ALMANAC OF NATURE-FEBRUARY, 1850. these with unerring precision. The tom-tit is very carnivorous in its habits, and in frosty weather, when insects are scarce, he comes to the kitchen door to look out for any stray pieces of animal food which may have been thrown out by the cook. The nuthatch and the woodpecker have similar habits. Blackbirds begin to build in this month; and the rich swelling note of the male bird is now so loud in the morning that the woods ring again with his echoes. The first migrating birds which return to us in Spring are the marsh titmouse and the stone curlew, and their sharp piping notes may be heard in marshy places before the middle of the month. Immense flocks of wood-pigeons are seen in the woods towards the close of the month. The bird is indigenous to this country, but migrates in winter to the southern counties, and betakes itself to the woods in order to roost upon the highest trees, preferring those of the ash. They usually begin to pair in February; and then commence their architectural labour. The nest is about as slovenly as it is possible to conceive; being formed of a few loose sticks, clumsily bundled together. They prefer to build in pine or fir trees. FEBRUARY brings the first few buds of hope, as tokens of the time of flowers, of sunshine, and of song. Though Winter yet reigns supreme, his snowy locks get more hoary and grizzled, and as he strides with trembling and tottering steps across the ice-bound earth, he sees here and there a bud or a flower, and his thin lips quiver with anger, and his heart becomes paralysed with fear. When he lies down to rest, the blades of young grass tickle him like springing wires, and his life is filled with torture and desponding gloom. And soon, very soon, must he lie down to die; and then will the earth leap and bound with a lusty and impassioned joy. In every field and river-side we may now learn a lesson of progress, The broad earth is busy in weaving her garment of green, that she may bedeck herself as a bride when the woods brim over with echoes, f joyous songs. The rooks begin to build their citadels up among the branches; fighting, and quarrelling, and scrambling, and wooing, and loving, all by turns; losing no time from morning until night. In one field they follow the heels of the ploughman, in another the footsteps of the sower; here they sail along the river, and pounce upon worms and insects on the banks; and there they forage in odd nooks and corners for beams and rafters for their castles in the air. They fill the sky with one unceasing, dreamy "caw" from dawn till nightfall. Now, too, the carrion crow and the starling and the chaffinch has each begun to think of wife and children, and like prudent sires, first build and furnish their homes. the first attempts at song which the birds make in this month, their notes are very weak and faltering in tone, as though the efforts were attended with difficulty. They seem to be labouring at a song, and only getting part of it, as if some great physical impediment had to be surmounted. This is particularly the case with the chaffinch, which generally utters its first feeble notes in the first week of February, but does not attain its full song till some weeks afterwards. The blue titmouse or tom-tit, may be seen very busy during this month in pecking off the trees all those buds which are infested with insects, and selecting The planet Mercury is an evening star at the beginning, and a morning star at the end of the month; he is in the constellation Capricornus till the fifth, on which day he enters into Aquarius. The planet Venus is very near the Sun during the whole of this month, rising and setting with him, and is therefore unfavourably situated for observrtion. The planet Mars is in the constellation Taurus, and is visible almost throughout the night; on the 16th he touches the Milky Way. The planet Jupiter is in the constellation Virgo till the 11th, when he passes into Leo: he is visible throughout the night. The planet Saturn is in the constellation Cetus, and is an evening star through the month. In The few flowers that appear in this month are dear to all, both on account of their chaste beauty, and the many homely associations with which they are linked. By the second week of the month the snow-drop is to be found in plenty. It was formerly called fair maid of February. It was also called our lady of February, because it was always in flower by the 2nd of the month, on which day the festival of the Purification of the Virgin takes place. This day is otherwise called Candlemas Day, and was anciently of great importance in reference to the weathe Towards the middle of the month the clothof-gold crocus appears, with its petals of a deep golden colour, striped with reddish brown. Then follow the pink hepatica and the mezereon, the catkins of the hazel, and by the 22nd the daisy has taken a new dress, and has put on a new show of blossoms. The green hellebore and the creeping cowfoot also come into flower, And as the month wanes on, the little buds push their way upward to the light, and when they catch the first glimpse of Spring sunshine, they take new heart, and expand and grow with renewed vigour, until they cover the ground with their green, beauty, and make the air holy with the perfume of their flowers. ། The dis. of Sun fr. Earth this dy. is 93,643,000 mls F 15 Sn 17 F S S 16 Su 3 Leaves of Honeysuckle appear. Moon in Libra. Dandelion fl. .T 5 Pleiades south at 6h. 33m. p.m. W 6 Rooks begin to build." Th 7 Storm Cock sings. Hepatica and Mezereon fl. F 8 Moon in Saggittarius. Primrose fl. 9 Marsh marigold, Gold crocus, Archangel fl. M 18 Su 10 Moon in Capricornus. Green Hellebore app. M 11 Groundsel and creeping Crowfoot fl. Su 24 T12 W 13 Eclipse Sun, invis. in Europe. Mn. in Aquarius. T. 26 W Th 14 Leaves of five-fingered Cinquefoil appear. 27 Th 28 Hedge Sparrow sings. Moles burrow deeply. Oniscus asellus app. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. Answers to Correspondents, &c. Editor's Address:-16, Hardinge-street, Islington. We In our last number we gave some extracts from several letters which had reached us, congratulating us on our intentions, and wishing us success. We would gladly do so again on the present occasion, but the communications we have received being so numerous, and their contents so flattering to ourselves and our book, that we shall forego the pleasure of making a selection of extracts from them. We can only say that we did not dare to expect so many ardent wishes for success, and so much praise, neither can we now think we are entitled to them. have received communications from ministers, magistrates, members of parliament, leaders of popular movements, literary men, and reformers from almost every part of the empire, thanking us for our attemps to promote the public good, congratulating us on our first number, its contents, the manner in which it is turned out of hand, and promising us their cooperation in future. In return for so many thanks, suggestions, and congratulations, we most cordially thank our numerous correspondents. It will be our earnest endeavour while pleasing them, to do our best to advance the work to which we have committed ourselves. On account of the great many papers, on a variety of topics, which have been sent us, we have not been able to insert some which we intended to do. They will, however, have our earliest attention. We have received several books, pamphlets, &c., to be noticed. We are unable to do anything in the present number, but mention their names. Mother Country, by Sidney Smith; The and Writings of Solomon-London: Mason. Poems, by Fritz and Liolett; The Mother's Catechism, by Edward and Emma MatthewsHoulston and Stoneman. Asylum for IdiotsOffice, 29, Poultry. Crime, its Causes and Cure, by David Maginnis-Belfast: John Henderson. The Philosophy of Our Work-London: Aylott and Jones. The Ladies' Guide to the Art of making Paper Flowers, with an Introduction by J. Shirley Hibberd-Darton and Clarke. The Political Franchise, a Political Tract, by Edward Swaine, London: Partridge and Oakey. A Voice from the Millions; Political Monopoly; A Word to the Masses, by a Norwich Operative-London: Jarrold and Son. Illustratious of the Peace Principle, by G. W. M'Cree-London: Gilpin. The Lord's Day in London, by J. M. Jones-Aylott and Jones. Several communications have reached us expressing a wish that THE PUBLIC GOOD was a weekly instead of a monthly publication. They say they do not like to wait so long for so good a thing. Perhaps our correspondents (and several of them are fair ones) may not be aware that to bring out such a work as ours weekly would be a serious undertaking, and that it would be altogether injudicious to do so without the maturest consideration. Let our little monthly become firmly rooted and widely extended, and we shall give the sug gestion regarding bringing it out more frequently our earnest attention. We have a wide field before us, and all that appertains to the public good falls within our legitimate province, and we are fully sensible of the great difficulty of doing justice to so many important subjects in so small a space. J. P. says, "I would advise you to make Tell the more noise with your Periodical. people that there is no Journal like it; that it would, if extensively circulated, be the mightiest opponent of wrong in the nation; that it is the duty of reformers to support it, and that you want a circulation of 100,000 monthly." We do not agree with our friend in the principle, and consequently cannot agree with him in the policy of such a mode of procedure. We certainly should have no objection to a circulation of 100,000 monthly, and we cannot help thinking that much good would result therefrom, but we do object to puffing and exaggerated statements. We think that the best way to get a good circulation is to present the public with good matter, and to be true to our professions. We would much rather win our way to the hearts of the people by fair and legitimate means, than stoop to less worthy ones, even if we were sure of getting a good circulation thereby. We have faith in our principles and in the public. Dr. Harrison Black, Exeter, is kindly thanked for his valuable suggestions. We have ourselves thought on the great advantages which would result from an association similar to the one heproposes. And it is our intention to develop our pians in future numbers of the Public Good. If such an association were established by the right men, and vigorously sustained, it would be one of the most splendid and most useful institutions that this or any other age could boast of. And if our Journal is destined to do no other good than to show the practicability and utility of a "Public Good Association,' on such a broad and comprehensive basis as we contemplate, we think it will be said, that we have not lived in vain. I. T., Hackney, need not be afraid that any suggestions that he could give us would offend us. Far from it. We should be heartily thankful for them. If we had any complaint to make, it would be that we have been praised too much, and not found fault with enough. Nothing will give us more pleasure than to be know told of our imperfections, so that we may what they are, in order that they may be removed. We shall be most happy to improve any suggestions which our numerous friends may throw out to us. AN ENQUIRER.-Yes, every number of the Public Good is stereotyped. We intend to do so in future before we go to press. A. C. P., Charles-street. "Body versus Soul," shall have our attention. If it had been written in a little plainer hand, we should, before this time, have perused it, and been enabled to pronounce our opinion on it. All correspondents would do well to bear in mind that communications written in a plain legible hand will stand the best chance of attention and insertion. ASLAN, Manchester, has sent us a nice little fragment, in which he shows the propriety of Tourists, and young gentlemen, after leaving school, travelling over their own country instead of the continent. Among other good things, he says: 64 ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. "It would, methinks, be a fine thing, a fine starting point for our young gentlemen, after finishing their college education, to make a tour of the United Kingdom, and to give to the world their diaries. It would be a fine thing to establish an Institution for Home Wonders-its library formed of home travels, its select apartments arranged for the reception of all its natural presentations-something for the philosopher-the botanist-the antiquarian. You say that you have plenty already; have you? May be-but stay-this institution is for the young gentlemen of our own day to create. You must consider for a moment that thousands of Englishmen know very little of their own country. Young gentlemen are sent abroad without seeing or knowing the peculiarities of England-the United Kingdom remains to them as a sealed book-they are sent across the world, for what? Let us come home, my friends-let us have a little more of home, then scour the world if you please,her fragments of every thing-her sea weeds-her shells-ores-minerals-her men as well as her mountains--character as well as castes. Methinks something remains yet to be gathered worthy the inspection of all." laws of nature. The Divine Being ordained that man should have a beard.-Second: It adds to the dignity and beauty of our appearance: both to young and old.-Third: It increases our comfort, protecting our face from cold, and obviates the necessity for wearing a warm cravat, etc.-Fourth: The time employed in shaving may be saved and employed to another purpose.' G. D.-We are glad to find that you are so much pleased with the "Lever of Life." It will be continued in each number of "the Public Good" till December next. J. S., Perth.-Hardly sufficiently polished to meet the public eye. A person who can write so well, on so good a subject, should try again. J. T. G., Goswell-road.-His paper on Lunatic Asylums is a useful one, and we hope to turn it, or a portion of it, to good account in an early number. G. A. F., Gloucester.-Thanks for his paper. We had made arrangements with a friend to write an article on the "Free Labour Question" before his came. A Manchester Warehousman intimates that it would be well if the Vegetarians had eating houses of their own for the accommodation of themselves and friends. We think the hint worthy of attention. S. S. C, Hull.-We can only wish the "Iowa Emigration Scheme" success. Our individual opinion is, that there is no necessity for Emi John W. B., who styles himself a "student in chess and astrology," says:-"Allow me to suggest that the shopmen, &c., should establish an institution for those out of place to lodge at. It might be supported by smail weekly or monthly payments from those who are in a berth, and managed entirely by them-gration Societies at all, while so much of our selves. You are probably aware that there is an institution for clerks." Such an institution established and directed by men of business and wisdom, would, we think, advance the public good. J. E. Burbidge's paper on temperance is very good indeed. We hope to find space for it in an early number. "The Child's Appeal" has poetical beauties, and we would gladly insert it if we had space. The same applies to "The Bereaved One." BORNEO CHURCH MISSION.-We, too, like our correspondent, feel indignant at the inhuman conduct of Sir James Brooke. We believe, that when the British public are aware of all the facts, they will express their abhorrence of such cruel conduct. S. R. ROGERS.-Your views and ours on "Real 'Civilization," &c., somewhat differ. Let the world know your plans, theories, and reasons, and if they are as good as you think they are, they will find appreciators. H. S., Stamford Hill.-We are sorry that any allusion or illustration in "Anti-Jack-Ketchism' should in any way have offended the sensitive feelings of our correspondent. On a reconsideration of the matter, we prefer the sentence as it now stands to the suggested improvement. TYRO. We hope he will pardon us if his paper is not inserted. It is impossible for us to insert a half or a quarter of the communications sent us. C. D., Kingsbridge.-We desire to thank our fair correspondent for her recipes of "Dainties," and we should feel obliged to any other of our fair friends who would send us any they may know to be good ones. AMICUS gives the following reasons why men should not shave:-" First: A respect for the land remains uncultivated, and so many of our resources of wealth remain undeveloped. W. H. D., Gravesend." The Life Boat" is very good, and we hope to find a corner for it one day. If our poetical friends continue to favour us with so many poetical contributions, we shall have enough, before the end of the year, to bring out a volume of "Public Good Poetry." DOMESTICUS.-We are quite of his opinion. We think we may with propriety, as advocates and promoters of The Public Good, give that variety in our pages as to minister to the amusement and entertainment of the domestic circle. We hope "fire-side fun" will suit him. We beg to record our most heartfelt thanks to the many editors of town and country newspapers, who have received and noticed the first number of "The Public Good." Of course it cannot but be gratifying to us, to know that our publication is so highly thought of, and that so many fervent hopes are expressed for its success. We also beg to thank the same gentlemen for their kindness in sending us copies of their papers which contained the notices. "An Admirer of the Public Good," is sorry that so much valuable matter was put on the wrapper of No. 1. Our object was, and is, to keep the book as complete as possible, so that at the end of the year, it may be bound into a handsome volume. It was our intention to have had No. 1. stamped, as we advertised, but we were prevented doing so in time by the many difficulties thrown in our way at the government office. We had to go through the same process as if the Public Good were to be a daily paper. We hope none of our subscribers wil be put to any inconvenience in future. INTELLECTUAL TOLL BARS. INTELLECTUAL TOLL-BARS. fr was not long since we had a tax on bread, and there are not even wanting men who would reinstitute that tax. We have at the present moment taxes on light and taxes on knowledge; or rather taxes on living in houses with windows, and taxes on the mediums through which knowledge is communicated. There is Go tax on light when it is enjoyed in the streets, or roads, or green fields; neither is there a tax on thinking or verbally communicating thought. Such would be taxes on existence itself. The tax is on the window through which the light streams, or on the paper on which the thought is transcribed in words. We have no hesitation in calling such taxes unjust and wicked ones. For the present we shall only deal with taxes on knowledge, which we have justly named intellectual toll-bars. The duty on foreign books in 1848 amounted to £7,647 13s. 4d. A person while visiting the continent might pick up several favourite books, but he could not bring them to England without paying the usual amount of duty. A lady who was a visitor at the Brussel's Peace Congress, and who went and returned with the English and American Deputation, bought, while she was in Belgium, a copy of Lamartine's poetry. In passing through the Custom House in London the book was detected, and taken from her just as if it were a bottle of Eau de Cologne, or a bundle of silk handkerchiefs. Was not the English Custom House, in this instance, a veritable intellectual toll-bar? And we ask is it worthy of England, who professes to be the patron of learning and the friend of civilization, to permit the existence of such a thing for the paltry sum of £7,647 13s. 7d. annually? Another instance came under our notice last year. A gentleman, with whom we visited Paris, bought, while in that city, a book printed in English, by an English author. When he showed us the book on our way home, we said to him, "Why buy an English book in Paris?" He said, "Because I could buy it cheaper there; the French pay no duty on paper." This gentleman was more fortunate than the lady. He kept the book in his pocket, into which the governmental official did F 65 not put his hand. But the same gentleman could not have bought a similar book in England without the government, through the tax-gatherer, putting its allgreedy hand into his pocket, and taking therefrom a considerable proportion of the amount paid for the book. We look upon this tax on foreign books as positively injurious to the interests of literature and international communication. One reason why we have had so many wars between countries is that their inhabitants did not better know each other; and one reason why they have not known each other better is on account of the taxes on foreign books. Another serious impediment to the communication of knowledge is the heavy tax imposed on paper. The duty on paper amounted in 1848 to £745,795 9s. 4d. Had it not been for the duty on paper, we should be able to make the Public Good at least a quarter part larger than it is for the same price. We should be enabled to give a sheet of double-demy, instead of a sheet of double-crown. This, we contend, is a serious consideration, and especially when we remember that class of our countrymen whose means are so limited that the small sum of two-pence is a thing of importance. But the evil is not in the mere tax itself. It acts injuriously indirectly as well. The Liver pool Times says:— A paper-maker requires to have a large capital locked up in paying duties, independent of that sunk in his mills, machinery, and materials, and for this he must havé a fair return; and in addition to this he is subject to a great amount of annoyance and inconvenience in carrying on his business, all of which ultimately falls on the consumers of paper. The 1d. per lb, is therefore only a small portion of the additional cost of paper to the public, though it is all that the government gets. In addition to this there is interest for the paper, makers' extra capital, and loss by cumbrous and vexatious proceedings, perpetuated by the jealousy of the Excise." The evidence of Mr. Robert Chambers and Mr. Charles Knight is sufficient to satisfy any one of the very injurious effects of this duty on paper. Mr. R. Chambers says that he and his brother are prevented publishing a great many things that they otherwise would do for the benefit of the people had it not been for this pressing impost. Their Miscellany, "which had the extensive circulation of 80,000 weekly, was abandoned on account of their inability to pay the paper-duty." They paid no less a sum than £6,220 duty on that one publication; and they pay £3,000 a-year on their other publications. Mr. Charles Knight states that he paid £28,500 of duty on the paper used in the Penny Cyclopædia. The present government profess to be favourable to the education of the people. Let them take off the duty on paper, which is a great embargo on education, and thereby shew that they are sincere in their professions. Sir Henry Parnell calls paper "the raw material of every kind of science and art, and of all social improvement." Where would England and Europe be at the present moment if there were no paper? Who can estimate the advantages which the use of paper has conferred on the world? Yet this, of all things in the world, is taxed. It is bad enough to tax our tea, our sugar, and other articles of general consumption, and especially when we know that the proceeds of taxatiou are extravagantly expended; but it is infinitely worse to know that paper, which is one of the chief instruments of education and mutual communication between man and man, is taxed and raised in price by a government which professes to be the friend of liberty, education, and progress. Let the people say that this intellectual toll-bar shall be removed, and it will speedily disappear. There is another intellectual toll-bar which is carefully guarded by governmental officials, of more serious injury still, and that is the penny stamp on newspapers. The taxation amounted in this way in 1848 to £360,273. We will first state the difficulty attending on getting the stamp, and the disadvantages arising from it. For the convenience of a number of our subscribers, we decided on having a stamped edition of the Public Good. We went to Somerset House, and were told that we must get two persons who would secure us to the government for £400, to protect it in case of libel, and two other securities for £200 each for the advertisement duty. We had to give the name, address, and occupations of persons to whom the go vernment might refer to ascertain whether the securities we named were equal to the required responsibilities. We had to give the names, occupations, and addresses of the proprietor, publisher, and printer of the Public Good. The government undertook to write to the references, and we were requested to call again in a day or two; which we did not fail to do. We then found, to our surprise and disappointment, that the references had not been sufficiently explicit in their statements. They stated that they believed the persons chosen were possessed of sufficient property to be securities for the sums mentioned. They should have stated that they knew such things. We then had to go over all the ground again. We got fresh references, and gave in their names, &c., to Somerset House. After the consumption of more time, we at last succeeded in fulfilling the demanded requirements. The next step was to get all the parties at Somerset House at the same time. The proprietor, printer, publisher, and securities met at the same time, and made the necessary declarations. We then had to meet again in another place at another time to make other declarations. At last, after much inconvenience, and the payment of £2 2s., the business was got through with. We have had to get what is called a "distinctive die," for which we paid 15s. We have not mentioned a half of the inconveniences we were put to so that we might get a few hundred stamped copies of the Public Good for the accommodation of subscribers. But the difficulties and annoyances attending getting the stamped copies are nothing when compared to the disadvantages resulting from the penny stamp in connexion with newspapers. There was no necessity that we should get a stamped edition, as ours is not a professed newspaper. Every copy of every newspaper must be stamped. If the stamp duty were repealed an impulse would immediately be given to education and mental improvement. New journals would spring into existence in London, and other parts of the country. Every large town would have its daily newspaper, and such large towns as Birmingham, Liverpool, and Manchester, would in all likelihood have three, or |