266 



KIDD'S LONDON JOURNAL. 



daily supply of game for the dog to exemplify 

 his tact, which consisted in his attracting or 

 drawing the rats out of their holes in the wall. 

 For that purpose, the dog would go to a rat's 

 hole, and after satisfying himself, by sniffing for 

 some time, that a rat was within, he would pro- 

 ceed to compose himself, most deliberately, by 

 lying down and stretching out his limbs suffi- 

 ciently near to poke his nose, from time to time, 

 into the rat's hole, and to give several sniffs and 

 whuffs, — not barks. The result was, that within 

 a space of time, not exceeding two hours, the 

 rat would lose its patience, to a moral certainty, 

 rushing out and fighting the dog. In such case, 

 it instantly met its death, of course; and the dog 

 would then carry it to the house in triumph. 

 Did this dog act from instinct or reason? No 

 doubt, the rats acted in accordance with their 

 nature; and, in so doing, they only acted in the 

 way the fox invariably does when a dog bays at 

 him for any length of time. He rushes out, at 

 last, to fight the dog. Masters of fox hounds 

 should therefore take special care not to have 

 terriers " hard mouthed " enough to lay hold of 

 a fox, and injure him. — R. D, 



The Rock Thrush. — A few days since, I over- 

 heard some persons talking about a bird they 

 called a " Rock-thrush," and from what they 

 said, I feel anxious to learn something about 

 it. Can you give me any particulars? I am 

 very fond of the thrush, but never yet met with 

 what I heard described the other day. Is it bred 

 here? — Sarah P. 



[One of these birds was purchased last 

 Autumn, by a lady of title, at Lord Derby's sale, 

 Knowsley. The bird was ticketed as " the Rock 

 Thrush from North Africa," and it was stated 

 to be " the only one in Great Britain." Her 

 ladyship at our request, has most kindly given 

 us the subjoined particulars of the bird; for 

 which, Miss Sarah, you, as well as ourselves, no 

 doubt feel grateful. We will answer for you, as 

 your handwriting gives evidence of amiability of 

 feeling. " I am inclined to think," writes her 

 ladyship, " that my purchase is the blue thrush, 

 as it quite agrees with Bechstein's description of 

 that bird. It is about the size of the common 

 thrush, and of a blueish slate color all over. The 

 feathers on the breast are tipped with white. It 

 has beautifully-bright black eyes, and is the most 

 friendly and sociable creature possible. It 

 always sings when spoken to, and exhibits signs 

 of great disappointment w T hen any person passes 

 without taking notice of it. Its song greatly re- 

 sembles that of the common thrush (Turdus 

 musicus), but it sings morning, noon, and night. 

 Even in the depth of last winter, when the do- 

 mestics entered the drawing-room with a candle 

 (as early as six, a. m.), he immediately began 

 piping. I may mention, that it has recently (of 

 an afternoon) begun to whistle ; not the whistle 

 peculiar to a bird, but the whistle of a human 

 being. So greatly did it resemble the latter, 

 that when first heard, I imagined some person 

 was whistling in the adjoining room. It con- 

 tinues this daily, and appears to be imitating 

 something it has heard, and this induces to the 

 belief that it might be taught to whistle any 

 tune. Its food is bread, chopped egg, a few 



currants, and a small quantity of raw beef. A 

 mealworm, if within his view, throws him into 

 an ecstacy of delight." So vivid a description as 

 this, makes one long to be possessed of such a 

 pet. If, Miss Sarah, anything of the kind 

 should come under our " ken," we will duly 

 apprise you of it ; but we fear it is too true that 

 he is a non-pareil. Let us hope, that both he 

 and his kind mistress may long live to enjoy the 

 pleasure of each other's society !] 



Turn out your Toes ! — It is a matter, Mr. 

 Editor, worthy of some reflection, that no person 

 can either dance elegantly, or walk gracefully, 

 without doing violence to nature by forcing out 

 the toes! The Asiatics, the Africans, the admi- 

 rably-moulded inhabitants of the Islands of the 

 Pacific and Southern Oceans, turn their toes in, 

 rather than out ; and nature would seem to have 

 intended us to do so. If we contemplate the 

 position of the toes, and consider how essential 

 their power and action are to progression, it will 

 be seen that, when the foot is turned outwards, 

 the large toe only can exert any power in pro- 

 pelling progression; and that, be it observed, 

 obliquely; whilst the power of the four other 

 toes on each foot, is nearly, if not completely 

 inert. When a boy I was much addicted to foot 

 racing, always in my stocking feet ; i. e., without 

 shoes; and at 13 years of age could run a quarter 

 of a mile in 57 seconds; but I never yet saw a 

 person who naturally turned out his toes, that 

 was a superior runner. It is my opinion that 

 the foot should at least be straight, inclining 

 rather inwards than outwards, to afford the toes 

 the full liberty of their best assistance in pro- 

 gression. — R. D. 



THE BRITISH WAEBLEES. 



BY THE LATE R. SWEET, F.S.A. — NO. III. 



The " warblers " when in confinement, 

 are very restless at the seasons of their mi- 

 gration from one country to another ; at 

 the time that they are leaving this country 

 in Autumn, about twice during the Winter, 

 and again when they are returning in Spring. 

 From their agitations at various times in 

 Winter, it may be concluded that they visit 

 more than one country after their departure 

 from this* It is very curious to see them 

 when in that state ; their restlessness seems 

 to come on them all at once, and generally 

 in the evening when they are setting seem- 

 ingly quite composed. They start up sud- 

 denly and flutter their wings, sometimes 

 flying direct to the top of their cage or 

 aviary ; at other times running backwards 

 and forwards on their perches, continually 

 napping their wings and looking upwards 

 all the time : nor will they notice anything 

 that is going forward as long as they con- 

 tinue in that state, which lasts for an hour 

 or two at each time. By their always wish- 

 ing to fly upwards, it may be supposed that 

 when they first take their flight, they mount 



