KIBB'S OWI JOUEIAL. 



A LITERARY, SCIENTIFIC, AND INSTRUCTIVE FAMILY PAPER. 



Conducted by WILLIAM kidd, of Hammersmith,— 



Author of the Familiar and Popular Essats 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. 19.— 1852. 



SATURDAY, MAY 8. 



Price \\d. 



Or, in Monthly Parts, Price Id. 



CANARIES BREEDING IN THE OPEN AIR. 



A REMINISCENCE OF WELLING, KENT. 



Such were the days— the season was the same, 

 When first arose this world's all beauteous frame ; 

 The sky was cloudless, balmy was the air, 

 And Spring's mild influence made all Nature fair. 



Many of our readers who have heard 

 of, but who have not seen our First Article 

 on this interesting subject (published in 

 1851, but now quite out of print), have 

 earnestly requested us to let it appear in our 

 Journal, before we again visit Welling 

 for the purpose of reporting on what is going 

 forward at the present season. There can 

 be no possible objection to this, — indeed the 

 suggestion is a good one, for our second visit 

 is already over-due. The substance of the 

 article referred to (we have slightly abridged 

 it), is as follows :— 



It appears that our Familiar and Popular 

 Treatises on Song Birds generally, and the 

 Canary -finch in particular, have excited no 

 little attention, both far and near, — causing 

 those who have never yet kept these birds 

 to commence doing so ; and those who have 

 already kept them, to increase their stock, 

 and study still further the peculiarities of the 

 race. This is well; it is indeed a result 

 which we have labored kindly to see effected. 



Among other places where our fame has 

 extended, is that sweet, lovely, picturesque 

 spot — Welling, in Kent, situate some dozen 

 miles from our Modern Babylon. Here lives, 

 in delightful seclusion, Henry Wollaston, 

 Esq., a most remarkable gentleman amateur 

 in the matter of canaries, rearing them in a 

 manner which, when explained, will be indeed 

 thought worthy to be called " remarkable." 



A friend of Mr. Wollaston, residing also in 

 the village of Welling, and a subscriber to 

 the Gardeners' 1 Chronicle, recently asked the 

 last-named gentleman if he ever perused that 

 Paper? and at the same time, being answered 

 in the negative, directed his attention to the 

 papers contained therein, from our pen, on 

 the "Canary." These, it seems, so played 



upon the fancy of Mr. Wollaston, that a most 

 kind and special " invite" to our Royal per- 

 son was the immediate consequence. The 

 delicacy of the invitation was worthy of the 

 giver of it ; for the " pleasure" asked of a 

 visit from us ought to have been rendered 

 vice versa. Indeed, we left Welling sur- 

 prised, amazed, and exceedingly delighted. 



It would occupy too much space were we 

 to detail our journey; and say how, on one 

 truly lovely morning we went down to Abbey 

 Wood, — the rail conveying us swiftly and 

 pleasingly away from the murky, filthy city 

 of London, and depositing us safely at our 

 first place of destination. Nor need we do 

 more than glance at the happy repose and 

 universal rejoicing of all nature, as the omni- 

 bus, which met the train, travelled leisurely 

 onwards towards Welling, through the pretti- 

 est of pretty scenery — wood, landscape, and 

 dell — a succession of interesting objects meet- 

 ing the eye at every turn. These " summer 

 feelings, we all know, are indescribable : 

 they rejoice the heart ; they refresh the spirit. 



After travelling some two miles, we de- 

 scended near the turnpike-gate, — the side 

 road from which to the left leads to Bexley 

 and Footscray. We then took the main 

 road to the right, and found ourselves 

 speedily at the entrance of the village of 

 Welling. Our escort all the way thither 

 was by nightingales, blackcaps, robins, sky- 

 larks, whitethroats, and pettychaps. Here 

 we were met, vis-d-vis, by the founder of the 

 feast* — the owner of the mansion — who, ask- 

 ing our name, or indeed pronouncing it for 

 us (for our face " looked" it), at once con- 

 ducted us with the blandest of smiles and 

 unmistakeable cordiality, to his fairy seat. 



We have been thus minute in our descrip- 

 tion, for two reasons.- One is, that the imagi- 



* A " feast" indeed it might be called ! " A 

 feast of reason and a flow of soul ;" for there 

 were, in addition to the very kind host and 

 hostess, two fair visitors present at the festive 

 board, from whose agreeable society (never since 

 forgotten) we were indeed loth to tear ourselves 

 when the hour for separation had arrived. 



Vol. I. New Series. 



