Larks in France fetch from three to four sous a piece. In winter, however, when they are plentiful, they are seldom eaten, because here they are always dressed with the trail, like snipes and woodcocks; but for this mode of cooking they are not fitted when the snow is on the ground, because they are then driven to eat turnip-tops, and other watery herbs, which communicate an unpleasant flavour to the trail. Were you here at the season, to eat larks in their perfection, and dressed as we dress them, I think your praise of the cooking would give me the laugh against you, if you ever afterwards ventured to declaim against the use of the gun, which, next to my pencil, is my greatest hobby. I send you a sketch of the sport, with the boy at the twirler--do what you like with it. I rather think I did not tell you in my last, that the decoy ducks, used in wild-fowl shooting, are made of wood--any stump near at hand is hacked out any how for the body, while a small limb of any tree is thrust into the stump for the duck’s neck, and one of the side branches left short makes his head. These ducks answer the purpose with their living prototypes, who fly by moonlight, and have not a perfect view, and don’t stay for distinctions, like philosophers. It will not be long before I’m off for England, and then, &c. I am, &c. J. H. H. NATURALISTS’ CALENDAR. Mean Temperature 37·02. [31] To his former letter J. J. H. are printed as initials by mistake, instead of J. H. H. ~January 20.~ _Fabian._ In the church of England calendar.[32] DEDICATION. The dedication of each day in the year, by the Romish church, in honour of a saint, which converts every day into a festival, is a fact pretty well known to the readers of the _Every-Day Book_. It is also generally known, that in certain almanacs every part of the human body is distributed among the days throughout the year, as subjects of diurnal influence; but it is not perhaps so well known, that every joint of each finger on each hand was appropriated to some saint. The proof of this is supplied by two very old prints, from engravings on wood, at the British Museum. They are among a collection of ancient wood cuts pasted in a folio volume. It would occupy too much room to give copies of these representations in fac-simile: the curiously inclined, who have access to the Museum print-room, may consult the originals; general readers may be satisfied with the following description:-- _Right Hand._ The top joint of the _thumb_ is dedicated to GOD; the second joint to the Virgin; the top joint of the _fore finger_ to Barnabas, the second joint to John, the third to Paul; the top joint of the _second finger_ to Simeon Cleophas, the second joint to Tathideo, the third to Joseph; the top joint of the _third finger_ to Zaccheus, the second to Stephen, the third to Luke; the top joint of the _little finger_ to Leatus, the second to Mark, the third joint to Nicodemus. _Left Hand._