kind of food therefore is not good for the constitution, though any great or sudden change in diet ought as well to be avoided. The change should be gradual, as any sudden transition from a low to a rich and luxurious mode of living, may endanger health, and even life itself. The diet suited to the last period of life, when nature is on the decline, approaches nearly to that of the first: it should be light and nourishing, and more frequently taken than in vigorous age. Old people are generally afflicted with wind, giddiness, and headachs, which are frequently occasioned by fasting too long, and even many sudden deaths arise from the same cause. The stomach therefore should never be allowed in any case to be too long empty, but especially in the decline of life. Proper attention to diet is of the utmost importance, not only to the preservation of health, but in the cure of many diseases, which may be effected by diet only. Its effects indeed are not always so quick as those of medicine, but they are generally more lasting, and are obtained with greater ease and certainty. Temperance and exercise are the two best physicians in the world; and if they were duly regarded, there would be little occasion for any other. FOOD FOR BIRDS. An excellent food for linnets, canaries, and other singing birds, may be prepared in the following manner. Knead together one pound of split peas ground to flour, half a pound each of coarse sugar and fine grated bread, two ounces of unsalted butter, and the yolks of two eggs. Brown the paste gently in a fryingpan, and when cold mix with it two ounces of mace seed, and two pounds of bruised hemp seed, separated from the husk. This paste given to birds in small quantities will preserve them in health, and prompt them to sing every month in the year.