The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-11-06 00:00:00

i~ i ~' f~ ` t~~ ~•{~~, ~;, ~. ili le 4e, A '11)1 tteirt the *a Y i B , 4 4 re itis ti ! ,i a e ll ici ol e d w „, 4 4 a cottage gray, h. Vass rown over ; li te r bet a lita Q t s . "; (Icor, tithe broken floor, 1 1'4 ° 0 8 t it ci 4 ' 8 ?f Untrodden clover. Nt h % the 1411 and broken and down A 4 . 11.. e cliieks the,stealing, 4 , 4 . ,e 4t :a . l ey ~ soft sunlight, tiv v , ~ 0 4 t4 u er the old oaken floor, u'e, Ntii' e f aded c T . 4 h „ th, tie l el In a , "" farts' alo eaves climb the crumbling eaves, Pe e a si too, tenderly ' . . . . 1 p ert sok nderly trailing l ee p oh thrse:g f aces of old garden daisies Ili tl ie l a 14, 14 ' 111 the rickety railing. 4 1 I L I the ?, leB taat 4/ .. e et o'er the threshold seat, ), st ak e -aaLh•rd°,lurner weather ; "atiel.l44tie 4iii.,:trld bee, in the old homestead and tree, ti: l e th e 1 "Y together. * 1, 1 4; e arth: w all is no pleasant foot-fall vr i. r eet a y "alle so cold and dreary ; Os ek l e lOs a it ,. Inet here for many a year, Neat earl " trei• Weary. qk ft . I With. glory ItWaY Where eternal day i li47i/iliac* 07 Y 1 . th e temple golden, • h it e (lawn., !ght ne'er on mortal sight 14,;114i la; " 4 glace the ages olden. 44 ete 1. down raotilleipn t i li r theintl fathomless yaer; 154 the tides 'is til t % in the strif e Ti lt 1, e earth haabgero:nwr .444,1514a-rOof ha s 11 14 i: a s t r i rvnere. life, k Itt.i:atite,Sl4l.o.ases are intortacY;ee"pidiligscrumbling away, .I,l,t`Tt Leert`la grown cold, roun tithe - hearthstone old, 4ai‘iv regrown and v vearil • I • 'tad 14 , \ ,,,41, 4 } 8 ai l r iht etirbed, peepeth undisturbed ~ 'l ' l th ehth Wi'tttling here and there, , ..._ ‘ ll 4lik Il e tack o f ; I d the dark green mould h ' h n e ,eti t 4,, " old arm chair. ge 4 -, fite p, " Shove we shall live and love, pro Mall 44t 4411 , th 4 0 lar,,. crumble oh, 8 4e d epart the loved of our heart, home for ever. , 4. 11' ke -1 41 VIEWS. 1(,. Og' t h : ............... „ By S. W. ;),1.03 Atithrr"ierings in Ceylon. ,kt 4 ." ,c'r of th e " Rifle and Hound in ' 4 4 4 . etith4?ndon : Longman and Co. , ttlildefoNtitie explorer of the forest wilds,. ° :),,, t '. taelgable wanderer in quest of adven. 91ei4414 CeLr.is favourably known to the read ttellt all'auts previously published narrative_ . °tehNsk exPloit. The present work, like 4t te t ;!4 44 1 isxpleoit. Well furnished with descriptions :6 1 % ) ,44 !vents connected with sporting li.,,kvel:qh,tl„4lingled with these there is . also, o to n tlN,4tio considerable extent, reflections r t 4 .uore H e has 1t, 4 41 h valuable character. 1 ,t 0(1,, unself to be possessed of a keen ki t INC ahows that it has been applied to r . li l' 4 ' 4 b •,,i • • g to the 0 esi es those pertaining 'N a lt 4 41 11 ,4 k ,,. ;It'it nienlistlelBl ready s av i e nt b e e ll e i n gent observer than . ye hat the i l 4 1 I,lq, matter of f natural capabilities o ie, 4s ]sheet o d •Ceylon h r er. A less accurate k t •e ito h ave r . f inspector act, 4 tireeareadily detected the that ily aN 1 which the island possesses are in a 4 4 1 eft undeveloped, partly through the ') 4 ao 44 e i 1 4A o the direction of the govern= Part' b 4 Pr Y through the ignorance and 11 kt,lll4i4ndices of the native population. liT 4 tl ofY ,elloll.gh indicates, but he is too gi 'r e tue world to trouble himself or he tt ,. ader s • ,iotts of „_l,ll dogmatising about them. -' qiistnanagement and suggestion s ;0' r . `o of 1 01,,b HOMES SUPPLEMENT TO atilt/Toot tantartc - ADVERTISER. AND GENERAL COMMERCIAL for improvement are disposed of with so little of special pleading or of theorising, that he makes a ready convert of his reader, and so leaves him to follow up the path he has cleverly indicated, while he, himself, pursues the onward progress of his observations and adventures. Like other sportsmen,Mr. Baker possesses a com mendable relish for unravelling the instincts of the wild denizens of the forest and jungle, and he is also gifted with the faculty of interestingly deducing comparisons between their unreasoning operations and the more pompously arrayed performances of man. This he does, however, without assuming the airs of a moral sage, or ostentatiously array ing himself in the robes of didactic pedantry. He puts his case forward tersely and well, leaving the inevitable deduction confidently in the hands of his readers ; he thus successfully bespeaks their confidence, while he engages their atttention. With the truthful enthusiasm of a naturalist, Mr. Baker delights in reflecting on the wisdom and wonders, and the exhaustless resources presented to the observation of the intelligent inquirer into the works of nature, as evinced in THE ECONOMY OF THE ANIMAL WORLD. Here we see no rash matrimonial engagements ; no pen niless lovers, selfishly and indissolubly linked together to propagate large families of. starving children. All the arrangements of the insect tribe, though prompted by sheer instinct, are conducted with a degree of rationality that in some cases raises the mere instinct of the creeping thing above the assumed " reason " of man. The bird builds her nest, and carefully irovid es for the comfort of her young long ere she la} s her fragile egg. What can be more curious-than the nest of the " tailor bird ?"—a selection of tough leaves neatly sewn one over the other to f orm a waterproof exterior to the comfortable little dwelling within. Where does the needle and thread come from ? The first is the delicate bill of the bird itself, and the latter is the strong fibre of the bark of a tree, with which the bird sews every leaf, lapping one over the other, in the same manner that slates are laid upon a roof. Nevertheless this is simple instinct ; the tailor bird in the days of Adam constructed her nest in a similar manner, which will be continued without improvement till the end of time. The grossbeak almost rivals the tailor bird in the beau tiful formation of its nest. These birds build ; in company, twenty or .thirty nests being common upon one tree. Their apparent intention in the peculiar construction of their nests is 'to avoid the . attacks of snakes and lizards. These nests are about two feet long, composed of beau tifully woven grass, shaped like an eiongated pear. They are attached like fruit to the extreme end of a stalk or branch, from which they wave to and fro in the wind, as though hung out to dry. The, bird enters at a funnel-like aperture at the bottom, and by this arrange ment the young are effectually protected from' reptiles. The wonders of animal instinct receive many other striking illustrations in Mr. Baker's deeply interesting and instructive volume. The theme is a temptinc, one to a man of intellect and ob servation, and it has been pursued in various and instructing forms ever since the period when, under the influence of Divine inspiration, man was in structed to " view the ant's labours and be wise," down to the present time. Amongst the wonders narrated by travellers, few are in themselves more really wonderful, or more pleasingly instructive than those singular and delightful combinations of instructive sagacity and assiduous training by which the reasoning faculty of man is so applied as to mould and expand the instinct of animals, and to link with these their physical powers and peculiarities, so forming the combination into willing and "powerful instruments for aiding or abridging human toil. Such indications of adaptive harmony are delightful in contempla tion, and afford improving subjects for reflection. The elephant, an animal common in Ceylon, affords Mr. Baker frequent opportunities for bringing the combination referred to under ob servation ; and this he does with the effectiveness and good taste peculiar to a man of sound judg menir and extensive experience. The following admirable illustration of this docile versatility is excellent. It may be called. 7 THE ELEPHANT AS AN AGRICULTURAL ASSISTANT. It was an interesting sight to see the rough plain yield ing to the power of agricultural implements, especially as some of those implements were drawn by animals not generally seen in plough harness at home. The " cultivator," which was sufficiently large to anchor any twenty of the small native bullocks, looked a - mere nothing behind the splendid elephant who worked it, and it cut through the wiry roots of the rank turf as a knife peels au apple. It was amusing to see . this same elephant doing the work of three separate teams when the - seed was in the ground. She first drew a pair of heavy 'harrows ; attached to these and following behind were a pair of light harrows ; and behind these came a roller. Thus the land had its first and second harrowing and rolling at the same time. This elephant was particularly sagacious ; and her farming work being completed, she was employed in making a dam across a stream. She was a very large" animal, and it was beautiful to witness her wonderful.' sagacity in carrying and arranging the heavy timber- required. The rough trunks of trees from the lately felled forest were lying within fifty yards of the spot, and the trunks required fur the dam were about fifteen feet long and fourteen to eighteen inches in diameter. These she carried in her mouth, shifting her hold along the log before she raised it until she had obtained the exact balance; then, steadying it with her trunk, she carried every log to the spot, and laid them across the stream in parallel rows. These sjie herself arranged, under the direction of her driver, with the reason apparently of a human being. The most extraordinary part of her performance was the arranging of two immense logs of red keenar (one of the heaviest woods). These were about eighteen feet long and two feet in diameter, and they were intended to lie on either bank of. the stream parallel to the brook and close to the edge. These she placed with the greatest care in their exact positions, unassisted by any one. She rolled them gently over with her head, then with one foot, anti keeping her trunk on the opposite aide of the log, she checked its way whenever its own momentum would have carried it into the stream. Although I thought the work admirably cone, she did not seem quite satisfied, and she presently got into the stream, and gave one end of the log an extra pUsh with her head, which completed her task, the two trees lying exactly parallel to each other, close to the edge of either hank. Tame elephants are constantly employed in building stone bridges when the stones required for the abutments are too heavy to be managed by crowbars. The author of the book under consideration was too faithful an observer of what was passing around him to allow his attention to be wholly absorbed by the operations of the lower classes of animals. He looked at the objects which pre sented themselves to him on every hand, and scanned their merits, or the contrary, with a " learned spirit of human dealing." He sees in the Government arrangements of the island many things detrimental to its best interests ; his native good sense leads him to see How small, of all that human hearts endure, That part which laws or Kings can cause or cure ! This leads him to reflect on the fact that many of the difficulties which form such fertile and stimulating themes for popular declamation, arise from the character of the settlers themselves ;