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Mr . Knox describes a method of poaching , very little known , though very destructive : — " Two or three poachers , disguised in respectable attire , travel about the country in a gig or dog-cart , accompanied by a single pointer or setter . One of the party alights at the outskirts of a village or country town , and proceeding to the public room of the nearest tavern , soon falls into conversation with some of the unsuspecting inhabitants ; and , passing himself off as ' an intelligent traveller , ' or keen sportsman , about to pay a visit to the neighbouring ' squire , soon obtains sufficient local information for his purpose . The other '
gentlemen ' have in the mean time put up their horse and gig at an inn in a different quarter , and while discussing their brandy-and-water at the bar , have * pumped' the landlord of all the news likely to prove useful to the fraternity . At a certain hour in the evening the trio meet by appointment at some prearranged spot outside the village , and commence operations . After comparing notes , the most promising ground is selected . A dark night and rough weather are all in their favour . The steady old pointer , with a lantern round his neck , is turned into a stubble field , and a net of fine texture , but tough materials , is produced from a bag in which it has hitherto been closely packed . The light passes quickly across the field—now here , now there , like a ' Will-o' - the-Wisp' —as the sagacious dog quarters the ground
rapibly , yet with as much care and precision as if he were working for a legitimate sportsman in open day . Suddenly it ceases to move , then advances slowly , stops , moves once more , and at last becomes stationary . Two of the men then take the net , and , making a circuit until they arrive in front of the dog , shake out the meshes and place it in a proper position on the ground . Then standing opposite to each other , and holding either end of the string , they draw it slowly and noiselessly over their quadruped ally—whose exact position is indicated by the lantern—frequently capturing at the same time an unsuspecting covey huddled together within a few inches of his nose . When this operation is carried on by experienced hands , an entire manor may be effectually stripped of partridges in an incredibly short space of time . "
The chapters on the Falcons and F alconry are full of interest . We extract the following passage on the mode in which the Falcon strikes : — " It has often been a question with ornithologists , in what precise manner the falcon deals the fatal blow . Some authors have asserted that it is by means of the foot ; others attribute it to the breastbone , protected as it is by such strong pectoral muscles that the concussion which is supposed to deprive its victim of life can have no injurious effect upon the author of the momentum . My own opinion , which is fully corroborated by the more extensive experience of Colonel Bonham , is that it is by means of the powerful hind talon that the deadly wound
sence . At last , one evening , after a longer flight than usual , one of the falcons returned alone . The otherthe prime favourite—was missing . Day after day passed away , and however much he may have continued to regret his loss , Captain Johnson had at length fully made up his mind that it was irretrievable , and that he should never see her again . Soon after the arrival of the regiment in America , on casting his eyes over a Halifax newspaper , he was struck by a paragraph announcing that the captain of an American schooner ^ had at that moment in his possession a fine hawk , which had suddenly made its appearance on board his ship during his late passage from Liverpool . The idea at once occurred
to Captain Johnson that this could be no other than his much-prized falcon , so having obtained immediate leave of absence he set out for Halifax , a journey of some days . On arriving there he lost no time in waiting on the commander of the schooner , announcing the object of his journey and requesting that he might be allowed to see the bird ; but Jonathan had no idea of relinquishing his priae so easily , and stoutly refused to admit of the interview , « guessing' that it was very easy for an Englisher to lay claim to another man ' s property , but * calculating ' that it was a f tarnation sight '
harder for him to get possession of it ; and concluding by asserting in unqualified terms his entire disbelief in the whole story . Colonel Johnson ' s object , however , being rather to recover his falcon than to pick a quarrel with the truculent Yankee , he had fortunately sufficient self-command to curb his indignation , and proposed that his claim to the ownership of the bird should be at once put to the test by an experiment , which several Americans who were present admitted to be perfectly reasonable , and in which their countryman was at last persuaded to acquiesce . It was this . Captain Johnson was to be admitted to an interview with the hawk—who , by the
way , had as yet shown no partiality for any person since her arrival in the New World , but , on the contrary , had rather repelled all attempts at familiarity—and if at this meeting she should not only exhibit such unequivocal signs of attachment and recognition as should induce the majority of the bystanders to believe that he really was her original master , but especially if she should play with the buttons of his coat , then the American was at once to waive all claim to her . The trial was immediately made . The Yankee went up stairs , and shortly returned
with the falcon ; but the door was hardly opened before she darted from his fist and perched at once on the shoulder of her beloved and long-lost protector , evincing by every means in her power her delight and affection , rubbing her head against his cheek and taking hold of the buttons of his coat and champing them playfully between her mandibles , one after another . This was enough . The jury were unanimous . A verdict for the plaintiff was pronounced : even the obdurate heart of the sea captain was melted , and the falcon was at onced restored to the arms of her rightful owner . "
On the diseases of Pheasants Mr . Knox has important matter — but it is addressed to sportsmen and preservers , rather than to the general public . His observations on the various kind of " vermin " at war with game birds—also on the ptarmigan , grouse , capercaillie , and heron—will be universally interesting . Respecting the heron he thus refutes two popular errors : — " By the way , there are two fables connected with the habits of the heron , yet both of them pass current with the greater part of the world as established facts in its natural history . One is , that he presents his beak to his
enemy so as to transfix him when the latter is about to stoop . ' Indeed , the awkward and lumbering movements of the heron at this critical moment , show that even if he were disposed to try the experiment , he has no power to bring this formidable weapon into play against , his swift and vigorous antagonist , whose mode of attack indeed , as well as the rapidity of its execution , would render such a result exceedingly improbable ; for the swoop is made obliquely , not perpendicularly , and the falcon strikes her quarry from behind . When the falcons and the heron have reached the ground , then matters assume a different aspect . The moment he finds himself on terra firma , he shows a bold front , and
struggles to be revenged on his persecutors by well-directed and quickly-repeated plunges of his sharp and daggerlike beak . Then , indeed , must the falconer hurry to the spot , or he may find that his hawks have ' caught a Tartar . ' A mortal wound , serious laceration , or the loss of sight , might be the price of victory . The heron always aims at the eye . I am acquainted with a gentleman who was deprived of one of the organs of vision by a bird of this species which he had incautiously seized after it had been wounded . I have elsewhere recorded a narrow escape of my own from a similar misfortune , * and I shot for two seasons in Ireland over an old pointer—and a capital dog he was—whose loss of one eye was attributable to an imprudent attack during his younger days
to gather them up in the usual manner ; and , therefore as there ought to be two apertures in the bottom of the nest for their reception , that he might take the liberty of boring them forthwith . One of the numerous instances in which preconceived theories are found to be at fault when tested by the actual operations of nature . " These extracts will , we hope , send the reader to the volume itself . We could have quoted several more , had space permitted .
on a winged heron . *• Another popular error in connection with this birdis , that during incubation , it is in the habit of protruding its legs through two holes in the bottom of its nest . Now , there is no reason in the world why the heron should assume an attitude so painful and unnatural . Its legs are ccrtiiinly long , but the bones of which they are composed —the femur , the tibia , and the tarsus—bear the same relative proportion to each other as in the generality of waders , nnd can be as easily folded up underneath the body as the legs of any other " bird . Perhaps the story may have originated in the brain of some compiler who was ignorant of its anatomy , and who had never seen its nest ; but having noticed the unusual length of its limbs , took for grnnted that it would be impossible for the heron
is inflicted . If a grouse , a duck , or a woodcock that has been thus suddenly killed by a peregrine be examined , it will generally be found that the loins and shoulders are deeply scored , the back of the neck much torn , and even the skull sometimes penetrated by this formidable weapon . Now , as the stroke is almost always delivered obliquely , that is , in a slanting , downward direction from behind , this laceration could not . be efFected by any of the talons of the front toes ; nor would the severest possible blow from the breast of the falcon produce such an effect . Indeed , Colonel Bonham had several rare opportunities of witnessing the operation distinctly , and his testimony on this point ought to be conclusive . On one occasion in particular , when in Ireland , a woodcock , after a long chace over an adjoining moor , had taken refuge in a
small cover , whither it was closely pursued by the hawkthe falconer and several assistants following . Colonel Bonham himself made for a nearer point of the coppice , and had just taken up his position under a tree at the side of a ride or alley , when he saw the woodcock flying towards him , and its enemy close upon it . As the former passed within a few yards of the spot where he stood , he perceived by its laborious flight and open beak that it was much exhausted . The next moment down came the falcon , and he could see distinctly that the blow was delivered by the hind talons . The effect was instantaneously fatal , and precisely such as might have been expected from the nature of the weapons that were brought into play . The back of the woodcock was completely ripped up , and the lower part of the skull split open . '
And another on the capability of the Falcon for personal attachment : — " It has been frequently asserted that the peregrine is not susceptible of personal attachment , that hunger is the sole agent by means of which the falconer is enabled to reclaim her , and that it is to the lure , and not to the person who wields or diplays it , that she evinces partiality or regard . The following anecdote , however , would appear sufficient to rescue her character from such an imputation .
" A friend of Colonel Bonham — the late Colonel Johnson of the Rifle Brigade—was ordered to Canada with his battalion , in which he was then a captain , and being very fond of falconry , to which he had devoted much time and expense , ho took with him two of his favourite perigrines , ns his companions across the Atlantic . 11 It \ vii 8 his constant habit during the voyage to allow them to fly every day , after feeding them up' that they might not be induced to rake off after a passing sea gull , or wander out of sight of the vessel . Sometimes their rambles were very wide and protracted . At others they would ascend to such a height as to be almost lost to the view of the passengers , who soon found them an effectual means of relieving the tedium of a long sea voyage , ami naturally took a lively interest in their welfare , but ns thry were in the habit of returning regularl y to the ship , no uneasiness was felt during their occasional ab-
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BOOKS ON OUR TABLE . Life and Death in Ireland , as witnessed in 1849 . By Spencer T . Hall . Simpkin and Marshall . TJnder this striking title , we have the impressions of one who has visited that distracted land , and is well able to report its moral and physical aspects . Mr . Hall possesses in a peculiar degree sympathy to feel , habit to observe , and power to narrate . His " Rambles in the Country , " his " Sherwood Forrester , " and other works attest , that nature as well as humanity find i n our author an instructive chronicler . He sees precisely what
an intelligent man would see , and he reports what a humane writer should report . We cannot look over these useful pages without contrasting the aspect of Ireland as it is with what it might be , were such wise experiments had recourse to as that Mr . Vandeleur , ofRalahine , so successfully tried . Surely , the good sense and humanity of the Irish landlords will induce them to relieve , not less the people from , their misery than themselves from encreasing difficulties . One passage from this interesting book we quote for its applicableness to the religious agitation of the day . The author is speaking of a case of Protestant ecclesiastical law and pastoral neglect : —
" Such cases are too numerous and grievous to be passed over altogether , and I have already drawn my pen acioss one far -worse than this , because I could not let the picture go without too deeply wounding the innocent along with the blamable . There are Protestants in some parts of Ireland , who weep in solitude like stricken deer , because the wrong which has been done , or the right left undone , in the name of their Church , has furnished such arguments to the priests , and made it so offensive to a large mass of the people , that the latter can scarcely be brought to identify either it or the Bible with religion at all . No doubt there are many devoted ministers of the English Church in Ireland—men so thoroughly true and earnest , that one ' s heart beats warm at the thought of their love and endeavour ; but the system , as a system—the scheme , as a national scheme—is so ill adapted to the Irish mind , that my solemn belief is , we might just as well pass a law to convert the
for sending bacon to the Jews , as expect ever Catholics by enforcing it in its present character . He was near the truth who eaid that , though it m » y be possible to force men to become hypocrites , you can never force them to become of your religion . ' " A . Word or Two to the Ministers of the Roys / on Fraternal dissociation , suggested by their Pastoral Address . By Clara Walbey S . and J . Warren , Royston Press . Thirteen pastors of the Royston Fraternal Association have published an Address , to ' * warn their parishioners against new temptations to the desecration of that holy day , which the opening of a railroad in their district cannot fail to present . " To this Clara Walbey publishes a rejoinder in refutation of the logic of those " warning " pastors . It is a remonstrance better written than the address , conceived in excellent spirit , and enforced by conclusive reasoning .
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A Pastoral Address from Ministers of the Royston Fraternal Association to the Churches of Christ under their enrc . A D . 1850 . S . and J . Warren , Royston Press . The Dramatic Works of Goethe . Comprising " Faust , " " Iphigenia in Tauris , " " Tas * o , " " Eg-mont . " Translated by Anna Swanwick ; and " GoeU von Berlichingen , " by Sir Walter Scott . ( Bonn ' s Standard Library . ) H . G . Bohn . General History of the Christian Rc ! i « ion and Church . From the German of Dr . Augustus Neandur . By Joseph Torrey . New edition , carefully revised , by the Reverend A . J . Morrison , B . A . Vol . 1 . ( llohn ' s Standard Library . ) H . G . Bohn . The History of Rome . By Titus Living . Books 37 to the end , with the Epitomes and Fragments of the lost books . Literally translated by W . A . M'Devitte . ( Uohu ' s Classical Library . ) II . G . Bohn .
The Fairy mythology . Illustrative of the Origin of the Romance and Superstition of various countries . By Thomns Kcightly . ( Bonn ' s Antiquarian Library . ) H . G . Bohn . Sir Reginald Mohun . By George John Caylcy . Cantos second and third . W . Pickering . Favorite Song Birds of Britain . Edited by H . G . Adams . Parts G and 7 , containing the Linnet uncl th « Robin . W . S . Orr and Co . JVo Popery Pamphlets . No . 1 . Paul to the Romans . A Discourse delivered by the ltcyerend Goodwyn Harinby , on the present State of the Church in Relation to Rome . E . T . Whitficld , Essex-street . No . 2 . The Diana of the Day ; or , Popery and the Church of England . A Discourse to Caution Churchmen , and ot Duty to Dissenter 3 . By Goodwyn Barmby . E . T . Whitfield . Essex-street .
Goethe . Anew Pantomime . By Edward Kencaly . W . D . Reeves . Papists and Protestants . A Sequel to the Discussion . ¦* ti , > JCKC 1 S . The History of Pendennis . By W . M . Th wl ^ y . ^ ol * . ^ Labour and the Poor . Report of tlic Speech of Henry Mayhew , Esq ., ( on the Swentiii * or Domestic System ) , held atbt . Martin ' s Hall , Long-acre , on Monday evening , Oct . - 'S , l « - > u . The Bury Observer , No . 9 . Edited by ^^^^^ esicu The Trades-Unions' Magazine , *™ . J ^^^^ Pond , eton . No . 3 . Yea and JVay ; a Lecture on Luther . \ Vith a Sketch of his Protestant Precursors . Welsford , fcxoter . The Musical Times for November and Deccmbor . J . A . Novcllo . NovellaPart Book for October and November . i 7 i # ---
' s Song JyOVVUO S lilrli ouiig «»» " » ww * w ~~ . „ .. „ _ , „ . _ Y _ ,, cjjOf llandeVs Oratorio " Joshua , " Numbers 3 and 4 . J . A . Novcllo . Menddss / ion ' s Hymn of Praise , Numbcus 5 and G . J . A . Novellw . The Free Inquirer *
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* " Ornithological Rambles in Sussex . ' *
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906 Qtfie yLeaHet . [ Saturday ,
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 14, 1850, page 906, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1862/page/18/
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