DOI issue:
September 21, 1867
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.16880#0131
September 21 1867 ]
PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.
119
A PLEA FOR VERMIN.
R. Punch,—You noticed, no
doubt, some remarks made
at. one of tine late sittings of
the British Association by
the Rev. H. B. Tristram,
on the indiscriminate des-
truction, with a view to the
extermination, of that part
of our fauna commonly stig-
matised as vermin. Accord-
ing to the report of the
reverend naturalist’s obser-
vations :—
“ He said he had no good
opinion of the gamekeepers, for
he thought they were the most
destructive of all vermin, so far
as regarded the game of this
country (Laughter, and hear, hear.)
He stated that he had travelled
in Tunis, Sahara, and America,
and in all these countries birds of
prey abounded to a degree of
which they had no conception in
this country He one day counted
not less than sixty-seven birds of
prey in Tunis, and it really
swarmed with game. By extirpating from their doors birds of prey, they had
engendered disease among game.”
Here, Sir, is something in support, of a plea that has been advanced
iu your own columns on behalf of the majestic eagles, the noble falcons,
the gallant hawks, the venerable owls and ravens, the queer badgers,
and the humble but interesting hedgehogs, polecats, stoats, and weazels
Hear the Reverend Tristram out :—
“ When he was young falcons used to be seen on the Cheviots, and had no they
been driven from their m mntains and moors, he was quite certain that these birds
would simply, by the operation of natural laws, have destroyed those birds in which
the disease commenced, aud might have prevented the grouse disease in the
epidemic and destructive form it had now assumed. It was well known that birds
of prey always attacked the birds which rose last, and were the weakest, and there-
fore the spread of the disease was prevented. ”
All this looks very much like proof of the wisdom evinced bv our
ancestors in fining people heavily for stealing hawks’-eggs. Would
it uot be desirable to revive the old English laws iu so far, and, farther,
to punish any one for shooting a hawk as severely as for shooting a
•partridge ?
Beference to the wisdom of our ancestors reminds one, by the rule
of contrary, of their descendants’ folly. That, doubtless, is instanced
■in the existence of sparrow-clubs, notwithstanding your repeated
demonstration that the destruction of sparrows is the preservation of
caterpillars.
Sometimes, Sir, I am inclined to question whether the argument for
■cherishing sparrows, and birds and beasts of prey, might not be
pushed to greater lengths than most people would imagine. Servants
•are usually expected to destroy spiders. But spiders destroy flies, aud
I, for my own peculiar part, think them very pretty creatures ; thus
■ornamental as well as useful. Then flies, in their turn, doubtless eat
up much dirt, in the shape of refuse organic matter. So I doubt if it
is judicious to set papier moure, or syrup, to kill flies. One kind of
■creatures that are in some degree mischievous serves to keep the other
under: and whilst they all do more or less harm, they all, or nearly
all, do more or less good. All, or nearly all, I say, because I
have not as yet been able to discover any good that fleas do;
not to mention other parasitic insects. But the saint, of old that
refused to rid himself of any of those guests, because the present
life was the only one they could enjoy, had probably another reason for
affording them cover and food. Very likely he thought that in causing
the irritation with which they must have continually vexed him, they
were performing the office of subjecting him to a merited, and (spiritu-
ally) wholesome penance. On this point you can consult Father
Ignatius, who, as I perceive by his photographs, has not entirely
shaved his head—or had it shaved. But what physical benefit such
things as the inhabitants of chignons, and our minute occasional bed-
fellows, can confer on man or womankind, I am at a loss to conceive.
Therefore I am not at present prepared to go quite so far as to uphold
the adoption of laissez-faire with all manner of vermin. On the con-
trary, only the other day, having awoke with tingling sensations about
my wrists, and having, when daylight came, discovered the causes of
them, I had my bed taken to pieces, and sprinkled plentifully with
insecticide powder. Hawks are called vermin in these days, and there
is a hawk named a hobby; but, loving hawks as I do, I would not
ride a hobby to death, by pushing a theory to extreme consequences.
I shall therefore persist in the use of insect-powder as often as it may
be required, which I hope will be very seldom. To deprecate,
however, the employment of powder and shot, for the purpose of
extirpating birds of prey, proved as they are by the truly reverend
naturalist, Mr. Tristram, to be game-preservers, will be the constant
endeavour of Yours ^
Whitybrown de Selborne.
BLACK AND WHITE.
Hate our excellent friends of the “ Black Country,” who fouud so
many crows to pluck with Mir. Punch, when he ventured to call atten-
tion to the state of education and culture in that dark realm of coal
and iron, weighed, marked and digested the Report of M. Schneider,
on the institutions for the advancement, education and comfort of the
working-men and their families employed in the great works at Creusot,
of which M. Schneider is the guidin? heart and head P
If not, Mr. Punch earnestly begs to commend to their serious reading
that noble evidence how the masters of the works at Creusot under-
stand the sreat law that “ Property has its duties as well as its rights.’
Where shall we look for a Creusot in Eugland ?
M. Schneider’s report has left Mr. Punch blushing.
What the Creusot firm have done to develope and encourage the
good elements of man, woman and childhood amongst their workers in
coal and iron, shows that Black need not be so very Black, if only
intelligent and far-sighted men will apply their energies to making the
best of their workpeople, as well as making the most of their money;
if they will recognise that besides “ hands ” there are such things as
“heads” and “hearts” to be thought of, and provided for, in great
centres of industry, and that a due and practical recognition of this
truth will go far to wash the Black Country white.
A DOUBLE-EDGED SAW.
Mr. Punch,
There is, I grant you, partial force iu the argument, alleged
as a reason why men, eveu though not opulent, may venture to marry,
of the proverb which says that what is enough for one is enough for
two Ln general, no doubt, if a mau eats and drinks enough to satisfy
him, he eats aud drinks at least twice as much as will do him good.
There are, indeed, many men in whose cases it might truly be said
that what is enough for one is enough for half-a-dozen. In so far, this
might be urged as a plea for polygamy; but, eschewing Mormonism,
let us rather say that it would be a justification for marriage with a pro-
spect of a family.
But, Sir, surely your penetration has enabled you to see that the
saying that what is enough for one is enough for two cuts both ways.
The fact is not only that the quantity of food and drink which is
enough to content one man, is, as a rule, enough to maintain a man
aud wife, and, in some instances a family of six children to boot. It
is also, nowadays, true that, the drapery which is uot more than ex-
tensive enough to enable one woman to follow the fashion, is more than
extensive enough to clothe two, or perhaps three women comfortably,
and as amply as good taste would require. Is this a consideration,
Mr. Punch, much calculated to encourage men in moderate circum-
stances to undertake the pecuniary liabilities which, in these times,
they must necessarily incur by contracting matrimony, uuless with an
heiress or a relict in possession of, an adequate jointure. I have, Sir,
the speciality of being your old friend,
Audi Alteram Partem.
An Appropriate Present.
The Licensed Victuallers have given a lifeboat (called “ The Licensed
Victualler ”) to the National Lifeboat Association. They could not do
less, considering the number of persons they have caused to be half-
seas over.
IF
IFS AND ANDS WERE POTS AND PAffS
Pan-Anglican Synod,
Let’s hope thou art not,
A sign the Church Anglican’s
Going to Pot!
The New Monthly.
The forthcoming magazine, Saint Paul’s, is not, as its tide might
imply, what is usually styled a religious periodical, but it will be well
adapted for family reading from its close connection with Virtue.
the order of the day.
The writer of the letters in the Times, advocating “The cordon
training of fruit trees ” as adopted in France, is to be decorated for his
pains—he is to receive the Grand Cordon of the Legion of Honour.
PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.
119
A PLEA FOR VERMIN.
R. Punch,—You noticed, no
doubt, some remarks made
at. one of tine late sittings of
the British Association by
the Rev. H. B. Tristram,
on the indiscriminate des-
truction, with a view to the
extermination, of that part
of our fauna commonly stig-
matised as vermin. Accord-
ing to the report of the
reverend naturalist’s obser-
vations :—
“ He said he had no good
opinion of the gamekeepers, for
he thought they were the most
destructive of all vermin, so far
as regarded the game of this
country (Laughter, and hear, hear.)
He stated that he had travelled
in Tunis, Sahara, and America,
and in all these countries birds of
prey abounded to a degree of
which they had no conception in
this country He one day counted
not less than sixty-seven birds of
prey in Tunis, and it really
swarmed with game. By extirpating from their doors birds of prey, they had
engendered disease among game.”
Here, Sir, is something in support, of a plea that has been advanced
iu your own columns on behalf of the majestic eagles, the noble falcons,
the gallant hawks, the venerable owls and ravens, the queer badgers,
and the humble but interesting hedgehogs, polecats, stoats, and weazels
Hear the Reverend Tristram out :—
“ When he was young falcons used to be seen on the Cheviots, and had no they
been driven from their m mntains and moors, he was quite certain that these birds
would simply, by the operation of natural laws, have destroyed those birds in which
the disease commenced, aud might have prevented the grouse disease in the
epidemic and destructive form it had now assumed. It was well known that birds
of prey always attacked the birds which rose last, and were the weakest, and there-
fore the spread of the disease was prevented. ”
All this looks very much like proof of the wisdom evinced bv our
ancestors in fining people heavily for stealing hawks’-eggs. Would
it uot be desirable to revive the old English laws iu so far, and, farther,
to punish any one for shooting a hawk as severely as for shooting a
•partridge ?
Beference to the wisdom of our ancestors reminds one, by the rule
of contrary, of their descendants’ folly. That, doubtless, is instanced
■in the existence of sparrow-clubs, notwithstanding your repeated
demonstration that the destruction of sparrows is the preservation of
caterpillars.
Sometimes, Sir, I am inclined to question whether the argument for
■cherishing sparrows, and birds and beasts of prey, might not be
pushed to greater lengths than most people would imagine. Servants
•are usually expected to destroy spiders. But spiders destroy flies, aud
I, for my own peculiar part, think them very pretty creatures ; thus
■ornamental as well as useful. Then flies, in their turn, doubtless eat
up much dirt, in the shape of refuse organic matter. So I doubt if it
is judicious to set papier moure, or syrup, to kill flies. One kind of
■creatures that are in some degree mischievous serves to keep the other
under: and whilst they all do more or less harm, they all, or nearly
all, do more or less good. All, or nearly all, I say, because I
have not as yet been able to discover any good that fleas do;
not to mention other parasitic insects. But the saint, of old that
refused to rid himself of any of those guests, because the present
life was the only one they could enjoy, had probably another reason for
affording them cover and food. Very likely he thought that in causing
the irritation with which they must have continually vexed him, they
were performing the office of subjecting him to a merited, and (spiritu-
ally) wholesome penance. On this point you can consult Father
Ignatius, who, as I perceive by his photographs, has not entirely
shaved his head—or had it shaved. But what physical benefit such
things as the inhabitants of chignons, and our minute occasional bed-
fellows, can confer on man or womankind, I am at a loss to conceive.
Therefore I am not at present prepared to go quite so far as to uphold
the adoption of laissez-faire with all manner of vermin. On the con-
trary, only the other day, having awoke with tingling sensations about
my wrists, and having, when daylight came, discovered the causes of
them, I had my bed taken to pieces, and sprinkled plentifully with
insecticide powder. Hawks are called vermin in these days, and there
is a hawk named a hobby; but, loving hawks as I do, I would not
ride a hobby to death, by pushing a theory to extreme consequences.
I shall therefore persist in the use of insect-powder as often as it may
be required, which I hope will be very seldom. To deprecate,
however, the employment of powder and shot, for the purpose of
extirpating birds of prey, proved as they are by the truly reverend
naturalist, Mr. Tristram, to be game-preservers, will be the constant
endeavour of Yours ^
Whitybrown de Selborne.
BLACK AND WHITE.
Hate our excellent friends of the “ Black Country,” who fouud so
many crows to pluck with Mir. Punch, when he ventured to call atten-
tion to the state of education and culture in that dark realm of coal
and iron, weighed, marked and digested the Report of M. Schneider,
on the institutions for the advancement, education and comfort of the
working-men and their families employed in the great works at Creusot,
of which M. Schneider is the guidin? heart and head P
If not, Mr. Punch earnestly begs to commend to their serious reading
that noble evidence how the masters of the works at Creusot under-
stand the sreat law that “ Property has its duties as well as its rights.’
Where shall we look for a Creusot in Eugland ?
M. Schneider’s report has left Mr. Punch blushing.
What the Creusot firm have done to develope and encourage the
good elements of man, woman and childhood amongst their workers in
coal and iron, shows that Black need not be so very Black, if only
intelligent and far-sighted men will apply their energies to making the
best of their workpeople, as well as making the most of their money;
if they will recognise that besides “ hands ” there are such things as
“heads” and “hearts” to be thought of, and provided for, in great
centres of industry, and that a due and practical recognition of this
truth will go far to wash the Black Country white.
A DOUBLE-EDGED SAW.
Mr. Punch,
There is, I grant you, partial force iu the argument, alleged
as a reason why men, eveu though not opulent, may venture to marry,
of the proverb which says that what is enough for one is enough for
two Ln general, no doubt, if a mau eats and drinks enough to satisfy
him, he eats aud drinks at least twice as much as will do him good.
There are, indeed, many men in whose cases it might truly be said
that what is enough for one is enough for half-a-dozen. In so far, this
might be urged as a plea for polygamy; but, eschewing Mormonism,
let us rather say that it would be a justification for marriage with a pro-
spect of a family.
But, Sir, surely your penetration has enabled you to see that the
saying that what is enough for one is enough for two cuts both ways.
The fact is not only that the quantity of food and drink which is
enough to content one man, is, as a rule, enough to maintain a man
aud wife, and, in some instances a family of six children to boot. It
is also, nowadays, true that, the drapery which is uot more than ex-
tensive enough to enable one woman to follow the fashion, is more than
extensive enough to clothe two, or perhaps three women comfortably,
and as amply as good taste would require. Is this a consideration,
Mr. Punch, much calculated to encourage men in moderate circum-
stances to undertake the pecuniary liabilities which, in these times,
they must necessarily incur by contracting matrimony, uuless with an
heiress or a relict in possession of, an adequate jointure. I have, Sir,
the speciality of being your old friend,
Audi Alteram Partem.
An Appropriate Present.
The Licensed Victuallers have given a lifeboat (called “ The Licensed
Victualler ”) to the National Lifeboat Association. They could not do
less, considering the number of persons they have caused to be half-
seas over.
IF
IFS AND ANDS WERE POTS AND PAffS
Pan-Anglican Synod,
Let’s hope thou art not,
A sign the Church Anglican’s
Going to Pot!
The New Monthly.
The forthcoming magazine, Saint Paul’s, is not, as its tide might
imply, what is usually styled a religious periodical, but it will be well
adapted for family reading from its close connection with Virtue.
the order of the day.
The writer of the letters in the Times, advocating “The cordon
training of fruit trees ” as adopted in France, is to be decorated for his
pains—he is to receive the Grand Cordon of the Legion of Honour.