Papurau Newydd Cymru
Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru
17 erthygl ar y dudalen hon
THE COURT.
THE COURT. THE Queen and the Crown Prince and Princess of Prussia left Windsor for London on Friday, at 10.35. The special train was under the charge of Messrs. Higgins, Fraser, and Kirtley. The Queen returned to Windsor at one. The Princess of Wales left Windsor the same day at 10.10 for Marlborough-house. MDLLE, AGNES ZIMMERMANN had the honour of playing a selection of music on the piano on Wednesday evening, in the red drawing-room at Windsor Castle, before the Princess of Wales, the Crown Prince and Princess of Prussia, and Princess Louise. The ladies and gentlemen in waiting had the honour of being present.
THE ARTS, LITERATURE, &c
THE ARTS, LITERATURE, &c TaE prize of .£50, which is annually awarded for the most approved pfjtare in the Gallery of the Royal Man- chester Institution, has been given to Mr. Mason, on account of his painting, "The Evening Hymn)" which attracted much admiration at the Royal Academy this year. THE foundation-stone of the new town-hall, at Manchester, the designing of which building was given to Mr. A. Waterhouse, has been laid with much ceremony. This hall will contain about 240 rooms, cost about half a million pounds, and comprise a clock-tower 250 feet high, that is, one-fourth higher than the Monu- ment, London. IT appears that M. Remusat, the flute-player, has formed at Shang-Hai a musical society of 450 members, for whose amusement an orchestra of 30 instrumentalists and a chorus of 25 singers are in the habit of periodically performing. Rossini's "Stabat Mater" is one of the pieces which are now being rehearsed. The performance of a hymn to the Mater Dolorosa must surely be a novelty to the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire. As the next meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science will be held at Exeter, the citizens have begun to make preparations for the re- ception of the members by electing Mr. H. S. Ellis mayor. This gentleman was one of the deputation who went from Exeter to the association meeting at Norwich, for the purpose of inviting the members to visit the West of England. SOME very interesting statues have recently been placed in the Egyptian Saloon, British Museum. Also, in a table-case, which stands in the centre of jjthat hall, a picture said to represent the Pharaoh's Daughter who rescued Moses. THERE will soon be an interesting auction in Am- sterdam of the works of Nic. Pieneman, who was in his lifetime one of the best, painters of the modern Dutch school, and chiefly excelled in portraits. THE Wedgwood Memorial institute, at Burslem, which is characteristically and richly decorated with ceramic works, is to be opened, at Easter next, with a Fine-Art exhibition. A FALSE ALARM.—The audience of the New Vau- deville Theatre, in Brussels, had a narrow escape a few nights ago. S ome unusual caprices in the gas caused a few persons to leave the house. The majority remained, and their feelings were vividly aroused by the sudden fall of the curtain before the end of the piece, and the appearance of the manager, who begged all present to leave the house immediately, as an explosion was ap- parently imminent. At this juncture the gas was turned off altogether, and the alarmed people had to struggle out of the theatre as they best could. It is greatly to their credit that, in spite of the prevailing terror, every one escaped without injury.-A tltencuu-n.
EARTHQUAKES AT SEA.
EARTHQUAKES AT SEA. The San Francisco Bulletin reports the arrival of the ship Broughton from Glasgow, with the following earth- quake experiences :—On Sept. 11, in lat. 20 degrees 15 minutes north, long. 123 degrees 22 minutes west, the vessel encountered a sheck of earthquake. Again, on Sept. 18, in lat. 30 deg. 21 minutes north, and long. 123 degrees west, the officers and crew felt a trembling as if the vessel had grounded, and at ten p.m. the same night a fog arose, being clear overhead, accompanied with a smell of fire. This continued all night. At [nine a.m., Sept. 19, the fog cleared off, but the smell i continued some time after. Again, in lat. 34 degrees '23 minutes north, long. 131 degrees 42 minutes west, ,the air had the same smell as of fire. The weather was clear at the time, with a heavy sea running.
THE BRITISH CORN TRADE.
THE BRITISH CORN TRADE. The past week has been mostly cold, but with less severity than of late, mild days having intermingled, leaving it doubtful whether the winter is to be so severe as apprehended. By these changes only a variable time would seem to be before us. There has ibeen no hindrance to field-work by the weather, and i those who think that an extra covering over their potatoes still in the soil will keep them, have the opportunity to try this plan. We incline to the opinion that nothing will save the bulk from the effects of an irregular growth, and that none but the early- gathered will be safe and these are but a small pro- portion of the whole. Should the result be as bad as we anticipate, the cheapness of wheat will be made more a matter of consideration, and a better trade spring up, at the farthest in the opening spring. The late orders for malting barley for New York have had less influence upon the price of this grain than might have been ex- pected but the present high price, and the doubt as to the renewal of this demand, prevent holders from being sanguine; while the readiness with which maltsters offer the manufactured article, shows want of confidence in this new feature of the corn trade. Wheat has again been dull, and several markets Is. lower, London giving way to this extent on Friday, and no immediate rally seems in prospect. A severe winter would, we believe, turn the scales in favour of sellers, by shutting up our sources of supply, increas- ing the consumption among the poorer classes, while a portion would be used for the preservation of stock. None but the French markets now show a decided move- ment upwards, Europe generally being dull, without much change. This has been the case at Dantzic and Hambro' especially; but no fine samples from the former place are yet offered below 58s., cost, freight, and insurance. At Odessa no important arrivals are expected before spring, and although American accounts continue dull, the expectations from this quarter have been con- siderably lessened by recent aclvices. -Mark- lane Ex- mess.
------ACTION OF WATER ON LEAD.
ACTION OF WATER ON LEAD. Professor Parkes, F.R.S., of Netley, calls attention to the fact that it has always been seen that the action or j non-action of water on lead could not be entirely ac- counted for by the usual statements on the subject, and lately Dr. Frankland has made a curious observation, which may throw light on the subject. He found that water which acted on lead lost this power after passing through a filter of animal charcoal. He discovered this to be owing to a minute quantity of phosphate of lime passing into the water from the charcoal; on comparing two natural waters, that of the river Kent, which acts vio- lently on lead, and that of the river Vyrnwy, which, though vary soft, has no action on lead, he^fonad that the latter water contained an appreciable awiount of phosphate of lime, while noae could be detected in the Kent water. This observation may probably explain much of the discrepancy of evidence in respect of the aetion of soft water on lead.
ANECDOTE OF HORACE VERNET.…
ANECDOTE OF HORACE VERNET. This eminent French artist was returning from Ver- sailles to Paris, when there happened to be in the Sa"iie carriage with him two English spinster ladies, very prudish and prim, and of a certain age. Vernet's ap- pearance was striking, and the ladies, after scanning him attentively whenever they thought he was looking the other way, began to communicate to each other their observations upon him in a rather loud whisper, I thinking, apparently, that, as they spoke in their own language, they were at liberty to make what comments they pleased. The veteran painter was intensely amused, kut was too much a man of the world to manifest the slightest consciousness of what was going on. It was not long before the train had to pass through a tunnel. Vernet, seizing the opportunity, leaned for- ward, so as to be within hearing of his neighbours, and applied a smacking salute to tha back of his hand. On emerging from the temporary obscuiity, his face had assumed a mischievous expression, which, as he in- tended, was soon interpreted by each lady to the prejudice of the other, each charging the other with having received from the moustached stranger the mysterious kiss in the dark. Arrived at the terminus, as all were alighting, Vernet offered his hand to help his fellow-travellers out of the carriage, and then, with a graceful bow, took leave of them, say. ing as he retired, to their dismay, in perfectly correct English, "Adieu, ladies; I suppose I shall never have the satisfaction or knowing to which of you I am in- debted for the unexpected but valued favour I received in the tunnel."
I Facts and Facetiae,
I Facts and Facetiae, Rosy cheeks are the pink of perfection. VERY good, "but rather too pointed," as the codfish said when it swallowed the bait. WHY does the new moon remind one of a giddy girl ?—Because she's too young to show much reflection. WHY is a water-lily like a whale ?-Beca.use it cemes to the surface to blow. WHY are the Joneses like the Greenland fisheries ?—Because they abound in W(h)ales. WHY are teeth like verbs ?-Because they are regular, irregular, and defective. THE ESSAY ON MAN.—A woman's attempt to marry him. A DRAUGHT that's never protested in hot weather-a draught of air. "RETIRING for consultation" is the last euphonism for going out to drink. EPITAPHS are like circus bills. There is more in the bill than in the performance. THERE are four million bricks in Congress-hall, I at Saratoga, besides those carried in the hats of guests. WHAT do sailors do with the knots the ship makes in the day ? I WHAT musical instrument has had an honorary degree conferred upon it ?—Fiddle D. D. "PAPA, does the logwood they put in wine give it its red colour?" "Yes, certainly." "Well, papa, is it the logwood wine that makes your nose so red ?" WHY is a man in difficulties like an ostrich in wet weather ?—Because he can't find the dust to cover his bill. WHY is a person bargaining with a Jew like one who is taking his farewell ?—Because he is bidding a Jew (adieu). WHY is Neptune like a person looking for the philosopher's stone?—Because he's (a) sea-king what never existed. WHY is a hypocritical and selfish friend like the WHY is a hypocritical and selfish friend like the letter PI—Because though the first in pity he is the last in help. RECEIPT for making pantaloons last-make the vest and coat first. To make them lasting—buy that kind of material. WHAT is the difference between the Prince of Wales and water from a fountain %—The one is heir to the throne, and the other is thrown to the air. I SAY, printer, do you take Mahrattan money ?" No." "What's the reason- aint it good r. "Yes." "Why don't you take it then?" "Can't get it." JOSH BILLINGS says that if a man proposes to serve the Lord, he likes to see him do it when he measures corn as well as when he hollers glory hallaluyer." ADEVONSHIRE farmer, whose orchards are laden with fruit, was heard to say that he never had witnessed such a falling off in the apple crop-when you shake the trees. OLD BIBBER tries to make his friends believe that the depth and frequency of his potations arise from the fact of his having been in his youth so often placed in a go" -cart. THE show window of a certain corset-maker exhibits a singular instance of illiterate dictation. On a card appears the following sentence "All kinds of ladies stays here." THE ignorance of some persons in the matter of simple arithmetic is perfectly astounding. We know a man who has been engaged his whole life long in looking out for number one." You are writing my bill on very rough paper," said a client to his solicitor. "Never mind," said the lawyer, "it has to be-filed before it comes into court. "BRIDGET, where's the gridiron?" "An' sure, ma'am, I's jist after giving it to my sister's own cousin, Bridget O'Flaherty the thing's so full of holes, it's no good at all." So," said Hook, addressing a gatekeeper, who was hoarse, you haven't recovered your voice yet ? "No, sir," was the answer, "I've caught a fresh cold." But why did you catch a fresh one ?" asked Hook, why didn't you have it cured ?" A SCIENTIFIC Benedick of our acquaintance was told that Parliament was considering the question of the property of married women. He immediately replied that there was no question about it; the chief property of married women was acidity 1 A REGIMENTAL coffin-maker was asked whom he was making a coffin for, and mentioned the intended. j Why, he is not dead, man said the querist. "Don't you trouble yourself," replied the other. Dr. Coe told us to make his coffin, and I guess he knows what he gave him." A FOPPISH nobleman, who saw Descartes enjoy- ing himself at the table, having expressed his astonish- ment that a philosopher should exhibit such fondness of good cheer, got this answer for his pains And pray, my lord, did you think that good things were only made for fools ?" AT an hotel the other day, the landlord said to a boarder, "See here, Mr. Baker, the chambermaid found a hair-pin in your bed this morning. Can you explain the circumstance ? Explain," said Baker, pray, what is there to explain ? I found a long hair in the butter this morning, but it did not prove there was a female in it." A DILEMMA.—While a country parson was preaching, the chief of his parishioners, sitting near the pulpit, was fast asleep whereupon he said, "Now, beloved friends, I am in a great strait; for, if I speak softly, those at the farther end of the church cannot hear me, and if I speak too loud I shall wake the chief man in the parish." IN an Auckland (New Zealand) paper a girl advertises for a situation to take charge of a laundry or dairy. She can cook, understands housekeeping, and adds—" None but a respectable mistress, who wishes to leave her servant in uninterrupted discharge of her duties, need apply." A DRUNKARD cursing the moon-a maniac foaming at some magnificent statue, which stands serene and safe absve his reach-or a ruffian crushing roses on his way to midnight plunder, is but a type of the sad work which a clever, but heartless and unimagi- native, critic often makes of works of genius.
ITHE ACCLIMATISED RABBITS…
THE ACCLIMATISED RABBITS IN AUSTRALIA. It is beginning to be feared that the colony has lost more than it has gained by the introduction of the wild rabbits, and complaints against their depredations are heard from all quarters. In the country to the west of Geelong, in the neighbourhood of Colac, and in the Western District, the engrossing topic of conversation is the best means for their extermination. Their numbers are so great, and to such an extent are they eating down the grass, that one large proprietor has entered upon a war of extermination, and has employed 85 men to starve them out by stopping up all the rabbit-holes and outlets. It is calculated that the cost of this one raid will be at least £3,000 or £ 4.000. In some places dogs, traps, snares, guns, and smothering have all been tried, and many hundreds of thousands destroyed, notwith- standing which the rabbits apparently hold their own and it is estimated that the work of extermination will take years to accomplish.—Melbourne Argus
THE TURKISH PRESS IN LONDON.
THE TURKISH PRESS IN LONDON. The paper first started by Young Turkey was the Mukhbir. The editor of this was Ali Suavi Effendi, a member of the professional class (lawyer and ecclesiastic), and only in opposition because he was an old Tory. He is a man of considerable attainments in Oriental litera- ture, history, law, and theology, has acquired the French, and, to some extent, the English language, and is the author of some translations into Turkish. His sup- porters of Young Turkey, besides contributing money, contributed articles, but the combination of old Toryism with their ultra-Liberalism was little to their taste, and they therefore set up in London another paper, called the IInrriyet, or Liberty, and the editorship was under- taken by H. E. Aghiah Effendi, late Director-General of Ports, and editor of a suppressed popular paper. Now the Mukhbir has been stopped. The Mukhbir masle a great sensation in Constantinople, where it was smuggled; bat the Hurriyet, though politically mere violent, creates less excitement.—Athenceum.
[No title]
A MEMORIAL has been transmitted to the Treasury from the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, praying that the postage on circulars, small pamphlets, newspapers, and other printed matter not exceeding 2 oz. in weight, might be reduced to id.
AGRICULTURE.
AGRICULTURE. WHEAT HOEING. The practice of wheat-hoeing is all but universal in modem agriculture it dates its adoption with the intro- duction of drill husbandry, and is a most valuable aid in the production of a full and profitable crop, besides wonderfully conducing to the cleanliness of the soil, and the healthy development of the plant throughout its several stages of growth. Wheat in the United King- dom is generally-almost invariably-sown in the autumn, consequently the plant has to undergo all the vicissitudes in the winter of our most fickle of all climates; its growth is very slow throughout the winter months, and very frequently in rainy dis- tricts, and on many soils generally it loses plant." For the most part, the soils where wheat is growing throughout the winter will require stirring in the spring. On all clays and strong loams the surface is frequently so compressed or solidified to such an extent that the wheat plant is almost surface-bound, and the milder soils are often so soddened by the winter "waters" as to require the soil moving ere the plant can shoot forth with vigour and if we go further, and take the lightest soils, we shall find them with closed surfaces, denoting absence of air and keeping atmo- spheric influences from the plant; and even the well- clayed Fens, the peats and moors of the country, appear to require some relief before the spring growth becomes luxuriant and healthy. This shows the desirability- nay, the necessity for wheat-hoeing, or at least, the stirring of the soil in some way or other this is done in some districts very advantageously by the field-roller only, in some localities by the harrow, in others by the treading of sheep, and various other means are adopted. But the all-but-universal method is by hoeing, and that chiefly by manual labour. Horse-hoeing is, however, very much practised throughout the milder soils of the country, and is advancing in public favour, owing, in a great measure, to the great improvements made in the construction of horse-hose, and their adaptation to every kind of drill and row-culture. The true principles of hoeing consist mainly in the breaking up the surface- soil, promoting its more minute subdivision, its requisite aeration, and the destruction of surface-weeds. Jethro Tull says that, as soon as the ploughman has done his work of ploughing and harrowing, the soil begins to undo it, inclining towards, and endeavouring to regain, its natural specific gravity the broken parts by little and little coalesce, un-ite, and lose some of their surfaces many of their pores and interstices close up during the seed's incubation and hatching in the ground and, as the plants grow up, they require an increase of food proportionate to their increasing bulk; but, on the contrary, instead thereof, that internal superficies, which is their artificial pasture, gradually decreases. The earth is so unjust to plants—her own offspring—as to shut up her stores in proportion to their wants that is, to give them less nourishment when they have need of more therefore man, for whose use they are chiefly designed, ought to bring in his reasonable aid for their relief, and force open her magazines with the hoe, which will thence procure them at all times provision in abundance, and also free them from intruders-I mean their spurious kindred the weeds, that robbed them of their too scanty allowance." Thus wrote the homely and quaint Tull one hundred and thirty-five years ago: it contains the pith of the whole subject. Unquestionably, hoeing, ju- diciously applied, does surprisingly promote the growth and healthy development of plants, by keeping open the soil through stirring, and by sub-dividing it into minute particles on the surface, thus pro- viding interstices and crevices into which the young rootlets will find their way, and so advantageously ex- tract the daily food necessary to their progression, at the same time freely admitting atmospheric influences. In horse-hoeing the very tread of the horse and passing of the horse-hoe, in some states of the soil, will so jar and shake the earth as to open pores and minute cracks and crevices, to the great benefit of young rootlets. I say hoeing judiciously applied; this involves a good deal. Hoeing is designed to promote progress as above but if it is improperly executed, or done when the soil is too wet or too dry, too deeply or too shallow, too frequently or too seldom, all alike do hurt to the crop, if the land is not in a propar state for hoeing, and the crop's require- ments are not sufficiently estimated. On many rich soila, or soils richly manured, an extra hoeing will fre- quently cause a superabundance of straw, to the detri- ment of the yield of grain but, on the other hand, if the weather is suitable, poor clays and other inferior soils are greatly benefited by it. The great object, therefore, in hoeing should be to provide a rather deep loose soil contiguous to the plant for the absorption of their food from the atmosphere, that the near and spreading rootlets may freely appropriate it, besides providing a large extent of internal interstices or open- ings, in which the plants can force their rootlets, and thus obtain by their spongioles additional food to promote their more vigorous growth. The extir- pation of weeds from the surface is another most essential benefit derived from hoeing. Cleanliness is indispensable to good cultivation hence, one great principle injjhoeing is the eradication of weeds. These will grow everywhere, and they will grow apace. They must be kept down, and, if possible, be destroyed. Hoeing, repeated hoeing, in all its various operations, is the best method hitherto discovered for the destruction of weeds during the growth of the crop. In row culture it is an admirable adjunct to agriculture the horse-hoe for deep culture, the hand-hoe for surface work. This surface-hoeing or stirring has other advantages it pro- vides a suitable deposit in the upraised mould for what- ever gaseous matter may be afloat in the air, and to be deposited thereon by rain or dews. In this way a con- tinuous supply of valuable food is found, both for the spongioles underground and the mouths or leaves above ground whereas if the surface is left untilled, the even- ing's dews are taken up by the morning's sun, and the advantage to the plant is lost. This is, in fact, the art or best methods of feeding plants, and the faster they grow the more food will they require. They are continually putting forth more rootlets, and, as the leaves or blades of corn or roots increase, they put forth more mouths. Hoeing will supply the rootlets, and the sun and atmo- sphere the mouths or absorbing power of the blades or leaves, and thus is their sustenance upheld. And while all this is going on for the benefit of the plant, it also ensures the destruction of innumerable weeds, which would otherwise infest the soil. This hoeing then, I repeat, is the great means of promoting the early and full develop- ment of the plant, and also in a great degree the latent powers of the soil. The continueus breaking-up and par- tial pulverisation of the gradually-consolidating soil causes the free admission of every atmospheric fertilising agency, and prevents the growth of every intruding and obnoxious weed. The farmer's judgment must guide the whole. The time and practice or operation of wheat- hoeing and the hoeing of other grain crops do not require much remark. The wheat plant should not be in a sufficiently forward state to throw out its coronal shoots or roots. It should receive its first hoeing prior to this state of growth. The wheat plant puts out two sets of roots, the seminal and the coronal the seminal root is that of its first growth and downwards. The coronal are the roots thrown out from the plant horizontally, near the surface, and are many hence the soil requires preparing for these coronal roots, and the moulding up operation of the hoe in hoeing is the most effectual means of preparation. The wheat-hoeing should take place, therefore, as soon as the wheat plant begins to quicken its growth in the spring, providing the soil is in a proper state, i. e. when it will work freely without clogging the hoes. It must be done at a fair depth, so as to receive these coronal roots, and yet not so deep as to disturb the plant and injure the seminal ones. The workmen should not take long strokes," but just so long as to keep the hoe at one equal depth and inclination as it is drawn towards the workmen. In exactness of depth and uniformity of cut, the horse-hoe excels the hand-hoe, but it is apt to miss portions of the row, and occasionally injure it. Wheat-hoeing is really and truly a manual operation; but horse-hoes are admissible, and under good management are very useful. The crops of oats and barley grow very rapidly in the spring. It is desirable to wait till they are fairly weaned from the grain, and are in vigorous growth, before hoeing, and then not deeply. Beans, and peas may be advan- tageously hoed at any time after they have put in a good appearance, an the' oftener the better in reason. These tap-rooted crops are greatly benefited by repeated hoeings till nearly in blossom.-By a Practical Farmer, in the Mark-lane Express.
BUTTER MAKING AT CHEESE FACTORIES.
BUTTER MAKING AT CHEESE FACTORIES. From the address of Dr. N. S. Townshend, delivered before the Ohio Dairymen's Association, we extract the following, relative to the profits of butter making and milk condensing at cheese factories If factories make only cheese, some of the valuable constituents of the milk will not be saved or utilised. However much you may desire to retain all the butter in the cheese, its complete retention is not possible, and in spite of your efforts, much will run off with the whey, which, although not as good as first-rate butter made from cream, is yet better than much of the cream butter that comes to market; and if properly made it will gladly be purchased at a somewhat reduced price bv j families with whom economy is an object Does any one dispute the possibility of making a fine butter of whey ? Let me reply by saying that such have a pleasant and profitable lesson yet to learn. Of course the best butter may be largely made in factories whenever the price of butter is relatively higher than that of cheese, or whenever half-milk or skim-milk cheese is in good demand. We do not see why factories cannot, without injury to their reputation, of which they are properly very careful, make large quan- tities of half-milk and skim-milk cheese of a different form or style from whole-milk cheese, and supply the market with an article at somewhat lower price, much t8 the comfort and convenience of families that regard the highest priced cheese as too expensive a luxury. This would enable factories to make a fine article of butter, and perhaps contribute to improve the butter-making of the whole region. The manufacture of butter, whether in factories or private dairies, is not so purely a mechanical operation as some imagine, and therefore the purchase of the last patented churn is not all that is required. The time allowed for the preparation of the cream, the temperature for churn- ing, the making, working, and salting, all require great skill, and the perfection of that neatness so indispensable to the manufacture of good cheese. Condensed milk has not yet been considered one of the common products of our dairies or factories when it shall become such, one of the commonest objections to our factory system will be obviated, which is, that they do not use the milk for cheese-making, either at the beginning or towards the close of the milking season. If our factories would learn the method, acquire the right, and obtain the necessary apparatus for desiccating milk, and adopt the practice earlier or later, then cheese-making would be profitable, it would probably prove remunerative to the factories, and a great convenience to their patrons. Condensed or desiccated milk, which is the milk as it Comes from the cow after the water is evaporated, with the addition of a trifle of carbonate of soda to prevent souring in the manipulation, and a definite quantity of pure loaf sugar, is the best substitute for fresh new milk that a family can have who do not keep and milk their own cow. During the recent struggle with the rebellion this article was largely supplied to hospitals for the use of our sick and wounded soldiers, and many a poor boy, whose cup of coffee was trimmed with it, could not tell that he had not been treated to cream from his own mother's pantry. In all our large cities, and even in the villages, how much safer and better to feed the babies on xrHfe desiccated to its original consistence than to feed them on the queer compounds sometimes sold as milk. And even if one could always swear by his milkman, and feel assured that he sold nothing that was not milked from his cows, how much inferior the milk from cows fed on brewery grains or distillery slops to that of country cows, whose only feed is the fresh and fragrant herbage of upland pastures."
HINTS UPON GARDENING.
HINTS UPON GARDENING. KITCHEN GARDEN.—Work of the season The most excellent results may be ensured by deeply trenching the soil, and laying it up in ridges to be fully exposed to the weather. Many really bad soils become good soils when broken up deeply and mixed with a portion of the subsoil, even though that subsoil may be by itself as bad as the other. On deep yellow loams, trenching two spits deep is equal any time to a dressing of manure, and generally of far more importance than any amount of manuring. Old garden soils are often sick and sour with manure, but a deep stirring buries the vermin at a depth at which they perish, and brings into action the fresh unfilled earth beneath, with all its dormant powers ready for useful action under the influence of the atmo- sphere. It will always pay, when labour is scarce, to make work for labourers in deep tillage of garden and allotment grounds the process is nothing less than a complete renewal of the soil wherever the material exists below for the purpose. Of course where there is only a thin layer of vegetable earth over hard rock or gravel, the case is different, but very often some of this unpro- mising material improves the staple when broken up and mixed with it. DRAINAGE.—About three-fourths of the complaints that reach us of the misbehaviour of fruit-trees and the failure of vegetable crops, and the unsatisfactory bloom- ing of roses and many other things, have one common origin-the want of drainage. We see people labouring away at the surface, raising the level by additions of soil, manuring liberally, removing plants that have not prospered, and planting others in hope of better luck and we can tell them when all is done, that until they seeure the first essential of success- rapid removal of surplus water-there can be no success to their efforts, manure and plant as they may.. At this time of year you have but to open a hole one spade deep, and in less than ten minutes that hole will be filled with water, which proves that the whole surface soil is saturated, and that any cavity, tunnel, or opening, would imme- diately draw off the surplus water according to the capacity of the opening, and that therefore very simple and inexpeasive means would suffice to enable the soil to get rid of the water which is in excess of its power of absorption. A two or three-inch pipe, laid at a regular fall of about two feet beneath the surface, will effectually drain a breadth of from 20 to 100 feet in width, according to the nature of the soil and its relative level. Generally speaking, the drains should be three feet deep and 24 feet apart but in a wet clay they will not be too close at 12 feet apart. In districts where there is any apprehension of the disturbance of the drains by moles, one-inch pipe should be used. On very flat land a fall of one in fifty will suffice to keep the water moving but a rapid fall is preferable if the out- let is low enough to admit of it, as in times of sudden heavy [rainfall a quick removal is desirable. Peas and Beans Sow at a risk a few rows of Sutton's Ringleader and Sangster's No. I peas, and Beck's Gem, beans. In low situations, where snails and slugs abound, there is little chance of success. On high and dry positions they will probably endure the winter, and come in earlier than spring-sown crops. Aspect is not of so much importance as dryness. Raised borders under walls facing south are generally chosen for these sowings but an exposed position, if dry, will be nearly as safe. The usual causes gf failure are damp and vermin. Sea- kale in open quarters The roots may be planted now in well-prepared ground in well-drained positions where the soil lies low or damp, however, planting should be deferred till the spring. In any case, the ground must be deeply trenched and liberally manured, and the manure thoroughly incorporated with the soil. Begin forcing now by first covering the stools with conical mounds of sand or coal-ashes (not leaves, which spoil the flavour). Place the seakale pots over as many stools as are to be started now, and fill the spaces be- tween and over the pots with a mixture of stable-dung that has been once turned, with leaves, straw, and other litter, beating it firm as you proceed, and leaving the whole smooth and tidy nine inches above the top of the pots. FLOWER GARDEN.—Slugs and snails are now very active during mild weather, preparing perhaps to make a good fill before hybernating for the winter. It hap- pens that most people have time now to trap them, which they generally say they have not at other seasons. Brewers' grains or buttered cabbage-leaves are the best traps known for these destructive vermin. They will leave any other food for these attractive baits, and may be trapped wholesale by inverting large flower-pots tilted off the ground by means of a few sticks over heaps of fresh brewers' grains. Tulip beds now to have the hoops placed over to be ready for mats or other covering in case of heavy rains. But the bed should be freely exposed for the present there is nothing gained by covering too soon. Planting on mounds is beginning to be better understood, and more generally practised, and consequently we less frequently hear of losses among ornamental trees of delicate constitution. Three years since we had to advise on some trees of Wellingtonia in a suburban garden. They had been planted out on the lawn to form a group, and by sure and not slow degrees had lost all their freshness of colour, the lower branches and the tips of the new growth becoming brown during winter, so as to have a most unsightly appearance. Araucarias in the same style of planting were in a similar bad condition. We had them all lifted, the earth entirely shaken off the roots, and then replanted on mounds made up of yellow loam from Wanstead. The mounds were two feet high, the roots of the trees were carefully spread out, covered only just sufficient to hide them from the day- light, and then staked with three stakes, each placed at an angle, in the style in which soldiers stand their muskets in groups of three on parade. They are now pictures of health and beauty. All choice conifers that require a dry soil, or that are in any way susceptible of the effects of damp, should be planted in this way, and with a little management their lower branches can be trained down so as to sweep the ground all round, and make pictures of them. Roses planted now, though with leaves still on them, will begin to make fresh roots at once. In any case make the ground ready by j manuring liberally where roses are to be planted. Briars worked this season may be lifted now, but they should never have a place in the rosery till they have made at least one full season's growth from the first starting of the buds. Plant firm, and stake at once. [ FRUIT GARDEN.—Currants and gooseberries should now be lifted if required, as the next year's crop will be less jeopardised by getting them early to the places in which they are to fruit. Fork in a good dressing of manure between the trees in old plantations. Put in cuttings of choice sorts; the cuttings to be straight ripe shoots of this year, and all the lower buds removed, so as to prevent the throwing up of suckers. Frait-trees to be planted as soon as passible manure not to be used unless the ground is in a poor condition, and then a little fresh soil should be used with it if possible. Turf from the roadside, clay, clearings of ponds and ditches,' are excellent materials to invigorate an old worn-out soil required for fruit-culture, as also to give body to poor sandy and chalky soils. In planting, keep all roots near the surface; never plant any tree deeper than it was planted before, and if it was evidently too deeply planted before, give it a better chance than it had previously by more shallow planting. Stake as soon as planted, to prevent rocking by the wind, and at the same time prune. Raspberries to have the old canes cut away, the new canes thinned to three or four of the strongest to each stool, and a good mulch of half-rotten dung laid down over their roots, and the ground between them not to be dug at all. GREENHOUSE.—Work of the seasen At every oppor- tunity pass the whole of the plants through a careful hand, whose duty it will be to remove dead leaves, trim away dead snags or mildewed shoots, give water if need- ful, and see that the drainage of the pots is safe. Once a month at least this should be done from October to March, and for lack of such a rule many valuable plants are lost, for many shrubs will appear still green and lively long after they are absolutely dead at the collar through a stoppage of the drainage. Use tepid water to all plants in a growing state, and as little as possible to everything, so as to avoid as much as can be the use of fire-heat. Remember, the more moisture the more heat and the more air, and vice versa. If you cannot give air or use fire, then cease to give water, and keep all paths and stages clean. Succulent plants must now be arranged in their winter quarters. In a mixed collection the best place for them is a top shelf in the full light, and where they are not likely to suffer by drip. The requirements for their winter safety are a dry position, plenty of light, air when needful, and security from frost. Give them no water from this date, or at most water with caution only such as obviously need it; and any in active growth or flower keep warm until they go to rest. FROZEN PLANTS To recover frozen plants the safest procedure is to keep them in the dark till they thaw, and to let the thawing take place sloivly. A dry, still air is also essential; a frozen plant placed in a draught, in the sunshine, or in undue warmth, even if in darkness, will probably go to a pulp as soon as it is completely thawed but if thawed slowly in dark and stillness will recover, if the freezing has been only to a moderate degree. VINERY.-Vines grown in pots for forcing for early grapes may now be shifted into large pots, and the safest way to do it will be to shift pots and all, and without turning out the roots of the vines. Prepare the 12-inch pots with cracks and a few iuches of compost enlarge the drainage holes of the pots the vines are in, then place these pots inside the larger pots, and fill in with tough turfy compost; the outer pot will soon be full of roots, and the vines may be allowed to carry all the bunches they show, and when these are ripe the vines should be destroyed. Vines to rest from this time to be pruned at once in fact, early pruning is the only safe method of preventing bleeding. ORCHID HOUSE. Orchids at rest to be kept moderately dry and ventilated. Endeavour to make them rest completely, as, if they do not enjoy a season of aomplete repose, they will not bloom so satisfactorily next season. Those that do not naturally rest to have the warmest positions, but even these are now to be en- couraged to grow more than sufficient to keep them in health. Now is a most convenient season for a general examination of the stock, and the renewal of blocks, baskets, &c., for improving the effect of the grouping and arrangement. Repot any that require it, and let every plant undergo an examination, during which the surface material should be wholly or partially removed. PITS AND FRAMES.—auriculas, carnations, picotees, and pansies in pots"-to have air frequently, to prevent mildew slight frobts will not hurt them so much as a confined and damp air; take off the lights in the morning, and keep them off till the sun is nearly quitting the frames, then shut up, and there will be enough warmth retained to counteract the frost without. In damp, dull weather, tilt the light only to admit a slight current of air through, and at every opportunity when the weather is genial take the lights off, clear away 1 dead leaves, gently stir the surface of the soil in the pots, and give a little water if needed. PINERY.-Pines require very careful management now, for we have warm sunshine one day and perhaps fog and frost the next. There ought to be a command of more I; heat than is absolutely required, which is easy enough with hot water, but not so easy with fermenting mate- rial, so as to keep the temperature of bottom and top pretty uniform, in spite of changes of the weather. As a comparative state of rest will be good for all classes of ¡ pine stock now, a bottom heat of 65 deg. for a minimum and 70 deg. maximum, top heat of 55 deg. min. and 65 deg. max., will be the safest for the plants. Supply water according to the state of the weather take advantage of bright open weather to water pretty liberally, raising the heat and giving air at the same time and when frost and darkness recur, withhold it as long as will be safe, but not to cause exhaustion.-Hibberd's Gardener's Magazine.
THE HUNTING FIELD.
THE HUNTING FIELD. There are more changes than usual among hunting officials. Not very many counties have changed hands, but huntsmen, and especially whips, have been shifted about in a marvellous manner. These changes, often unavoidable, are not always advantageous at first. A huntsman must know his country before he can count with certainty on showing sport in it. He should have a perfect map of it in his head. On the other hand, it sometimes happens that a huntsman stays so long in one country, that he begins to think he knows better than the hounds which way the fox has gone, and gets ideas into his head about the direction foxes ought to take. A whip ought to learn the country ought to take. A whip ought to learn the country sufficiently in club-hunting to be able to do his work I well. He has seldom a chance of exercising any original genius as regards the fox the hounds are his affair. A new master, if he has not kept hounds before, often takes some time to learn his business, so the less they change the better. On the whole, however, the changes re- gistered this week are satisfactory and although cub- hunting has been a good deal interfered with by the dry weather, most packs have done pretty well, and have left a fair share of the "raw material" to go on with. Several gentlemen have determined to be their own huntsmen; the Marquis of Worcester heading the list with four days a week-a most arduous undertaking. As there are two packs and two huntsmen, Mr. Musters takes the wood- lands, and Frank Gillard the open. A good many packs of harriers appear to have been given up; but average harrier packs can be reproduced at a short notice, though time is required to make such packs as Mr. Wickstead's, who, we are glad to see, goes on as usual. There are no stag-hunting ^hanges to speak of, excepting among the whips, and no new packs started. On the whole, we can congratulate our hunting friends on unusually good prospects of sport.-Land and Water.
THE STAR SHOWER.
THE STAR SHOWER. The earliest announcement of the star shower ob. served at Oxford on Saturday, November 14, 3.45— 5,45 a.m., by Professor was made by an observing member of the police force at two a.m., previous to which hour the sky was mostly overcast. A few stars were seen at intervals to 3.45, when they became numerous, bright, and occasionally splendid. The sky being favourable, it was possible to observe with accuraey till 5.45, after which the heavens' became obscured, except in patches, when still from time to time the asteroids were visible. The radiant point was nearer to 7 Leonis than to any other star, and in the early part of the spectacle the constellation of Leo was often traversed in one direction or other, but toward the end of the ob- servations most of the meteors seemed rushing west- ward, and rarely appeared near to Leo. In the greater part of the period they passed in all directions. Some went northward across the Great Bear, threatening to extinguish the Pole star others shot at Venus in the east, at the cloudy moon, not long risen, at Sirius, Pro- cyon, Orion, and the Twins, while a few crossed the zenith. The very brightest left no trace, but flew in a moment across, and blazed with a surprising light. Others of con- siderable splendour left short traces, usually bluish, the meteoric bead being red and fiery, with spaikling rays. The duration of the trace was 15 sec., 30 sees., and one minute. The longest path (overhead) was about 60 deg.—generally as little as 10 or 5 deg. No serpentine path. The number was not counted—rarely five in as many seconds, more frequently as many in five minutes, with occasional pauses and occasional crowding of meteors-probably 250 in each of the two hours from 3.45 to 5.45. There were three observers, not commanding more than half the sky-space in which the objects moved. (
Our Miscellany.
Our Miscellany. -■ » LATEAUTUMN.— The violet, white spring cloud, and'summer rose, The slips of sunshine on the forest floor, The ocean's blue luxuriant repose, The long calm days and sunsets by its shore, Sweet air, that from the meadowy stretches flows, The lark, the dusky nightingale that sings To morn and twilight's star, when fields are green And golden-past and passing are, I ween. And Autumn late from western evenings, Risen in the wild sad wind, that shadowing blows Up the dim void, murmurs, Winter is come: Pile up the logs and dust the books, for soon Will swell the broadening tempest's sullen hum, From the white surf-line underneath the moon. —The Quiver. GENIUS AND COMMON SENSE.—It is the fashion to credit genius with a want of common sense, and to deny it any claim to commercial or worldly acumen. Examples which belie the general verdict are numerous. Shakespeare was evidently a man ef shrewd business capacity. He managed the products of his giant intellect upon the ordinary common-place rules of every- day life. He adapted and wrote for the theatre which he managed, and made the most of his work from a monetary point of view and when had acquired a fortune he went quietly home to Stratford, and retired from business. Look at Sir Walter Scott. Was he not a good commercial manager ? Take, in these modem times, Charles Dickens. There is no instance in the present day of great genius so thoroughly combined with what may be called business capacity. -Gentk- man's Magazine, New Series. FASHIONABLE ENTERTAINMENTS.—An inno- vation will be made by the Comtesse de Pourtales in the usual march of amusements this year. She proposes to relieve the off-season, which stretches rather drearily from the return to Paris in November to the end of January, when the winter gaieties really set in, by resuscitating the petits soupers of the time of Marie Antoinette and Mme. de Polignac. A small number of guests, just enough to make conversation pleasant, music acceptable, and jeux d'esprit successful; now and then a short play or operetta enacted between two screens, and the supper invariably as twelve o'clock strikes; afterwards a little dancing, if talking flags, or the inclination of the moment leads to it. Sometimes these evenings will begin at the theatre, the party returning at the charmed hour of midnight to supper; and at all times short dresses are de rigeur.—Paris Letter. THE WATERFOWL IN ST. JAMES'S PARir, When, in 1836, a few gentlemen began to stock the lake in St. James',s-park with waterfowl, the rough frequenters of the park-men and women as well as children— stsrtled at the unaccustomed sight of the birds, destroyed them in immense numbers, and if any one more rare and curious than the rest appeared on the water, he was immediately made a special "cockshy" for stones and killed. A male snew (mergus albellus), the first that was known within the memory of man to come alive into the London market, was bought one day in 1837, and turned out upon the lake. He went rushing up and down, now diving, now erecting his crest and shaking his wings, till he attracted a great crowd but, alas they perseveringly pelted him with stones till he died, within an hour of his first appearance on that watery stage. The Ornithological Society was formed, and once a week the committee received lists of the birds killed and wounded by missiles during the preceding se'nnight. The losses were so numerous, and the expense of replacing them so difficult to be met, that it was seriously debated whether the society should not give up its enterprise, on account of what seemed to be the incorrigible habits of cruelty and mischief of the people. Happily it was resolved to persevere, in the hope that, after a while, the public would become in- terested in the birds and no longer persecute and kill them. Every one knows that this hope has been com- pletely realised. The Ornithological Society has stocked all the waters in the parks with waterfowl; not only St. James's, but Hyde Park, the Regent's, Victoria, and Battersea Parks; and nothing is more rare than any injury wilfully done to the birds.-Macmillan's Magazine. OLOZAGA AND GENERAL DULCE.-In many respects those two men are a perfect contrast, but they have long been bound together by the ties of an old and intimate friendship. Dulce is a dry taciturn man of action-Olozaga is the fluent speaker and the wary dip- lomatist the former is first in the field, where his courage and coolness have repeatedly been proved-the latter, cautious, patient, and of excellent counsel in the cabinet, has rarely been taken at fault. The very'ap- pearance of the men is as dissimilar as their natures. Dulce, who has long had indifferent health, is meagre, bilious, sallow looking the soldier, but also the conspirator. To most people his aspect would recall the well-known live, Yon Cassius hath a lean and hungry look." Olozaga, on the contrary, is portly, rubicund, unctious, with remarkable dark eyes, and a genial manner. The two men must be nearly the same age-sixty, or thereabouts—but both would look younger than they are were it not for Dulce's ill-health and for Olozaga's family afflictions. About two years ago the latter lost an only daughter, the joy and delight of his widowed heart-a creature in the prime of youth, of great beauty, and very recently married. This was a crushing grief, and his despair was such as to alarm his friends, who feared lest he should destroy himself. In their anxiety they purloined his razors, and his beard grew—white from sorr'jw rather than from years. He sought relief in travel- he was already a political refugee—and fell in with his old friend Dulce, lately returned from the lucrative post of Captain-General of Cuba, and who had brought home with him a wife he had there married, possessed of enormous wealth. At his age this sudden affluence might have weaned many men from conspiracy, and have induced them to take their ease and abandon political struggles. It was not so with Dulce-any more than it has been with Prim-and the two friends soon understood each pother, and agreed upon a plan of action.—Blackwood's Magazine. A FISHER OF MEN.—Five-and-thirty mile3 had he travelled that morning—getting a fifteen miles lift and a snooze in the London carrier's wagon by the way, and manfully tramping out the rest of the journey on foot-to minister to his "little flock in the wilder. ness," as he called them, And this it was that cast a shadow over his otherwise placid face-he believed his congregation had been placed in his charge by a direct interposition of Providence, and he solemnly held him- self responsible before God for the spiritual well-being of every soul of them. One stormy night at sea-he lived down by Southampton, and fished out in the wild waters beyond the Isle of Wight-he heard a voice in the wind, I will make you fishers of men." He had been meditating on the passage for some days past-it was just after his wife died, and he felt very lonely in the world—but it never il came to him with the force it now did. The very next day he heard of the spiritual destitution of the interest at Hoghatch." They had lost their old minister, and as the good Ezra and Abigail Smith had provided no endowment when they built their Bethel," as the simple people of the neigh- bourhood loved to call it-and as the congregation were too poor to provide one themselves, there was every prospect of the work coming to an end, for want of a pastor. This settled the case in the mind of the pious fisherman. There was Ilis 11 call "-it was for him to obey it. True, it was a long way off; but what of that ? Feed my sheep" -there was no question of distance the good fishermen of old to whom the command was directly addressed threw down their nets, at once, and travelled the wide world over to obey it- without house, without friends, without thought of the morrow. Who was he, that As should hesitate ? His decision was made there and then. He accepted the pastorate of the "Bethel' at Hoghatch. For five years he had fulfilled it without money and without price-setting out from home soon after midnight on Saturday, travelling his fi 'and-thirty miles in all weathers, holding two services and a prayer-meeting at the Bethel, and then journeying his five-and-thirty miles back again, accompanied during the earlier part of the day by a few stout younglings of the flock, and for the long remainder of the distance by his own pious meditations. And here he was, seated in his place as usual-CI Cassetl's Magazine" for November. O-
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PRINCESS MATHILDE has called on the ex- Queen Isabella. FALSELY ACCUSED.—The captain of the Love Bird surrendered at the Thames Police-court on Satur- day, to answer a charge of having caused the death of the cook and steward on the homeward voyage from Congo to London. Four seaiusn swore distinctly to acts of cruelty on the part of the captain, but as they had made no complaint for ten days after the vessel had arrived in London, and had signed the ship's log in which the deceased was stated to have died from fever, the charge was dismissed, and the captain is at libert to prosecute the men for perjury.