County Observer and Monmouthshire Central Advertiser Abergavenny and Raglan Herald Usk and Pontypool Messenger and Chepstow Argus

FIELD AND FARM. j (From" The Agricultural Gazette. ") THE CLOVER HAY C.'jrtP -->. The fate of the clover hay crop (says Prof. John Wrightson), is sealed. It will be light and benty for the moat part. Thus the earliest crop of the season has been sacrificed to north-easterly winds and cold nights. The promise at one time was considerable, but as week after week has passed without cessation ef harsh sifting winds, the prospect has dwindled until it has arrived at about zero. GRASS CROPS, Scarcely less satisfactory are bay prospects generally. So far as the situation can be judged from the railway, there has been as yet scarcely any growth. On cold land the grass has not properly started, and on early land it is parched and already showing signs of giving out. Meanwhile, a dry and searching wind has robbed the land of its moisture, and the herbage of its sap, the result being in many places net enough grass to hide a mouse. SPRING CORN CROPS. It is early to predicate as to corn, but at present the prospects are bad. Late sown, in the first place, it qllickJy germinated and put in an appearance. In favoured situations it maintains itself, and may yet do well, but over wide areas the plant is thin and weak, and is suffering from wireworm. WHEAT. Whatever faults are attributed to wheat as a far- mer's crop, it is one which generally shows to advan- tage in a harsh spring like the present. It establishes itself in the autumn and winter, and pushes its roots below the zone which is immediately affected by short periods of drought. Wheat in fact likes a dry May, and it has had it this year in perfection. I should say wheat on the whole looks fairly well, and shows no sign of sickness. It is a good colour and carries a broad blade. It cannot spread as it would have done in a genial season, but, on the whole, it looks a great deal better than either oats or barley. FODDER CROPS. I Writing from a fodder crop centre, I find trifolium very good, and in fact heavy. Lambs are now en* joying themselves in this useful crop, which is inter- mixed with vetches, the foliage being at least a yard high and very dense. This crop, like wheat, estab- lished its position in the long and not too severe winter, it grew very rapidly in the middle of April when we had a hot wave, and it is now standing in most usefully. HARROWING YOUNG ROOT CROPS. I There is no better plan than harrowing as a par- tial substitute for hand-hoeing. After horse-hoeing between the drills, let the harrow be put on across the rows, and the effect is excellent in producing I tilth, stimulating growth, and taking out surplus plants. Rape and kale may be cultivated without singling or band-hoeing, unless they are badly affected with charlock. P At ention has been drawn in this column to the advantage of growing as large a breadth of rape and kale as possible, in order to save hoeing. This is not entirely a matter of choice; for it may well be argued that hoeing pays. It is likely to be a matter of necea- sity, owing to the growing scarcity of strappers. As to harrowing mangel-wurzel, the only point to be observed is that the plants are tender when young, and not often too thick on the ground. The harrow is not a discriminating agent, and may pro- duce some ugly gaps. No doubt the harrow may be employed with advantage when the plants are strong and numerous, but mangel of all crops must be care- fully singled, and it is only harrowing before thin- ning which is recommended. THE PRACTICE OF MILKING. I Ever since the advent of modern times, when people have become more and more particular about the sources and treatment of their everyday foods, cleanliness has been particularly advocated with re- prd to that very gard to that very susceptible and easily-tainted pro- duct, milk. The teaching of bacteriology, and especially the subject of bacteriology in its relation to dairy products, has shown that from the very time of drawing milk from the udder it is subject to bacterial contamination from a very large number of sources. In the first place, it has been shown that, although bacteria do not actually exist inside a healthy udder, (they are present inuthe canals of the teats leading from the milk cisterns, so that milk cannot be drawn absolutely sterile unless pre- cautions be taken in cleaning out the small canals previous to milking. Now, although milk must naturally become con- taminated with some bacteria that exist in the teats, the contamination received is not generally of an abnoxious character, the organisms being chiefly those of lactic acid, which produce souring, by which milk would in the ordinary course of events deterior- ate whether inoculated from this sourse or not, these organisms existing almost everywhere. The obnoxious micro-organisms which get into milk during the milking are chiefly derived from the dirt and filth on the udder and flanks of the cow. Such matter as bairs, excoriations and bits of cow dung have a very baneful influence upon milk, and for this reason cleanliness cannot be too particularly adhered to. Time after time it has been advocated that cows' addars should be washed before each milking, and of course this is a most effectual means of getting clean milk, but for our part it is too purely theoretical for practice. We do know of instances where it is most religiously practised, and we cannot but admire the determination to do the best that can be which is displayed, though we have noticed that were any par- ticular cows to lie down after the udder washing had taken place in a host of filth, it did not receive a second washing. Now, a small amount of contami- nated milk, if mixed with the bulk, very readily spreads the taint, and we wonder if in this case would the milk be any the superior in the end. It is not our intention to pull down this washing of the udder by setting forth the arguments against it, as we have said it is an admirable practice for those who have the pluck to attempt it. Dirt, and particularly loose dirt, must always be cleaned off the udder, which should be brushed, if not washed, which will eliminate a large amount of the extraneous matter likely to appear in the milk. Coming to the actual practice of milking, it is gena- rally considered that the correct method is to take a fore and hind quarter on opposite sides as being most convenient to the milker, and less likely to cause inconvenience and pain to the cow. dThere are, however, advocates of milking out of the two fore quarters first and then the hind ones, this idea being based upon the grounds that both hind quarters gave a heavier yield of milk than the others, which is, doubtless, mostly the case. In our opinion, however, it is a mistake to place so much importance on a matter that a good milker knows how to meet half-way. A milker should avoid habitually drawing the teats through two fingers or the finger and thumb, instead of taking a full grasp. This is generally known as "streak milking," and is the common method of milking adopted, more particularly in some of the mountainous districts of Wales. Un- doubtedly, this is the best way of extracting the milk m stripping cows, as more milk is obtained, and the milk is drawn cleaner away from the udder. Cows that are milked altogether by this method appear as hard milked to those unaccustomed to it and having to milk some of the cows. It also has the effect of very often causing soreness of the teats, especially if there are any sort of skin affections pre- sent. As a relief to the hands it proves of great assistance. k It is highly advisable to thoroughly strip a cow when milking, and it should be done at once, and not left to a better milker, who has this work assigned to him, coming along after indeed, the whole pro-cess of milking cannot be done too quickly, and the thorough stripping of a cow is most essential, for two reasons. 1. The strippings are the richest in butter-fat, for whereas the first milk drawn contains only some 1 to 2 per cent. fat, the strippings contain 8 to 10 per cent. 2. Stripping encourages secretion of milk. The milking organs of heifers just come newly into the herd require educating up to the work they have to perform, and nothing develops an organ like giving it a large amount of work to perform, and this cannot be done better than by extracting every drop of milk. As to the difficulty commonly met with of cows holding back their milk, if this is to be dealt with, animals must be treated kindly, and not allowed to be excited more than possible, as it is often due to some reflex action on the nerve system that causes holding up the milk. Coaxing must be adopted to encourage the cow to allow the flow to continue; this, after allowing the Saif to go t" Iwr for a ahart time.

Come what may, I'll never leave you I" Thus he vowed—a promise rash "Hark she said, there's papa coming!" And he left her like a flash.

'i "AN INSANE CUSTOM." j Some interesting details are given in the School Magazine, relative to the customs at Ton- bridge School. Of the intact customs, says the writer, first and foremost comes Skinners'Day, the great day at the end of the Summer Term. When Sir Andrew Judd, the founder, departed this life, he left the Governorship of his school to that great London Company, the Skinners, a privilege which they have jealously retained to this day. And so it comes "bout that the great day of the year for Tonbridge School is named Skinners' Day. This institution, and its name, are as old as the foundation itself. Up till the year 1800 the Governors used to visit the school on horse- back, and, as they neared the town. to distribute largesse in copper coin to the villagers who met them. Nowadays the method of procedure is some- what changed, and the city dignitaries drag their weai ied limbs, not on prancing steeds, but in landaus from the Rose and Crown, where they have slept the night before, to the portals of the school. For the last 60 years it has been the custom on Skinners' Day for the whole school to rise at seven a.m. and assemble, en masse, in front of the buildings, dressed in the scantiest attire possible, bearing branches of birch in their hands. Marshalling with linked arms in long lines across tfra road, with the captain of the school in the centre of the first, they tear down through the streets, not to the splendid new swim- ming bath, but to the dirty Medway, and there, standing in one long line along the grassy bank, solemnly jump in together and them scram- ble out again. Of all insane customs really this is the most insane. 01 the horror of that leap into 3ft. of muddy water, not knowing whether you will alight upon a dead cat, or worse, a decomposed dead dog, or whether the fates will be so kind as to let you off with an old tin can Nothing on earth could prevent your feet sticking in the mud. The bacilli carried away in the mouth of those boys would be enough to stock any scientist's laboratory for years. A hasty dressing and then the procession is reformed, marching amid snatches of songs up from the river to the Rose and Crown. Cheers for the Governors, and portly City fathers peep through their blinds at the swaying crowd in the yard below. Then up through the town between the rows of birch branches, with which the towns- people deck their doors-another old custom—to cheer the doctor and the staff in their respective houses.

VERDI'S OWN MEMORIAL. The British Consul at Milan states that the famous composer Verdi at the time of bis death, which occurred there last January, had all but completed a large and handsome building, situated on the out- skirts of the city, destined to receive gratuitouly 100 decayed musical artistes, 60 males and 40 females. When quite finished and fitted up, the building will have cost about E18,000, and the founder has pro- vided an endowment of E4000 a year to keep it up. The cost of maintenance is calculated at £40 per inmate. The age for admission is fixed at 65, and the institution is to be called The House of Rest for Musicians."

==================== HANDKERCHIEFS FOR THE NAVY. The: Macclesfield silk trade has received a stimulus I inthe shape of the annual Government order for black silk handkerchiefs for the navy, which amounts to 90,000. The order has been received by the largest manufactures in the town, but its execution will be extended throughout the whole of the year, and employment will be found for a large number of hands during that period.

QUARRYMEN IN DANGER. In his report to the Boar I of Trade on the mining accidents of last year, Mr. Le Neve Foster comments on the singular fact that the rate of mortality from accidents was higher in quarries than in collieries. The year 1900 was remarkably free from any great mining disaster. There were more than 1000 accidental deaths, but the accidents, being almost as numerous as the deaths, were in each case on a small scale. The death rate of underground workers was only 1'44 per 1000 persons employed, while the death rate among quarrymen working inside pits or excava- tions was 1-90 per 1000.

A SOCIETY MARRIAGE. The Four Hundred," of New York, are in a state of pleasant excitement anent the forthcoming mar- riage of Mr. Harry Lehr to Mrs. Dahlgren, a wealthy and beautiful widow. Mr. Lehr is drummer for a wine agency, and Mrs. Dahlgren is reputed to be worth 10,000,000dols. But Mr. Lohr is, despite his wine business, the pot of society, and practically reigns in the place of the late Ward McAiister, who placed the Four Hundred on the present dizzy height they occupy in the eyes of New York's popu- lation. Mr. Lehr covered himself with glory by paddling through a fountain-pond with a society beauty, and later on added to his never-failing laurels by dragging a rag doll through the streets of Newport in company with two ladies who are regarded as the creme de la creme. When he rose to be secretary of the Mrs. Astor it was felt he bad reached the very apex of ambitious desire, and he was looked upon as just a little short of a divinity. But Mr. Lehr has been proved to be a mere man, and he has succumbed to the fascination of the handsome widow with a handsome for- tune. And Mr. Lehr is going to the sacrifice nobly. His ushers," as they are called, are to be six millionaires, and they include a Vanderbilt, a Gould, and a Mackey. Presents to the bride and bridegroom are to vie with those usually given to royalties, and you may be sure that oceans of that particular brand of cham- pagne for which Mr. Lehr has drummed with so much praiseworthy persistency will be quaffed on the auspicious occasion. The only feature of unpleasant- ness in the romantic story is that the "yellow journals" will publish the' portraits of everybody concerned.

A GREEK HUSBANDMAN. The Andrian husbandman lays up his terrace and leada his little aqueduct to water it (says the Chau- tauquan). When he has got his footing, so to speak, in one little shelf of soil or a dozen of them, he plants his olive, fig, and vine, his bit of barley or wueat, his patch of onions, potatoes, and beans. Against-the north wind he sets his brake of cypress trees with intertwining vines or of tall reeds in triple ranks. He keeps half a dozen goats and sheep for wool, milk, and cheese; a family pig (untaxed), a donkey for transportation, possibly a cow or two of the best stock in the iEgean. In due season you see him winnowiHg his barley on his hilltop threshing-floor, and the Andrian girls treading the winepress or gathered to the unique Andrian festival of the fig- stringing. There is, too, the hilltop monastery, where you may quench your thirst at the hidden epring that used to flow wine instead of water on Dionysos's holiday and the Round Tower which may have looked down on Aga- memnon when he put in at Gavrion Harbour on his way home from Troy. And within a stone's throw of that tower you may see a peasant wife knitting silk stockings for her peasant husband, while silken fishing nets drape the rude walls-all her own handiwork from the rearing of the cocoon through all the stages of the finished products. Forty years ago Andros was a great silk producer, but the blight fell upon that beautiful industry, and it continues now only in domestic hands. Instead the lemon has become the chief staple, and on the south and east of the island every glen and slope is beautiful with its tender green and gold. Andrian life to-day has all the simplicity of the antique. And one who would escape the modern world could hardly do so more completely than with the brethren of Hagia Mone or with my friend Demetrius Zaraphonides J and his American wife on the 12 storey farm at Katakoilo.

A GIGANTIC block of iron ore weighing 96 tons, ordered from England by the Kure Arsenal, was taken to Kure (Japan) by the Awa Maru. It is said that much difficulty was experienced at Liverpool, there being no provision made for such a weight. The caso was otherwise when the block was unloaded at Kure, as the arsenal is equipped with a crane capable of raising 150 tons. FRANK Fox, of the St. Paul's National Schools, Stratford, probably holds a unique record. He has just completed his tenth year at school, and during the whole of that time he has not lost a single half day. In recognition of his punctual and regular attendance the school managers have presented him with a set of books.

RESII !D,ENCE, 'lIl AT HIGHBURY. The English Elustrated Magazine contains an inte- resting account of the grounds attached to Mr, Chamberlain's residence at Highbury, Birmingham. The writer, in the course of his remarks, says that when the house was built, not so long ago, it was an almost purely country prospect that the outlook took in. Since then, however, the view on one side has somewhat changed. Mr. Chamberlain himself, in sportive mood, on a public festive occasion lately at King's Heath, quoted the elder Mr. Weller's words as applicable to the township visible from the win- dows of his residence, and spoke of it as swelling wisibly." But all other houses are sufficiently far removed to give an air of remoteness to the resi- dence which is the subject of this sketch. For easi- ness of access, convenience of appointment, and charm of immediate surroundings, Highbury is almost an ideal dwelling for a public man. Here may be ensured entire freedom from noisy interrup- tion, and here, too, maybe found the true recreation which lies in congenial occupation to one who loves his gardens, as it is well known Mr. Chamberlain does. It is noteworthy that many of the leading states- men of late have been men of simple tastes, to whom trees and flowers and the grateful freshness of the country have afforded grateful change and relief from din of tongues and strife of party. Hughendeh, Hawarden, Hatfield-one thinks of these and many more; and to-day Highbury gives the likb relief to its owner and constant improver. The park is snug and pretty, and affords pasturage to a particularly fine herd of cattle, understood to be the special iiobby of Mr. Austen Chamberlain. Landscape gardening íhas had full exercise, and is still in] pro- gress. The owner is a much more active man than is generally known, and his supposed aversion to walking exercise does not prevent diligent perambula- tion of his own estate at least. There is a delightful lake in the park, and the tameness of the wild ducks (if such a contradiction in terms may be used) is evidence that the waterfowl lead an almost entirely undisturbed existence. The gardens themselves are extensive, how extensive may be partly gathered from the fact that some 25 gardeners are employed under the glass and on the ground," as one of them said, in addition to a number of men of more general occupation about the estate. The lawns and shrubberies are fall of delightful surprises-pretty hollows, secluded pools, picturesque groupings of shrubs and trees, wealth of foliage. One may wander in delight, and wonder what lovely thing will next be seen-for each winding path seems to lead to some fair spot more charming than the last. All the world has heard of Mr. Chamberlain's famed orchid-boases; but it is not a group of orchid- houses only that the visitor finds. Mrs. Chamberlain is as fond of flowers as her illustrious husband is and the latter is not a cultivator of orchids merely. Orchids there are, it is true, which are rare and ) valuable, but carnations are also favourite flowers at Highbury. Indeed, it would be difficult to say what flowers are not favourites, to judge by their variety and the care bestowed upon each kind. Immediately opening out of the drawing-room is the large con- servatory, sheltering tall palms and a bewilderingly beautiful collection of chrysanthemums and other flowers- Out of this blaze of light and brilliant colour one steps into a deliciously cool grotto-like place, where ferns and mosses line the walls, and where the tinkling music of dripping waters charms the ear. From this softly lit spot a long corridor, fringed and festooned with plants of many kinds, runs for a considerable distance. Along its side are doors, leading into houses," each sacred to its particular flower, orchids, begonias, cyclamens, primulas, foliage-plants—a house for each, and more than one for some. These are conservatories pure and simple for the display of flowers in bloom. The forcing- houses and greenhouses are elsewhere; and, to any- one conversant with the niceties of high-class gardening, are of the greatest interest.

STORY OF THE AMERICA CUP. The history of the America Cup, which Shamrock J II. will attempt to wrest from the United States, is narrated in the June number of the Universal and Ludgate Magazine. The writer thus describes the origin of the America Cup In 1851 the regatta of the Royal Yacht Squadron was, as it is now, the fashionable yachting event of the year. It took place in August, and on the 22nd of that month a race was arranged for a cup, offered as a prize by the members of the club, to be sailed for by yachts of all nations, without regard to difference of ton- nage. The course was from Cowes round the Isle of Wight. The America entered for this race, and was the only foreign competitor. The start took place at ten o'clock in the morning, and besides the America there were eight cutters and seven schooners, the majority of them being of the bluff-bowed type. When all allowances were made, the wonderful speed displayed by the America was more than had been anticipated by English yachts- men. "The wind at the start was westerly, very light and variable, and running to the east end of the island the cutters had at first the advantage, but coming on the wind the America at once com- menced to show her speed. In beating up the back ef the island against a strong tide and with little wind, the Arrow got ashore, and the Alarm went to her assistance. These were considered to be two of the best in the fleet. Later in the race two others, Freak and V otante, fouled each other and had to give up. There was now considerably more wind, and the America had established a decided lead to windward, which she continued to improve. She passed through the needles miles ahead of the Aurora (47 tons), the next yacht, and arrived at Cowes 18 minutes before her. Thus ended that famous race. The prize then won by the America was some time afterwards presented by her owners to the New York Yacht Club with the idea of making it perpetually a challenge cup for friendly competition between foreign coutnries,'and that prize is what has ever since been known as the America cap.'

THE SILENT WOMAN. Lucretia Hillman, the silent woman," as she is tnown in Jacobstown, N.J., has not spoken to a human being for years. She is now about 50. She has always held to the idea that women who pay taxes should have the privilege of voting at the general election. In 1896 she refused to pay her taxes, and it was not until she was threatened with goal that she handed over the money. When she had de- livered the cash and received a receipt for it she raised her right hand and swore that she would work from that day to bring about woman suffrage, and until the right of voting h td been granted to women she would not speak a word to humankind.

Tnll little King of Spain is guarded every night by a body of picked men, who are natives of Espi- nosa, and have served with distinction in the army. It is by them the gates are locked at midnight, and with ceremonious solemnity re-opened at seven o'clock in the morning. Should one of this guard prave false to the person of his Sovereign, Spanish faith in Spanish loyalty would die, as if by lightning stroke, and something very dreadful would happen to the traitor. It is a curious custom of very ancient tradition, which the Queen Recent has not been sorry to maintain. TJIEBE are living in the Close at Lichfield the aged widow of Bishop Selwyn, an aunt of the Bishop of St. Albans, and the widow of Archdeacon Allen, the well-known Broad Church humorist, all over 90; and a few yards outside the Close an old lady of more than 100. IT has been estimated that 25,000 horses are em- ployod in the metropolitan carrying trade, that their value is a million and a quarter, and the cost is, for food alone, £ 800,000 a year. A rule prevails of foraging the horses at 3d. an inch per week, that is, a horse costs as many shillings a week as it stands hands high. THE mirage of Mount Fairweather, Alaska, which in called the silent city of Alaska," has been studied by a party of scientists from Vancouver, it extends for about six miles along the mountain side and re- sembles the city of Bristol, England. A report of their observations is to be published shortly. THE Duke and Duchess of Wellington have gone to Levens to stay with Mrs. Bagot. Levens is one of the most beautiful places in England, and the Topiary" garden is one of the most interesting specimens of this form of horticulture. There is a group of ancient yews, representing Queen Elizabeth, ruffled and farthingaled, surrounded by the ladies of her Court.

I GREATER BRITAIN. ] A MEMORANDUM received at the Board of Trade through the India Office, states that the beer brewed in India in 1900 amounted to 4,951,666 gallons, of which more than half was bought by the Army Commissariat, the remainder being left for consumption by the civil population, or by soldiers independently of the arrangements under the army contracts with the breweries. The average purchases of the Commissariat for the last five years have amounted to 2,852,555 gallons yearly, the average production in the same period having been 5,632,180 gallons. The army therefore consumes under con- tract about half of the production. The reduction of the British garrison by the number of men sent to South Africa in the autumn of 1899 has reduced the consumption, and in the Bombay presidency the competition of imoorted beer has made itself f«lt. THE manufactare of iron and steel in Canada is as yet confined to the provinces of Nova Scotia and Ontario, which will soon be supplying all the steel and iron needed in the Dominion. But (says the special commissioner of the Commercial Intelligence) they will soon compete with Great Britain and the United States for the trade of the world, and on good terms. For the Canadian industry is assisted by the skill and enterprise of the Americans who have founded it, by rich and readily available mineral resources, and Govern- ment assistance of the most direct character. The Minister of Railways, Mr. Blair, was authorised to make a contract with Mr. Clergue, an American, then promoting the Clergue Iron and Steel Com- pany, which bound the Government to take 25,000 tons of rails a year from the company for five years, though the plant of the concern was not then built. The preamble to the contract began thus: "Whereas, for the purpose of encouraging the erection and equipment in Canada of plant and machinery for the manufacture and production on most modern principles of steel rails and plate and bridge mate- rials- ■" A TROPOSAL by the Sons of the Revolution of Boston, Massachusetts, to erect a memorial tablet, on the face of the Rock of Quebec to General Richard Montgomery, has aroused the utmost indignation among the Loyalists of Canada. It is felt to be most improper to allow such an historic spot as the base of Quebec's citadel to be dese- crated by the placing of a memorial to one who betrayed his King and country and threw in his lot with the American Revolutionists. The aver- age Canadian regards Montgomery with about the same version that the average American entertains for Benedict Arnold. The two cases are parallel, yet no one would dare to propose the erection of a memorial to Arnold in New York State. Some people, and these include the majority of Canadians outside of Quebec city, assert that the whole cause of Quebec's willingness to allow the Montgomery memorial is to be found in the fact that each summer thousands of Americans visit Quebec and leave a good many good American dollars behind them. IJoRD SIINTO, Governor-General of Canada, has become a patron of Captain Bernier's scheme for an expedition to the North Pole. THE title of Queen City of the Pacific," bestowed on the metropolis of New South Wales, is not un- deserved, for Sydney, writes an Australian corre- spondent, is one of the most beautifully situated cities in the world, and is without a rival in the sou: hern hemisphere. A stranger arriving in Sydney from the old country would find (writes a contri- butor to one of the metropolitan daily papers) very little at first sight in the everyday life of the people to remind him that he was many thousand miles away from home, though if he proceeded into the country he would probably observe a marked dif- ference. But in the city he would notice the streets presenting very much the same appearance as those of an English town, and in some of the prin- cipal thoroughfares he would find a strong re- semblance to the scenes familiar to his gaze in London, Liverpool, or Manchester. He would see the side-walks crowded with an ever-moving throng of people, some intent on business, others bent on pleasure. He would notice large and handsome shops, with glittering plate-glass fronts, and he would see the wares displayed to the gaze of passers by just as in Oxford-street or on Ludgate-hill. He would find the roadways alive with vehicles of all descrip- tions-omnibuses, cabs, carriages, carts, vans, and waggons, with electric and other tramways in the leading thoroughfares. He would see large and handsome stores, or wholesale warehouses, and magnificent architectural structures occupied as banks and public institutions. IF he went into one of the principal hotels lie, would be attended to and served in a manner that would forcibly remind him of home, with ona exception the waiter would expect no fee. But when the stranger had had time to mix a little more intimately with the people, and witness their mode of living, and their habits in their homes, he would find that everyday life in New South Wales, though very similar to that of Eng- land, nevertheless differs from it in many impor- tant respects; but these differences would not be observed so much in the abodes of the higher classes, for there may be found all the luxuries and elegancies of life that wealth can procure. In one respect there is a difference; for while comfort and ease are pretty generally studied, there is not so much attention paid to the fine arts in Sydney by the wealthy classes as would be the case in England. And the reason is not far to seek. In a young community like that of New South Wales where nearly all are engaged in business avocations, more or less, there is not the time to attend to the minor elegancies of life there is not the encouragement for artists to settle in the city, and the few who would willingly encourage them by purchasing their works have but a limited choice of objects. I IN this respect, however, the Sydneyites are im- proving fast; there is a decided taste for art among them, and the number of artists settled in Sydney is steadily increasing. The middle classes of the com- munity, too, live, generally speaking, very much as the middle classes of England do. Very many of the business people have their houses in the suburbs, and come in and go out by train, by omnibus, by tram or in their own vehicles. Living out of town means early closing, and therefore in. the principal establishments from nine in the morning till six in the evening is the business day. The early closing movement is practically universal, and very few of the retail establishments are open until. eight or nine o'clock at night. Hence the various places of amusement—the Schools of Art, the Free Libraries, and similar institutions—are generally well patronised. Among the middle, as well as the higher classes, there is a considerable amount of social intercourse, free from the restraints of class distinction that prevail at home, but pervaded with an atmosphere of genial hospitality and unostenta- tious welcome. Music and dancing are prominent among the amusements at these social gatherings, and these are indulged in with the same zest as would be displayed in family circles in England. COAL was the first mineral discovered in Australia, its existence having been ascertained shortly after the work of settlement h&d commenced on the shores of Port Jackson. Chis was in August, 1797, and the following reference, says a correspon- dent, is made to the event by Mr. Collins, in his account of the establishment and progress of New South Wales. Mr. Collins says: Mr, Clark, the supercargo of the Sydney Cove, having men- tioned that, two days before he had been met by the people in the fishing boat, be had fallen in with a great quantity of coal, with which he and his companion had made a large fire and had slept by it during the night, a whaleboat was sent off to the southwar( with Mr. Bass, the surgeon of the Reliance, to dis- cover where an article so valuable was to be met with. He proceeded about seven leagues to the southward of Point Solander, where he found in the face of a steep cliff, washed by the sea, a stratum of coal, in breadth about six feet, and extending eight or nine miles to the southward. Upon the summit of the high land and lying on the surface, he observed many patches of coal, from some of which it must have been that Mr. Clark was so con- veniently supplied with fuel. He also foun d in the skeletons of the mate and carpenter of the Sydney Cove an unequivocal proof of their having unfortunately perished, as was conjectured By the specimens of the coal which were brought in by Mr. Bass, the quality appeared to be good but from its almost inaccessible situation no great advan- tage could ever be expected from it, and, indeed, were it even less difficult to be procured, unless some small harbour should be near it, it could not be of much utility to the settlement." The place is now known as Coal Cliff, and is extensively worked, as are other rich coal mines in the vicinity.

SAFFRON WALDEN ELECTION. I The result of the poll for a member of Parliament II in place of the late Hon. A. Wodebouse was t declared at Saffron Walden on Saturday afternoon I as follows: Mr. J. W. Pease (L.) 3994  Mr. C. W. Gray (C.) 3202 I Liberal majority 792 At the last election in 1900 the Hon. A. Wode- house (L.) was returned by a majority of 110 over the votes cast for Mr. Gray. Mr. Joseph Albert Pease, of Snow Hall, Gainford, Darlington, and 6, Upper Grosvenor-street, London, who thus succeeds in retaining for his party the seat rendered vacant by the death of the Hon. Almine Wodehouse, is the second son of Sir Joseph Whitwell Pease, first baronet, of Hutton Hall, Guisb trough, Yorkshire, who has been a member of the House of Commons for over 35 years, by his marriage with Mary, daughter of Mr. Alfred Fox, of Falmouth. He was born at Darlington on January 17,1860,and was educated at Grove House, Tottenham, and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was well known as a member of the University football team and the University polo team, and as master of the Cambridge University Draghounds. Taking his B.A. in 1881 and his M.A. in 1884, he entered the family business, and is now a managing director of Pease and Part- ners (Limited), colliery owners, ironstone wine owners, and limestone quarry owners. From 1893 to 1895 Mr. J. A. Pease was an assis- tant private secretary (unpaid) to Mr. John Morley when Chief Secretary for Ireland. Mr. Pease has been master of his own pack of beagles, and is frequently to be seen with Lord Zetland's and the Cleveland Hounds, and is also a member of the Marylebone Cricket Club and 01 several golf clubs. He married, in 1886, Ethel, the only daughter of the late Sir Henry Havelock- Allan, Bart, V.C., G.C.B. He is not new to Parlia- mentary life, having been returned for the Tyneside division of Northumberland in 1892, when he de- feated Mr. Arnold White by 450 votes, and re-elected in 1895, when the majority over Mr. White was only 15 less. At the general election in 1900 he war, however, defeated by Mr. Hugh C. Smith, by 363.

THE LEECH COLLECTION OF BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS. The Entomologist says that the national collection of Lepidoptera in the Natural History Museum at South Kensington has recently been greatly enriched by the addition of the almost unique collection of butterflies from Europe, and Central and Eastern Asia, together with the collection of European moths, formed by thit late Mr. John Henry Leech, of Hurdcott-house, Salisbury. Arrangements had been made during Mr. Leech's lifetime under which the museum became possessed of his Eastern Asian moths, and now the same public intitution has ac- quired the still more important accessions adverted to, through the munificence of his mother, Mrs. Leech, of Kensington Palace-gardens. It is understood that the museum authorities will publish a catalogue of the butterfly collection. Of Rhopalocera there are rather more than 18,000 specimens, representing some 1100 species, among which are over 400 male and female types of species described by Mr. Leech.. This collection of Palasarctic butterflies is very rich in Chinese and Japanese species, and in local forms and aberrations of European species. The European Heterocera number about 23,000 specimens, includ- ing some fine aberrations and extensive series of the variable species. The collection of Eastern Asian moths, from which the museum had already made a selection, comprised nearly 3000 species, of which about 800 were made known to science by Mr. Leech.

A PUBLISHER'S WILL. The will bears date August 29, 1898, with codicils of September 9, 1898, and April 23, 1900, of Mr. George Murray Smith, of 40, Park-lane, and for- merly in partnership with his brother-in-law, Mr. Henry Samuel King, in the firm of Smith, Elder, and Co., of Cornhill, East India agents and publishers, and afterwards, until 1894, head of the firm of Smith, Elder, and Co., of 15, Waterloo-place, publishers. The estate has been valued at E839,522 2s. 5d. gross, including £ 761,965 Is. 9d. in net personalty. The executors of the late Mr. Smith's will are his son, Mr. George Murray Smith, and his son-in-law, Mr. Reginald John Smith, K.C., power being reserved to grant probate also to the testator's widow, Mrs. Elizabeth Smith, to whom he bequeathed The Dictionary of National Biography and the copyright and stock thereof, his wish being that Mrs. Smith should cause the work to be duly com- pleted, but this expression of his wish is not to im- pose any legal obligation on Mrs. Smith. He be- queathed to her also his household effects, plate, pictures, and jewels, his horses and carriages, the use and enjoyment of his house, and a life annuity of 210,000. Mr. Smith bequeathed to his daughter Elizabeth Alexandrina Murray Thompson £ 10,000; to his daughter Ethel Sarah Murray Smith £ 30,000; to his nephew and godson, Robert Smith Mushet, £ 2500; to John Aitchison, for many years the manager of the business of Smith, Elder, and Co., £ 1000; to his friend and solicitor, Mr. Edward Francis Turner, £ 1000; to his friend Mr. Sidney Lee, editor of "The Dictionary of National Biography," £ 500; to his friend Mr. Leslie Stephen, for the purchase of a mourning ring or any other trifle in remembrance of their long friendship, £ 50; to his valet, Peter Savage, £ 25t>; to all persons, other than Mr. John Aitchison, who had been in the service of Smith, Elder and Co. for five years at least on December 31, 1894, when Mr. Smith retired from the firm, one year's wages or salary; and upon trusts for his sister, Mrs. Isabella Forsyth Anderson, and her husband, Mr. John Frederick Anderson, £ 10,000. During the life-time of Mrs. Smith the remainder of the income of the testator's residuary estate is to be paid to his children, and after her death the capital is to be distributed among them, but his elder son, Mr. George Murray Smith, is to take a larger share than each of the others.

BIRTH OF AN ITALIAN PRINCESS. Shortly before nine on the morning of the let lUSt. Queen Elena of Italy gave birth to a daughter, iipon whom the names of Yolanda Margberita have been bestowed. The tidings that the happy event had taken place and that the mother and daughter were doing well were made known to the city of Rome by the flags which were immediately hoisted an all the public and on many private buildings and were greeted with manifest satisfaction. Large numbers of people flocked to the Quirinal to sign she registers of congratulation. Signor Zanardelli, .he Premier, to whom King Victor Emmanuel had personally announced the birth of the Princess, at once telegraphed the news to all the provincial authorities, while Count Gianotti, the Prefect of the Palace, informed the members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Quirinal. Later in the day she King signed an amnesty, which, among other affects, will completely obliterate the sentences passed by the military Courts in connection with the disorders of May 18, 1898. The Chamber of Deputies, to which Signor Zanar- delli in a few well-chosen words formally announced the event, in the afternoon adjourned the sitting in sign of satisfaction, and decided to go in a body to the Quirinal and present their loyal congratulations to the King. Don Prospero Colonna, Syndic of Rome, issued an eloquent manifesto to the citizens of Rome, and in the evening he addressed some thou- sands of demonstrators from the balcony of the Palazzo Senatorio on the Capitol Hill. Although in virtue of the Salic law the sex of the Royal infant somewhat detracts from the political significance of the event, the birth of the first mem- ber of the reigning dynasty in the capital of United Italy maris an epoch in Italian history. Inciden- tally, also, it increases the probability of the suc- cession to the Throne remaining with the elder branch of the House of Savoy. On the way to and returning from the review usually held on the first Sunday of June in celebra- tion of the granting of a Constitution by Charles Albert, King Victor Emmanuel was warmly cheered. According to latest accounts Queen Elena and the infant Princess are progressing most favourably. In honour of the event the King has conferred the knighthood of the Annunziata upon the Premier, Signor Zanardelli, the Marquis Visconti Venosta, ex- Foreign Minister, and General di Sanmarzano, ex- Minister of War. The baptism is not expected to take place for at least a fortnight, so as to allow of time for Queen Maria Pia of Portugal, sister of the late King Humbert, to be present at the ceremony, at which she and Don Prospero Colonna, Syndic of Rome, will act as sponsors.