The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1861-10-12

the cat ana cog, the meaning of some words
of praise and blame. He gives their rssppc-
tive names also to inmates OF the house He
goes step beyond even, for when 4 pet robin
walks in at the window for his daily dole
Coco calls ont patronizipgiy Pretty bird
pretty little bird!p and addresses the house.
canary in the same way. Here he shews
power Of generalization; he has an jde.,
that creature with teak and feathers is a
bird like himself. "kiss Coco" and Coco
pecks," are also phrases understood, for he
suits the action to the word When hr
calls for food, he calls intellieeatIy: and il
shewn apples, nuts, &C., Of which he is fond
fiie i.alie sst sls same time being repea ted--ne
soon picks up this word, and attaches it to the
object. 1t is plain, therefore, that the bird is
more or less intelligent in pect of words
which represent an object or action perfectly
iamiiiar To him. beyond this, his speech be-
comes mere tmitttionof sound. very saga
cious parrot Of my acquain tanee offers 81 good
example. Its muster will peep into the room
where Polly As, who c.lis outInstanter: "Ah
there you are, Mr.. Clarke - II another gen
tleman looks iii the way through the
half-open door, Polly cries: ''Ah, there yon
are, Mr. -, ant. aiways stops-it knows the
name is not "Clarke." But this same Polly
Was the property of Il sailor, who must have
been bit of a coward in still nor -wesser ,
and when til. wind blows hard, the bird will
cry by the hour together IT. the most dis
tressed and snpplic;story tones: ''L"rd have
mercy OF: Bob Baraard - attaching, CT course
Iust as !fttle meaning TO It's words Us ont. OF
its Aind IL Antwerp, whie,i repeats the Fator-
nozt"r and Ave Maria exactly as if il were
saving q rosary--G pious accom- ptishrlr,tt il
required from beng, like the famous Vert
vert, pet parrot to a convent.
The factlity with which nv pretty Polly
picks up iaarticulate sounds is really aston
ishing. Distant street. cries, Conversations
With great variety Of voice and tone vet
without any artieulate U utterance, the creak-
ing OF gate, the rolling gravel with q gar
den roller, running water, coughing, sneez-
ing, &c.-.lU these, and many Others will be
tril mis-
and the more discordant, the better they.
seem to please it. II the reader is an + r. s.
the name Of my friend Caleb Forncett, ami his
learned treatise on Mefhy lethy yianrylopneny-
lamiaonium, will be familiar to him if he is
not, and ignorantly supposes this little word
to be coined ou OF polly's inartieulate sounds
beg TO refer him to Philosophical Transactions,
1891, y. $50. torncett lives prime ally at Wa
tarW0td, for the sake Of the quiet he saws in
Il small house, aad mostly shut mp in Il small
study; n pale faced, nervous bachelor, who
makes his housekeerer 90 about III Iist-shoes,
ana would make the cat do SO also hati not
nature, III consideration OF Mr. Forncett's
nerves, given her Il pair of velvet of her own
About month back, as l was getting out of
u rdil way-carIiage at our little station
who shoald see but Caleb Forncett getting
into Que! After we had shaken hands Ne il.
the carriage, standing on the platform, and
he had told NE that he was oil to London for
II iortniS!it he exclaimed "Oh, B, we've got
4 parrot, and Morris doesn't know how to
feed it. She gave it some of her supper last
night-bread and cheese ard beer. Win YOU
TIL us what they ought 10 hayer'
"Ot course. But how came YOU by such n
thing? Why, l should have thought you the
last man in the world TO buy ,,4rrot''
81 oldn't buy him. explained Forncett-
"The canary died on Tuesday and when nir
Smith, OF 1eiFerton, called that afternoon he
said he would send me q bird should like in
stead. L Was quite surprised when the rir-
rot came III q great cage by the Ytlyertou Cur
| rier yesterday. Such quiet bird, tain,1 /
shall like him. But what are you laughing
at, !S. ?''
OF went the train with q tremendous whis-
Tie, and OF went my friend holding his ea rs
very hard. finished lay laugh as / walked
up from the station. Iile idea OF poor Form
| eett and his prize really too ridiculous
knew the bird We'll; the hoisest vixen That
| ever sat in Il cage. The Smiths were hlest
| with large little family. and it had all the
nursery upro3r at lis tongues end. They
| found the bird intolerahle at last, and mad
| generously given it away half-a- dozen times
| oot IL always came back, like Il bad soyerei gn,
| u its owners.
| stood at the door OF his house he could scarce
| ~ believe il was his own. 1t might have
5een appropriated as Il founding Ii ospiial
| during his absence: out of every docr and
window, as II the little dwelling were BURSTING .
| with sound there poured volumes Of nursery
cries, sials, screams, sooldiGgs vociterati0ns,
| all III one breath. AS the housekeeper an
| sWeTed The ''oor, shrieks Of ''MaInma, NAM
|
| bachelor ever such a welcome home befores
| "Hiorfis, what does tnis-this internal
| cIamor mean? asked her master IN shaky
| voice, intended to be stern
''Mean, SIR" shouted Morris coming out
| that she might hear herself speak ssIyhy.
| don't you know it s that bird OF yours sir -
| lie S got the voices OF all them LITTLE Miss and
| Master Smiths and ever since Tuesday was :,
| week, he begio, and has been going on ike
that. II - "Cough, cough whoop whoop,
| "hoop, till the house rang again" "There
| now he's III the autumn"
"Good Heavens, what shall / do %, cried
| Caleb aghast.
Il know what shall do, sir, now you're
| come back--t shall speak my mind, which is,
| that me CT that bird packs off this very after
Hoon!''
| need not add that Forncett eaugh eagerly
| at the suggestion, and that the parrot wen,
| back, is he came, by the carrier that day
Common report says that Polly, like the
phoenix, sees out its century bat froa fifty
| 10 eighty years is the term of lis natural h
| lie valiant, the celebrated naturalist des.
| cribes :n octogenarldn gray parrot he saw q,
| Amsterdam it WIS decrepit and do,ing like
a very old man, had lost both sight and
| memory, and was kept alive with biscuits
| dipped IN MADEIRA. After sixty, its memory
| began TO FAIL and it lost its words by frees
returning to its native i,CkCaw note. A,
| SIXTY -hfe, It's moult became Irregular The
| tai feathers dwindled, and Were replaced t,y
| duii yellow lustead OF red. After this chauy,
| the bird never renewed Its piumage Tnree
| conditions are essentitl TO Poily's health and
| eom1ort.warmt III, proper food, and eleanii-
ness, ihe diseases 10 which these birds
| when in captivity, become su bject, are
| brought upon them through ignorance OF
| neglect; Tor when properly treated, they are
perhaps the iIealthiest OF all our featLered
PRISONERS. How often bird may be seen
| shiyerinS at an open window, or out of doors
| IN cold wind and wteL he drops dead from
| his perch, or wastes away nobody supposps
his being set out in that beau tif,il sunshine
n han fi,rr
| Again. no creatures suffer more from i'm
| proper diet. Nhen you see 2 parrot sitting
| suiienly, its head drawn into its neck, thu
piuniige DUH and harsa looking, yOu may be
| sure poor foiiy Is martyr to dyspepsia, aud
| feels quite as crcss and no-hovIsii ;is human
| bIrets do under similar torments. All birds
| in captivity should be fad as nearly rs pcssi.
| bic rs they feed themselves in freedom -
Now, the FsittaeidR are strict vPgetasiaus
| young shoots, pulpy fruits, grain, and Al,
nonds, make up their bill Of fare. To kesi
| Your bird i'll full health and beauty-wnicl
| Is the visible sign of healfl-you must con.
| ilfe HIM 10 bread soaked III water fnn 1ijik
renhember,l hem = seed, OF hernp artt canary
mixed Il Bit Of hard biscuit, or crust dried
iii the oven, is heaithfui dates, nuts; i,
faes, any dry or ripe Fresh fFnit in mcaers,.
tion. lie mas Paddy's taste for good boiled
potato, which May be iadalged His favor.
lie part on an apple IS the core. frota viii h
he picks out the piis with evident relish; an.
daunted by Sir tltzroy keIiay's opialon.-
80 ~ 81 &c N4iNi iSi'ioif psts; Hls9, lie mas
pthchahti even Tor those of the Seville orange
Whieh We might suppose too bitter for an,
living thing 10 eat. Never give YOUR hi =.
animal food IN any form, and you will aot
hna him suffer from dy sentery, lose his
feathers Ia patches, or pluck them out, as
parrots often WILL in The uneasiness prodncstl
by Il vittated state of the blood eonsesausa t
on improper diet. The last point, Il yaryim
poitant one, cleanliness. Both perch ausl
cage must beduiy attended 10, or our g.sorite
is apt 10 suffer from sore feet or TO be- a .e.ad
by INSECTS bath regularly gwen, daily IN
summer, twice week in winter, with In.
chill lnst OF the water, atias much to his
comfort and appearance. They tiou't like IL