On Firing Horses.

235

Saving Bank, will turn out to the best account: and whether staying at home himself, taking care of his family, if he has one, or providing against the time when he may have one, and living frugally, temperately, and conscientiously, will not be followed with some good upon it. A few foolish people may laugh at you, because you choose to become on a sudden wiser than you have been, or than they wish to be. Leave them to their mirth, and to the beggary that is coming after it; and see whether you would wish to change conditions with them in a few years time, if you should live so long, when you will have money at the Bank of England, comfort at home, and a cheerful heart within; and those unhappy people will be brought to live upon the husks, and will have nobody to blame for it but themselves."

ONE WORD MORE ON FIRING HORSES.

To the Editor of the Cottager's Monthly Visitor. SIR,

I HAVE been much pleased with your many papers, and very much good advice, on the subject of kindness to animals. Your letters on firing horses" interested me, and pleased me, as I am a farrier, and am obliged to witness many painful operations. It is sad to see the ill usage that is often experienced by that noble creature, the horse; but I am sure you would say, that we should not hesitate to perform any operation, where it is likely to be of use. It is not, however, my design to occupy much of your space with a subject which has already been so fully treated of in your pages; but 1 must say that I cannot help looking a little untowardly at my customers, when a horse is brought to me with a complaint which I see is caused by nothing but over work; -work, cruel work, beyond the creature's strength.

the particular cases where it is necessary, as your readers have probably had enough on the subject. My own opinion, however, is this, that there are some cases, where firing is of real benefit; but, in nine cases out of ten, where it is practised, it is of no use at all. Before then such a severe operation is determined upon, let a skilful person be consulted, that a noble animal may not be subjected to pain without necessity ;-for sometimes, rest alone is the best cure; and sometimes the complaint is not curable at all;-at least not by firing.

Sir, your's,

L. R.

EXTRACTS FROM DIFFERENT AUTHORS.

THOSE habits of falsehood and deceit are hard in deed to conquer, which children acquire whose parents do not make a strict adherence to truth the foundation of their children's education.

Mrs. Opie.

Whatever be the excellencies or errors of parents or teachers, there is one necessary thing for them to remember, or their excellencies will be useless and their faults ruinous; namely, that they are not to form their children for the present world alone; they are to educate them not merely as the children of time, but as the heirs of eternity.

The Same.

A lie is like an arrow shot over a house, nobody. knows where it will light, or what harm it may do. The Same

Most men have much more strength and dexterity in their right hand than in their left, because they use it most; and, generally speaking, those limbs which are most used, are stronger than the rest. So the faculties of the mind also are improved by exercise, and those that we most frequently employ are always the most vigorous. The principal use of

Extracts from different Authors.

237 many branches of education does not so much consist in the actual things learned.. as in the exercise which the mind gains by practice and study. Let the mind then be turned to reflection on what is really good,to religion, virtue, morality ;-and a great improvement in such knowledge, may be expected to follow.

Weyland.

The smallest occurrences of life will afford matter of useful reflection to a thinking mind. If, in the spring, we see a gardener pruning a tree, and using the sharp blade of his knife to inflict wounds, which he knows will, in the end, make the tree to flourish the more; may we not thence be led to reflect, that the wounds and afflictions which are made by the sharp knife of adversity, are intended for a man's good, to make him more able to flourish and prosper in that garden, where wounds and afflictions will be no more.

The Same.

An earnest Christian will never despair of victory over the enemies of his salvation, in an engagement, where he may justly hope to have God for his second, and Heaven for his reward.

Hon. Robert Boyle.

EXTRACTS FROM THE PUBLIC NEWSPAPERS, &c. Cranbury plants are an excellent substitute for white thorn as a garden fence: a hedge formed of them is thick enough to keep out all cattle. They grow quickly, bear fruit the third year after planting, and the crop of fruit becomes more abundant and valuable every year.-Bath Paper.

A woman in France is sentenced to fine and imprisonment for ill-using another, under pretence that the latter was a witch.-A very proper punishment for such folly and cruelty. -London Paper.

At Lancashire Assizes, R. Reed, a farmer, was charged with killing and slaying Ellen Dickenson. The circumstances were these. R. Reed had, amongst his cows, one which he knew to be mischievous; he knew that it was dangerous for any person to go near it, several persons had been hurt, and

the woman, in question, at length was killed by it. She was passing through the field where it happened it be; it followed her out on the road, and mangled her in so dreadful a manner, that she died in a few days after. Mr. Justice Bayley told the Jury, that if a man kept an animal, which he knew to be maliciously inclined, and did not take measures to pre vent it, either by confinement or other means, from injuring other persons, he himself must answer for the consequences. -Guilty.

Accident.-A fine boy, seven years of age, was lately crossing the High-street in the Borough, when he was knocked down by the leaders of a Croydon coach. One of the fore wheels passed over his head, and crushed him to death.-Accidents frequently happen from violent and negligent driving; this does not appear to have been the case in the present instance. Such accidents should shew us the danger of leaving children to themselves; and also should teach children themselves to be careful.-London Paper.

From a lemon tree, belonging to Sir John Newport, Bart. near Waterford, seven hundred and sixty-two full grown lemons were lately gathered. Upwards of one hundred and fifty were gathered in September and October last, and more than one hundred are left, and now growing on the same tree. -London Paper.

Cheap and Easy Method of making Soda Water.-Take forty grains of the carbonate of soda, put into a common soda water bottle, which generally contains about ten ounces of water. Immediately afterwards, put into the same about thirty, or more grains of tartaric acid, then cork it quickly. The acid, and the salt ought to be in crystals, as when in powder they are apt to seize upon each other before the bottle can be well corked, and so a considerable quantity of the carbonic acid gas which is evolved is lost.-Bath Paper.

Those who do not wish to be at the trouble of bottling soda water, may keep the carbonate of soda, and the tartaric acid, (in powder), in two separate bottles. Then by putting them together in the above proportions into a dry tumbler glass, and pouring cold water on them, the fermentation immediately takes place; the water should be drank in that state. When you once know the proper quantity, it will not be nececessary to weigh the powders every time. You must put more or less according to the quantity of water you wish for, remembering to keep nearly the due proportions; the quantity of acid being less than that of the soda, something like three quarters of it. It is very useful to know these sort of receipts, when people have found out how much better these refreshing drinks are than strong liquors, which heat the stomach, and do a great deal of injury to the constitution. It is

Extracts from the Public Newspapers. 239

not, however, wholesome to put a great quantity of liquid into the stomach, however weak that liquid may be.

Fire at Ascot Heath.-Lately a fire broke out at Ascot Heath on the premises belonging to Mr. G. Cooper, of Windsor, which before any assistance could be rendered, consumed five stables, a carpenter's and smith's shop, with a shed upwards of thirty yards in length. The fire is supposed to have originated from a spark issuing from the smith's shop, and settling on the thatch of the shed at which the fire was first discovered. The damage sustained is between seven and eight hundred pounds. Happily, owing to the wind be ing full West, the dwelling-house, with several stacks of corn, were saved. The property was not insured.

Death by Boxing.-A fatal pugilistic combat lately took place at Wendover Common, between Arlington Corner and Gerrards. The combatants were Heathcote, a sawyer, and a teacher of the boxing art, and Rawlins, a coachman, and the match was for 5l. A very hard battle of seventy rounds was fought, at the close of which Heathcote was carried away, and died in the night.

Cruelty to Animals.-Earl Grosvenor presented a Petition to the House of Lords from an individual, who prayed that a stop might be put to all cruel experiments on living animals. He (Earl Grosvenor) considered the subject in a most serious light, and was not disposed to treat with indifference the efforts made by an Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Martin) in another place, to prevent cruelty to animals. He thought, on the contrary, that he had done real service to the country. At the same time he was aware that some of the most important discoveries had been effected through experiments on living animals. Most beneficial operatious had thus been performed by eminent surgeons, which they would not have ventured to attempt without the knowledge previously acquired through the means of animals. A large body of the Medical Profession in his part of the country, however, were of opinion that it was not necessary to have recourse to those experiments. The Noble Earl then reproved the brutal, cruel and degrading sports carried on at the Westminster Cockpit, and those which had been announeed in the country. He did not think legislating necessary, however, because he conceived that the progress of education would put an end to such amusements, which he was surprised Mr. Wyndham could ever have considered as tending to infuse a manly spirit into the people.-Morning Post.

Bull Fighting." It is lamentable to think that the barbarous system of bull baiting, forms one of the principal entertainments of the Spaniards. This chiefly takes place during the summer months, when it is supposed the bull can