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KIDD'S LONDON JOURNAL. 



as to afford a " choice." Some like a dark 

 situation ; others, one opposite to the light. 



Instead of giving your birds " hoppers," 

 or seed-boxes, on the wall, use those which 

 in form resemble an inverted Lucca-oil 

 bottle. The mouth is turned downwards, 

 the shoulder resting on a green earthenware 

 cylindrical stand, about 4 inches deep, with 

 holes in the sides to admit the birds' heads. 

 This arrangement confines the seed in a 

 small compass ; and as it is consumed, more 

 descends to supply its place. Birds, when 

 breeding, are dainty, and are apt to waste 

 a great deal of their food. This is a kind 

 of check upon such wanton extravagance. 



The apartment should contain at least 

 two windows, so as to admit plenty of light 

 and air — those essentials to health. A tree, 

 also, or even two trees, one at either end 

 of the room, would be most acceptable. 

 When the birds build in the trees, however, 

 you must see that the nests are firmly and 

 securely constructed, or the young will be 

 liable to fall out. 'Tis a pretty sight to 

 see eight or ten pairs of gay-colored birds 

 busily occupied in rearing their tender off- 

 spring ! Their anxiety, affection, forbearance, 

 and patience, teach us, moreover, a great 

 moral lesson, well worth the learning. 

 {To be Continued.') 



POPULAR DISCUSSIONS.* 



No. I.— THE SALMON. 



To the Editor, — Sir, not long since, I 

 directed public attention through the columns 

 of the Newspapers, to the existing laws 

 regarding Salmon. 



I have been disappointed that no one has 

 responded to these remarks, particularly 

 those on the desirableness of some changes in 

 the laws respecting them. I had hoped that 

 the subject was of such importance and of so 

 much interest, that some abler pen than my 

 own would have been enlisted in the cause — 

 if my opinions were mistaken ones, that they 

 would have been confuted — if correct, that 

 an obscure individual would have been 

 assisted in his attempt to call the attention 

 of the public to the defects and anomalies of 

 the law on the subject. Is the matter de- 

 serving no attention from the gentlemen of 

 this country? are they so apathetic that 



* Under this head, we invite Contributions 

 similar to the present. The advent of our 

 Journal, is, we know, hailed with delight by 

 many who take an intense interest in matters of 

 the kind ; and it finds its way into so very many 

 channels at home and abroad, that the Discus- 

 sions likely to take place give promise of much 

 profitable as well as instructive entertainment. 

 Our columns are open to debate; but conciseness 

 is recommended on all occasions. — Ed. K. J, 



they will stand calmly by until this monarch 

 of the stream has become extinct ; until Irish 

 salmon — like Irish elks — are no more seen 

 in the flesh, and only serve to furnish dis- 

 cussion for antiquarian instead of civic 

 meetings ? 



Since my former letter, I have seen an 

 article on the salmon and sea fisheries of 

 Ireland, in the " Dublin University Maga- 

 zine," the writer of which proposes various 

 remedies for what he admits to be an alarm- 

 ing evil — one which he thinks threatens the 

 total destruction of the breed of salmon ; but 

 his remedies, in my opinion, do not go to the 

 root of the matter. I will touch on them as 

 I go on, and give reasons why I think they 

 would prove insufficient ; in the hope that 

 some one whose name and influence will insure 

 him a favorable hearing, may be induced to 

 take up the matter. 



The writer in the " Dublin University 

 Magazine " seems to think, that one great 

 cause why the salmon are growing so scarce 

 is the legalising of stake-nets. He admits 

 that the fish which are caught in these nets 

 are in the highest condition, but he thinks 

 that too large a proportion of the whole breed 

 is caught in this way. Perhaps there may 

 be some truth in this, if he means to say that 

 the stake-nets get more than their share ; 

 but it seems a pity that, if the fish are to be 

 caught, they should not be taken in the best 

 condition. I have never seen a stake-net, 

 but I do not understand that by them the 

 fish are prevented from ascending the rivers, 

 if they wish to do so ; and a great many of 

 those so caught might never be caught at 

 all, except by grampuses and seals ; besides, 

 if the spawning fish were efficiently pro- 

 tected, there would be plenty of salmon for 

 everybody. 



Some years ago, I had a large female 

 salmon brought to me full of roe, and I had 

 the curiosity to ascertain how many ova 

 there were in the ovaria : I therefore care- 

 fully freed them from the membranes in 

 which they were wrapped up, and then 

 weighed them ; they weighed 5ib. I found 

 that 50 of these ova weighed 70 grains ; 

 consequently, 5000 weighed 7000 grains 

 = lib. avoirdupois, and 51b. avoirdupois = 

 25,000 ova. Now, if we allow that trouts 

 and bullheads, loaches and aquatic insects 

 and larvae, as well as other enemies of 

 which we know nothing, destroy on the 

 average 99 in every 100, we should still 

 have 250 salmon produced from one fish, 

 and if 100 salmon spawned in a river, 

 this would give a progeny of 25,000 salmon 

 — an ample stock for a middle-sized stream. 

 It is true, the fish I have been speaking of 

 was a large one ; but we can afford to reduce 

 them by one-half, and still have something 

 to look at, 



