allowed for hatching-and often a longer period. A grisle weighing 6 lbs. in the month of February, after spawning, has, in its return from the sea in September, weighed 13 lbs.; and, it is said that a salmon fry of April will in June weigh 4 lbs., and in August 6 lbs.

Taking the rapid growth, the immense powers of reproduction, and the effect which the artificial production seems to have upon the fish, we hardly know a subject of greater national importance than the encouragement of this practice.

We would strongly urge the thorough investigation of the subject, and the construction of breeding-ponds near the heads of our principal rivers, properly secured. The experiment has interest in itself enough to repay the trouble; and, if Jacobi be right, almost every purchaser of a male and female salmon has the power of putting the process into operation.

NOTES ON THE SWALLOW.

THE SUBJOINED PARTICULARS of the Swallow are from various sources, and will be perused with interest. We need hardly remark that these birds do not winter "under water;" but depart to foreign climes, like other birds of passage.

The swallow makes its first appearance in Great Britain early in spring; remains with us during summer, and disappears in autumn. The four species which inhabit this island, are also found during summer in almost every other region in Europe and Asia, where their manners and habits are nearly the same as in this country. In the more southern parts of the continent, they appear somewhat earlier than in England. The distinguishing marks of the swallow tribe are a small bill; a wide mouth; a head rather large in proportion to the bulk of the body, and somewhat flattish; a neck scarcely visible; a short, broad, and cloven tongue; a tail mostly forked; short legs; very long wings; a rapid and continued flight.

The House, orChimney Swallow, hirundo rustica, is the most common, as well as the best known. Its length is about six inches, its breadth from tip to tip of the wings, when extended, about twelve inches; the upper parts of its body and wings are black; the under parts whitish ash-color; the head black; the forehead and chin marked with a

red spot; the tail very much forked. It generally arrives earlier than the rest of its genus, and mostly before the middle of April. It builds its nest in chimnies, at the distance of about a foot from the top, or under the roofs of barns and outhouses, has commonly two broods in the year, and usually disappears in the latter end of September, or beginning of October. Like all birds of the swallow tribe, it is perpetually on the wing; and it lives upon insects, which it catches flying. It has been calculated from the velocity of this bird on the wing, and its flight in the air for fourteen or fifteen hours together, in search of food, that it flies from two to three hundred miles in that time. As pre

viously observed by an early writer, before rain it may often be seen skimming round the edge of a lake or river, and not unfrequently dipping the tips of its wings, or under part of its body, into the water as it passes over its surface. Dr. Forster cites Aratus and Virgil in corroboration, that ancient authors had observed the same fact. He describes the Martin or Martlett, hirundo urbica, as being rather smaller than the swallow, and as easily distinguishable from it by the bright white color of all the under parts of the body. This species usually makes its first appearance early in May, though sometimes sooner; and leaves us towards the latter end of October. It

builds under the eaves of houses, in crags of rocks and precipices near the sea, has oftentimes three like that of the swallow, with mud and straw, lined broods in the year, and constructs its curious nest

with feathers on the inside.

largest of the genus, being seven inches in length, He says that the swift, hirundo apus, is the and nearly eighteen in breadth, when its wings are extended, and that it is of a sooty black color with a whitish spot on its breast. It arrives towards the middle of May, and departs about the middle of August. It builds in holes of rocks, in ruined towers, and under the tiling of houses, and has only one brood in the year.

He observes of the Bank or Sand Martin, hirundo riparia, that it is the smallest of the genus, is of a dusky brown color above, and whitish beneath; and that it builds its nest in holes, which it bores in banks of sand, and is said to have only one brood in the year.

No subject has more engaged the attention of naturalists in all ages, than the brumal retreat of the swallow; neither is there any subject on which more various and contrary opinions have been entertained. Some have supposed that they retire at the approach of winter to the inmost recesses of rocks and mountains, and that they there remain in a torpid state until spring. Others have conjectured that these birds immerse themselves in the water at the approach of winter, and that they remain at the bottom in a state of torpidity, until they are again called forth by the influence of the vernal sun.* Dr. Forster admits that there are found in such situations, clustered together in great several instances on record of their having been numbers, and that, on being brought before the fire, they have revived and flown away. But he thinks that few of the accounts were well authenticated; and that the celebrated John Hunter and Mr. Pearson clearly prove, from various experiments, that these birds cannot continue long under water without being drowned. The doctor does not deny that swallows have occasionally been found under water; but he attributes their having been found in such situations to mere accident. As it is well known that, towards the latter end of autumn, swallows frequently roost by the sides of lakes and rivers; he therefore supposes that a number of these birds had retired to roost on the banks of some shallow and muddy river at low tide; that they had been induced by the cold to creep among the reeds or rushes which might grow in the shallow parts of the river; and that, while in that situation, driven into a state of torpidity by

Gilbert White insists upon this!-ED. K. J.

the cold, they had been overwhelmed, and perhaps washed into the current, by the coming in of the tide. He alludes to occasional instances of other birds besides swallows having been found in a state of torpor during winter, and imagines that fishermen had availed themselves of the coming in of the tide to catch fish, and that the swallows, before supposed to have been carried into the current, coming in contact with their nets, were consequently drawn out by them, and, not having been long under water, were not completely drowned. There are several circumstances which seem to favor the opinion, that these birds remain concealed during winter in this country. Among others, the most striking is, that swallows, hirundines rustica, as well as martins, hirundines urbicæ, have sometimes appeared very late in autumn, a considerable time after they were all supposed to have taken their departure; and that they have likewise been found concealed in the crevices of rocks, in holes of old decayed trees, in old ruined towers, and under the thatch of houses. Dr. Forster further presumes, that those birds which have been found in a state of torpidity, had, owing to some accident, been hatched later in the year than ordinary, and consequently had not acquired sufficient strength to undergo the fatigue of a long journey upon the wing, at the time when the migration of the rest of their species took place; and that, to shelter themselves from the inclemency of the weather, they had sought retreats wherein, from cold and hunger, they had sunk into a state of torpidity.

"For several years past," says Dr. Forster, "I have observed that chimney swallows have appeared first in cold weather. I have sometimes seen them as early as April the second, when the mercury in the thermometer has been below the freezing point. On the other hand, I have often taken notice, that, during a continuance of mild weather for the space of a fortnight, in the month of April, not so much as one swallow has appeared." He also remarks, that, towards the latter end of September, swallows, as well as martins, congregate in great numbers, and are frequently seen sitting on the tops of houses, and on rocks near the sea. These meetings usually continue for several days, after which they suddenly disappear. They seldom perch on trees, except in autumn, shortly previous to their disappearance, and they then choose dead trees in preference. They sometimes sit on trees earlier in summer, when the weather has been very cold.

Swifts begin to assemble in large bodies previous to their departure, early in July; their numbers daily increase, and they soar higher in the air, with shriller cries, and fly differently from their usual mode. Such meetings continue till towards the middle of August, after which they are seldom

seen.

Sand-martins likewise flock together in autumn, Some years ago they appeared in great numbers in London and its neighborhood. Dr. Forster clearly shows that swallows are birds of passage, and produces the accounts of mariners, who had seen these birds many hundred miles out at sea, and on whose ships they had alighted to rest, almost exhausted with fatigue and hunger.* By

"Observations on the Brumal Retreat of the Swallow," by Charles Forster, F.L.S. 8vo.

this we may be enabled, in some measure, to determine to what quarter of the globe they retire, when they leave Europe in autumn.

Sir

Adanson, in his "Voyage to Senegal," relates, that on the 6th of October, being about fifty leagues from the coast, between the island of Goree and Senegal, four swallows alighted on the shrouds of his ship, which he easily caught, and knew to be European swallows. He adds, that they never appear at Senegal until the winter season, and that they do not build nests, as in Europe, but roost every night on the sand by the sea-shore. Charles Wager has recorded, that in one of his voyages home, as he came into soundings of our Channel, a great flock of swallows settled on his rigging, every rope was covered with them, they hung on one another like a swarm of bees, the decks and carvings were filled with them, they seemed spent and famished, and, to use his own expression, were only feathers and bones; but, recruited with a night's rest, they resumed their flight in the morning. A similar circumstance happened to Captain Wright, in a voyage, many years ago, from Philadelphia to London.

There are many anecdotes of sagacity in these birds. For several years some swallows had built their mud habitations in the window-frames of a house, at Beaumaris in Anglesea. These dry, comfortable, and protected abodes were envied by the less favored sparrows of the same place, who embraced the opportunity (while the unsuspected swallows were skimming o'er the wide bosom of the main) and confidently took possession, thinking also to establish an undoubted settlement by depositing their eggs; the swallows finding their rightful mansions engrossed by other tenants, seemed reconciled to the ejectment; but, to the astonishment of the lady residing in the house, no sooner had the sparrows hatched their young, than the swallows gathered all their forces, and plastered up the entrance of the nest containing the old sparrow and her brood, where they perished.

THE AVIARY AND ITS OCCUPANTS.

No. X.

(Concluded from Page 216.)

to

IF YOU WOULD STUDY COMFORT, it will be needful to have an abundant supply of those little nick-nacks, which though trifling, are yet indispensable; for as no workman, how clever soever he may be, can move one step in the right direction without being provided with proper tools-so, no aviary can be reckoned "complete" in its several appointments without all the necessary paraphernalia are in readiness, to be used as occasion may require them. We shall therefore proceed at once particularise what these essentials are. In the first place--as you will daily have to grate your bullocks' liver, buns, &c., and as it requires a "fine" apparatus for this purpose, you must get a carpenter to furnish you with two well-seasoned deal boxes, made as follows:-The length of each box must be 8 inches; width, & inches; depth, 34 inches. All round the tops of each should be ledges, shelving upwards and outwards, so In the upper part of each box let a square sheet of tin be inserted (any brazier will undertake this), perforated with minutely-fine holes, and strongly "roughed" on the outside, like an ordinary domestic grater.

as to prevent waste.

In the under part of each box let a drawer be fitted, to pull out, having a ring in the centre. By the aid of this, you will obtain easy access to whatever you may have been passing through the holes above. One of these boxes should be kept exclusively for the bullocks' liver, and cleansed immediately after use; the other, for the buns, bread, &c. This provision has reference to the "war blers" principally. The larger and more hardy birds will select tangible pieces of bread, bun, &c.; which they love to place under their claw, and flirt with at their leisure.

You must now provide a piece of deal, 12 inches square; made on the principle of what housekeepers call a chopping-board; that is, having a back to it, and a narrow "wall" on each side. On this you must place your hemp-seed, crushing it thoroughly with a lignum-vita rolling-pin. After every operation of this kind, scrape the board clean with a long knife; and daily scald it with boiling water, to remove or lessen the grease which has exuded from the hempseed.

A pestle and mortar, of marble, is the next requisite. This is serviceable for rubbing down the hard-boiled eggs and a variety of other substances connected with an aviary. It is an article of indispensable utility. To scrape your raw beef on, and keep it free

from taint, you will find nothing so serviceable, nothing so appropriate, as a circular slab of marble 12 inches in diameter. This will be in perpetual use as a general "table for operations." In connection with it you will find a "spatula," or apothecaries' knife, very handy. Being flexible, it yields easily Both these to the pressure of the hand. articles must, of course, be kept sweet and clean.

To cleanse the floor of the aviary, by removing the sand, &c., the most ready instrument will be a kind of "hoe," fitted in a wooden handle, 12 inches long. The width of the hoe should be 5 inches, and it should be slightly "inclined" outwards. A trowel, also, on a somewhat similar principle, will be found useful, for scraping the corners of the floor. The sand should be, to use an Hibernicism, rather gravel than sand. That is, it should be gravel, finely sifted, so as to retain a number of small pebbles. pebbles are freely eaten by, and greatly assist the digestive powers of the whole feathered tribe. It is not necessary to throw away all the sand every time it is removed; it will come into use again, much of it, when cleansed by sifting.

These

For this purpose, always be provided with two large strong sieves, made of wire, one finer than the other. Through these, severally, pass what is removed from the floor of the aviary, day by day. The dry sand will freely pass through the fine sievethe residue must be rejected as being quite unfit for use. It will, however, do for the poultry-yard.

For the purpose of cleaning the circular and square perches, there are always kept ready for use (obtainable at any of the birddealers in the neighborhood of "the Seven Dials,") long and short iron rods, fitted with two distinct contrivances-one at either end. These are of light weight, and are made, at one end, so as to admit the perches into their centre. Thus, all dirt is readily removed, and with comparatively little trouble. These irons are also indispensable for the perches of caged birds, as well as those in an aviary.

The

The last equipment that we need notice is-the jars to contain your bird seed, &c. These we should recommend to be of transparent glass, with glass covers also. tall glasses, such as are used by chemists and confectioners, will be found most serviceable. Whether for your German-paste, your buns, your seed-or what not-these glasses are to be highly commended. They are by no means costly, and they preserve all that is contained in them sweet and wholesome.

Of course, you will keep yourself well supplied with sponges, flannels, nail-brushes, and other similar articles of daily use. You

should also be furnished with a stock of bird glasses, tin pans, &c., so as never to be at a loss, in case of sudden need. There is always something occurring, to render these provisions needful.

So much for the building and equipment of an aviary. We have been very minute, very precise, very methodical; so that we may now consider all our preparations for enjoyment "complete." If people will keep birds-and the practice is on the increase, it is a matter of stringent duty on our part to point out all that will induce towards making them "happy." Yet is that word a perfect mockery! If we could read the heart of a bird, and enter into his feelings at this season, whilst confined in a room,- —we should hardly persist in our cruelty to his race.

Accustomed as WF are to range the fields, and almost to acquire the language (certainly the feelings) of the "free" songsters as they revel in delight around us)—we speak to a point on this matter. Oh! that all "admirers of our writings on Song-Birds" could join us in our walks; letting us chat to them by the way as we wandered through the young growing corn, in shady lanes, by brooks and rivulets; in copses, meadows, and leafy woods-we would try and convince them of what they are so slow to learn, so unwilling to believe. Nay more; we are vain enough to believe that our argument would "prevail" with many for we should be away from the noise of cities; buried in Nature's lovely bosom; and the influences of the season, and its surrounding charms, could not but melt the heart. Every step we took, we could "illustrate" our argument-for we would point to everything having life, and address ourself to the very soul of each listening ear. We love to reason in the fields! And why? Simply because we always get our own way. Nature is such a special pleader! But we must again descend to prose.

The aviary thoroughly furnished, and your little families affectionately provided for, the next thing to be done is to make yourself thoroughly acquainted with the natural his tory of every bird in your possession. You could not do this satisfactorily, unless you had several of the same species; for to judge of all by one, would be manifestly incorrect. Three of each, we think we may conscientiously say, will suffice for your purpose; if you chance to have more, so much the better. You will find there are many books extant, which profess to treat logically of "British Song Birds;" and we recommend if you feel so disposed, a perusal of the whole. You will then satisfactorily convince yourself, how totally insufficient they are to teach you any large amount of practical knowledge. They appear mere servile copies,

one from the other. We have recently alluded to Bechstein's book (a new edition of which was lately published) in terms of dis-praise. We do not wish to be told how to trap birds, how to tease birds, how to turn birds into unnatural performers, and make them live a life of torment; neither to be instructed in the art of starving them into tameness. Such silly books, although profusely illustrated,must ever be viewed with distaste by all who have hearts, and by all who wish to be beloved by their pets. They are much in request among servants; and we see the ill-effects produced by them daily, as we pass through our west-end streets. Victims of every kind are exhibited in areas, or may be seen suspended from attic windows-shivering in the blast, or scorched by fervid heat. Our pen shall never be used in defence of such practices. "diary" of observations; and we most For several years we kept a regular earnestly advise every possessor of an aviary to do the same thing. They will feel, as we have ever done, fresh sensations of delight every time they refer to their note-book. Truly different indeed will be their own remarks, by comparison with those they have been in the habit of reading in printed books!

You will first note the peculiarity in disposition of each separate inmate; observing, for instance, in whose company the canary and goldfinches are principally found; also the linnet, chaffinch, bullfinch, &c. Certain birds you will find to be of solitary, retired habits; others, gregarious; and many, partial to mixed society. Every day will unfold some new and interesting discovery, and bring to light some Pylades and Orestes vowing eternal friendship for each other, &c.

It is beyond all question, that social intimacies are formed in an aviary; and that they are of long continuance. This remark applies as well to male birds, as to those which live together in pairs. The most singular instance of attachment in illustration of the latter, that we can call to mind, is that of a pied mule canary (a hen), associated with a cock robin. The mutual affection of this out-of-the-way pair, was as strong as it was remarkable. The two were never to be found apart. The mule which we had originally imagined to be a male bird, and purchased as such, in due course laid three eggs. They were artfully concealed behind a part of the lining of the wall, in some dried chickweed. We removed these eggs as quickly as possible; and placed them under a hen canary, which was just beginning to sit, in a breeding cage.

There being a wise and universal law in nature, that no mules, males or females, can reproduce their own species; we felt