The Aberystwith Observer

-+, The intimati n that Volun'rer Cyclist sections and companies cannot increase t! e'r establishment and that new ur.i's will not be sanctioned is eon- sidered by many to Ive a step in tl e wrong dirce- tion. A eye'iat force is a beau ideal one for home defence, for where roads exiat, even if they are not first-claFS ones troops on cycles can perform to per- fection the duties they are wanted for. It' only be- caufo of the pow-r they possess of quickly reach- irig any desired point, nnd, what is of equal cr more coii!?f que nee, reaching it freal) Riid steady Every encouragement slic)ul(i Lie #.cN,rded to this branch rather than tLo pres, nf syrttlzn of hampering and 1 grubbing.

í CHY NLIIl'H GOVERNORS HIGH P HAT HE FROM HIGH PLACES. The monthly meeting was held on Friday, Mr T. It. Morgan presided, and there were also present Messrs E. liees, It. Rees, J. M. Breeze, and T. Parsons, with the Headmaster (Mr H. H. Meyler), the Clerk (Mr J. Rowlands), and the Assistant Clerk (Mr Clayton). THE RECREATION GROUND. With regard to the trespassing on the recrea- tion ground by boys who were not pupils at the school, the Clerk said there was some im- provement in this respect since the last meeting and he understood that P.S. Owen and his sub- ordinate had been to the ground on several oc- casions. Last Saturday they found four boys there who were apparently 'without any order from the school management. Amongst them was a boy out of the town named William Parry, of Graigfach, and the other three were pupils at the school. The sergeant spoke to them and told them that it was not the proper thing for them to be on the ground. Mr Parsons I take it that the pupils of the school can DO oil the ground at any time unless forbidden by the headmaster. Mr R. Reves: That is so. Mr Parsons The difficulty for the police is to distinguish between respectable boys and others. This little boy was a respectable boy. The Headmaster said the school boys had never been forbidden to go on the ground on Saturday afternoons, and they all knew by pre- cept that they had a perfect right to go there. Mr Parsons suggested that the headmaster should e asked to the pupils not to take other bovs with them to the ground. The Headmaster: That has certainly been done. It was, he said, understood that the pupils were to take some measures to protest when strange boys went on the field, and. if necessary, to leave the field as a protest, when outnumbered by these boys. The original trouble was not due to the pupils. The Governors decided that the pupils should be warned again, and that Mr Lewis Morgan should be appointed caretaker of the property. SCHOLARSHIP EXAMINATION. The Clerk reported that there were 31 appli- cations from candidates for entrance scholar- ships. The schools represented^ were Machyn- lleth Council and National, CorriarCouneil. Dar- owen, Panperthog, and Llanbrynmair. COLLEGE GOVERNORS. The Registrar to Aberystwyth College, wrote stating that a clerical error fas made in re- questing the managers to nominate two repre- sentatives on the Court of Governors they had power to nominate one person only.—It was decided that the Chairman be nominated. COMPENSATION COMPLEXITY. There was some discussion as to the liability of the Governors under the new Compensation Act which comes in force on Monday. Mr E. Rees asked if the Governors were liable for the headmaster when he was away on his holidays and when travelling each day between Ynyslas and Machynlleth (laughter). Mr Parsons: Certainly. The Clerk: It is a rather nice point (laughter). The Chairman: Mr Meyler should be particu- larly careful between now and the 1st of August. THE TRAINING OF TEACHERS. The Clerk referred to the proposed new scheme for the training of teachers, and Mr Rees said it was intended that in future the course for such pupils should be continuous for the first year, and not half-time as at present. The new v arrangements would come in force at the beginning of August, but the County Com- mittee had not yet prepared a scheme. THE TRIENNIAL INSPECTION: EXCEL- LENT REPORTS. The triennial inspection of the school under the auspices of the C.W.B. took place recently. The Chairman said the Governors met the three inspectors and their verbal report was of a very excellent character. The efficiency of the teach- ing at the school was of a very high order, and reflected great credit not only upon the head- master but upon the other members of the staff. Mr E. Rees commented on the fact that there were three inspectors (The Chairman And Professor Anwyl), and asked whether one could not do the work of three. The Chairman It was triennial. Mr Parsons It was rather a pity the Press are not represented on such occasions. Some very important statements were made by the inspectors, and very favourable to the staff and the school. v Mr R. Rees said he agreed with Mr Parsons' remark as to the Press. The report was most flattering. The Chairman Very eulogistic. Mr R. Hees: The chief inspector, Mr Owen Owen. said it was 0113 of the best schools in Wales. Mr Parsons They could not have said more than they did. Mr R. R ees And he said that we were likely to get more grant (Mr E. Rees: "hear, hear"). That's the imoprtant point, for us. The Clerk was asked to give his impressions of the inspectors' visit, and he replied that it was clear to his mind that the C.W.B. was per- fectly satisfied with what the school had dona and was doing. He did not think they rev needed an inspector. Something was said dur- ing the inspection about the finances of the school, but of course the C.W.B. as such cou. not help the Governors very much in this direc- tion. A suggestion was made as to the possi- bility of receiving something into the funds in addition to what had been paid in years gone by—an nerease of rate and so on. But the C.W.B. itself could do nothing the matter de- volved upon the County Committee. The prom- ised increase of grant from the Board of Edu- cation, which Mr R. Rees had mentioned, was a very important point. He was given to under- stand that some years ago a sum of monev was transferred from the Exchequer to the Board of Education for the purpose of education in Wales, and that, he understood, had never been distributed. He hoped the money would come soon. They had ceitain payments to make that day, and nothing had been received since March. The Higher Education Committee would help the Governors a great deal by the proposed payment cf money earlier in the year in future.. Referring again to the inspection, the Clerk said the inspectors had a very hic- idea of what had been done at the school, and it was mentioned that two scholars had made a new departure—that was to enter the civil ser- vice straight from the intermediate school. Pro. fessor Anwyl said the school was the only ono in Wales that had made such an effort success- fully, and he thought it would be a vary good j thing if these Government appointments were taken up at other schools in the Principality. The Headmaster said reference had been made to the view that an inspection was unneces- sary, but he did not think it would be well for the Governors to grumble very much in this respect. From his point of view an inspection was, of course, often an irksome thing, but look ing at the matter from a broad point of view an inspection was, he thought, calculated to advance the efficiency of a school. Bearing in mind the respective characters of schools where inspection did and did not obtain, the difference was very marked. If there was an effort being made-in a school to do work of a certain char- after and to do one's best in the interest of boys and girls, the officials should be in touch with that >111.001 and see what was being done just as on tHe other hand in the ease of an in- efficient school—and a school might easily be inefficient without the Governors knowing—it was right and proper that the officials should lay their fingers on the inefficiency that it could be removed. For those reasons they should be very careful in criticising over-inspection. Tho inspection usod to be yearly, but now it was triennial. With regard to the dual inspection the Central Welsh Board were not to blame for tho Board of Education gave a grant to Wales and demanded that the doors should be open to inspection. But an effort was being made by tho Central Welsh Board and the Association of Welsh hoadmasters to bring tha Board of Edu- cation to see that the inspection of the Central Welsh Board was adequate (hear, hear). One point he would refer to with gratification, and '\t was that the inspectors who c-ame. there were sufficient experts to see and say that cer- tain things were going r- he had aimed at for many years. The principle of that aim was to enable a boy or girl to stand on his or her own feet and think for himself or herself. It was easily possible to give more showy re- sults, but he aimed at doing something for boys and girls to enable them to be better equipped for the battle of life hereafter (hear, hear). In point of examination the school was excellent, but there was also that earnestness and enthusi- asm on the part of the pupils which it wa-s their aim always to try to impart (hear. hear). THE LONG VACATION. The Headmaster suggested that the school should break up for the summer holidays on July Gth and re-assemble on and this was adopted.

MACHYNLLETH. T. PAESOXS, Londonderry House, tole agent for Kops high-ciass Mineral Waters. Special Screw- stopper Flagon Bottles. 2s. per dozen. Trade supplied at Wholesale Prices. [Advt JUKE FAIR. — "Ffair Faeh yr Haf did not belie its name on Wednesday, for the number of Ftock and buyers was small, and tr da was not excep- tionally brisk. The principal trade appeared to be in hay rakes, Mid a large quantity of these being bought by the farmers for use in the harvest — when it cnlm s. The ttwrk prices weie liullocks jEl2 to £ 20 and horses C28 to X43. LCCAI. VOCALIST'S KKOOVERY.— Miss May Lnm'ey, the popular local vocalist, has returned home from Liverpool, where ghc, aer-itical (,pera,i,iii successfully. She is now progressing very favour- ably. WEDDING.—A wedding in which much interest was evinced by Aberangell people, took place at t ie Graiij Chapel on Saturday morninsr. when Mr John Jones, 3, The Terrace, Aberangell, was nuir- ri'jd to 7.1 iss Jeannetfee Eleanor Jones, 1, Terrace, Aberangei!. The Rev R. E. Davies, Corgregatiouai minister at Pdnas Mawddwy, officiated, ai d the biide was given away by t er father, Mr David Jor.os. WJILEY GUILD.-Ti;e members had a delightful drive to Aberystwvth last week. The conveyances which were well fiiled, started out early in the morning, and several hours were fopent by tie fcil- ver sens. The day was bright and breezy, Mid everyone thoroughly enjoye-i the trip. Tiie pastor (the ltev G. O. liobeits) had charge of the arrange- ments. DKATH AT ARERHOSAN.—The funeral took place on Saturday, ai, the Aberhosan cemetery, of Mr Hugh Rowlands, a well-known native of the distrii t. The deceased, who was 57, had enjoyed good heubh up to within a few days of his death, which occnrred on Tuesday week and was quite un- expected. Mr Rowlands had resided for some yenra in tbe town, PAUPERISM.—Interesting statistics re incorpor- ate! in tha annual blue book" of the M^ci.yn- lhth Union. During the first six months of the parochial year, the expenditure on relief was I indoor, £ 174 against £ 210 in the coriesponding I period last year out-relief, £ 1,382 agaiest £ 1,252. TKM.PKB.VNCB.—:During the winter a movemeut nnder the auspices of the North Wales Temperance Society waa inaugurated for the foinatioii (If I brand os in the sum mining villages, and it is I stated to have been very sDccestful. On Fiiiav weel, a r tf those interested in the cause met. at the Graig eehcolrooro, and were ente;tffi; ed I to tea by the local branch. Members were present, from Aberhosan, Penegocs, Forge, Soar, Blaen- pennant, aud Penybont.

-+- I HELPING Til Pi FOREIGNER. An interesting movement in the commercial world is the recent establishment in the United States of branch factories by British concerns," says an American contemporary. "Within the last year there have been four of considerable importance; one for the manufacture of weighing mechines, at, South Milwaukee a chemical concern nt Niagara Fails; a fancy cotton goods mJI at South Norwalk, Conn., and a button factory at Baltimore. This move was due to the convic- tion of each concern that they would be bettor able to hold their tiade in America by manufac- turing the articles on the ground, and theieby save the freight and tariff imposed on English good, Commenting on the above, the Globs says: "If we had had a weapon which would have enabled us to negotiate with the United St d.cs — the weapon which Tariff Kef'-rui wiil give 11i1- British capital would have planted these factories upon Hritish soil and f,iitisti workmen would have found an extended market for their labour."

WELSH FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION. At a bat quet at Wrexham on Wednesday night the following players were presented with gold medals in commemoration of the international championship won by Wales last Beason: G. Latham (Liveipiol), W. Meredith (Manchester Uniud), Lot Jones (Manchester City), !?. Morris (Grimsby). A. W. Green and G. Mori is (Notts Fort si), L. R. llooae and LI. Davies (Stoke), C. Moiris (Derby County), S. Meredith (Luton), H. and M. Moryan-Owen (Corinthians), It. Evans and H. Price (Aston Villa), A Hughes (Chirk), J. Hobeits (Bradford), E. Hughes (Tottenham Hot- spur), H. Blew, LI. Davies, G. O. Williams and G. Jonrs (Wrexham). An Amateur Football AsFocia,ioti ii about to be formed. Amougt-t thoae who have expressed their sympathy with the movement are Mr M. Morgan- Ovvin and Mr F. II. Tudor Ow->r>. Mr Tiidor O,yen left England with the Co inthian football team for South Afiica on Saturday.

CAMBRIAN RAILWAYS.—Approximate return of traffic receipts for the week ending June 23 d, 1907. Miles open, 280. Passengers, parcels, horses carriages, dogs and mails, £3,011; merchandise, minerals, asd live stock, £ 3,034 total for the week i 6 C45; aggregate from commencement of half-year E131,635 Actual traffic receipts for the correspond- itig wc-.ok of last veai-: Miles open, 280. Passengers, parrels, &c., £ 3.C91 merchandise, minerals, <xc., £ 3,019; total for the week, £ 6 150 as?gre^ate from commeucement of hali) ear, £ 135,423. Decrease for the week, passengers, parcels, Ac., £ 80; decrease, merchandise, minerals, &c., X25 total decrease for tht, week, E105 aggregate decrease passengers, parcels Ac., £ 973 aggregate decrease merchandise, minerals, Ac., £ 2,765 aggregate de- crease from commencement of iiilf.v-ar, £ 3,740.

Please some more! More What? Fruit Jelly I Fruit Jelly made in Brown & Poison's way is really nice-and what's more, it's really good. It is made with Corn Flour just like a Blancmange, but you use the juice of stewed fresh fruit instead of Milk. You get all the goodness of the fruit that way. Stew any kind of fruit in season to get the juice, but for best results use only- Brown tu Poison's I "patent" Corn Flour. I ABUNDANCE OF BABY'S NATURAL FOOD 1 51 }<'(1 r.V Avenue, Rarking Road, Eait-Ilavi, Ess fx, April i$!h, i>)or, "I started taking Scott's Emulsion ahoiit i months before my baby was born, and the result has been (hat Baby is taken for three wo.-uhs, rtithotmh only f-even weeks old. sud I have an abundance ol his natural food. The Reason Why Child and Mother Throve ■" 1111 II The Reaso-ii Why Child and Mother Throve The fine I.ofoten oil ini.;(Ie perfectly digestible by the Scott process) nourished1 the child, even before j t w;vs DorD. and gave the mother the strength to bear the straits l! t &f pregnancy and tbe heavy drain of -No other emulsion but Scott's could "'l:5,h::1a SCOTT'S Emulsion wil'l til;4 lUh" tva Test the p'ear.ani taste of Scott's by sending for a free sample bottle (enclose 3d. for true scoxrs. postage] irorn SCOTT & BCW>;K, Ltd., 10-11 Stonecutter Street, London, E.C..

Ii FASHION AND THINGS FEMININE. By MISS IDA MELLER. A DRESS FOR ALL SEASONS. With most women of small means only two seasons of the year are recognised so far as clothes are concerned. Winter frocks are worn until summer comes along, and the summer outfit is only excanged for the winter one. The backbone of the wardrobe will probably be a coat and skirt of tweed, or a cape and skirt of serge, the skirts being worn in summer without their complementary parts. In place of the eoat or cape, shoulder-straps, attached to a deep belt might be adopted, these resting on a blouse of delaine or muslin. Naturally the wardrobe that is to carry one through two or three sea- sons needs to be carefully planned. The dress sketched has been specially designed with a view of its usefulness for several seasons, and to suit the woman, whe is obliged to wear her frocks" straight along," as the Americans say. until they are worn out—for the woman, more- over, who seldom enjoys the privilege of having a brand new dress, and who is obliged, when 1he opportunity comes of ordering such a thing, to choose what will suit. spring, summer, aut- umn, and winter. The original of our sk -tch is in grey cashmere, the corselet :<3;ii t having tirree tucks above the hem and the bodice a berthe of its own material, embroidered by hand in dull bit- similar embroidery decorat- ing the bands to the sleeves; and the grey straw hat is trimmed with grey chiffon, and blae now- ers matching the colour of the embroidery. The yoke, and deep cuffs are of lace mounted on chiffon, which could be replaced, later, by soft silk. This gown (the addition of a coatee to match is recommended) might be copied in Shantung or taffetas silk by those who can af- ford eithfr material. The silk gown is one of the most useful commodities, always having a ceitain prestige, and at the same time, if the colour is quiet, adapting itself to simple occa- sions. An unpretentious frock of reseda taf- fetas, suitable for theatre wear, concerts, and α- 41. friendly social gatherings, is made with a plain, full skirt, gathered at the waist, a high, draped belt, and a charming little bodice, cut square and low at the neck, and arranged in pleats from waist to waist, back and front. The silk passes the shoulders, and there it develops into pleated Kimona sleeves, the two Inst pleats edged with ball-fringe and also those that cross the shoulders. A line of old" pink velvet out- lines the neck; and-the short under-sleeves and chemisette are of spotted net. A GRACEFUL COAT. Oriental embroideries are playing a promi- nent part in dress-fashions of the day. and are sparingly or lavishly used according to the quan- tity at disposal or the scheme of design ar- ranged. Among the newest -elts may be seen those composed of silk covered with Chinese or Japanese embroideries, some narrow, some deep, after the fashion of a high. fitted corselet. The waist of a tailor-made costume of dark blue serge, made with fitted skirt and bolero coat, is composed of black silk embroidered, by Chinese hands, with flowers and foliage in pinks, blues, and greens, of the rich but not gaudy shades associated with Eastern work. Em- broidered canvas belts are simple and pretty with washing frocks and embroidered bretelles are graceful additions to simple blouse3. The pretty little coat sketched, which partakes of the nature of a bolero and pelerine, is trimmed with bands of embroidered canvas, the coat it- self being of dark blue serge. The canvas is white', and the emrboidery is carried cut in China blues with touches of gold. The capj sleeve3 ii-re very becoming to any figure, with their graceful hang and width. In dull gold galon we find an effective trimming for coats of navy serge, and, when thus decorated, the coats find a pretty supplement in belts of gold braid or tissue, which are. again, agreeable ad- ditions to boleros with waistcoats trimmed with gold braiding. A little line of braid is some- times repeated as a heading to the eollar-b-aa*! of net or lace. SUGGESTION FOR A RENOVATION. The use of chin? Rilk for dresa trimmings is somewhat of a novehy that is met with" on summer gOWnB, suiting very well those of voile and lifting a simple material into dressiness. A voile gcnnl in a charming, subdued shade of cLirrani red, has, on the plain full skirt, a shaped band of chine silk, placed as a deep hem, the ground of the silk white, patterned with blurred red and pink roses. This fashionable fancy suggests a pretty way of renovating a voile or other frock worn at. the hem. The chine silk should be repeated on the bodice. It might be used, for instance, as bretelles, or as- a kimono coatee strapped with the dress mater- ial—after the fashion of the coatee sketched, which is worn over a chiffon blouse with lace yoke. Herein lies a suggestion for a renova- tion, or for the using of remnants bought at the sales. THE VISITING CARD. What to have printed on her visiting card is a matter that sometimes occasions the young wife perplexity. Shall she be Mrs John Smith" or plain "Mrs Smith"? With a name that one he an as frequently as Smith it is al- ways the better plan, for the sake of distinction.. to add the husband's Christian name. This, however, is unnecessary when the surname is a. less common one than t.he above, unless, of course, i i should happen ihat iie newly-married couple are residing in the neighbourhood of the- husband's family. In that case, to distinguish the voung wife from her mother-in-law, or from her husband's sister-in-law. as the case may be. tiie addition of the husband's Christian name is advisable. It will srve confusion. The 1 At Home" day should be printed across the.top left-Irand corner of the pasteboard. TABLE MANNERS. There are many women mixing in the social world who feel very keenly their own deficien- cies in the matter of manners and a knowledg-3 of etiquette, who would so willingly do the right thing but do net know what is correct. The painful knowledge of their own ignorance con- stantly forces itself upon them, making them* shirk society, and consequently they miss a great many pleasant- friendships, and are ner- vous and self-conscious when mixing with others- The woman who marries above her station, but yet lias a true appreciation for refinement,, and is anxious to improve her manners and dc* nothing that should make her husband less- proud of her than when on the day he married' her he gave her his name. often suffers a martyrdom from her lack of education. Table manners are, perhaps, a very gore- point with her, a little thing that causes dis- tress to many women being the inability to drink cleanly. This can be. in a great measure, remedied if the mouth is kept as dry as possible by being wiped with the pocket handkerchief im- mediately before and after drinking t2a, water. or other fluid. If this little hint is followed there is less likelihood of the cup or glass being much stained from contact with the lips—which should rest as lightly as possiore on the ehiiia. Needless to say the teaspoon should never be- left in the cup. not only for the reason that it would be bad manners to leave it there, but also- oeeause of the likelihood of accident in upset- ting the cup and its contents. People, even in good society, often commit a. breach of good table manners by scraping their plates hard with a dessert spoon in order to-, obtain the last drop of fruit juice and cream. Tl lis is a social error to be avoided. The most important thing of all in regard to- table manners is the precaution to eat and! drink as quietly as possible. The annoyance io- the refined, sensitive mind of being placed next to noisy feeders is as acute as bodily pain. The handling of the knife and fork should be- carefully performed, and when the helping i finished they should be placed neath- at the side of the plate and in the pauses of eating their- attitude must also be considered. There should be no toying with the eutlerv between the courses, no promiscuous crumbling of bread to act as an irritant to the nerves of y o u r neighbour. TENDER. FEET. The enjoyment of the summer holiday to those- fond of walking is marred considerably whern tender feet act as all impediment to long'walks.. Some comfort will be found in rubbing the soles of the feet with Irrd and dusting them with antiseptic powder before walking, and in taking a footbath of warm water, to which is added a spoonful of liquid ammonia, on returning. If the feet are very tender, they should be" agaift: rubbed with lard the last thing at night. The- powder, instead of being dusted on to°the soles, of the feet before walking, may, if preferred, b- sprinkled into the feet of the stockings, and the- i esult will be equally good. The quality and' condition of the shoes and stockings are. of course, most important to the comfort of th- feet. THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK. It is wrong to judge a person bv a sin^1 • action, though at the same time all the circum- stances attending it should even be known. In I a moment of enthusiasm a transient error mav cause an honest person to commit a consui-at)i action but he (or she) still possesses his good as well as his erring qualities. ° j Hopes have precarious life Ihey are oft blighted, withered, snapped sheer off' In vigorous growth and turned to rottenness • But faithfulness can feed on suffering And knows no disappointment. —George Eliot. There are four good habits—punctuality ac- euracy. steadiness, and dispatch. Without the nrst of these, time is wasted; without the -r oud, mistakes the most hurtful to our own cred- it and interest, and that of others, may be com mitted; without the third, nothing can bo well trone und without the fourth, opportunitiet of groat advantage are lost, which it i3 impossible 10 recall.

THE MEXICAN HAIR EES E WEE. Is not a dje. Prevents Hair faUing off. Restores it to its natural eadeiir.. Prevents Dandruff, Mid is The best Beoewer known. Should be oa every ToUe&T&Me- Of all Cbetaists and Hairdresser Prico 3s. 6d. per t.

FARM NOTES. [BY AN OCCASIONAL CONTBIBUTOK.] As a rule amongst the farming circle the weather is a generally absorbing topic of inter- est, and frequently has to sustain a large amount of adverse criticism—sometimes deserv- edly, but many times we grumble about it with- out occasion. If ever there was an excuse for grumbling about the weather, we have certainly had some little excuse for it this last month, for instead of long summer days of sunshine we have had a great proportion of the month cloudy, p bleak, cold, rainy weather accompanied fre- quently with high cold wind—more resembling the early spring or lute autumn than the middle of summer. There is an old saying that a dry May and a dripping June puts all things into tune." We have certainly had a dripping June, but things have assumed rather a mournful tune. The farming prospects at the end of May were vary bright—at the end of June they have as- sumed a darker shade. The grain crops have lost colour considerably, especially oil cold clay soils. Tho hay crops are bulky, but the want of sunshine is causing a de- ficiency in quality, and great anxiety is being felt about the harvesting of the same. The root crops are doing well where sown early, but many fields in the later districts have not yet been sown. It is now getting late to expect a full crop of swedes, so yellow or white turnips may have to be sown instead of swedes. Of course a crop of common turnips is not nearly so valuable as a crop of swedes. It is much bet- ter than leaving the land idle. The better sorts of groen top yellow turnips are not much in- jarior to swedes and will grow a fairly good eroP, even if not sown before the middle of July. The mangolds where well got in. have come up well, and are now nearly all singled out and hoed. On some fields we hear complaints of wireworm attacking the mangolds. The early swedes have been attacked by the fly, so that second sowing has had to be resorted to in some isolated eases, but as a rule those swedes that were sown in good time arc now showing a strong regular plant, and are being hoed out as fast as we can get at the work. We do not ex- pect to be able to carry out our usual system this year and have the hoeing finished in time for haymaking. Some of our cleverest managers are doing it though despite the difficulties of the season. It adds greatly to our labour difficulty if the turnips require to be hoed when the hay is ready for making. With a continuance of unsettled weather, hay- matting will prove a slow expensive, anxious, un- profitable operation. The memory of previous wet, sunless summers has not been nuite effaced by time. The summers of 1861, 1872, 1877, 1879, 1888, and 1903 were all wet. The crops of hay were large, but much of it spoiled in the making. It requires great care and watchfulness, and extra labour to save hay during unsettled weather. The rough and ready inexpensive pian-common in the south of England—of mow- ing, turning, raking up, and carrying to the stack, is all very well in fine weather as a cheap way of securing the grass and making a second- rate quality of hay, but if that system is follow- ed out in showery weather the crop will prob- ably be utterly spoiled. In the districts of North Wales and the North-west of England, where the climate is so uncertain, quite a differ- ent system has to be adopted. Of course the ob- ject and aim is the same in both systems—that i" to get the grass dried as quickly and as thor- oughly as possible, without losing the rich nu- tritive properties of the crop, and to do so at the least possible expense, consistent with securing the best quality of hay. We all know sunshine h the best haymaker, yet it is possible in a very hot time to get it too dry or over made as we term it. Sometimes in trying to economise lavour and save expense we get the top of it over dried whilst it is too green underneath, fhe result being a mixed inferior sample of hay. It is but seldom the hay suffers from too much sun—we more frequently have to lament the want of sun in haymaking time, aiid liavc,. to de- pend on the wind for. drying it. In that c-aso it >; imperative to get it up on the ground as soon ItS we can. As the grass gets a bit lighter by tedding it and turning we draw it into windrows for the night—that is rows drawn bv about the width of a swathe apart. Less of it is touching the ground, and more of it exposed to the wind than if lying flat. By turning these rows, great progress can be made in drying it. The next step is to get it into cocks, the making of which if quite an art in itself-nii art that is being lost to some extent for want of practice. A properly formed cock will shed off a lot of "iii and keep the hay inside it dry and sweet. Hay may be kept in these cocks for a consider- able time and sustain no harm from fain, whcrc- a budly made cock may get wet quite through It and th: hav be in a worse state than if it was left on the ground, besides requiring to be aV. spread out again to dry. When hay is partly dried or made, a heavy ram washes out the most soluble and most valu- able constituents of the crop. It destroys the Hroma rendering it much less palatable, and it IiIPoils the colour making it worthless in the mar- ket. So by getting it into well made cocks we prevent it being damaged by rain, and, if neees- sary, we can finish the process of drying it in cocks by turning them and re-making Uieiii, The fine summers of recant years almost cause :]¡;¡ to forget the art of haymaking, the hay hav- ng reallv made itself. We have also almost for. Kotten the art of making silage. We consider 9 1 tuat if the weather is favourable for haymaking the crop must be made into hav, and only in un- Javourable sea-sons should we have recourse to ntaling ensilage. For some years now we have md no occasion to resort to that plan of saving id,,r. Possiblv we may have to do so this tune. The process is simple in the extreme. HIuch more so than making hay. Cut the grass fts it it; (wet or dry),cart it straight away into neap, tread rt tus firmly as can be done (if wot tread aJi the asore closelv). keep the sides »t«sjc-k straight and level (the wider and ;gger it » the better) so that as little as pos- ■UG of the material be exposed to the air. It' is only the sides and a little on the top that will spoil. It is the air that causes decomposition, and the firmer it is put together to the exclusion of air the less it will get spoiled. Ensilage can- not be used altogether as a substitute for hay during winter—it is really a better substitute for roots—and if the root crop should prove a fail- ure a good stack of ensilage would be invalu- able. The excessive wet and low temperature dur- ing June has been rather against the stock mak- ing progress. Grass has been plentiful, but the quality of it is inferior through want of sun- shine. Lambs have perhaps suffered most, but all the stock have felt the cold and wet. Con- sequently they have not made as much progress in fattening as they would have done had the weather ,cen more genial. A wet back and wet bed does not add to the comfort or further the progress of the animals, especially those that are being prepared for the butcher. At the same time we have missed so far the disturbing elements of the heat and the flies. Fat cattle have been making very satisfactory prices at some of our recent markets, and are paying well for their keep. cl Sheep have been paying well for a year or two; possibly we may have seen the highest of them for a time. The recent decline in the value of wool may affect the price of sheep to some extent. It was rather a disappointment to many farmers to have to accept Ud. per lb. less than last year's prices at the recent sales of wool. Still the price is much better than it was a few years ago, and sheep farming has been about the best paying department of agricul- ture. We congratulate the Kerry sheep breeders on their display at Lincoln, and although they have not brought much prize-money into the county they may have been the means of bringing some new customers for the breed. Our flocks are very healthy at present—a little as usual of our old friend (?) the foot rot to trouble UB; otherwise the arc keeping particularly healthy. The same may be said of the cattle. Except for an isolated ease of anthrax there has been no serious disease amongst the herd. There has been about the usual loss on some farms through striking, but much less abortion than we have had for some time, and certainly we are freer from tubercu- losis than the general run of dairy herds or even some of the fashionable pedigree herds. Perhaps our system of keeping cattle chiefly in the open air may have something to do with our immunity from tuberculous diseases. Certain it is that those breeds and sorts of cattle which are the most carefully housed and kept in close, badly ventilated buildings are the most subject to that troublesome disease. There is an article in the "Nineteenth Cen- tury for this month by Lady Priestley on the Homes of our food supply." Referring to the report of the Royal Commission on tuberculosis her ladyship suggests a rather drastic change in the management of cattle by dispensing with all buildings and leaving the cattle to enjoy the privilege of open air summer and winter, and just to have the use of open sheds in very bad weather. The plan may answer in some warmer drier climates, and in our county it may be practised with store cattle that are young and strong, but a breeding or milking cow that has "been weakened by carrying a calf or giving a lot of milk requires to have a comfortable shelter and bed during the long winter nights, other- wise she may get a more fatal disease than tuberculosis, and even if she weathers the storm and lives through the winter you cannot expect to get much milk from her.. Neither can you expect cattle that are being fattened to make any progress however much food you sup- ply them with unless you also keep them warm and comfortable during the cold weather. Some experienced stall feeders insist on keeping them as dark and quiet as possible, so that they may have no excitement or anything to disturb them or hinder the process of fattening. Warmth, quiet, rest, sleep and plenty of food are all re- quisite to ensure rapid fattening. If Lady Priestley's plan would act, it would save the landowners great expense in buildings, and save the tenants the expense in labour of looking after cattle in the cowhouse, but in our climate it is not practicable. We can manage that way with strong bullocks or heifers if they have plenty of hay to eat and water to drink and some trees or hedges for shelter, They will live with, out buildings during the winter, and will im- prove more rapidly in the spring than cattle which have been kept- in warm quarters and turned out to grass along with them. Those that lay out the winter will make much more rapid progress than those that were wintered indoors.