Papurau Newydd Cymru
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FARMING NOTES. --
FARMING NOTES. (From the Agricultural Gazette!") SEASONABLE JSOTKS. fl'lio FE'M?ON is (observes Prof. Wrightson) lika a •pencithrifr, for it squanders warmth and sunshine, and i- ;>rod:gal of its balmy breezes. Farming events follow i »juii:k succession, and render it difficult to be seasonable, for we are almost out of season in tho matter of earliness. As a matter of observation, lhsro is a monotony in weekly chronicles of mild weather, uninterrupted tillages, growing crops unchecked by frost, ar.d winter forage rapidly coming on weeks before it is due. One feature is undoubtedly the sm>'ll amount of rain, for since tho autumn of li-91 weh-ivo had a continuance of s;>meMiing like drought. W itii the excoptic-n of a feiv heavy showers, accompanied with thunder, we have had an exceptionally dry "winter following a droughty summer, while last winter, although particularly severe, was not characterised by much fitli of either snow or rain. The effect upon the land must be highly conducive to the storage of nitrogen, while tho high temperature must have favoured the production of nitrates within the soil. I, therefore, hope for a fruitful season, unless we fire destined to encounter unfavourable changes, which need not be anticipated. Some fears are expressed that slugs and insects will appear in overwhelming numbers, but experience teaches that these pests are able to come out in force even after very severe and protracted frosts. In any case, there 13 no advantage in tormenting ourselves before the time, and at present there is nothing but what may be considered as favourable conditions so far as Nature is concerned. Wo are the slaves of circum- stances, and when Mr. Gilbert Murray congratu- lates us farmers for returning to the traditions of early sowing, he apparently forgets that this course is forced upon us, although not unwillingly. Lust year we could not even make a start by the present date, and were destined to jump from tha frying-pan of dismal winter and arctic frost into the lire of summer drought. The yields of corn were very bad in consequence, nnd had need be improved upon. Even well-farmed lands rendered the miserable re- turn of six and seven sack;, of wheat, and 10 sad:" of oats, which at present prices were bound to spell loss. What wo require is a double yield, and certainly pre- sent appearances may be considered as hopeful of such a result. Barley and oats will soon be above ground, and we must hope for the sai: p bulk as characterised 189-1, with Letter quality of torn. One feature of the season appears to b.) the com- parative sluggishness of trees and hedgerows, which are not particularly forward, considering the long continuance of mild weather. It is not often that charlock abounds at this time of the year, but, owing to the absence of frost, wheat fields and winter vetches, as well as fodder crops, are in many cases infested. As a rule, ivinler-sown wheat is free from thig. scourge, yhile saving corn crops are victim'scd. A sbufcd old-fashioned pracllCt coiistjteu til blow- ing barley and oat land in good time, so as to allow charlock to germinate before sowing the coin. This plan is not consistent with the earliest sowing, and is not looked upon with much favour. When, how- ever, we reflect upon the virulence of charlock, and its prejudicial effect upon crops affected by it, it, is worth while waiting to kill a crop of seedlings before sowing barley. CLOVER AND GRASS SEEDS. Samples are bright and plump, and prices rallier easier than last year. Now that barley is being sown, the grass seeds will not be long in following. At tho risk of being thought old-fashioned, I prefer the old j standard grasses and clovers to the new. In spite of all that has been said on the subject, Pacey's rye- grass and Devonshire Evergreen stand their ground for short-lived pastures. When it is intended to sow down for one, two, or even three years, there is no necessity for travelling out of the well-known course of ryegrass and clovers. It is questionable if there is any benefit in incorporating cocksfoot and dogstai!, catotail and foxtail, poas and fescues, ,.(' in mixtures of strictly temporary character. The number of grasses and forage plants which go to form a mixture steadily increases with the time the pasture is intended to lie. For one year's lair, red clover 141b. and Italian ryegrass one bushel is enough. For two years', white, yellow, and alsike may be added, and the ryegrass be equally divided between Italian and perennial. For three years', a few pounds of cocksfoot, timothy grass, and tall or other fescues may be added. When a pasture of several years' duration, or, still more, if a permanent turf is re- quired, the complex charaeterof the mixture increases to a somewhat puzzling degree. EXPENSES. For two or three years' lay there seems to be no object in complicated and expensive mixtures. Baccy's ryegrass or Devonshire Evergreen are so certain and productive th t it seems more a mutter of fashion than rezil iiei-it which gives other grasses a look in. Good Pacey can be bought now for 3s. od. to 4". per bushel, and as :Fiib. WQuld be a fair weight, the price stands at a trifle over Hd. per lb. One bushel is ample seeding with clovers, and, therefore, :.k Gd. to 4s. represents the cost per acre. Referiing to an ex- cellent catalogue, I find the following: 0 Per ib. s. d. Sweet vernal grass 1 I Tall fescue Oil GolJen oat grass 2 10 Crested dcgslail 1 2 Hard fescue 0 7 Shee,D,s fescuo 1 0 Cocksfoot 0 1 Meadow fescne. 0 8 Foxtail 1 4 Pacey's ryegrass 0 H The addition of a few pounds of grasses at Is. a lb. is rather serious, especially as the luxuriance of pastures so produced is not always eqllal to tInl of ryegrass and ordinary clover. The matter is worthy of attent ion and of criticism, as circumstances differ very widely. Not having always found the grasK-a supposed to be sown in the subsequent crop, I am slightly sceptical as to the advisability of going to so much extra expense. QUANTITY OF CLOVER. Twelve to fifteen pounds of mixed clover ought to suffice, and this I apportion as follows mh. of red "J 21b. of white for two or three Jears ^lb. alsike f duration. 41b. of yellow J .I- 1 bushel of Pacey"s ryegrass. 'The cost will be IDs. 6d. per acre, which ij about 7s. cheaper than mixtures containing cocksfoot, catstail, meadow grass, and fescues. When temporary pastures for several ypars' dura- tion are required, it is ad visable to add grosses, as well as forage plants, as yarrow, birdsfoot trefoil, Anthyllis or kidney vetch and for permanent pas- tures complicated mixtures are indispensable. LAVING DOWN LAM). This is the great panacea for agricultural depres- sion, but it is an edge tool to play with. If it hia been successful, it has also exhibited gigantic fai'tiros, which time Illune can rectify. In the meantim;», while tho grass is growing the" horse is starving. Tha general complaint; gives nlundant Oil ttiefii;lii,.eofl;kndtot.I,e to gr:i-oz!, and it is I)retty certain that unless naturally adopted for the p u p .S J it cannot be forced into paaU.re. The tide still con- tinues to flow, for want of tiny better alterant-ire, i:i the direction of l uing down land to gr;:ss, and this spring will probtbly sec an extended are > of abandoned tillage land. Even here the doctors differ; for while some with good reason urge the importance of land being clean and in good condition for down, others pin their faith to the established fact that many of our best pastures resulted in tho fust instance in a sort of tumble down to a state of natural herbage. For my own part, I prefer iho p!ough, except it be as a sort of policy of de-pair. Light lands often deteriorate under pasture, although they will yield large crops of grass for one or t wt) years. We lose interest in tillage lands because farm- ing ig depressed, and are glad to take refuge in a sort, of agricultural suicide. Agriculture lies buried and 7 grinning at the daisy roots. Still, in spite of all, wa see vast areas under the plough, and the innss of farmers go on their way not rejoicing, but, with truo British stolidity, refusing to allow that they are beaten. ° J Those who arc led to believe that they will do better if they lay their land away to grass will be less guided by newspapers and agrieultural journals than bv their own and their neighbours' experience. The difficulty of making good pasturip is not in sawing grass seeds, for that is an easy task nor in selecting good mixtures, for the whole scientific seed trade stands ready to teach and supply the l'ight article nor in mamvLng jroung grass, for, with plenty of dung, and dirt U htsd and a moderate expenditure in slog and superoboa- phate, tins may btl donti according to tilql best KI.DWII rules. But the difficulty is in making the grasses take and forni a sole. Given a light-land fieid ready to seed with grass, it Leeiia wise to sow a cheap mix- ture of ryegrass and clover upon young corn, and take a good crop of hay. If it is good for a second or third year, it may be allowed to lie; but after that I think I had rather try my luck with a crop of oats than allow the ground to become bare or filled with lop and water-grass.
GAIIDE.MXG GOSSIP. -
GAIIDE.MXG GOSSIP. {From "Gardening I/lustra tsJ.) COVSKILVATOITV. Thpre should be plenty of (lowers now for all purposes. Some of the best cutting [lowers arc, of course, the Narcissus family, of which the old- fashioned Daffodils are easily produced. As the plant? go out of bloom remove to cold pit3 just to give shelter for a few days till the bulbs can be planted out. Diehtra epectnbilis when fully developed is a beautiful thing in a good-sized pot, and will last a long time. If taken care of after t'owering and plunged out during summer the piant3 will (lower earlier and quite as s'n-ngly next year. This is II good companion to Solomon's Seal, and if pUced in contrasting groups are very effective. The Abutilon5 are nearly always in flower in a light house, but the growth is very rampant and requires to Ix* rc- duced occasionally. This is better than letting the plants get out of hand, and then to ci.t. down near the base. I iiiki titiriiil:iig iiow of plants set out in tho borders; but even plants in pots get leggy if not stopped and shortened occasionally. Roses ill pots must, have plenty of nourishment. Instead of giving litpud stimulants to a largo extent, which in conservatories adjoininjj the botire may sometimes l e objectionable, the necessary stimulant may be given to such plants .Y as Roses in a dry form in the sn'iape of pon der, mixed with t he top-dressing soil, and, when the plants are repotted, a pound of a conventratcd stimulant, or sometimes more, according to circums'ances, is added to each bushel of compost, and I with it before potting or top-dressing. This is found to answer as well as giving liqmd-ioar.uro, and docs not leave any bitd siiiell. Of course, there aro a dozen manures which may be vised, but most of tho best manures have some smell which, many would call objectionable. As fast as Heaths go out of flower the long shoots should be shortened back, and when the new growth starts away, repot. Hard-wooded plants must have a light position, and though a little warmth during the first stages of growth be desirable in the case of the winter-Howering Jfeaths and Epacrises, the plants must not be kept too close. A night-tem- perature of oOdeg. will be warm enough now from tire-heat. STorE. Cuttings of the red-leaved Acahplia mncrophvU: will strike freely now in the hot-Lt-d or nase. Gaiil^nias, Ce.'itradenia?, Cleiodcndrons, Cro- tons, Dracaenas, luipatu&d (^ul'r.n's .Balsau:), Thyrsacanthus rutilans, Ifebecliniuni iariti,iniiiii (the last two are useful winter-flower plants). All tho above and many others will root freely now from cut- tings if the young shoots are started in a bibk bottom-heat. Do not. forget to H w a few seeds now of the Saintpaulia ionantha. It is one cf the best of the recent introductions and not difiicult to grow. Anyone with the means of growing Gloxinias may succeed with this new African phint. If there is -x bit of Imrf" wall in any warm house plant old plants of Enphorbia jacquiniirflora and Poinettia pulcherrima against it. It is difficult to avoid overcrowding at this season; but young growing plants s!:o;d have room to develop, or they soon spoil. It is better not to aim at too much, though by-and-bye some of tha, plants may be taken to other houses. Tha grout draw- back is that nearly every collection of stove plant3 is more or less infested with mealy-bug, and moving stove plants to vineries and pineries is risky work, and should, if possible, bo avoided. If vaporising destroys mealy-bug, then the growers of stove plants will have much to be thankful for. CHRYSANTHEMUMS | should now be in cold frames freely ventilated. Fur flin most part they will be in five-inch pots. Good loam is necessary to obtain tho best results, wuJ tho loam should be adhesive rather than sandy. Lighter materials can be added to make up a compost suit- able for ench variety. The pots must be well drained, and the soil rammed fairly hard. Cutting may be rooted now to make dwarf ohints for grouping. WINDOW GARDENING. Cuttings will root now in a warm room. G e-t, niums," Campanulas, Heliotropes, and any other plants from which cuttings can be obtained may bo propagated now. Sow seeds of tender annuals, such as Shocks, Asters, and Phlox Drummondi to plant out by-and-bye. Sow Tomat oe3 in a box or pot; cover the seeds lightly, and place a square of glass the tol). Water only when tho surface is dry. Prick or pot off the young plants whon large enough. ()UI'DOOP (;All,rN. In many districts it will be safe now to prune Roses. Cut to dormant buds ns much as possible. 1 have not space to go into this qucstion fully, but weakly growers should be cut back rather hard, as by concentration the growth will be strengthened. Strong growers may be left longer. The same principle should inlleenee our action with the knife generally in pruning other planfs or trees. A weakly Clematis will be better cut back Lo tlle as the shoot which breaks away from the bo'tom will ho stronger than any shoot we can get higher.up. Sow hardy annuals freely, bat not in lirtle driblets, which are hardly represents! ivo of each spcoios ui- variety. Patches a yard or mora across are necessary to show tho true character of a plant, nnd if i.hc-seod^ are sown thinly and thinned further when up, tho effect wdl be good. iii, re Sweet Peas an 1 Mignonette. Fasten r(,clJll.r-phll: eJ Carnations or Pansies if they are not ifrmly fixed in tha soil. Young planters sometimes fail in firming the plants when selling them out, nnd they perish with drought. Any plant with its roots only loosely laid in the soil has a hard struggle before its roots git hold of the roil. Trees and shrubs may be planted, as tnay Roses if absolutely nccessiry. But a.U Roses now should be cut hard back before packing away. Stir the soil among growing plants. i'KUlT GAiiOi:*). Tn dijhudding Peaches, whether under glass or outside, there mustalwajs be a good shoot left, at ti; base of the branch, and a good leader. These two shoots arc always necessary, eren when the hearing shoot ,)iny only be a stiot-t Long shoots 2Tt. or lj;ti,e tin intertifdi;lte slij t )s, fcr a t inc. at any rate. Do not crowd the young wood but the thinning is best done tentatively. L,*t: When a lot of foliage is removed from a tree at one time it must. give a check that would probably have a had effect upon the young fruit. Disbud lite Vines which are not breaking by removing the weak b-.ds. One shoot to each spur will be amp's. Vigorous V i/jts will throw many shoofs, nnd '.he removal of the weakest will gi\e an access of strength to those left. This is a good time to overhaul Pines, and give the pLttits a fresh etart for the spring and summer. Pint's cannot be grown successfully without a comfortable bottom-heat,. Keep aof Strawberrii s by introducing fresh plants to the houses at frequent intervals. Either thin the blossoms by removing the weakest or get a dozen fruits set ami then remove tho remainder. Give liquid-manure when the fruits are swelling, and keep down insects be swinging wufi clean soft water. I'lant. in it-L, a:t-. Warm borders planted with early kinds should ye heavily mulched to protect the plants hon rd<ot;&it and save watering. VKOF.TAIlf.H OAROK.V. Sow "ïnler Greens. UrusseU Sprouts and Cauli- flowers sown under glass should be pricked out to get strong. Cauliflowers in frame3 or in sheltered places !Iny now be planted out. In dry soils a part, at any rate should be planted in ti-eiiulifes, and if these trenches aro placed near a wanll wall or f'enco the plnnts will come on more rapidly. Sow Celery for main crop in boxes, or if many plants aie requireu make up small hot-bed and cover with a frame. Tomatoes may be treated in the same way if luauv are required for planting outside. We are tisitii boxes tititier We can buy Orange-boxes at 3s. per dozen, and they last very well one season, and are then worli tho money fur lighting fires. Our phmts in Orange-boxes last, A ear produced Letter than those plitnteciotit. in the borders of the house. Good Tomato soil will produce thrt » Crops fairly good, and then there ought to be a change. Very thick planting is nut udvisible. Turnips may be sown now with a reasonable pro-qjcct af success. Wood-ashes may with adv.iniage be sswn in the drills with the seeds. Marrow Pens only should be planted now. There are plenty of good Pens. Walkers Perpetual l>arer ij i* ;j.J reliable kind f-r present sowing. Make up M^hroom-bcds outside The beds for summer {►oarhi^ should -bto on lie n)ltll side uf a building ia tbs studa.
AMERICAN HUMOUR. -
AMERICAN HUMOUR. Tnz honeymoon was over and they had settled down to show themselves staid and steady old married people. Harry," she said, knitting her pretty brows as if greatly perplexed, I've been trying to arrange things a little systematically to-day." "Quito right," liesitid. It'; time we were settled and had everything arranged properly." "Yes, but, Ilat-i-v, t-lie fact is 1-I il "You what? Nothing has gone wrong, has it ?" he asked anxiously. Ob, no bat everyone was so kind to us that I find it a little hard to-to-. It wouldn't be proper to sell any of the presents, would it?" Certainly not." That's what I feared," she said with a sigh. You see, I don't know just what to do with them all." Do with them ?" he exclaimed with masculine readiness to seule any problem. Why, use them, of course." "But how, Harry ? lIow f" she asked. We. have eight clocks and only a sewn-room flat." He gave a low whistle. "Thpn we bave five cluzen silver spoons and four cake baskets." He began to look perplexed himself. There are 12 butter knives and six fruit dishes," she added. He swore r.oftly to himself, but made no suggestion. We have three sets of fruit knives and Enough," lie exclaimed. Do what you please with tlkprn." "But, Harry, I want you to- "They're yours," lie interrupted. They were all given to you and not to me, weren't they ? It wouldn't be fair for me to assume any right to them when they were expressly given to JOu." And thus she first lsarncd "f man's ability to dodge a difficult problem. It took place in a little overgrown town in the far ive,t. The man from the east had waited for two hours and seventeen minutes for an electric car. When it arrived at last and he had climbed aboard ho asked the conductor, as he paid his fare No accidents this morning?" None, air," replied the official. Running on schedule time ?" We 1) It are." "Nothing the matter with the generators ?" "Not a thing." The questioner paused a moment. Then he asked. Well would you mind telling me ust how far apart these dashed cars run, then ?" Not at all, sir," replied the man in blue; "every seventeen miles." "Every seventeen miles," repeated the easterner. "How do you mean?'' "Track's seventeen miles long, and this is the only car." Then the man from the east was satisfied. ONE day last week as a reporter came out of Four- teenth-street into Pennsylvania-avenue he met coming across the avenue from the cable cars, from which he had just alighted, the most diffident newspaper man on tho row. He had a nervous, uncertain, glad-to- escape look, and he met the reporter in much the I same spirit a shipwrecked sailor would meet a life preserver. Hello," exclaimed the reporter, what's the matter?" "Whew," and the diffident man puffed I out a long breath of relief, I hope to goodness I'll never have another such an experience." What was it ? An accident ?" .Partially," smiled the escaped. "At least, I think it was. It was this way," and he turned to give a last gaze at the car as it whirled out of sight around the corner of Fifteenth street. I was coming up from the capitol and the car was pretty well loaded when three ladies got in at Peace monument. I thought there was room next to itic for them and shoved over to accommodate them, but only two could get in. Then I offered my place to the third one, but she declined, and insisted on de- clining so vigorously that I remained in my seat. However, she thanked me and said she would sit on the lap of cne of her companions, and down she sat. Now, as I said, there wasn't any room to spare in that car, and when she sat down she sat on one-half of my lap, and I didn't dare move a peg. I thought she would notice it, but she was busy talking and didn't, and I stood the pressure the best I know how. I twisted around three or four times, but it didn't seem to do any good and only made me more uncomfortable, and I finally sub- mitted, quietly hoping the party would leave the car before I had to. The hope however, was daohed as we drew nearer the Ilth street, and then I began to wonder how I was ever going to get out of it for I didn't have time to stay in the car till my fair burden Jett, ncitherdid I want to pay car fare back from George- town or some other suburban point. As the car passed the street I made a herculean effort. Excuse me, madam,' said I, 'but I want to leave the car here.' Well ?' and the surprised woman looked at me, quest,ioningly, I have no objections.' I presume not,' I stammered, but you are sitting on my lap and I can't move.' What !'she exclaimed, houncing up like a rubber ball, 'all that distance?' 'Ye:' madam,' I responded, very much embarassed, and feeling like a small boy caught in a jam jar. Then the next lady to me laughed right out.. Well,' she said, I thought you were very light.' I suppose they are talking about it yet," he concluded, with another sigh of relief, but thank heaven I'm out of it," and the reporter went and bought a half a dollar's worth of tickets, and asked for a half day off to use them up in. ALTHOUGH a girl may be bright enough to know that kiss is a noun, she's frequently unable to decline it. DO.N'T some of these old songs haunt you ?" No; I've never murdered any of them." .1 EFFIK: Jack, papa said we must not see each other any more." Jack:" Indeed! Shall I turn the gas out ?" 1, FIRST DEBUTANTE: My cheeks are all on fire." Second Debutante I thought there was a smell of burning paint." PovvEtt, what do they have to have a man to pray for congress for ?" Mr. Ferry They don't. lie takes a look at congress and then prays for the country." I Miss PLAYNE Is it tree that you said the mere I sight of my face would make a man climb a feiiet ?" Hargreaves I—er—meant of course, if the man I was on the other side of the fence." I THE poet groaned in deep dismay -NL-utli comments analytic. "Oh, for some pen," they heard him say, "To criticise the critic!" I' "IrfusK," said the weather prophet thoughfully, that we are to have a little typical Chicago weather." What kind is that ? All kinds at once," replied the we' her prophet. f OUt butcher was burned out this morning, John, she said. "Was he?" he asked disinterestedly, Yes," she replied, reaching for an evening paper. I wonder if he advertises a lire sale to-night ?" "Din you fall?" asked a man rush:ng to the rescue of a woman who slipped on the icy pavement. Oil, no," she said. "I just sat down to see if I jouid find any four-leaf clovers." TitAMi': Say, mister, will you give me a cent to ,,c t iiie over to brfaoklyn' CIlllen:" 1(0, sir, I am a genuine philantlyropist; I would give you a cent cheerfully if you wanted tjget frouibloukl) n to New York." I IIArE always been afraid of fire in a hotel," said » traveller for the boot and shoe liouse, and on my very first trip provided myself with a knotted rup" QIJ feet long. Anything like the smell of smoke always wakens me, and any unusual noise in tho night brings me out of bed. One night there were four of us bi-)-a occupving two beds in a room in a southern hotel which had a cru3h of guests. Our 100111 was on the fourth story, Illld each one of us got out our ropes before going to bi d. We also went out into the hall and located the stairways, elevator, etc. Atone o'clock in tho morning, witfi the rain pouring down and the night aj dark as a wolf's throat, the hotel caught tire in the kitchen and all the guests were aroused. I. have nlwavs felt proud of the coolness of cur quartette. One man whipped the sheets off tho two beds, tied them together and ran the length of the hall and lowered himself down the opening of the freight elevator. A second seized his trunk and dragged it down one pair of stairs and left it and t-lien threw his coil of rope out of the window without stopping to fasten the end, and then ran into the hall and into a room at the far end of it and was found in a wardrobe after the fire had been extinguished. "And in your Case?" was asked. Oh, I was very, very cool. I threw up a window, made the hook of my rope fast and sltd down to the street amid the jeers of the assembled populace." "You mean cheers!" Not exactly. You see I had only to crors the roof to another window to step out on the roof of a store level with the sill, and the assembled populace couldn't under- stand why I should prefer to monkoy with the rope and burn the skin off the palms of my hands tili I was a cripple for six weeks. I believe one impulsive individual called me a hero, but the rest of the crowd and the daily papers spoke of me as onaaa, and I think they hit the case plumb-center! Yousn ARTIST Do you paint, Miss Bloom- hunter ?' Miss Bloomhunter (indignantly); i'io, sir, 1 don't even powder." "WHAT is the matter with Fhilipa sanior ? He has bet-n ill ever since his ion went to college." II.Reuiittetit fever oossibly."
. THE WOMAN'S. WORLD. .
THE WOMAN'S. WORLD. "VM/VBT of all kinds is worn in profusion. Many ladies wear velvet skirts either in black or any of th« cloth shades, with very light waists fancifully made and trimmed. One costume reverses this order, tha skirt being of sage-green and the waist of black crepon of the finest quality. The waist is lavishly trimmed with lace and Dresden ribbr-,n, with & gronnd matching the colour of the velvet skirt. THERH are few departures in sleeves, the balloon or football sleeve still holding its own. A novelty is a sleeve of crepon arranged in lengthwise puffs from shoulders to wrists. The puffs grow wider toward the top, and below the elbows are scarcely more than half an inch wide. The fullness near the shotildere is further increased by fluffy ruffles of the materia\ edged with narrow Dresden ribbon. A HANDSOME travelling wrap is made of plum- coloured cloth, with velvet revers, collar and cuffs. It is lined with soft satin and closed with very large buttons. ——— Foix a woman of five feet five inches, 138 pounds is the proper weight, and if she be well formed she can stand another ten pounds without greatly show- ing it. When her arms are extended she should measure from tip of middle finger to tip of middle finger just five feet five inches, exactly her own height. The length of her hand should be just a tenth of that, and her foot just a seventh. The distance from the elbow to the middle finger should be the same as the distance from the elbow to the middle of the chest. From the top of the head to the chin should be just the length of the foot, and there should be the same distance between the chin and the armpits. A woman of this height should measure 24 incites about the waist, and 34 inches about the bust if measured from under the arms, and 43 if over them. The upper arm should measure 13 inches, and the wrist six. The calf of the leg should measure 14 inches, the thigh 25, and the ankle eight inches. MHS. FENWICK MILLER writes: England is not alone in the grudging and curiously illogical policy of allowing women to prove their super- abundant fitness for the degree and yet refusing to let them have that stamp or hall-mark which they have more than earned. Harvard, the greatest and oldest of the American Universities, follows the same course. A Miss Mary W. Calkins, who is one of the Professors at the Wellesley Women's University, having graduated M.A. at a woman's college in 1885, has just presented herself for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Harvard, and has been declared by the examiners at have passed the most brilliant examination ever known.' But she will not receive her degree. American women too, then, have not all that they consider fair. Another instacte in my last American mail is the case of a married woman in Colifgraia, who has sued her husband for failing to support his family. It was shown that the husband was a worth- less, drunken, and idle man, and that the wife worked and. maintained the family. The Judge said, 'It is the rule of law, well settled in this State, that where the wife's earnings are sufficient for her sup- port, and are not interfered with by the husband, the neglect of the husband to supply the wife with the common necessaries of existence does not count. The theory of these cases is that the earnings of the wife are community property, and, as the husband has control of the community property, his not prevent- ing the wife applying her earnings to her own wants is in law his application of the same to her sup- port' ——-— ALL women who cannot boast faultless contour of neck and shoulders will welcome the revival of the becoming fashion of wearing a locket slung round the neck on inch-wide black velvet. The Duchess of York is responsible for the revival of this pretty fashion, for she has appeared several times of late wearing a fair-sized locket of gold and blue enamel, suspended by a ribbon or velvet, which was tied at the back in a rather large-looped bow with six-inch ends. The tiny heart lockets, suspended from fl.11 gold chains, are still worn, but these only suit a very pretty neck. TilE grand costumiers of Paris are busying them- selves in creating the gorgeous apparel which will first see the light at the Russian Court cere- monies in connection with the coronation. The brothers Worth, who have taken the place of the head of the firm since their father's death, are re- sponsible for a magnificent pelisse of embossed Byzantine velvet; the design is ono of the old Genoese revived. The richness of the gold and red colour is further enhanced by the superb beauty of the sable atoles which, after covering- the ihoulders, fall in long ends, in front. The sleeves are lined with Russian sable, the tails of which forui a fringe at the cuffs. The lining of the skirt ilt white satin. Orders have been placed with a Lyons firm for a specially beautiful piece of Louis Quatorze damask; ribbon and feathers form the design. Another of yellow moire antique is decorated with flowers in their natural colours. These specially beautiful pieces will be made up into dresses for lhe coronation ceremony itself. TIIB Countess of Warwick, who was recently elected a member of the Warwick Board cf Guar- dians, describes her work in that capacity as one of "the delights of her life." When residing at War- wick Castle she is one of the hardest-working mem- berS of the Board—visiting the poorhouse, providing the old women with knitting and other recreative employment, and the old men with books and news- papers, and constantly looking after the children in their schools, besides attending the meetings of the Board and its committees. BLACK net figtired all over with dots, squares, or small sprays is draped over light silk gowns, for evening wear, and the net covers all the dress save a yoke part, which should be finished in some othei way. Louis XVI. decorations are being copied in ribbons, and there promises to be a renewal of the end of last century fashions, as foretold by this. A NEW adjunct to cloth gowns is a silken petticoat matching the silk of the waist, and it alsq matches the silk lining of the coat and skirt of cloth. CHIFFON waists seem to be quite as fashionable as ever, and are made of accordion-plaited chiffon in decided shades of rose-pink, blue, and greens, and trimmed with bands and braces of cream lace, studded with sequins or a trimming of beads and embroidery put on in the same way. SOME very pretty gowns for little girls are made of flowered silks in small dainty patterns, and the skirts are plainly hemmed, but the waists are variously trimmed with lace, ribbon, and chiffon, which ia sometimes pulled over the entire waist nnd strapped over with bands of inch-wide velvet ribbon from the belt to a point below the collar-band, which form a voke, with the straps ending in tiny rosettes. THE greatest fealure of the new night-gowns is the sleeve, which is invariably a full puff, elbow length, with a frill of lace falling below the narrow band of insertion which confines the gathers, and the one which is moroelahoratethan all the others has firsta very short. puffed sleeve with a lace frill, and over tiil a gathered flowing sleeve, falling just below the elbow, ard trimmed with rows of Inca insertion set in between bands of the nainsook, and finished with a lace edge. BKSTPIM the plain satin ribbons so pretty for flowered materials, there are ali sorts and kinds of fancy ribbons, either striped in two or three colours or patterned all over in Persian or flowered designs in lonely soft shades, which make a pretty contrast in plain goods, while soutache braid is another in- expensive trimming in fashionable favour, and it ia used in rows of different widths on the skirt of wool gowns and across the full bodice. THE new woman, with her frantic efforts to reform the entire department of underclothing, seems to have brought about a reaction which is decidedly opposed to masculine methods of construction, for the spring novelties in lingerie are as elaborate and fluffy as the most womanly woman could wish for, while fashionable underwear was never more tempt- ing in its daintiness or more truly feminine in design than it is at present. YOKES, shoulder straps, epaulets, bodices, berthas and such decorations are mad,?- of net, gold gauze, or passementerie, and are Lcaviiy embroidered with spangles and mock jewels for the bodices of evening gowns. -< i i
HOME HINTS. -
HOME HINTS. To PRBVP.NT RUST.- Iron or steel im net-sed for a few minutes in a solution of carbonate of potash or soda will not rust for years, even when exposed to a damp atmosphere. To preserve polish iron work from rl1t., mix some co pal vanilSh with us much olive oil as will make it greasy, to whisii add nearly as much spirits of turpentine, and apply. To clean rust off iron or brass (when the latter is not gilt or lacquered), mix tripoli with half its quantity of sulphur, and lay it 011 with a piece of leather; or emery and oil will answer the same purpose. If steel be rusty, oil it and let It remain tv.o or three days, then wipe it dry with clean rags and polish with (lour- emery, pumice stone, powdered or unslaked lime. DESTROYING HOUSE INSECTS.—On taking charge of my establishment, two years ago, I found the place (says a correspondent of Cottage Gardening) com- pletely overrun; but by steady perseverance in using phosphoric paste, I am almost clear of crickets, cock- roaches, beetles, rats, and mice. 1 tried it at first alone, on bits of slate and glass but I find the best, plan is to mix it with a little butter or lard, and spread it on small bits of stout grey paper with a thin knife, and then dust a little coarse sugar on the top. llats and mice carry the paper off to their haunts, and enjoy their feast at leisure. I have proved also that wood-lice will take it with sugar, although I have, like others, found hot water the most effective remedy where it can be applied. For ants, I have used a strong dose of guano-water mixed with hellebore powder, poured on their runs and into tlieif castles. REMAINS OF COLD M-JAT.—Cut all the meat away from the bones of a joint of either roast mutton or beef, carefully removing all gristle and fat. Chop up the bones and brown them in a frying-pan with a little butter or dripping. When nicely browned, put them in a saucepan and just cover them with cold water; set them on the stove to boil Without the lid of the saucepan this will keep the liquor clear. Put an onion, a carrot, and a sprig of thyme and marjoram in with the bones then cut the meat into nice little pieces, put them on a plate, mix a heaped teaspoonful of flour with a good pinch of pepper and salt, and sprinkle over the meat a quarter of an hour before dinner time. Put the meat into a i in, saucepatj, pour over it a teacupful of the boiling soup from the meat bones, mixing it lightly with a spoon. Put tke lid on the saucepan and let it stand on the side of the stove where it will keep hot, but it must on no account boil. Nicely mash some potatoes, put them in a hot vegetable dish in the form of a well, put the hot mince in the well of potato, sprinkle over a little finely chopped parsley or green pickle, and serve as hot as possible. BARLEY PUDDING WITH PRESERVED GINGER CHICS. put a teacupful of barley to soak over night in a pie-dish, in one pint of milk. In the morning well butter another pie-dish, pour in the soaked barley, and set the dish in the oven or on the top of the stove, When it has boiled for quite an hour, let it cool, then mix in two whole eggs and a breakfastcupful of cold milk, and half a teacupful of ginger chips- the chips can be bought at any good grocer's for 6d. per lb.- bake in a hot oven for half an hour. FltUIT FOR THE Youii(i.-The food which is most enjoyed is the food we call bread and fruit. In all my long medical career, extending over 40 years, says Dr. Richardson, I have rarely known an instance in which a child has not preferred fruit to animal food. I have many times been called upon to treat children forstomachie disorders induced by pressing upon them animal to the exclusion of fruit diet, and have seen the best results occur from the practice of reverting to the use of fruit in the dietary. I say it without the least prejudice, as a lesson learned from simple experience, that the most natural diet for the young. after the natural milk diet, is fruit and wholemeal bread, with milk and water for drink. SEASONABLE POULTRY NOTES.-To the poultry- keeper who breeds his own stock, March is the most important month of the twelve in fact, it is that in which the probable results of the next year's working can be very accurately determined. If, in any yard, eggs are still scarce—and this is the case where the flock consists principally of old hens which have not begun to lay after their winter's rest-we may be very sure that there will be few, if any, eggs to speak of next winter when prices rule high, and it will take the manager all his time to make a satisfactory balance- sheet. Put in another yard, where for several weeks past there has been a steady supply of eggs, we can at once admit that the prospect is a hopeful one, for very shortly, if they are not already, the, liens will be busily engaged in sitting, and the chickens will be hatched in the best possible month to make autumn and winter layers. Those already hatched grow rapidly during the summer, and without any forcing lay freely in July nnd August, but cannot be depended upon to do much during the months which follow. On the other hand. May, and even April, chickens cannot be expected to lay before the end of October or the middle of November, and long before that time eggs are getting scarce, and fetching good prices., Poultry-keepers, then, during the whole of the month upon which we have now entered, should bo setting their hens as fast as they become broody, and the chickens they should be. moat anxious to get are those which they hope to retain for next season's stock. By batching your pullets in March, you can rely on an abundance of egg,3 in October, November, and December, when they are dearer than at any other time. The result is that the pullets not only pay their way during the three months in question, but they more than repay the out- lay upon them up to the time they laid their first egg. They thus enter upon the new year really out of debt. If an ordinary home-bred pullet cannot do this, I am of opinion that she will never pay her way, for, although she may produce a great number of eggs during the next spring and summer, they are sold at too low a price to make up the money spent in rear- ing and feeding the bird before she commenced to lay. The question of early hatching affects the poultry-yard receipts i.n another way. If your yard at the beginning of October is full of pullets just on the eve of laying, you can dispense with the services and secure the room occupied by ilic old hens and the advantage thus gained is con- siderable. Old hens, as I have already said, will not lay freely for several months in the winter, and during the wholeof this time they cost from a penny to three-halfpence per week to keep. In a large 3arci the outlay on food alone for these unproductive liens assumes largo dimensions. This should be saved more frequently than it is now. But the saving of room is of equal importance, for the larger the lot of birds the less productive they are. The main crop of ducklings should also now be thought about, and hatched in March and April they come ready for the market which awaits them when green peas aro at their best. Growing chickens should be pushed along, and coops, feeding-run", nnd other appliances, bo got ready for their future occupants. WKAK BADIES.—All weak babies should be clot lied in soft flannels, and particular pains be taken to keep the feet, and hands warm. The latter may be accom- plished by hot bottles, if necessary. Plenty of sun is a good tonic. Always keep babies in rooms on the sunny side of the house when possible. In taking very weak babies out into the air, it is safer to carry them in the nurso's arms. A certain amount of heat is thus procured for them, and the nurse can quickly till if they are chilly or fatigued. When in a baby- enrringe they often get sleepy and cold unobserved by the attendant. In trying to make a weak infant y thrive, no detail is too trifling to be overlooked, The difference between success and failure may lie in a very small margin. The gardener, by bestowing extra care upon the frail sapling, is often rewarded by seeing it grow into a vigorous tree, and many a mother by working in a similar way over a puny infant will have a like success. M/^ACONI PUI)DINa.-Dreak in small pieces gib- of Naples macaroni and throw into J} r';1t of boiling 2 water in which a small piece of butt-or been dis- solved let it boil for 25 minutes after the water and macaroni boil up; while thisisboiling, bea up one whole egg in a pint of milk and teaspoonfu of moist sugar in a quart pie-dish, and place on the top of stove for the milk to warm. the "lacaroni has boiled the25 minutes, drain off the water and put the macaroni in the milk; bake it in a medium oven for 30 minutes. OATMEAL POURIDOB- IN all cases, oatmeal should bo thoroughly boiled, and, though so simple, there is no dish requiring more care and attention in its preparation than an oatmeal porridge. To a pint of boiling water slowly add a teacupful of oatmeal and half a teaspoonful of salt, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, and afterwards let the porridge boil for an hour, stirring occasionally to prevent stick- ing to the saucepan. When done, pour it out, an serve with milk or cream. Porridge is made lighter serve with milk or cream. Porridge is made lighter by longer boiling, and for dyspeptic people, especially, it should be boiled more than an hour add a little boiling water should it appear likely to thicken.
t ART AND LITERATURE. -
t ART AND LITERATURE. THE Lemercier Gallery (1.ffte the Dore Gallery) New Bond-street, London, is being entirely re-decorated, and as soon as the work is completed it will be re- opened for the beautiful collection of 36.5 drawings executed in the Holy Land by J. James Tissot, illustrating the Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ. THE Tate Gallery of British Art, which is rising rapidly owing to the facilities for progress afforded by the mild winter, bids fair to be an ornament to what was hitherto one of the ugliest spots on the London river. The construction provides for it being admirably lighted indeed, it is stated that it will bo the best lighted picture gallery in London. But that is not at all difficult. MESSRS. CASSELL AND COMPANY are publishing Q's new work, entitled Ia." The novel, it appears, owes its existence in a great measure to Mr. J. M. Barrie, who, having seen a. fragment of the story, persuaded Mr. Couch to complete it. Tmll authors who write poetical plays and lyric volumes under the joint name of Michael Field" are really two ladies—Miss Bradley and Miss Cooper, who stand in the relation of aunt and niece. Their dramas are their best-known work. There is some- thing Elizabethan about these dramatists at their best, and, following a great tradition, though they have composed plays upon subjects from Greece and Rome, witness Calerrhoe and Brutus Ultor, they have resorted most frequently to the great English chronicles and legends so William Rufus," Canute," Fair Rosa- mund," and The Tragic Mary havo all served as topics for their muse. It is to tragedy that Michael Field has mostly adhered. A year ago one of "Michael Field's" plays was tried at the In- dependent Theatre, but showed little theatrical quality, and just lat&ly the-two writers have1 published a drama, suggested and called after Mr. Meredith's poem, Oh, Attila, my Attila Yet their lyrics are sometimes of fine quality witness the volume Long Ago," each of the poems in which is suggested by a fragment of Sappho. THE sending-in days for the Royal Academy are the 27th, 28th, and 30th March for pictures, and j the 31st for sculpture. It ia said that sculpture will be better represented at Burlington House this year than it has usually been. There is certainly room for it. Why is the noble art of statuary com- paratively slighted among us? Picture exhibitions we have in shoals, but when are we to have one devoted to sculpture ? TilE Antiquary learns that the Mentz Psalier has Veen acquired by the British Museum. Musicians will be more interested to hear that the Museum hs also recently obtained the original manuscript scores of a number of the organ fugues of John Seb-stiau Bach. SIR EDWARD BURNE-JONES has from time to time lent to various exhibitions small selections of the 1 studies which he makes as preliminaries for his com- Sleted works, but these beautiful and elaborate j esigns have nover been seen in any number or fitting j arrangement. He has, however, now assented to tho 1 Fine Art Society making a most complete exhibition j of them, and this will open directly after Easter. i WHAT would old William Hunt have said tha St. James's Gizette) to such a volume as the" British Birds' Nests" of Mr. Rearton? He could not but have rejoiced at the sight of it, for never was artist more enamored of his work than old Hunt of his formal nests and eggs. The book before us would have been a revelation to his necessarily limited moans of portraying the subject,. but it wdl bo that to everyone, and to none more than (hat set of people who can never see beauty in a photo- graph. But Mr. Kearton has, with singular good fortune, found his birds' nests in the most delightfully artistic set-tings. Whether, it be a kingfisher's beneath the wild roses and over the stream, or the nightjars under the ferns, or the sedge- warblers amid the hazel-leaves, the puffins or the razor-bill on a bank of flowers, or the missel-thrush on the lichened branch-each forms a picture com- plete in itself. Mr. Kearton has gone through many adventures in his determination to be- thoroughly exhaustive, and some of the accounts of his being swung over precipices and resting his camera on ledges a couple of feet wide, with a sheer fall beneath, make one quite uncomfortable even to read about. Mit. ABBEY'S picture for this year's Academy is of an importance commensurate with hia new pmitiol1 as a member of that-body. It is a large canvas full of costumed figures, rich in colour and dignified in treatment. The theme is taken from "Richard III. and represents the meeting of the King with Queen Elizabeth, MAX O'RMTL ia likely to figure shortly before the English public in the new role of a play-writer. lie has written a farcical comedy, John Bull on tho Continong," which, after a, highly successful trial trip in Canada, will probably shortly be seen on the boards of a London Theatre. The work is filescribed as "bright, clean, and pleasantly humorous," and as containing "a rare sprinkling of touches of nature in which Max O'Rell's humour is brought out in force." SARDOU has a method. He rises at six, nnd writes till noon. As soon as he enters his study he locks the door, and is disturbed by nobody except the barber, who comes every day to shave him. He breakfasts at twelve with his wife and children, and eats like a cormorant. After breakfast a stroll, a cigar, and the daily papers. At three a receptions-actors, actresses, managers, directors-everybody by turns, and no one long. Sardou is king in his own world. He pro- duces" his own pieces, and won't alter anything he has written. "Not a line-not a word-not a syllable!" said Sardou when it was suggested to 1-9 change Thermidor." IT ia proposed to erect a statue of Franz Hals st Haarlem, his native town, to which many generations of his admirers have journeyed to gaze upon the splendid collection of the works of one of tho greatest portraitists who ever lived. THE book of the spring season is likely to be th« biography of Oliver Wendell Holmes, to be published about the end of April in two large volumes. The writer of the life is Mr. John Morse, an old friend of the family. Much of the work consists of autobio- graphical material left by the Autocrat, and besides there is a vast sheaf of Holmes's letters addressed to most of the leading men of letters and men of in- fluence of his time. GERMANY has a new poet. A peasant- woman, Johanna Ambrosius, born in 1855, bad lived un- known to the end of 1S94, when a vo umo of her poems, edited by Professor Karl Schrattenthal, was published, which has now run through 15 editions, and made her the rage in the Fatherland. She had no education except that cf the village school, married a peasant, at 20, and her life has been among the poorest of the. poor. Yet her joetry shows no trace of the limitations among which sh, has been brought up. Her countrymen are already calling her the Deutsche Sappho." SIR JAMES LIXTON, as chairman of the Fine Art section of the forthcoming Empire of India and Ceylon Exhibition at Barrs-court., is appealing to the awners of examples of the art work of those countries for the loan of all kinds of objects that may be of public or artistic interest. All varieties of applied art are to be included, and it is hoped that a complete olleotion of nrnlf', costumes, furniture, musical instru- ments, jewellery, and other things of the sarao SOrt will be brought together. It will be difficult to sur- pass tho collection which last year filled the large cilery devoted to the relics of the East India Com- pany, but everyone will wish success to the directors in their efforts to make this part of the show a con- spicuous artistic success. IT is said that an attempt is to be made by cer- tain enthusiasts to secure Lord Leighton's house, ind to preserve it as a fcort of national memorial. rhe purpose of such a scheme is Rot quite ill. telligible, for the mere house without its contents ind without the personal stamp of his present can oardly be said to be particularly representative of his individuality. It is, after all, only an ordinary studio, with a small number of rooms attached, and is, as a building, hardly worthy of more than passing aotice. The cost of purchasing it would be consider- able, and surely the money bettor spent, ind the purposes of a memorial bet er served, by the icquiaition of a suffio:ent number of Loid Leighton's finest picturea to represent him adequately in all the more important public galleries. An artist can ask :or no better memorial than is provided by his own work. ——.
[No title]
IN the immense empire governed by the Czar o Russia 60 languages are spoken. IN Norway, girls are ineligible for matrimony until they have earned certificates for proficiency in knit- ting, bakmg, and spinning. M. CAMBON, French Ambassador to Tuikpy, will succeed M. llerbette as French m Bwrlui fv;