290 



KIDD'S LONDON JOURNAL. 



nation of our readers may be directed to the 

 beauty of the spot where Canaries breed in 

 the open air, and in a state of perfect freedom ; 

 the other is, with a view to indicate the pre- 

 cise locus-in-quo of Mr. Wollaston's pic- 

 turesque abode, should any visitor, curious as 

 ourselves, ask permission of that gentleman to 

 take a peep at his little world of living wonders. 



On entering Mr. Wollaston's mansion, we 

 were struck by the extensive and charming 

 view from the window. Seated, or rather 

 embosomed in its own grounds, from the 

 windows downwards there is a verdant lawn, 

 extending, by a gradual slope, as far as to the 

 very margin of a large open park — there be- 

 ing no single interruption to an almost un- 

 bounded prospect. Immediately contiguous 

 to the dwelling-house is an ample shrubbery, 

 beautifully laid out on every side, and com- 

 prising dwarf and tall trees of all kinds. To 

 the left, immediately beyond the flower- 

 garden, and in a shady corner, is a sheet of 

 water; the trees overhanging which, cause 

 the whole to have a very picturesque effect. 

 Let us add, briefly, that this romantic spot 

 is " peopled" by Canaries of all hues, flying 

 about in the full enjoyment of uncontrolled 

 liberty; building their nests in every imagin- 

 able enticing spot, and feeding their young 

 ones immediately under your eye — using in- 

 deed all the familiarity of welcome guests, 

 which they really are. To give any adequate 

 idea of the effect produced by this pretty, 

 this unusual sight, were impossible. The 

 forms of the birds, their square and forked 

 tails, peculiarity of flight, and other hitherto 

 unrecognised habits, were alike striking ; in- 

 deed the scene altogether is far beyond the 

 power of our pen to describe. Nor are the 

 garden, park, and shrubberies tenanted by 

 Canaries only. There are, in addition, the 

 usual number of nightingales, blackbirds, 

 thrushes, robins, and other tribes — all domes- 

 ticated here. Such a union of happy voices 

 was scarcely ever before listened to. 



The musical powers of the Canary, heard 

 in an open field, park, wood, or garden, are 

 as novel as they are beautiful. When thus 

 free, this bird is heard to perfection ; for he, 

 like every other bird in confinement, feels 

 under some degree of restraint, and, when in 

 a cage, sings as much from habit as from any 

 other motive. Not so when at liberty. 



During our stay, we examined everything. 

 We pryed into all the nests, and counted the 

 eggs. We also took a peep at the young 

 callow nestlings in the trees : some of them 

 only recently clad with the shell of the egg. 

 Then we whistled to the sitting mothers and 

 industrious papas — the latter busily engaged 

 in search of food for their offspring. This, 

 and all other convenient luxuries, are placed 

 in a large cage at the lower end of the lawn, 

 with a private door of entrance and exit, 



made so as to open or close at a minute's 

 notice. This is an admirable contrivance. 



In the greenhouse (on one side of the 

 dwelling-house) a large, deep, and compara- 

 tively-narrow cage, fitted up with perches, 

 &c, is erected close to the side window. At 

 the top, outside, is a small opening, like the 

 entrance to a bee-hive, but of course larger. 

 Immediately opposite, and parallel with this, 

 the branch or stem of a tree has been trained 

 from the wall. This acts as a perch. The 

 roaming birds, when they wish to enter, 

 alight here, and go in and out ad libitum. 

 It was built for their use in case of any 

 sudden inclement weather coming on; and 

 is now and then used by the birds as a tem- 

 porary resort under such circumstances. 

 Young and tender nestlings or invalids, too, 

 find this a convenient domicile ; their parents 

 coming in to and tending them with all the 

 affection so peculiarly their own. 



Let us here remark, that Mr. Wollaston is 

 a man of method withal. His birds respec- 

 tively represent the alphabet. Thus we 

 have Mr. and Mrs. A., Mr. and Mrs. B., &c. 

 &c. We also find a note in the " Book of 

 Family Annals," signifying that Mr. A. was 

 bred in a Magnolia ; Mrs. B. in a Larch ; 

 Miss D. in a Wistaria ; and Master F. in the 

 lofty Plum-tree, &c. We observed, too, en- 

 tered carefully in the same note-book, ages, 

 birthdays, and a host of other memorable 

 days in the calendar. 



Then we have stratagems and plans innu- 

 merable for the capture of any bird at Avill. 

 He enters. His departure is prevented by 

 an invisible string, closing his place of en- 

 trance ! A long wand, mysteriously and 

 suddenly introduced, causes him to escape 

 from the top of the large cage into a narrow 

 store-cage, annexed ; beyond which, is yet 

 another store -cage — all communicating. The 

 doors are then magically closed. Unseen 

 pulleys let the cages descend ; and thus, what 

 would occupy a novice a whole week, is here 

 prettily accomplished in two short minutes. 



This, and very much more ; which space 

 forbids us to enter upon. The object of this 

 Article is to show, that as Mr. Wollaston has 

 for three whole years kept Canaries con- 

 stantly in his garden and shrubberies, there 

 can be no practical difficulty in our doing the 

 same thing. These birds are now quite 

 U hardy," and might easily be trained to live 

 anywhere. As to their beauty, when trotting 

 along upon the grass, or flitting across the 

 lawn, or mounting upwards to a tree, — the 

 sight is charming beyond all conception. 



The above refers to the season of 1851. 

 Subsequently to our visit, as reported above, 

 the birds continued to breed freely; and 

 when we again saw the shrubberies (about the 

 close of autumn) we found at least a dozen 

 nests remaining in the trees. 



