September 16. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
37!) 
whole is wonderful; the plants, particularly ferns, are many, 
and beautiful beyond description ; a few that were in toler¬ 
able order I have sent to Sir Joseph Ranks, and by the 
time my collection is increased you may expect a share. 
The time for collecting seeds is now beginning, and by the 
time a favourable opportunity serves of a ship going direct 
from this for England, I shall have most that are to be had 
on the Island; sending by the way of India, particularly by 
a ship that will remain a year in the country, and in all 
probability will return to this place, would only be throwing 
them away. I have only to acquaint you, that though we 
have not lived in the greatest luxury, we are much better off 
than our friends at Port Jackson, having a resource in 
getting both birds and fish, and many times in great 
abundance, and I should not be sorry were my stay longer 
than the regular tour of duty will admit of. Mrs. I*, is in 
good health, and joins me in compliments. 
GOSSIP. 
It is very plainly perceptible that Crystal Palaces will 
soon be a prominent attraction of the chief towns, not 
only of England, but of the Continent. There is some 
talk of adopting measures for the erection of one at 
Southampton ; and the prospectus of one certain of 
j erection at Paris is issued. It is to be effected by a 
company, with a capital of ,£5,20,000, to be raised by 
130,000 shares of £4 each. A small portion of these 
will be allotted in England. The concession, for thirty- 
five years, is granted to Messrs. Ardoin and Co.; and 
the Government guarantees a minimum dividend of four 
per cent. The Palace is to embrace all purposes of 
exhibition, universal as well as national. May such 
projects prosper; for they are promotive of improve¬ 
ment in all the arts of life. 
W. Rayner, Esq., of Uxbridge, has sent to us a letter, 
which we insert thus prominently, because it enables us 
to recommend to our readers a perusal of the book he 
quotes from—the Rev. E. S. Dixon’s The Dovecote and 
A viary ; they will find it rich in information and amuse¬ 
ment, so much so that we shall recur to it before long. 
Mr. Rayner says:—“A paragraph, headed ‘Curious 
Collection of Birds,’ having gone the round of the public 
prints, stating that I had an aviary containing 91 
species of Kingfishers, I shall feel obliged by your per¬ 
mitting mo to set myself right with the public by the 
following statement: — It appears that Mr. Charles 
Dickens, in a recent number of his Household Words, 
! did me the honour of quoting an extract from a com¬ 
munication I had made to the Rev. Saul Dixon, of 
Norwich ; and published in his work, 1'lie Dovecote and 
Aviary, in which I had enumerated 94 species of Birds 
which I had kept in captivity, and amongst that number 
Kingfishers. I suppose, however, from some typo- 
, graphical error, the daily prints, in quoting this extract, 
1 substituted 94 species of Kingfishers for that of Birds. 
As many persons may not have seen the work alluded 
to, I transcribe, for their perusal, the entire paper.” 
“I send you a list of the birds I have kept in captivity 
(94 species):—1, Hobby; 2, Merlin ; 8, Kestrel; 4, Sparrow 
Hawk ; 5, White Owl; 0, Red-backed Shrike ; 7, Spotted 
l Flycatcher; 8, Missel Thrush; 9, Fieldfare; 10, Song 
Thrush; 11, Redwing; 12, Blackbird; 13, Hedge Accentor; 
14, Redbreast; 10, Redstart; Hi, Stonechat; 17, Whincbat: 
18, Wheatear; 19, Sedgewarbler; 20, Reedwarbler; 21, 
Nightingale; 22, Black-cap; 23, Garden-warbler; 24, Com¬ 
mon Whitethroat; 20, Lesser Whitetliroat; 20, Willow- 
warbler; 27, Chiff-chaff; 2H, Golden-crested Regulus; 29, 
Great Tit; 30, Blue Tit; 31, Cole Tit; 32, Marsh Tit; 33, 
Long-tailed Tit; 34, Bearded Tit; 35, Pied Wagtail; 30, Grey 
Wagtail; 37, Yellow Wagtail; 38, Tree. Pipit; 39, Meadow 
Pipit; 40, Skylark; 41, Woodlark; 42, Snow Bunting; 43, 
Common Bunting ; 44, Black-headed Bunting; 40, Yellow 
Bunting; 40, Girl Bunting; 47, Chaffinch ; 48, Mountain 
Finch ; 49, Tree Sparrow ; 50, House Sparrow ; 51, Green¬ 
finch ; 52, Hawfinch ; 53, Goldfinch; 54, Siskin ; 55, Com¬ 
mon Linnet; 50, Mealy Redpole ; 57, Lesser Redpole; 58, 
Twite; 59, Bullfinch; 00, Common Crossbill; (il, Starling ; 
62, Jackdaw; 03, Magpie; 04, Jay; 00, Green Woodpecker; 
00, Great Spotted Woodpecker; 07, Lesser Spotted Wood¬ 
pecker; 08, Wryneck; 09, Common Creeper; 70, Wren ; 71, 
Nuthatch; 72, Cuckoo; 73, Kingfisher; 74, Nightjar; 75, 
Wood Pigeon; 70, Common Turtle; 77, Collared Turtle; 
78, Pheasant; 79, Partridge; 80, Quail; 81, Golden Plover; 
82, Pee-wit; 83, Heron; 84, Common Snipe; 85, Jack 
Snipe; 80, Landrail; 87, Waterrail; 88, Moorhen; 89, 
Little Grebe; 90, Canary; 91, Averdavat; 92, Chinese 
Grosbeak; 93, Quaker Bird; 94, Java Sparrow. 
“ With the exception of the Hawks, the whole were kept 
in an aviary, open to the weather, situated in a northerly 
direction at the back of my parlour window, and, until I 
moved into my present habitation, had communication with 
my parlour—the window then opening into the aviary, in 
the centre of which stood a stone fountain, the water playing 
constantly. The class Sylviadte were separated simply on 
the score of economy as regards the food, which being 
generally soft, and consisting of animal matter, would have 
been devoured by other birds whose food is generally of a 
far less expensive character. I send you this list to show 
the number of birds that may be kept together. My aviary 
measured thirty-three feet long, by ten feet wide, and seven¬ 
teen feet high, consisting of iron wire, in which aviary trees 
of the fir tribe, and box, birch, and beech were planted, so 
that the birds soon made themselves at home in their new 
habitation, and followed their natural instincts. 
“ Of the class Sylviadaa, those which I had were for the 
most part brought up by my children from the nest, so that 
we had opportunities for watching their natural propensities, 
untaught by the parent birds. Kingfishers were also brought 
up and kept by me with the other birds ; and, in fact, one 
nest of Kingfishers was confined, in a separate long cage, 
with two Hobby Hawks. These Hawks were brought up 
from the nest by my apprentice, living with me at that time; 
he also had the care of the Kingfishers, which were fed on 
dace and gudgeon until they could manage for themselves ; 
but it so happened that he forgot my Kingfishers, while he 
thought of his own hawks, and I was astonished one day by- 
observing, when he threw into the cage the meat cut up 
into small pieces, these said Kingfishers dashing down upon 
the meat; and, so great is the power of instinct, dashing the 
meat against the perches on which they alighted, as if to 
kill the imagined prey, and at length bolt it. This diet at 
last became as palatable to them as fish, upon which they 
were usually fed ; and so tame did they become, that at any¬ 
time if I held a piece of meat in my fingers, either in the 
aviary (in which they were afterwards placed), or against 
the wires outside, the birds would instantly dart at my hand 
and fiy off, with the meat in their bill, to their roosting place, 
which I observed was always particularized (if I may use 
the term), each bird having his separate roost. These were 
generally on boughs, so situated as to have a good view of 
the fountain, in which I kept a plentiful supply of minnows : 
they would devour a prodigious quantity of these fish in the 
day. 
“ I have observed them take their food in the following 
manner: attentively watching the approach of their prey, 
they would suddenly, as if by a paroxysm, close their 
feathers more tightly to their bodies, and taking a short 
spring upwards, dash down into the water, which was a foot 
deep, and at the bottom of which the minnows lay-. With 
unerring aim they would seize their prey, and lioat on the 
top of the water for a second, holding the fish across in 
their beak. On alighting on their favourite branch, they 
would strike it against the branch, right and left, for a few 
seconds, until the fish became stunned and quiet, when with 
a sudden catch the head is turned towards the gullet, and 
