Zoological Gardens**-Bone Manure—Hull. 
137 
mutton, beef, fowls, and fish, garnished with 
the vegetables of the season, and each guest, 
if we recollect right, his bottle of wine, 
which by the way we did not taste, but from 
the particular rubicund hue of some of our 
neighbors’ faces at table, after emptying a 
few glasses, we had a suspicion that it was 
pretty tolerably seasoned with brandy. Per- 
haps the caterer for the feast, thought with 
Dandie Dinmont, that it might otherwise' 
prove u o’er ctw/d for the stomach.” When 
the toasts and speeches had got well under 
way they became somewhat long in the 
wind, and growing impatient we absconded 
the dinner table, and joined what proved 
more agreeable to us, a private party at tea. 
This over and an hour of sunlight still left, 
we sought the zoological gardens in the 
suburbs of the town. Here by the side of 
winding walks, and amid flowers and shrub¬ 
bery, were huts for elephants, rhinoceros, 
camels, and alpacas: caves for bears, and 
dens for lions, tigers, and as the bills have 
it, other “ amphibious beasts” with water 
pools, jets d’eau, and mounds with summer 
houses on top, bands of music, mountebanks, 
and tents, where- men arranged all sorts of 
eatables and drinkables,* and at nightfall a 
grand display of fireworks. Ladies, lords, 
and gentlemen were there, sailors, farmers, 
mechanics, and the peasantry of the coun¬ 
try, with their wives and children ; all ages 
in crowds enjoying themselves with great 
glee. It was the same at the show at Liver¬ 
pool, only as the town was larger a greater 
variety of entertainments was got up for the 
occasion, and this is the way that agricultu¬ 
ral fairs and shows should be conducted ; 
then every one looks forward to them not 
only as meetings of instruction, but of high 
zest and entertainment, where all ages, sexes, 
and conditions, can enjoy themselves in an 
agreeable way. How different this we 
thought from those where a few men and 
cattle, with a half-dozen curious idle urchins 
get together ; each staring at the other with 
“ lack lustre eyes” a cold hour or two, and 
then all betake themselves off, till another 
year brings round the same dull unvaried 
show. There may be some profit in such a 
meeting, yet we could never think there was 
much zest or pleasure to it, and if the friends 
* We are not sure, but think we might except ardent 
spirits from all the drinkables here at the gardens. At 
any rate, we saw no intoxication there, but every thing 
was orderly and well conducted; and the looks alone, of 
the joyful rosy faces of the laughing, healthful children 
present, well repaid the expense of the entertainment; 
and in fact, of the two, this was rather the finest show 
of stock exhibited that day to our eyes. 
of agriculture ever expect to interest the 
great mass of the people in their im¬ 
provements, they must serve up a few ad¬ 
juncts with the stoek, and make their meet¬ 
ings rather more of a gala day to the public 
at large. 
Hull is an ancient town of some 20 or 
30,000 inhabitants, the principal part of 
whom are enclosed by the river and a wide 
canal for the shipping, crossed by draw¬ 
bridges. It has an extensive commerce, the 
most interesting item of which, to the agri¬ 
culturist, is the importation of bones for ma¬ 
nure. In the year 1839, the quantity im¬ 
ported into this port from foreign countries, 
was supposed to be 33,000 tons, and the 
value of bones imported into all England 
during the year 1837 was declared to be full 
$1,200,000. Hull is famous for the birth¬ 
place and port of departure of that veracious 
sailor, Robinson Crusoe, the history of 
whose voyages, we will venture to say, has 
set more heads wandering than all the other 
story books that were ever written. We 
rambled up and down the streets of the old 
part of the town, so narrow that a corporal’s 
guard could hardly walk abreast in them, 
and quite shut out the light of day by the 
jutting stories of the queer old houses, in 
search of the veritable mansion where this 
redoubtable hero formerly dwelt, but did not 
succeed in finding it. It is quite certain, if 
reports he credited, that many of the relics 
of the heroes of Waterloo have been trans¬ 
ported here from the Netherlands to fertilize 
their fields. We thought it a burning shame 
that the poor fellows, who in that terrible 
struggle had offered up their life’s blood on 
the altar of their country, should be put to 
such base use, but we had forgotten Ham 
let’s utilitarian soliloquy of, 
et Imperious Cesar, dead and turned to clay, 
Might stop a hole to keep the wind away.” 
Rut all flesh is grass ; and all grass again, 
with equal truth it may be said is flesh, and 
had Shakspeare written in these chemical 
days, he would, most undoubtedly, have 
finished the stanza thus :— 
Oh that the bones which kept the world in awe, 
Should grow green turnips and bright wheaten straw ; 
By decomposing gelatine and oil, 
Phosphates and lime, upon th 5 impoverished soil. 
We are great friends to bone dust as a ma¬ 
nure, and are well aware of its fertilizing 
qualities, and while we would enjoin upon all, 
to save with industrious care, the bones of 
the whole brute creation, we must strongly 
object to the graves of even a slave or beg- 
