AGENDA FOR CONTRIBUTORS, &C. 



535 



robin, or a cock -sparrow builds its nest, whether with leaves, or moss, 

 or feathers, or flue ; or by any information of that kind. But I did 

 expect information of another kind, namely, what new kinds of game, 

 or domestic fowls, water-fowls, singing-birds, fish, deer or stags, had 

 been or might be naturalised, and were adding to the riches of our 

 farm-yards, parks, woods, or fields. Nothing of this kind is to be met 

 with in your Field Naturalist. In vain we expect, in every new number, 

 to meet with the best information how to hatch and bring up gold and 

 silver pheasants in large numbers, to turn out in our woods ; how to 

 domesticate bustards, argus pheasants, curassows ; or to stock our 

 woods and fields with red and black grouse, the large cock of the wood, 

 and the black partridge from the East India mountains ; how to do- 

 mesticate the wood pigeon, cover our ponds with eider and summer 

 ducks, teal, geese of beautiful and new kinds, and our parks with deer, 

 stags, elks, antelopes of every shape and form, emus, kangaroos, &c. 

 &c. ; or how to stock our woods with Virginia nightingales, and our 

 orchards and shrubberies with the common nightingale, in those parts 

 of England where they are now never heard ; and also to naturalise 

 canary birds, Baltimore orioles, &c. &c. Or how, by some mechanical 

 contrivance, more surely to hatch partridge and pheasant eggs*, which 

 are mown out and destroyed by tens of thousands every year. Infor- 

 mation on these heads would be of some use, and enable us really to 

 do much in a few years, if premiums were given to excite trials. 



Our Horticultural Societies have introduced a few flowers ; they 

 have done something, though very, very little ; the Zoological Society 

 nothing whatever, except taking a very great income for amusing the 

 people, but not one animal can I hear of that they have introduced to 

 common use or ornament ; I do not mean in a confined state, but 

 introduced to our parks, fields, farm-yards, and gardens. This, I ima- 

 gine, should be made the criterion of usefulness. 



Pray can you tell me how to attract rooks to build, — in other words, 

 how to establish a rookery f ? 



* I have given the Egyptian and other artificial modes of Hatching in 

 " Domestic Habits of Birds," chap. viii. Editor. 



t This question I am quite unable to answer. It appears to me a task ex- 

 tremely difficult, if not impossible ; as difficult as to procure information on 

 many of the points suggested by N. N. Editor* 



