Pet Oyster.—There is a gentleman at Christ Church, Salisbury, England, who keeps a pet oyster of the largest and finest breed. It is fed on oatmeal, for which it regularly opens its shell, and is occasionally treated with a dip in its native element; but the most extraordinary trait in the history of this amphibious pet is, that it has proved itself an excellent mouser, having already killed five mice, by crushing the heads of such as, tempted by odoriferous meal, had the temerity to intrude their noses within its bivalvular clutches. Twice have two of these little intruders suffered together.—Eng. Journal, 1840.
The Shetland Pony.
This diminutive breed of horses, many of which are not larger than a Newfoundland dog, is common in Shetland, and all the islands on the north and west of Scotland; also in the mountainous districts of the mainland along the coast. They are beautifully formed, and possess prodigious strength in proportion to their size. The heads are small, with a flowing mane and long tail, reaching to the ground.
They are high-spirited and courageous little animals, but extremely tractable in their nature. Some of them run wild about the mountains, and there are various methods of catching them, according to the local situation of the district which they inhabit.
The shelties, as they are called, are generally so small, that a middling-sized man must ride with his knees raised to the animal’s shoulders, to prevent his toes from touching the ground. It is surprising to see with what speed they will carry a heavy man over broken and zigzag roads in their native mountains.
When grazing, they will clamber up steep ascents, and to the extreme edge of precipices which overhang the most frightful abysses, and there they will gaze round with as much complacency as if on a plain.
These horses, small as they may be, are not to be considered a degenerate breed, for they are possessed of much greater physical strength in proportion to their size than larger horses. They are called garrons in the highlands of Scotland.
Many years ago, when turnpikes were first established in Scotland, a countryman was employed by the laird of Coll to go to Glasgow and Edinburgh on certain business, and furnished with a small shelty to ride upon. Being stopped at the gate near Dunbarton, the messenger good-humoredly asked the keeper if he would be required to pay toll, should he pass through carrying a burthen; and upon the man answering “Certainly not,” he took up the horse in his arms, and carried him through the toll-bar, to the great amusement of the gate-keeper.