405 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
September 20.] 
keg for them, and strew some salt at the bottom, and then 
put a layer of beans about four inches deep, sprinkle again 
with salt, and continue thus until the cask is full. Tie it 
well down, and on the top place a weight, in order to exclude 
every particle of air; keep it in a cellar till you require it. 
Green pens can also bo eaten in the winter, but not with such 
success as the beans. To do so you must proceed thus :— 
shell, and put them into boiling water, hold them over 
the fire for three minutes; put them into a sieve, and when 
quite dry bottle them; pour a little melted, suet into the 
mouth of the bottle, cork them down -very tight, and keep 
them in a dark cellar. Some people bury the bottles in earth, 
but that is more troublesome, and I do not think more 
effectual. When required for table they must be treated as 
if they had been just picked. To prevent herbs (such as 
mint, thyme, sage, <fcc.,) from losing their flavour, they 
should be kept in the following manner:—Tick them on a 
dry day, and spread them in a warm shady place until quite 
dry, then tie them up into small bundles and pack them 
closely in a box, each sort separately ; cover them over with 
white paper, and tie the box down ; keep it in a dry and 
rather warm place, and you will find them very superior to 
those that have been kept in paper bags. 
Herbs are very useful, especially to the cottager, and care 
should be taken to preserve them well. Although many new 
medicines have been discovered, which are valuable in real 
illness, yet I am sure if herbs were as much thought of as 
they were in our grandmother’s time, many a bill would be 
avoided, and many a long walk to the parish doctor saved! If 
herbs were as difficult to be procured as “pills and draughts ” 
are, we should soon hear of “ pennyroyal tea,” “ chamomile 
tea,” and all the various “ simples ” which were so well 
known one hundred years ago, but which now are despised 
and neglected (in many cases), merely because they are 
common and cheap. In matters of the greatest importance, 
how often is this the case ! The injunction of our Lord, 
“ Come buy wine and milk without money, and without 
price,” is often disregarded, because nothing is to be paid 
for such luxuries, whilst the creed of penances and morti¬ 
fications finds many a worshipper, because by such acts our 
vanity is fed, and our self-righteousness, alas! exalted. 
A Frif.nd. 
• ENGLISH CAGE BIRDS. 
MISSEL THRUSH. 
Insessores Dentirostres. Merui.id.e. 
Tardus viscivorus ; Merida viscivora; Misseltoe Thrush; 
Storm Cock; Holm Thrush. 
The Missel Thrush is one of the largest of our thrushes, 
and the earliest in song—commencing his strains very fre¬ 
quently as early as February. He generally occupies the 
topmost branch of the highest tree in or near the woods, 
where he pours forth his loud clear notes in constant suc¬ 
cession. There is very little or no variety in it, nevertheless 
it is associated with our feelings of rejoicing at the departure 
of winter and the near approach of spring. His song is 
frequently heard while on the wing chasing his mate during 
the pairing or breeding season ; and I have noticed his song i 
to be more frequent just before a storm of rain, and from 
this I doubt not he takes the name of Storm Cock. When 
taken wild he should be placed in a large cage covered in 
such a way that he cannot see any person, or by its fears and 
frequent attempts to escape it will destroy its plumage, if 
not its life. Being secured in a large cage, and supplied 
with a cup of water made secure as not to be easily upset in 
its attempts to escape, he should have a few worms, or 
snails, or pieces of meat (raw), thrown at the bottom of his 
cage; and although sulky at first, impelled by hunger (if 
left quiet) he will at length pick up the pieces of worms or 
meat. After the first few days fed upon this kind of food, 
1 then place a dish of oatmeal mixed up into a paste with j 
water, and stick therein pieces of meat and worms; these he 
will pluck out, and adhering to them portions of the paste, : 
to which, at length, he will have recourse as readily as the 
worms and meat. But I prefer bringing up the young birds j 
from the nest to old birds, as they become perfectly tame, 
bear handling well, will come to you by your call, and readily 
recognise your voice and person, are easily reared, and will 
breed in an enclosed place. When taken in the nest, I feed 
them upon worms, meat, snails, and the paste above men¬ 
tioned alternately, until they are able to feed themselves, 
which will often be in a month—keeping them and their nest 
scrupulously clean. This is indispensable; for if the feathers 
become dirty and matted together with filth they mostly die. j 
They are subject to cramp : to obviate this I mix for the i 
young birds a quantity of road grit in their paste of oatmeal, j 
which has a very beneficial effect, and affords them a suffi- 
ciency of phosphate of lime to form feathers. The soil | 
should be taken from each bird by the aid of a pair of pliers 
resembling a bird’s bill, immediately it is discharged from 
the bird, which generally happens upon the first mouthful 
of food given it—the little bird rising on its legs, and 
elevating its hinder part over the nest—thus exhibiting the 
ancient moral, “ that it is a dirty bird that soils its own nest.” 
Nature has amply provided against such a contingency by- 
encasing the excrement as it is discharged in a sort of ge¬ 
latinous bag, so tough and tenacious that the parent bird can 
take it readily up and convey it in its bill to a considerable 
distance. The same treatment will do for all the thrush tribe, 
except that I give in addition berries of various lands taken 
from the hedges. W. Rayner. 
[This bird, Macgillivray says, is a permanent resident, but 
the. native birds of the species are supposed to be joined by 
others from the continent towards the end of October. They 
fly about in loose flocks, composed of a few individuals, 
seldom more than twenty, and at this season betake them¬ 
selves to the open fields, especially those recently ploughed, 
where they search for worms, lame, and seeds. On alighting, 
the bird stands for some time with the body and tail inclined, 
the head raised, the wings slightly drooping. Should it 
descry symptoms of danger, it alarms its companions by a 
low harsh scream, when they- all remain attentive for awhile, 
and fly off, or should they judge themselves safe, commence 
their search, in prosecuting which they scatter about more 
than the Fieldfares or Redwings. If you watch the motions 
of one, you see it hop smartly along, stop to pick up an ob¬ 
ject, then resume the attitude of attention, hop forward, dig- 
up a worm, break it to pieces, and swallow it, then stand, 
again, and thus continue until satiated or put to flight. In 
this manner, which is precisely that of the Fieldfare and 
Common Thrush, they continue feeding for hours, unless 
disturbed, generally keeping at a considerable distance from i 
each other, so that two can very, seldom be shot at once. ■ 
They are extremely vigilant, and the moment one is alarmed ' 
it emits a low churr, which is repeated by the rest, when they 
either fly to the trees in the neighbourhood, or Hit to a dis¬ 
tant field. In an open place, they hardly consider them¬ 
selves safe at the distance of two hundred yards; and al¬ 
though they remain while a person passes them, they fly off 
if he" stands to watch them. When perched on trees they 
seldom allow a nearer approach than a hundred yards. If 
they are feeding near a low wall, you may occasionally obtain 
a shot by going to the place and suddenly starting up, but 
you have little chance of catching them unawares by slowly 
raising your head and gun between the stones. I once shot 
a fine specimen in a field near Edinburgh, through a hole at 
