Method of preferving the Plumage of Birds unhurt. 309 Method of preferving BIRDS, with their elegant PLUMAGE, unhurt. (Communicated by a cel brated natu ralift and fubfcriber.) A Few years ago I had frequent Few years ago I had frequent opportunities of viewing the curious mufeuin of Monf. Reaumeur, in Paris: his collections of natural and artificial productions were carefully preferved in feveral departments; but what most attracted my notice, was three rooms filled with a great number of foreign fowls, prefe.ved in their lively and beautiful colours, whofe brilliant appearance, freedom in their plumage, and animated attitudes, feemed as natural in this lifelefs ftate as if they ftill breathed. I was very delirous to know the method of bringing them to this perfection but, after various fruitVOL, VII, No. XLII. lefs enquiries, was obliged to rest contented with barely admiring them, as all their preparations was kept a profound fecret among a few naturalifts. I was determined, however, to make a trial with a few birds upon this fingle thought, that many good old housewives preferve hams, beef, tongues, &c. for a long time with falt only. Now I imagined, that if a ftronger antifeptic was ufed, by way of a pickle, and the fowls placed therein, for fome time, and dried, the fecret would not be difficult to come at; yet, after various trials, I was convinced to the contra y, and gave up this method, for the pickle glued the feathers clofe, always took away more or lefs of their gloffy hue, and beauty of their plumage, fo as to appear difagreeable to the This eye. was a point I was a long time at a lofs how to account for, as I well remembered. that in all the prepa rations of ftill life, in the above gentleman's collection, the feathers were remarkably free, fine in colour, and equal in every refpect to life itself. In water fowls I fucceeded much better, their feathers being of a more oily nature, and, confequently, not fo cafily aitturbed by the pickle as the pickle as the land birds. Though frequently foiled in my attempts, I refolved not to give it up fo eafily, and at length accomplished what I was fo anxious to perfect. I have lately preferved fome scores of both land and fea fowls after this new method, all of which come as near real life as poffible; therefore to induce fuch of your readers who are pleafed with this study and innocent employment, I fend you an account of the whole apparatus neceffary to be obferved; and if thefe hints can draw their attention, my pleafure will be complete. When I receive a fowl, fresh killed, I open the ventre, from the lower part of the The Feaft of Wit; or Sportsman's Hall. the breaft bone down to the anus, with a pair of fine painted fciffars, and extract all the contents, fuch as the intestines, liver, fromach, &c. This cavity 1 immediately fill with the following mixture of falts and fpice, and then bring the lips of the wound together by future, fo as to prevent the ftuffing from falling out. The gullet or paffage muft then be filled, from the beak down to where perfectly dry (which will readily be known by its stiffness) when it may be taken out of the frame and placed on a chip pill-box; it will now require no other fupport but a pin through each foot, faftened into the box. The eyes must be fupplied with proportionable glafs beads, fixed in with ftrong gum water. Common falt one pound, alum powdered, four ounces, pepper, the ftomach lay, with the fare mix-ground, two ounces, mixed toge ture (but finer ground) which muft be forced down by a little at a time, by the help of a quill or wire. The head I open, near the root of the tongue, with the fellars, and, after having turned them round three or four times to deftroy the ftructure of the brain, fil this cavity likewife with the mixture. This is all the preparation I ufe: As for the and thighs I never ther. THE late Archbishop of Can touch them, but leave thein in their Tterbury being favoured with a natural ftate, for the falts, &c. feldom fail, in a few days, to penetrate into thefe pts, and preferve them equally with the body and neck of the fowl. The bird being. thus fille i with this antifeptic mixture, maft now be hung up for about two days, by the legs, in order that by this pofition, the falts may more effectual y penetrate round the mufcles and ligaments which conne& the vertebrae of the neck. The fowl mult now be placed in a fame to dry, in the fame attitude we ufpally fee it when alive on the plain or on a tree. In this frame it must be held up by two threads, the one paffing from the anus to the lower part of the back, and the other through the eyes; the ends of thefe threads are to brace up the fowl to its natural attitude, and fiten to the beam of the frame above: Laly, the feet are to be fixe! down with pins or fmall nails. in is tuction it must remain for month or more, until the bird is fight of the author's comedy of the Minor, before it was brought on the ftage, his grace could not help ftating his objections against feveral parts thereof, and particularly to that part wherein Mrs. Cole declares herself a loft sheep," it being an expreffion, in his opinion, facred to the pulpit. Upon the reprefentation of this by the Lord Chamberlain, the wit waited on the Archbishop with the manufcripė copy, and having affured his grace that he meant no offence to the church, befeeched him to take the comedy and ftrike out the exceptionable paffages. But his grace, well aware with the character of the man he was dealing with, gave a moft fignificant fmile, and asked of Foote, if he wanted to publish the Minor, " revifed and corrected by the Archbishop of Canterbury,“ At a late provincial trial, the judge examining one of the wit. nefes, (a female of no uncommon learning Feaft of Wit; or, Sportfman's Hall. learning and politnefs, who gener- A gentleman on 'hange, fpeak. 311 next obferved that one of the companies of the foldiers were differently dreffed from the others, begged to know the reafon? to which he was anfwered, that it was the independant company.-Independant company. What is that? Why, it means a company that cannot be depended upon. DEFINITION OF A SPENCER. Two hedgers at work in the neighbourhood of Bootle, behel', for the first time in their lives, the œconomical garment called a fpen"What fort of a coat is that? faid one to the other. cer. do not know," was the reply, but I think in my heart its been a remnant." Ecad! I believe thou art right, rejoined the first, for I know that man travels from a clothier in Yorkshire." NEW ORTOGRAPHY. A magißrate of Liverpool being lately called upon for a toast at a public dinner, in order to get out of the hacknied routine, and make a difplay of his parts, gave" The two K's.". Being called upon to explain, he faid, they meant the King and K-onflitutim!!!” 312 The Feaft of Wit; or Sportsman's Hall. head while any figns of life were remaining."-After all this firing and deliberate beating, mark the concluding obfervation." The whole party unavoidably efcaped by the dead filence they obferved, and the celerity of their retreat!!!" Mr. Bofwell's account of Dr. Johnfon's good things, is pretty voluminous; but by fome accident or other, he has omitted one, which is not unworthy of a corner in his collection. Coming on a fudden into the Doctor's lodgings one morning, Mr. Bofwell exclaimed, Heavens, what a fcurrilous world is this! What do you "think I have juft heard you called, "Doctor? they fay that you are a great bull deg." "Ah!" faid the Doctor, and what do you think they fay of you, Bozzy, that you are a tin-kettle tied to his tall." 16 been properly refented. No fuch thing, on being helped out by his attendants, his Grace faid, "that man shall have the firft good living of mine that falls; had he ftopped to have taken care of me, I would never have given him any thing," being delighted with an ardour fimilar to his own, or with a fpirit that would not stoop to flatter. Formerly it was customary with noblemen to keep fools, for what reafon we cannot conjecture, unless it was for the fake of contraft-Be this as it will, many years fince, a neighbouring nobleman kept a perfon in his houfe called a fool, who was fond of eating, even to excefs. -To cure him of this practice it was thought prudent to reduce the width of his waiftcoat, by placing buttons behind. One day, a half ftarved greyhound found his way into the room where the fool was fitting, and basked himfelf before One of the candidates for the the fire, during which he amufed lectu efhip of Shoreditch, has al-himfelf with counting the hound's ready been pafquinaded, and the following diftich in the verfes is happily hit of 66 66 ribs, and feeling the vertebra of his back, at laft he addreffed the poor hound with "I doubt poor devil thou haft got thy waifecat buttoned behind as well as myself. The mafter of an eminent academy, in Yorkshire, who not only enforces ervdition into his pupils ears with tentorian lungs, but even difpels it from the fumes of his pipe; when he with a degree of enthufiafm, gives the preference to the grammar of his mother tongue, ufually remarks, I teaches English grammar! "Tis education makes or mars the man." On the Glanders. ufual pleafantry, all the harm I with the thief is, that they may fit bim! SIGNS AND WONDERS. A gentleman much esteemned for his abilities in painting, was the other day applied to for his opinion of a dashing fign, lately mounted ver the fhop-door of a tradefmān Bond-freet, which he thus readily complied with; "the painter of that might do figns, but he will never do wonders!" A lady of the Cyprian corps v as lately asked by a gentleman, to fhew him a drawing which the had in her poffeffion; hen he told hin, that he had feen it before." -"Yes," replied he," it would have been fingular, indeed, if I had feen it behind!” RETORT COURTEOUS. A farmer who was ploughing in his fiel, on the fait day, was accoffed by a genteel looking man, who alked him if he knew what that day was?" Wednesday, fir," fays the farmer;- Wednesday, fir," replied the ftranger," don't you know that this is the faft day, and that you ought to have been at church, inftead of ploughing your field?"-To which the farmer anfwered, "Pull out firft the beam that is in thine own eye, and then thou wilt fee clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye; for if you had attended the church this day, you would not have feen me ploughing in my field." A clergyman in the weft of England was much harraffed by his practitioners for omitting the Athanafian creed, at the stated feafons.Not one of the parin, except his clerk John, coincided in opinion with him. The complaints of his 313 flock were at laft conveyed to the disjecan, who iffued a bull, commanding the offender to read this obnoxious part of the fervice. In this dilemma our parfon goes over to an organist in the neighbouring city, and, after much importunity, prevails with his tuneful friend to fet the creed to music, for himself and John, in two parts. "You know" fays he, "I am a foxhunter; fet it to a good, jolly, rattling, hunting tune." This was done accordingly, and the parfon and his clerk made themselves perfect in their refpective parts."When the next day arrived, on which this creed is appointed to be ufed, the whole parish, to a man, were at church, hoping to enjoy the complete humiliation of the poor parfon, thus compelled to fwallow the bitter potion in the face of his audience. The fervice had now proceeded in order to the creed in question. The congregation was filent; their mouths gaped with expectation." Next follows," fays the parfon," the creed of St. Athanafius, appointed to be faid or sung ; and, by the grace of God, I'll fing it!-So now John, turning to the clerk, mind what you're about, here goes!" Upon which he and John fet up their pipes, and rattled away, pell mell moft merrily, from one end of the creed to the other. The church rung again-the people ftared-and the parfon was left in future to the unmolested enjoyment of his own opinion. ON THE GLANDERS. From a new book on Farriery, lately published. THE glanders is a diffemper in horfes, which too generally proves fatal, notwithstanding the many boafted remedies which are profcribed |