_Sheppey_.--The isle of Sheppey is quickly giving way to the sea, and
if measures are not hereafter taken to remedy this, possibly in a
century or two hence its name may be required to be obliterated from
the map. Whole acres, with houses upon them, have been carried away in
a single storm, while clay shallows, sprinkled with sand and gravel,
which stretch a full mile beyond the verge of the cliff, over which
the sea now sweeps, demonstrate the original area of the island. From
the blue clay of which these cliffs are composed may be culled out
specimens of all the fishes, fruits, and trees, which abounded in
Britain before the birth of Noah; and the traveller may consequently
handle fish which swam, and fruit which grew, in the days of the
antediluvians, all now converted into sound stone, by the petrifying
qualities of the soil in which they are imbedded. Here are lobsters,
crabs, and nautili, presenting almost the same reality as those we now
see crawling and floating about; branches of trees, too, in as perfect
order as when lopped from their parent stems; and trunks of them,
twelve feet in length and two or three diameter, fit, in all
appearance, for the operations of the saw, with great varieties of
fruits, resembling more those of tropical climates than of cold
latitudes like ours, one species having a large kernel, with an
adherent stalk, as complete as when newly plucked from the tree that
produced it. An interesting collection of these relics of a former
world may be seen at a watchmaker's on the cliff, at Margate,
including the most remarkable productions of the isle of Sheppey.
_The Camelopard_.
[Illustration: The Camelopard.]
As a live camelopard has been sent to London and another to Paris, the
history and habits of these animals have excited some interest. At a
meeting of the Academy of Sciences in Paris, on the 2nd of July last, M.
Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire observed that naturalists were wrong in supposing
that there was only one species of the camelopard. The animal now in
Paris differs from the Cape of Good Hope species by several essential
anatomical characters, and he proposes to distinguish it by the name of
the _Giraffe of Sennaar_, the country from which it comes. Some natives
of Egypt having come to see the one in Paris in the costume of the
country, the animal gave evident proofs of joy, and loaded them with
caresses. This fact is explained by the circumstance that the Giraffe
has an ardent affection for its Arabian keeper, and that it naturally is
delighted with the sight of the turban and the costume of its keeper.
Some authors have proved the mildness and docility of the camelopard,
while others represent it as incapable of being tamed. This difference
is ascribed by M. Saint-Hilaire to difference of education. Four or
five years ago a male Giraffe, extremely savage, was brought to
Constantinople. The keeper of the present Giraffe had also the charge
of this one, and he ascribes its savageness entirely to the manner in
which it was treated. At the same time M. Mongez read a memoir on the
testimony of ancient authors respecting the Giraffe. Moses is the
first author who speaks of it. As Aristotle does not mention it, M.
Mongez supposes that it was unknown to the Greeks, and that it did not
then exist in Egypt, otherwise Aristotle, who travelled there, must
have known about it. In the year 708 of Rome, Julius Caesar brought
one to Europe, and the Roman emperors afterwards exhibited them at
Rome, either for the games in the circus, or in their triumphs over
the African princes. Albertus Magnus, in his _Treatise de Animalibus_,
is the first modern author who speaks of the Giraffe. In 1486, one of
the Medici family possessed one at Florence, where it lived for a
considerable time.
In its native country the Giraffe browses on the twigs of trees,
preferring plants of the Mimosa genus; but it appears that it can
without inconvenience subsist on other vegetable food. The one kept
at Florence fed on the fruits of the country, and chiefly on apples,
which it begged from the inhabitants of the first storeys of the
houses. The one now in Paris, from its having been accustomed in early
life to the food prepared by the Arabs for their camels, is fed on
mixed grains bruised, such as maize, barley, &c., and it is furnished
with milk for drink morning and evening. It however willingly accepts
fruits and the branches of the acacia which are presented to it. It
seizes the leaves with its long rugous and narrow tongue by rolling it
about them, and seems annoyed when it is obliged to take any thing
from the ground, which it seems to do with difficulty. To accomplish
this it stretches first one, then the other of its long fore-legs
asunder, and it is not till after repeated attempts that it is able to
seize the objects with its lips and tongue.
The pace of the Giraffe is an amble, though when pursued it flies with
extreme rapidity, but the small size of its lungs prevents it from
supporting a lengthened chase. The Giraffe defends itself against the
lion, its principal enemy, with its fore feet, with which it strikes
with such force as often to repulse him. The specimen in the museum at
Paris is about two years and a half old.
The name _Camelo-pardalis_ (camel-leopard) was given by the Romans to
this animal, from a fancied combination of the characters of the camel
and leopard; but its ancient denomination was _Zurapha_, from which
the name Giraffe has been adopted.--_Brewster's Journal_.
_Sugar_.
About 3,700,000 cwt. of sugar are annually imported from the West
Indies. An advance in price, therefore, of one penny per pound is a
charge on the public of 1,726,600_l._ a year, being more than one-third
of the gross amount of the duty levied at the Custom-house for the
revenue.
_Silk_.
Lord Kingston has upwards of 30,000 mulberry-trees growing upon one
estate in Ireland, and has already sent raw silk into the market.
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