JESSE'S GLEANINGS.
WE, since a very early period of our Spectatorial existence, and even when our soul animated other forms of matter, and prior to the metempsychosis which led to the existence of the immortal paper on which we now inscribe our hieroglyphics, have recom- mended to the attention of all country gentlemen of fixed residence, that they should take into their high consideration the propriety of pursuing a course of observation of nature, such as WHITE'S Selborne presented the example and the model of. Mr. JESSE has done what every person similarly situated ought to do; he has, for a long time past, put down every phenomenon he observed, or could arrive at on reliable evidence ; and we think he has suc- ceeded in forming a very pleasing and useful book, worthy to be placed by the side of a work formerly published by Mr. MURRAY, the Diary of a Naturalist,—without saying that it is equal to it, or indeed stating more than that the author is a worthy disciple of our revered patriarch WHITE. An anecdote or two, which we select from the work, will amuse the reader, and show the character of its contents. The first pas- sage relates to birds' nests. We were much struck with the story of a Robin building in the parson's knocker !—such an image of se- clusion was never struck out from the imagination of man. What an inhospitable clergyman, and how unlike the Vicar of Wakefield ! When birds built their nests in Absalom's hair, it was a sure sign that he never combed his locks. Perhaps, however, Mr. BAGof s friends came in at the back-door.
His present Majesty, when residing in Bushy Park, had a part of the foremast of the 'Victory, against which Lord Nelson was standing when he received his fatal wound, deposited in a small temple in the grounds of Bushy House ; from which it was afterwards removed, and placed at the upper end of the dining- room, with a bust of Lord Nelson upon it. A large shot had passed completely through this .part of the mast ; and while it was in the temple, a pair of robins had built thew nest in the shot-hole, and reared a brood of young ones. It was impossible to witness this little occurrence without reflecting on the scene of blood, and strife of war, which had occurred to produce so snug and peaceable aretreat for a nest of harndess robins. If that delightful poet ot the lakes, Mr. Wordsworth, should ever condescend to read this little anecdote, it might supply him with no bad subject for one of his charming sonnets.
There is something extremely curious in the situations which birds sometimes select to build their nests in. Mr. White, in his Natural History of Selborne, mentions two remarkable facts of swallows having built their nests in odd skims tione,—one on the handles of a pair of garden-shears, which were stuck up against the boards of an outhouse; and the other on the wings and body of an owl that happened by accident to hang dead and dry from the rafter of a barn. Having occasion myself to call some years ago on the Reverend Egerton Bagot, of Pipe Hayes in Warwickshire, I was surprised at seeing a swallow's nest built on the knocker of his hall-door, and the parent bird in the act of incubation. When the door was opened (a circumstance which occurred frequently in the course of the day), the bird left her nest for an instant, but returned to it as soon as the door was shut. I afterwards learnt that the swallow hatched, and that her young arrived at maturity. Some birds indeed show great boldness in the situation in which they build their nests, as if they depended on the kindness and protection of those under whose care they seem to place themselves. Thus a whitethroat had its nest for three years on a vine close to my parlour window, where it was quite open to observation • and a robin built on the shelf of my greenhouse, which was constantly visited, and the bird looked at while sitting ; but she never left her nest at those times, and seemed perfectly secure and con- tented.. There is something very agreeable to me in this confidence of protec- tion, which I like to think that I have produced by constantly feeding them in winter, and never allowing their nests to be taken.
The next is an anecdote relating to a dog ; which, if true, is most Wonderful—
If you go near the nest of alapwing, one of the old birds will fly close to you, and try to draw you from their nest. I have seen my dog almost struck by one of the birds as she flew past him ; and they seem quite to forget their own danger in the endeavour to preserve their offspring. It is said that when a hind hears the hounds, she will allow herself to be hunted, in order to lead them away from her fliwns. Every one knows how bold a hen is in defence of her chickens. The following instance of affection in a bitch for her young was communi- cated to me by a friend of mine, an officer in the 15th Hussars. Ile had a fa- vourite bull-bitch who bad puppies ; and thinking, as they grew older, that they were snaking her too thin and weak, he took them from her, and shut them up. in a sort of coop in a yard, to which he thought she could not have access. She was seen, however, getting over the wall of the yard; and finding that her pup- pies could not get at her to suck her, she emptied the isontents of her stomach: into the place where her young were confined, and continued to do this two or three times a day for some time. She had no difficulty in proeuring as much food as she wanted, and conveyed it to her puppies in the manner mentioned. I have always considered this as one of the most curious instances I have met with of animal affection, and indeed of almost reason, as instinct alone would uot have taught her this method of feeding her offspring.
Among the "instinct anecdotes," is one pretty nearly as curious as the preceding story— The captain of a trading vessel, who now resides at Brighton, picked up. lately a dog at sea, more than twenty miles from land. This circumstance may
throw sonic light on the fact of dogs, which have been sent to France or Ireland from England, finding their way back. The present Earl of L— sent sonic drafted hounds from his kennel in Cumberland to Ireland, where they were safely received, and a receipt given for them to the person who brought them over. Three weeks afterwards, two of these hounds made their appearance at Lord L.'s kennel, though in a very exhausted state. A gentleman also informed me, that a pointer dog which had' been left at Calais made its way over to Eng- land. The most amusing fact of this kind that I know of, is one that was related to me by a gentleman on whose veracity I can place the most implicit reliance ; - and though it may appear to some of my readers to border upon the marvellous, I think it too entertaining to withhold it. He informed me that a friend of his, an officer in the Forty-fourth Regiment, who had occasion, when in Paris, to pass one of the bridges across the Seine, had his boots, which had been pre- viously well polished, dirtied by a poodle-dog rubbing against them. He in con- sequence went to a man who was stationed on the bridge, and had them cleaned. The same circumstance having occurred more than once, his curiosity was ex- cited, and he watched the dog. He saw him roll himself in the mud of the river, and then watch for a person with well-polished boots, against which he contrived to rub himself. Finding that the shoe-black was the owner of the dog, he taxed him with the artifice ; and, after a little hesitation, he confessed that he had taught the dog the trick, in order to procure customers for himself. The officer, being much struck with the dog's sagacity, purchased him at a high price, and brought him to England. He kept him tied up in London some time, and then released him. The dog remained with him a day or two, and then made his escape. A fortnight afterwards, he was found with his former master, pursuing his old trade on the bridge.
A fact is communicated in the following two or three lines, which is new to us, and is well worthy of consideration—
It is a well-ascertained fact, that if a cow produces twins, one of which is a male and the other a famale, the latter is never known to breed. She is calm" a Free-martin. The farmers about inc say that they fatten kindly.
The work is closed by a collection of Maxims and Hints for an Angler, which are both terse and witty. The one maxim, how-
ever, which we quote, is scarcely creditable to the morality of the . gentle craft : but it seems that even angling has its sly corners, and that the fisherman tries sometimes to hook other than fresh- water gudgeons—
If, during your walks by the river-side, you have marked any good fish, it is fair to presume that other persons have marked them also. Suppose the case of two well-known fish, one of them (which I will call A) lying above a certain bridge, the other (which I will call B) lying below the bridge. Suppose further that you have just caught B, and that some curious and cunning friend should say to you in a careless way, "'Where did you take that fine fish?" a finished
fisherman would advise you to tell your inquiring friend, that you had taken your fish just above the bridge, describing, as the scene of action, the spot which, in
truth, you know to be still occupied by the other fish A. Your friend would then fish no more for A, supposing that to be the fish which von have caught; and whilst he innocently resumes his operations below the bridge, where he falsely imagines B still to be, A is left quietly for you, if you can catch him.
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