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KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



aim, being that of " casting sheeps'-eyes " at 

 each other ! Then, listen to their voices ! 

 What persuasive eloquence falls from the 

 oily tongue of the male ! What affectionate 

 tenderness lies in the languishing responsive 

 1-i-s-t h-p of the bride elect ! 



Thus are reciprocated vows ot eternal 

 fidelity, which it gives us pleasure to record 

 are, for the most part, preserved inviolate. A 

 week's dalliance brings matters to a crisis. 

 An explanation is asked, and given. The 

 question is popped ; the lover accepted ; ro- 

 mantic sentimentality gives way to the 

 sterner realities of every -day life ; and the 

 "sublime" sinks at once into the "ridicu- 

 lous." 



This reminds us, by the way, that the 

 distance between the two is said to be " one 

 step" — " stride" we would suggest as being a 

 more proper word than " step ;" for " poetry" 

 and " prose" do not live exactly next door to 

 each other. 



POPULAR DISCUSSIONS.* 



No. IV.— CATTLE GRAZING IN CHURCH- 

 YARDS. 



Sir, — The other day, whilst leisurely pe- 

 rusing the pages of your most interesting 

 and instructive Journal, I was pleased to 

 meet, at page 115, with the following 

 paragraph : — " Nothing appears so canni- 

 balising as to see a flock of sheep grazing in 

 a country Church-yard ; knowing it to be an 

 undeniable fact, that the grass they eat has 

 been nurtured by the gaseous emanations 

 from our immediate predecessors : then fol- 

 lowing up the fact, that this said grass is 

 actually assimilated by the animal, and 

 becomes mutton, whereof we may perhaps 

 dine next week." 



Now we must all admit, that this is good 

 sound theory as regards the assimilation of 

 the gaseous elements and their subsequent 

 conversion into mutton or beef, as the case 

 may be. The practice, therefore, of grazing 

 in Church-yards is in degree a " cannibalis- 

 ing" one, and on these grounds alone it is 

 objectionable. Nor does the above writer 

 idly conjecture, when he says that under such 

 circumstances mutton is produced "whereof 

 we might perhaps dine next week !" It is a 



* Under this head, wc 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 veil as instructive entertainment. 

 Our columns arc open to debate ; but conciseness 

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



very common practice with some butchers, 

 having had the privilege granted them by an 

 obliging minister or churchwarden, to keep 

 sheep— sometimes for weeks together — in 

 the Church-yard; from whence they are 

 driven directly to the slaughter-house. And 

 this is not done so much for the sake of the 

 pasture as for the convenience of the thing. 

 Church-yards are generally near home — 

 often but too near ; whilst pastures are fre- 

 quently at inconvenient distances. 



But these are not the reasons I would 

 prefer against the unnecessary pasturing of 

 Church-yards ; for we cannot conceal the 

 fact, that our food is produced by the process 

 here indicated, although it may not be on 

 hallowed ground. No ; the greater objec- 

 tion to this practice is, I think, the liability — 

 I had almost said certainty— of sheep and 

 cattle so grazing to become diseased, since as 

 a matter of course they must respire, to a greater 

 or less extent, the gases luhich are evolved 

 from the decomposing bodies, and which gases 

 are always most noxious in their nascent state. 



It is a well-ascertained fact, that any 

 body, animal or vegetable, already in a state 

 of decay or putrefaction, has a strong ten- 

 dency to communicate the same to any other 

 organic body in its vicinity. I believe I 

 shall be right in stating, that the general ulti- 

 mate result of such decomposition as is here 

 alluded to, is water, ammonia, and carbonic 

 acid. The latter when pure, if respired but 

 for one moment, will produce insensibility ; 

 it is a narcotic poison, and even when highly 

 diluted with atmospheric air is very inju- 

 rious to animal life. Hence the liability 

 I have mentioned. Now these are a few 

 facts which I venture to say" will not be 

 contradicted. May we not therefore very 

 reasonably ask the question, are not Church- 

 yards one source of disease amongst cattle f 

 I think they are, and that the evil ought to 

 be prevented ; by legislative interference, if 

 necessary. 



But some will say, " There are many cases 

 in which your arguments are not applicable ; 

 as for instance a newly-made burial ground, 

 where the interments are not less than five 

 or six feet deep." That I admit ; but even 

 such cases are not altogether unexcep- 

 tionable. 



I would observe in "conclusion, that the 

 practice of Church-yard grazing would 

 appear to be a general one, for I have noticed 

 it not only in our immediate neighborhood, 

 but also in various distant parts of the 

 kingdom. 



I have now said sufficient, perhaps, to direct 

 due attention to what I conceive to be a 

 most important question. I was in hopes 

 that some more competent person would 

 have done so ; but they have not that I am 

 aware of, for I have not met with any 



