; but he says that, of 

 the genus homo in Ireland we are fearfully 

 ignorant. For the offence we have given, 

 see p. 43 of our Journal. 



Now as we have replied at some length to 

 this letter, in the Cork Examiner, (wherein the 

 attack was first made), let us to-day confine 

 ourselves strictly to the matter before the 

 house. We need offer no apology to our 

 readers for going into this matter, as the 

 Article we introduce to their notice involves 

 the welfare of one of our very noblest birds 

 of spring — whose sweet voice Ave now hear 

 every morning carolling its anthem to the 

 highest skies. We hardly need say we mean 

 the Sky-lark. 



" J. A. B." makes the following remark : 

 — " Now, Sir, with regard to what you say 

 of larks, and as to the assertion that the 

 farmers in this country destroy them by 

 millions, most fearlessly do I say that such 

 is not the fact. I never knew any but school- 

 boys at Christmas holidays who killed 

 larks." 



Now let us be heard, on the authority of 

 a most interesting correspondence that took 



