On this page
- Departments (1)
-
Text (5)
-
1000 THE LEADER. [Saturday,
-
HOOKS ON OUIl TAltLK. Tho Drama of a T/i...
-
^nrffaliD.
-
We should,1,, our ulinoal, t.o cnem ir.....
-
JUSWISBiS ©G?.A WM< M;©E1BJ - IX- J amiM...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
The Habits Of Birds. A Tlistory Of Briti...
it off to some distance , in order , no doubt , to prevent suspicion . From ten . to eleven o'clock the male fed them tliree , and the female two times ; from eleven to twelve o ' clock the male fed them two , and the female three times ; from twelve to one o ' clock the male fed them two , and the female four times ; and from one to two o ' clock the male fed them twice , and the female thrice . " Although the hut in which I sat was very closely covered , a wren having alig hted on the ground in pursuit of a fly , no sooner observed one of my legs in motion , than it set up a cry of alarm , on which , in the course of a few seconds , all the birds in the neighbourhood collected to see what was the cause of it . The blackbirds bopped round about the house again and again , made every effort to peep into the interior , and even alighted on the top of it , within a few inches of my head ; but they at length g-ave up the attempt . "' From two to three o'clock the female fed them twice , and from three to four
o ' clock the male fed them three , and the female four times . "' That some of the notes of birds are a language which conveys a direct meaning , may , I presume , be inferred from the following interesting occurrence , which took place at half-past three o'clock , an occurrence which I witnessed with the most anxious curiosity , and which I could scarcely have believed had I not seen it . The female having brought a large worm , I am sure more than four inches in length , put it into the mouth of one of the young , and then flew away . Upon her return , having perceived that it was sticking in its throat , she set up the moan of distress . To her assistance her cry immediately brought her partner , who likewise
seemed to be aware of the consequences . To force it down they made several efforts , but in this they were unsuccessful . Strange to tell , the male at length discovered the cause of the catastrophe . That part of the worm which by being entangled among the feathers of the breast had been prevented from going down , he carefully disengaged , and held it up with his bill , until after the most unusual efforts , the young bird at length swallowed it . But so much exhausted was it that it remained nearly three hours without moving , and with its eyes shut . The male , having alighted upon a tree a few yards from his nest , poured forth some of his most enchanting notes , a song of rejoicing , no doubt , for the narrow escape from death which one of his family had iust made .
" ' From four to live o ' clock the male fed them three , and the female four times ; from five to six o'clock the female fed them only twice , and from six to seven o ' clock she fed them three times . In the evening the male was so much engaged in singing , that he left the charge of his family almost entirely to his tenderhearted spouse . "' From seven to eight o ' clock the male fed them only once , and the female six times ; and from eight to twenty minutes before nine o'clock , when they ceased from their mutual labours , the male fed them once , and the female seven times . When I left my retreat , to repair to my more comfortable abode , the male was pouring forth his most charming melody . "' Thus , in the course of si single day , the male fed the young forty-four , and the female fed them sixty-nine times .
" ' Before these - birds fed their young , they always alighted upon a tree , and looked around them for a few seconds . They sometimes brought in a quantity of worms , and fed the whole of their brood alternately ; at other times they carried in only one worm , and gave it to one of them . The worms were very large , owing no doubt to some heavy showers of rain which had fallen on the previous day . This may perhaps be the reason why they fed them so seldom , compared with the number of times that the thrushes , which I watched a few days before , gave food to their brood . The weather was then very dry , and the worms were considerably smaller .
" ' The young birds often trimmed their feathers , and stretched out their wings ; they also appeared to sleep now and then . With the note of alarm which the feathered tribes set up on the discovery of their enemies , all the different species of the little birds Hoem to he most intimately acquainted ; for no sooner did a beast or a bird of prey make its appearance , than they . seemed to be anxiously concerned about the safety of their family . From tree to tree they usually hopped , uttering their doleful lamentations . At one time the blackbirds were in an unusual state of excitement and terror , and were attended by crowds of their Avoodlaml friends . A man and a boy , who were working in my garden , having heard 1 lie noise , ran to see what wus the cause of it . Upon looking into some branches lying on the ground , they observed : i kirgo weasel stealing . slyly along in pursuit of its prey . When they approached it , instead of running oil" as they expected it to do , it climbed to the top of a larch tree , when ! it remained until my pointer was brought , when they shook it down , and it made its escape . It is astonishing how very soon the young know this intimation of fear : for I observed that no nooner did the old ones announce it , than they cowered in ( heir nest , and appeared to Ik : in u state of
great uneasiness . " ' During the whole day , except , in two or three instances , the blackbirds swallowrd all the dropptiujs oftheir brood . ' We must return lor more extracts on a future ; occasion .
1000 The Leader. [Saturday,
1000 THE LEADER . [ Saturday ,
Hooks On Ouil Taltlk. Tho Drama Of A T/I...
HOOKS ON OUIl TAltLK . Tho Drama of a T / ifc , and Axjiiriiuda . liy John Alfred Landlord , author of " Keli ^ ioua Scepticism . " ' H ii ^ Iioh . Mu . IjAN (« fo 1 ( I ) liasinue . il poetical feeling , ; tii ( l : i more than average facility of verse ; but be is not , a . vi tiger by nature , and bis poems can only be accepted as tho leisures of an elegant , mind . Nome of the smaller pieces in this volume have
apponred before—two or fhmt in our own columns and most , of l . hein are worth rending . But the distinction is inlinile between poems pleasant to write , and occasionally pleasant to mid , and poems having within them that- vitality which makes them to be road , and re-read , and remembered . Much of our ppowe most of it . indeed is mere printed Talk ; and one might say also ( hat , much of our poetry is lncreprinlcd Humming . We may like to I ' m in sweet , t , unen , and oUiers iniiy like very well to bear us ; but , that docs not . make us Melodists , In short , our advice to Mr . Landlord is , Write poetry if you have the impulse , but publish only prose . Disrovorim in ' / fyt / pt , Kthiapia , and thti t ' t-nriisiilir of fihiai , in- tl , o years 1 H 4 'J-4 . r > , dii ¦ rina flit' Mission unit out /> , his Majesty Frederick William , IV . of I ' mssia . Ul / r Iticlmrd Lepniu « . J'Jdilcd , wiUi Notes , by . Kenneth It . II . Mnclmiy . ie .
y J lien I ley . Only the other day , we had to speak severely of the unwarrantable liberty sometimes taken by translators in substituting new and misleading titles . la fbe book before uh the change , is not so ^ reat , as the one we then commented on ; but it , is , iHivortlHiloHH , nu improper change . " Discoveries in Egypt" i « an imposing and
misleading title , substituted for the truer and more modest ori ginal " Letters from Egypt . " The " Discoveries" of Dr . Lepsius will appear in an elaborate work These letters—of which we h ' ave already informed our readers when the original appeared—do not enter minutely into the scientific results of the expedition " but rather into the external events , the relative obstacles , and favourable circumstances of the journey , and the operations of the various explorers . In fact , it is a book of travels , and not of Egyptian archa ? ology . The editor has enriched it by many notes—brief , yet serviceable ; and , altogether , the volume is very acceptable . The plates are well copied ; and an Index is added .
Gold Mining and Assaying : a Scientific Guide for Australian Emigrants . B y J . a Phillips , F . C . S . J . J . Griffin and Co ' This compact little volume is of great practical value , composed with care by one of the best writers on Metallurgy , and adapted to the specific wants of mining emigrants . It has illustrative diagrams , and the Government regulations respecting gold mining . Darton ' s School Library . Edited by the Eev . 33 . G . Johns , Head Master of the Grammar School , Dulwich College . Darton and Co . As we often say , a competent opinion of school books can only be given by an experienced teacher . We therefore decline giving any deliberate judgment of this new Library which the Rev . B . G . Johns has undertaken ; and confine oiu-selves to the simpler plan of calling the attention of Parents and Teachers to these little volumes —The Elements of Geography , Introduction to the French Language , The Modern French Word-BooTc , Improvement of the Senses , History of England ,
First Book of Poetry . The Throne of Iniquity . By the Eev . Albert Barnes . TVeedie . The Temperance Offering . Edited by J . S . Buckingham . Tweedie The Triumph of Temperance . By John O'Neil . Tweedie . These three works relate to a subject lately discussed with amplitude in these columns , we therefore content ourselves with enumerating the titles . Infanthood and Childhood . By Jacob Dixon . Houlston and Stoneman This little book professes to be a popular guide to the treatment and management of infanthood and childhood , and the reader will find in it many practical and medical suggestions , founded on actual practice , and explained in familiar language .
The Fopular Educator . Volume I . J ° hn Cassell . This , the first volume of Mr . Cassell ' s Popular Educator , is a really valuable contribution to the education of the people , although , seeing that it is meant mainly for self-instruction , it labours under the serious drawback of being somewhat too technical in its scientific exposition . This should be remedied in future . The writers should assume that they are addressing readers entirely ignorant ; for they had better err on the side of superfluous explanation than on that of obscurity The subjects treated in this volume are , Ancient History , Architecture , Arithmetic , Biography , Botany , English Grammar , French , German , and Latin , Geology , Geography , Geometry , Music , Natural History , and Physiology . These are copiously illustrated with wood-cuts .
Dcvercux . By Sir E . Bulwer Lytton , Bart . Chapman and Hall . This volume of the cheap series of Bulwer ' s novels , now in course of publication , contains Devereux , which not being generally a favourite , Sir Edward undertakes , more suo , to place in such a lig ht before the reader that , if not then admired , the reader must modestly own himself to be somewhat dull . Cakes and Ale . By Douglas Jerrold . Bradbury and Evans . The fourth volume of the cheap edition of Jen-old ' s writings is devoted to Calces and Ale—a . collection of pungent and sparkling stories , written by him at various times .
Discoveries in Egypt , Ethiopia , and the Peninsula of Sinai , in tho years 1812 ~" j ^' ar ( f ^ tley . A JIMory ^ f Infutorud Animalcules , Licing and Fossil . 15 y Andrew 1 > ritchar ^'} ^ - ^; f anJ Co . The Insurance Agent ' s Amixtant : a Popular Essay on Life Assurance ; its Mature , Use , <™[ j ' " vantages . By Gilbert . Ourrip . , ¦ ' ; ( qo [ Spirits of the Past . Wy N . Mirh .-ll . William *< K * . "" J ^ The . Successful Candidate : A Comedy . Jly It . K . Fillip . w ^ qiT an , l Co . The Garden Companion . i > ' f ,.,., ! ll . ntli'VThe One Primeval . Language . liy Hev . Charles Forsler , H . I ) . AdXy > , nd C "" Vraeix ' on Finance and Trade . By K . Torre ,, * , !*« ,., P . U . S . f ;| -J— "" J { ft \ Valde . ck , or the Siege of Leydm . A Historical Play , Uy A . H . SIoum . UiA §"" JinV M . Knig ht"h Imperial Cychrptidla . _ y ^ ( ,,.,. , , | Co . The Ston / of lieynard the J ' u . r . A New Version . . I 5 y 1 ) . \ odder . vv ¦ rllll ! ,, ni , n . The Spiritual , library— The Religion of Goon ' Sense . liy K . Kirlier . ' j ^ ,. ]; ,.,.. Setc . cl . ionx from Dri / tlen . ' l \ V 1 ' in'luT . The Cloister Life of the Emperor Charles the Fifth . Ily W . Slirluur . / ' riHin an « l < - '<> - ICiicyclopaulia Metropolitana -irintary of Greece , Macedonia , and Syria . . 1 - n . « ( J , Jo | m _ Jtolni ' n Classical- Library — Greek Anthology , Prose , and Verne . ^ ( J ' | Joi , ii . Jlo / tit's Scientific Jjibrar ' i / liriiiqexcater V re . atinen . U ' (] " Ho i "' - llohus Standard lAbrary- - W ff' « Life and Correspondence . \ u . Memoir of tho An . lissai / on Few ,, ! ,, KUticution . , 15 y ( lie Coui . Iohh do Hrunolioro Tiillien . \\ dh a Menu j Authoress . TmiiHlutid by Lord . Urougliaili .
^Nrffalid.
^ nrffaliD .
We Should,1,, Our Ulinoal, T.O Cnem Ir.....
We should , 1 ,, our ulinoal , t . o cnem ir .. ( M- the Hca . ul . Kul , for th e , ihwJul oncouni | i « ll . Kelf .- ~ ( JOKTII I ! .
Juswisbis ©G?.A Wm< M;©E1bj - Ix- J Amim...
JUSWISBiS © G ? . A WM < M ;© E 1 BJ - IX- J amiMi-y , 1 H 03 . & $ DID not tell you , my « l « ur ( iioi ^ io , why I was so hastily «' ^ , ftl-i from Wcrnctli , because , although it is impossible that yoi > { (' . W ) . have frit the anxiety which I sullcrcd in the di ^ rc * - . wllM : il it ' -Jtj i \ . \ t , it no . severely myself that 1 could not help wishing to * ViU ' r you . 1 was called back by Mar ^ ' H illness . She has " «» "" , relapse . In fact , we feared the very worst ; . After I « uu « away « h « « ^ a strong anxiety to ncc . me . She was brought to IlaHcy -street on " '' day , beiiig then much Letter . The removal seemed to hurt her .
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 16, 1852, page 20, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_16101852/page/20/
-