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

FIELD AND FARM. IIIIr EARLY SPRING NOTES. The wheats have improved rapidly and indi- cate (Prof. John Wrightson points out in his valuable. "Seasonable Notes" in the" Agricul- tural Gazette") the advantages of a dry winter and an early spring. Farming prospects are un- usually bright, but particularly so where the major part of the spring corn was got in before the rains. In some cases this important work was finished. There can be no doubt that close folding with sheep delays sowing, and it is better not to attempt sowing corn wheel, land is still carrying sheep in April. Probably this area- is not large, and if it is ploughed, dressed, and drilled with mangel instead of corn the return will be a good deal better. Such land ought to be clean, and certainly would be well manured and in prime order for producing 30 to 40 tons per acre of mangel without damaging or much tillage. Mangel drilled about the third week in April stands a, very much better chance of pro- ducing & satisfactory crop than oats or barley sown at the same time, and would be of greater value. Neither is it necessary to confine the -cultivation of this root to good land, as anyone imows who has witnessed' the successful growth of mangel on the rolling uplands of the Lincoln- shire wolds. The evils of sowing corn late are palpable. The risk is great from drought, and charlock invades such crops to a serious extent. The system of double-rooting on late folds. is capable of variation, for a good piece of early turnips after late fed turnips is easily obtained and makes an excellent preparation for wheat, to be followed by barley. Mangel cultivation is one of the principal operations now before farmers, and the sooner winter-fallowed land is •cross-ploughed and cleaned for the reception of the seed, the better will be the prospects! of a good crop. Some people object to mangel as an expensive crop, hut if it is expensive it is very valuable and can be converted into money if the supply is beyond the requirements of this farm. One of the. gravest imputations against roots is that they contain 80 per cent, of water, and certainly it is a serious consideration that every 100 tons of roots contains ninety tons of Jmne water. This objection is, however, much ess serious in the case of mangel than of either swedes and turnips, as mangel is most useful from April to July during hot, dry weather. If by its use we save carting water, that alone is j a recommendation, but, in addition to this, cattle and sheep delight in it and greatly miss it when it is finished. Mangel suits every kind of stock. It has saved many a valuable- horse from a fatal attack of colic or inflammation, and ought to be allowed in every cart stable. Sows do well upon mangel where wash is scarce, and a heap should be made near every pig-yard. Cattle do well upon mangel after February, or after swedes have passed their prime, and cows may be fed upon it without any danger of giving a rank flavour to the milk or butter. As for sheep, they always do well on mangel after this season of the year. When swedes become effete, as they are already doing, a few mxucgel scattered over the folds will be greedily eaten, and when the sheep are transferred to grass or winter-sown forage crops mangel is a great advantage. A very experienced ram breeder expressed' his opinion that in summr mangel is as good as cake, not weight for weight, but in the proportions usually given of each. For home consumption in the sprinr and summer, mangel is worth 10s. per ton, and for sale it generally commands about 14s. per iton in place. It is therefore a valuable crop, and as the season for sowing it ;s approaching it is well to draw attention to its I merits. TO OBTAIN WEIGHT OF CATTLE. The following rules (remarks the Rural Word") may be apnlied to estimate the weight of live animals Take a string, put it around the beast, standing square, just behind the shoulder blade. Measure on a foot rule- the feet and inches the animal is in circumference. This is called the girth. Then with the string measure from the bones of the tail, which plumbs the, line with the hinder part of the buttock; direct the Ene along the back to the fore part of the shoulder blade. Take the dimensions on the foot rule as before, which is the length, and work the figures in the following manner Girth of the bullock, 6ft. 4in.; length, 5ft. 3in., which multiplied together, make 31 square superficial feet, that multiplied by 23-the number of pounds allowed to each superficial foot of cattle measuring less than seven and more than five in girth—.makes 7131b. Where the animal measures less than nine aónd more than seven feet in girth. 31 is the number of pounds to each superficial foot. Again, suppose" a. pig or any small beast should measure 2ft. in girth and 2ft. along the back, which multiplied together make four square feet: that multiplied by ll-the number of pounds allowed for each square foot of enttle measuring less than 3ft. in girth- makes* 441b. Again, .suppose, a calf or sheep should measure 4ft. 6in. in girth, and 3ft. 9in. in length, multi- plied together, makes 16V square feet: that multiplied by 16-the number of pounds allowed I to all cattle measuring less than 6 and more than 3ft. in eirtb-makes 2641b. CHEESE-MAKING HERDS. I It is time that clie-dcleiking farmers set tueir houses in order, and one matter not to be over- looked is to see that their herds fare well. Cows heavy with calf need extra feeding in bleak spring weather, and any neglect here may lessen the flow of milk for half the season—milk needed sobady in the cheese-tub. In buying recruits for the herds I would point out that free milkers generally pay best, so leog as there be youth on their sidle, because although cream must rise thick on the butter-maker's milk, a big volume of the latter, even at expense of ibutter-fat is desirable for cheese. Calves from these cows should, be disposed of pretty ipremipitv, even as soon as bulk of the herds ■have calved, for it does not pay to keep vounasters on cows when with tne lacteal fluid there is better fish to fry., Cheese-making well managed is a profitable branch still left to the -farmer-none more. THE SWINE HERD. There is a better time coming for pig farmer's. The end of the slump is nearly come, and beginning of the boom in trade is near at hand. Tb&re is no time of the year much better for farrows to come than now, for they get sa able when dlairy folks, peasantry, and many other folks are in the market looking out for stock to fill their styes, or, at lea,st, to eat up waste food from dairy and garden. Require- ments of these young farrows in April are nutritious, easilv digestible food as soon as they begin to feed on solids, and until then, especial attention ought to be paid to feeding the mothers so as to push the milk flow. Again, a thigh, dry, warm: bed of good wheat or -oaten aw, gpod drainage to the styes, and enough Tentila,ti,o-n axe essentials. No pigs come on properly in la, stuffy stye. It is quite pra,c- tkivble to gllve plenty of fresh air, associated with warmth, during the present month. GRASS LAND. There is thee usual work on grass land, and promise of n. fruitful season is good. Rough srafis should be grazed off by hungry store stock to pastures with even face for fattening stock present to leave the yards. All hedging, ditching, and, draining ought to be hastily concluded, and any moles disfiguring, swards may he caught up. Meadows have to be generally made tidy for the scythe, and all stock must be removed therefrom, else swth will -be all too light.

Professor of Logic "I put my hat down in the room I cannot see it anywhere; there has been nobody in besides myself ergo, I am eitting on it. A gentleman staying on .business in the Philip- pine Islands told his servant, a negro, to fill an empty pepper cruet, and waited for the pepper to arrive before commencing his luncheon, which bad been served. The servant, however, was guch a long time carrying out his instructions that he at last went out into the kitchen to re- ] maonstra-te with him for the unnecessary delay. "How long is it going to take you to do that iofb?'' he asked. "Not much longer," answered the negro, in his own language "but you must remember that it is no small task to foroe the pepper through these little holes." He was fill- ing flie cruet without removing the perforated

OUR SHORT STORY. THE DARK CLOUD OF PERIL. -THE STORY OF AN OPAL. Except for the reason that she feared him with* out exactly knowing why-this fellow countryman of hers, with his dark eyes of the South, his vehement gestures, and his ardent exclamations- she would have risen in anger and left him to his mood. As it was, Irma d'Avorsy said, her beautiful face aflame- You must know, Count, that I am engaged, that I am to be wedded shortly, and yet you speak of love." Yes, I do know it," answered Count Girolamo Tosca, almost fiercely. But this Englishman who claims you is not so worthy of you as I, since he cannot love you with my love." Hush!" she whispered. Bah he cannot hear us," replied Tosca, pre- tending to mistake her meaning. He is dancing in the ball-room we are quite alone here. No, do not leave me. Think what my love must be that declares itself in spite of these conventions. Were your wedding day to-morrow, Irma, I should speak these words. I will tell you that I adore you, and will never surrender you to another man." It was past endurance. The woman rose to leave the conservatory, but the other caught her by the wrist. You will not surrender me!" she said, in a voice trembling with indignation and scorn." You speak in spite of conventions! Say, rather, that you break a. true man's code of honour in talking to me like this. Let go my hand, Count, or I will call for assistance. You are mad! "Yes—with love for you." What right have you to speak that word ?" Two rights. One—because my love is my life. Two—this!" With the word he slipped upon a finger of the hand he still detained a gold ring set with an opal. Irma gave one look, turned white as death, and sank again upon the cushions. By that second right," wont on Tosca pitilessly, "I demand your love." My hate rather," she whispered, faint with some terrible fear. She turned the ring round and round. In the centre of the large opal was a tiny yellow spot of gold, Yes," commenced Girolamo Tosca, guessing her thoughts. I am one of that fraternity whose ranks you treacherously deserted. Let me recall your memory. You belonged to this society (I will not even mention its name here); you vowed to give your life to it; and moving in the good circle to which your social position admitted you, you were of use to us—much use. A certain ambassador at Rome fell in love with you. We wished you to encourage him, for there were one or two secrets of a political nature which you might so have obtained. You chose to take exception to our request. Perhaps you were right; that, however, is beside the point. You were urged, then warned. Fearing these menaces, you fled from Rome, and broke in that abrupt way with the society which had received such pledges from you. You were aware, as well as I, of the means which the society adopts in punishing apostates. It presents such a one with a gold ring in which is set an opal stone. A cavity is within this opal, and it is stopped with a particle of gold. lIe or she who receives it would do well to heat that speck of metal, and to take the drop of deadly poison within the opal. It is a secret made known to every brother to every sister amongst us. But concern- ing the precise nature of what is concealed in the opal, that is a matter known to one only, the presi- dent. However, we can guess. Beyond doubt it is a drop of some malignant poison. Certainly the three who have received this fatal ring within the ast five years died-and died very suddenly. 1 Listen. Your life is as good as forfeited. That you must know. Your lover, Philip Hardy, cannot save you. Who can ? I. You are aware that, as a bearer of their sinister message to you, 1 must have some influence with this society. I can obtain their pardon; but on one condition. That you give me yourself—your love. Come, why this pallor S Do I not worship you ? Would I let harm come to you ? At that moment Philip Hardy entered the con- servatory. Tosca at once rose. As he left he flashed a look of menace upon the Englishman. Irma slipped the ring from the finger and con- cealed it in the palm of her hand. For the third time Irma read the note which she bad just received. It was fro ii Count Girolamo Tosca. So you are to marry Hardy in a week's time. Very well, by so doing {you will bring a great trouble into this man's life. Are you mad, Irma ? You must know how impossible it is to escape from the clutches of the society. I will give you one more chance. Send back to me, by the bearer of this letter, the ring and I will regard that act as an assent to my proposition. Only as my wife will you be safe." Marry him ?" she murmured. I would sooner drink the drop of poison hid in the heart of this opal. What can I do ? I fear to tell Philip, for he will take some rash measure for my protection and draw on himself the displeasure of these murderers. No, 1 will act as I had made up my mind to do before this letter came. I shall leave London at once. No one must know of my where- abouts except Philip, and I will write to him. My only chance is in flight. In the meantime I shall send this 'ring back. He may be watching my movements. If I appear to agree, he will not sus- pect that I intend to elude him." Two hours later Irma, closely veiled, quitted the house at which she had been staying. The coachman was requested to driva her to the terminus of a northern line. The journey should not have occupied more than twenty minutes, yet fifty passed, and still the closed carriage rumbled on. But the peril of the situation in which she found herself draw Irma's attention from the indirectness and slowness of the carriage's progress. She told j herself that if she could conceal her whereabouts from Tosca, at any rate for the present, she would be safe. It had taken the society three years to discover her. From the northern town to which she was travelling she would write to Philip, beg- ging his immediate presence; and then she would confide her secret to him. She feared to reveal it to him in London, telling herself that his impetu- ous nature would send him at once to Tosca. Perhaps he would not wish to wed .her in such circumstances. She fought this doubt. In spite of all, he will make me his wife," she said. And he will take me abroad, where we must live for some years, moving from place to place, until the society has forgotten me." Suddenly the reflection was shattered in a most startling manner. The carriage had stopped, and a man turned the handle of the door and sprang quickly in. Irma cried out; but a handkerchief was roughly pressed over her lips. Instantly all ■was confusion—a chaos of sensations; then dark- ness. The voice of Count Tosco appeared to bring her senses back. You are awake. Look at me, Irma. I assure you that you have nothing to fear; no harm will corqe to you in this place." Irma opened her eyes, and she saw the swathy face of Girolamo bending over her. She was rest- ing upon a sofa in a neat and poorly furnished room. As recollection forced itself upon her she shuddered and would have risen, but the numbing effects of the chloroform had sapped her strength. "Whtíre are you ?" said Tosca, replying to the question which he read in her face. In a small house by the river side. I brought you here. You were about to fly from me, were you not? I anticipated that move from the beginning. Your coachman was bribed by me. Ah, do not look at me in that way I am not such a villain as you suppose. I love you so that I am capable of any- thing, any means whereby to win you." What do you mean to do with me ? said Irma, quite unable to conceal the abhorrence which showed in her face and voice. I ask you to wed me." "I would sooner die." Tosea turned pale. He poured out a glass of wine, which he drank at a gulp. He an- Blv6r6d • That is what will happen. You forget the ring." "Give it to me." "You sent it to me, Irma; but I waw not so easily deceived. Yetl am glad that yon did. It is a deadly trinket. Yes, I am glad that it is no longer in your possession." Irma rose to her feet; she was so weak, how- ever, that she must have fallen bad he not caught her in his arms. She repulsed him with a gesture of loathing. I begin to see that you will never love me," said the Count. It is a fresh experience for in c. I thought that all women loved a bold heart which does not stick at trifles when battling for a great pri?e. I had hoped to find YOll amenable to reason'; had hoped to persuade you to marry me within the next few hours, and then we could have quietly left England. But I see that you will refoae to do I)," Ten thousand times!" « Very well," said Tosca, loomily. f; I shall nof detain you. Only be certain that I shall have my revengZ. Your days are numbered. Your English lover will not for long call you wife. Bufcyou shall not have this ring—at least, not until I have taken the poison from its heart." He took up the ring as he spoke, and for a moment steadfastly regarded the spot of gold upon the stone. He put it upon the mantel, drew a pin from his tie, and heated the pointed end in the flame of a match. He murmured—half to himself —as he waited- I presume that my surmise must be correct. That the opal contains death there can be no doubt whatever, Surely it must be through a drop or two of some virulent poison;" He flung the match aside and took the ring in his left hand. The end of the pin glowed redly, and he placed the point upon the gold stopping in the opal, and began to bore it into the metal. It broke through suddenly. The next instant there was a sharp explosion, a terrible cry. Irma screamed and cowered back as Count Tosca, pressing both hands to his face, which was scorched by the flames, reeled and fell heavily, full length, upon the carpet. He had been killed outright. Death indeed had lurked within the opal; but not in the form of a poison. The stone concealed a deadly explosive; the same action which ens- solved the gold stopping touched of tlie-terrible compound. Someone knocked at the door, and a woman, alarmed by the report, rushed into the room. Irma could speak no word of explanation her fear-stricken eyes were fixed upon the body of Count Girolamo Tosca, which reposed ill a sinister and final attitude of abandon. Thoroughly scared by so disastrous a termina- tion to what she believed was an abduction, and to which she had lent her services, the woman offered no opposition when Irma quited the river-side house. The day was not dead when Irma told Philip Hardy each detail of her startling adventure. In the circumstances, he agreed as to the advisability of maintaining as much secrecy as was compatible with such inquiries as were bound to follow Tosca's death. Immediately on the con- elusion of that matter he married Irma, and they left England together. They returned after three years, rightly judging that the dark cloud of. peril had passed.

A LINK WITH THE PAST. It is somewhat startling to learn from the "Bath Herald" that the clergyman who offici- ated at the funeral of the authoress of "Evelina" is living to-day. It has been generally supposed that the ceremony was performed by her nephew, the Rev. Charles Parr Burney, and it was in- tended that should be so, but, for some reason he was unable to attend, and in his absence, there officiated the Rev. Charles Burney, who is the present nonagenarian. Archdeacon, of King- ston-on-Tha-mes. When we consider that Maine. D'Arblay died in January, 1840, that there should be now living a relative who read the funeral service over her remains is remarkable. Franceu Burney, it may be recalled, was born in 1752.

ROYAL SMALL ARMS FACTORIES. A return has been issued as a Parliamentary Paper showing the number and cost of small arms, sword bayonets, and machine guns manu- factured in the Royal Small Arms Factories at Enfield and Birmingham and by the trade during the past ten years; also the number of men em- ployed in the two Government factories for the same period and their wages. The average number of men employed at the present time on the work specified is given as 2,335 at Enfield, which is the smallest total since 1898-99, and 563 at Birmingham, which is the lowest figure since 1899-1900. Last year the numbers em- ployed at Enfield were 2,724 and at Birmingham 697, the wages amounting to P,237,315 at En- field and £ 50,943 at Birmingham. In 1902-03 the numbers in every instance were considerably higher. The hands employed at Enfield amounted to 3,002 and the wages to IC272,657,, while at Birmingham the number of men en- gaged was 807 and the wage-s paid £ 69,528. In 1894-95 the total of men employed at Enfield was 1,901, which is less than in the present year, but at Birmingham the number was larger, being 606 as against 563 now. The administrative and clerical staff at Enfield amounted in 1904 to 124 as compared with 125 in 1903 and 83 in 1895. The artisans and labourers at the same place num- bered 2,192 in 1904 as against 2,354 in 1903 and 1,467 in 1895. At Birmingham the administra- tive and clerical staff last year amounted to 32 men, and in the previous year to 31, which is the same number as in 1895. There were in 1904 472 artisans and labourers at work at Birming- ham as against 517 in 1903 and 352 in 1895. The average rate of,wages paid to the various classes of workmen at both factories ranges from £1 3s. £ 1 2s. at. Birmingham.) for unskilled labourers, to £ 2 5s. for section hands, these last being em- ployed at Enfield only. In the machine gun de- partment the number of hands employed at the present time is 92, as against 145 last year, this being the lowest number since 1891-92. The number of rifles manufactured at Enfield in 1903-04 was 14,805, at an average price of t2 13s. 7d., and 963 short rifles at a cost of £ 4 lls. 4M. each. The output of ordinary rifles at Sparkbrook in the same period was 8,740 at an average cost of £ 2 14s. 7d.

I MYSTERY OF INCENDIARISM. There is in the little remote French hamlet of Tensonnien, in the Aveyron region, a French analogy to the Staffordshire cattle maiming' mystery. Only, in the French case, the mystery is one of incendiarism. The hamlet contains only 35 houses and 150 inhabitants, and during eight months there have taken place no fewer than 14 fires, all of them certainly incendiary, and without the slightest clue ever being found to their author or authors. A strict watch has been kept for months, but this notwithstanding, two barns have been burned down within the past few days. Perhaps the most singular fea- ture of the outrages ill that* they always take place in the afternoon.

I BRITISH CLERKS IN DEMAND. An increased demand for clerks, especially for well-qualified juniors, has continued at the em- ployment department of the London Chamber of Commerce throughout the first quarter of the year. This applies especially to young English clerks, while the demand for young foreigners has been small. The number of applicants of foreign birth on the register of the chamber continues as large as ever. There are, for example, at the present time, 106 well-educated foreigners on the books endeavouring to find situations through the good offices of the depart- ment, the majority of whom have come to Eng- land to learn the language and trade customs. Englishmen with similar qualifications, on the other hand, are much sought after, but are not so frequently forthcoming. Inquiries for book- keepers have much as usual, while openings for secretaries', accountants, etc., continue to be confined to those having special knowledge and qualifications. Lady clerks have not been as much sought as in previous periods.

Girls in Chicago have been marrying so early -quite a large number within the compulsory school age—that a. special school-room for child wives is being arranged. Mr. Justice Grantham has resumed his duties in the King's Bench Division, looking very much better in health after hie trip to Madeira.

I EPITOME OF NEWS. I Among the nuiMrous privileges enjoyed by iSce Lady Mayoress of London during her husband's year of office is that Tf "entree" at Court. Tha.t; is to say, instead of feeing compelled to take her place among the ordiaary guests, titled and un- titled, at Court functions, she enters the palace by a separate entrance and isi received by Royalty before any of the other gaests. Clyde engineers, having received a refusal to their demand for 2s. weekly advance, presented an additional request to have the weekly "pays" restored. This has also been re-fused. Both questions are now to be discussed at a joint con- ference. The men threaten to press their claims, as they assert work is plentiful. The principal factories of the mouth organ,, or mouth harmonica, as it is perhaps more cor- rectly termed, are at Trossingen, in the Black Forest. These instruments, it appears, are sold in greater quantities in the United States than in any other country. At Trossin-gen one firm, alone has fifteen branch factories, employs 2,000 hands, and turns out 6,000,000 mouth harmonicas every year. Apropos of the impending change in U.S. ambassadors, the fact may be recalled that in 1838, the Lord Mayor and Corporation made'the mistake of voting the freedom of the City of London to, a very popular Minister from Wash- ington, Mr. Andrew Stevenson, who not being a British subject could not take the necessary oath of allegiance. In declining, Mr. Stevenson sent an assurance to the Lord Mayor that he regarded the proffered compliment as one of the most pleasing incidents of his public life. On his return to America he became Rector of the Uni- versity of Virginia, and di,ed in the mid-fifties. A wayside inn in Yorkshire boasts of a unique animated sign. It bears the name of the Black Sow, and instead of a sign bearing the present- ment of the usual ebony porker, a real black sow has its habitation close to the door, and waddles about the small yard in front of the hostelry, as if fully conscious of her importance an the scheme of creation. The wastage of coins in actual circulation is very great. A calculation made some time ago was to the. following effect. There were 90,000,000 sovereigns and 20,000,000 half-sove- reigns in circulation. Fifty millions of the former were light by 2td. and 11,000,000 of the latter by 2Jd. each—a total shortage of over £ 600,000. The calculated loss each year per gold coin was 4-100th,s of a grain, or about £ 50,000 in all. Paris is just now infested by rats. In the more secluded streets they make the evenings hideous, emerging in groups of half a dozen or so from every drain and grid, or other ground opening and dispersing over the pavement in all directions, to the terror of all women, and of some men. Loud complaints are being made in the Press, but for some days .there has been no abatement of the nuisance. The Bar is not unduly paid in France. Fees, in comparison with the English courts, are re- markably small. One or two conspicuous counsel gain from £ 7,0 to E8,000 a year, but the great majority even of those in the front rank have: to be content with much smaller incomes. The practice of the law is not nearly so remunerative as that of medicine, or, rather, of surgery. Lead- ing operators make their C20,000 or £ 30,000 a year. Nelson relies, comprising two punch bowls, an urn, small silver bowls, medals, a gold-hilted sword, snuff-boxes, an exquisitely-enamelled egg- cup, and some letters, have been presented to the nation by Dr. Corbeti. They will be placed in the large Painted Hall of the Royal Naval College, in a showcase made from the timbers of the Victory. At Stivichall, near Coventry, may be, seen a church that, among English churches, at all events, possesses the. unique distinction of. having been built by the unaided efforts of one man alone. The name of this persistent apd- assiduous workman was John Green, a stone- mason, of Coventry, who laid the first stone in 1810 and completed his self-imposed task seven years later.. Oyster parties are the great diversion of the Spanish gentlemen who pay family visits to Vigo. The party goes out in a large flat- bottomed boat. Then the oysters are. fished up, opened, and eaten on the spot, and a prize goes to the guest who can show most shells at the end of the day. In excuse, it may be, said that the Vigo oyster is small, for a prize-winner will sometimes show as many as 200 shells. The latest novelty in swindling is the forgery of railway season tickets. When a season ticket is taken' on a French railway a deposit of 8s. 4d. is made, to be. returned when the ticket is given up. It .is this deposit which has attracted the Parisian swindler. He has been enabled to forge imitations of the tickets of known holders in sufficient numbers to make the gain worth the risk. Earrings were never made for cows,, but every cow in Belgium must wear them now, for a re- gulation has been issued that all animals of the bovine species are to be thus adorned on reach- ing the age of three months. This is a hygienic measure, intended to prevent the introduction into Belgium of animals suffering from tuber- culosis. Breeders are obliged to keep a strict account of the animals raised by them, and the ring, on which is engraved a number, is fastened in the -animal's ear for the purpose of preventing the substitution of one animal for another. In the West of France there is a. serious re- crudescence of rabies, and threatening symptoms are not wanting in Paris itself—solely, however, attributable to the negligence—culpable, as it might almost be termed, of the police to carry on the regulations against dogs at large without identification collars. The number of stray and apparently ownerless dogs at large in the streets is again becoming noticeable. The number of patients daily treated for prevention of rabies at the Pasteur Institute, in Paris, is less than half what it was three years ago, but this. is due to the opening of five provincial institutes. A sneezing competition between half-a-dozen old women took place recently in a certain Lan- cashire town. The competitors were at liberty to use any means of bringing about a sneeze, a tin of the best snuff being actually provided for the purpose. 'Everybody present at the unique contest went into convulsions at the sneezing feats of the contestants, one of the old dames keeping up the performance until she fell down exhausted. She was awarded the prize, consist- ing of a sovereign and a silk handkerchief. A certain firm (the National Cash Register Company, Limited), believing that, if their staif are kept fit, they can do their work much better, provide their employees with a bath-room con- taining several baths. They are allowed twenty minutes, twice weekly of the firm's time, tlq in- dulge in this luxury.. An instructor is also pro- vided for the staff, who go through physical exercises regularly every morning. The working day in Chinese cotton mills lasts thirteen and a half hours, night shifts working ten hours. From an economical point of view it is said to be better to confine the hands to day work only, and but few mills work day and night throughout the year. As is not unreasonably to be expected, there is a slight falling off in effici- ency during the summer months. Many mills in Shanghai pay by piecework, and the wages earned amount to about 6d. per day. Great Britain lost 148,906 acres between 1367 and 1880 by the encroachment of the sea, 1W¡1J¡ 29,155 acres between 1880 and 1890. A survey in the region of Edward I. gave the Duchy of Cornwall 1,500,000 acnes, but the Ordnance Sur- vey some years ago showed that this had been reduced to 829,500 acres. Villages have disap- peared in the ocean, as in th ease of Dunwicii, of which nothing remains but a ruined church on the edge of a clift If wooden houses were permitted, such struc- tures, it is c-o-mmionly contended, would spring up all over the country. The experience of the Guildford rural district, however, is as follows: In all but four of tine eighteen parishes of the district, builders are at liberty to put up cottages of wood! or other material than bricks ias they :ple,ase, but no, one has yet ta,kal iadvantage of this opportunity. Immense damage has be,en if one by a great forest fire on the hills surrounding Lake Como in Itjcly. The outbreak is believed to be the work of incendiariee, Promises of support fo,r his proposed inter- national agricultural institutearo still being received by the King; of Italy from all parts of the world. Valuable- presents lave been made, by the- British and American Government, to the- Moorish Shereefe of Wazzan, who aided in the usLease of Messrs. Perdicaris and Varley. Sixty men ziLld eighty women have bee?, killed iw,J¡ raid made by a tribe in Liberia (West Africa) on Cee-s Town,. a place on t-li-s Liberian coast. The Bulgarian Minister ef Education has sent a circular to the directors of all girls' high schools in the country forbidding the weaxing of corsets by the pupils. The Chief Constable of Halifax expresses a hope that records of the finger prints of vagrants, ae well as those of criminals, will soon be kept, at Scotland-yard. The money collected in London's workshops and business houses for the Hospital Sunday Fund last year amounted to £ 24*344. The total created a record. Military charts, the- size of a man's palm, from. reduced photographs of ordnance maps, are- shortly to be issued, fitted with powerful pocket lenses, to officers of the German Army. Count Lonyay and his wife, the ex-Princess Stephanie, daughter of King Leopold of Belgium, intend to purchase a country seat in England, says the Vienna "Tagablat-t," where they wilJ reside permanently. Since 1639 the post of sexton, in the Derby- shire village of Crich has been held by a family named Wetton, and the last representative, John Wetton, who has just died, leaves a descendant of his name to carry on the tradition. Among the men imported by too Free Labom Association into Sunderland to supply the places of the shipyard blacksmiths on strike are a batch' of smiths discharged from the Admiralty dock- yard at Portsmouth. Taking up a strategic position at the top oi the stairs, and using fenders as weapons, two men who were found in a Birmingham furniture shop twice knocked a plucky constable to the bottom before they were secured. An exceedingly clever rendering of "The Taming of the Shrew" was given recently by the pupils at the school for North American IndianGat Carlisle, Pennsylvania. By permission of the Westminster City. Coun. cil, a row of flags, representing Nelson's last signal -at Trafalgar, will be stretched between the Royal United Service Institution and the Horse Guards on the occasion of tBe Nelson Centenary Exhibition this summer. Mr. N. O. Nelson, a Chicago millionaire, de- clares that getting rich is a bad habit. "Ðon'i grow wealthy," lie says, "for it only piles up care." Mr. Nelson still runs his business in his own name, but he distributes the dividends among his 4,000 employees. "If a woman is unfortunate enough to marry a, brute-, she has a right to defend herself, even to the point of taking hi's life," said a Chicago judge in setting free a woman who shot her hus- band after he had attacked her. The well-known German daily, the "General- anzeiger," publishes an editorial announcement to the effect that in future, two of its daily edi- tions will be printed in ink which will not injure any meat or butter in which housewives may wrap it. It appears from the researches of Professor Doyo-n, of the University of Lyons, thait slow intoxication by phosphorous causes fatty degeneration of the liver, incoagulability of the blood, and the disappearance of the element which generates fibrine. An inventor, of Louisville, U.S.A., has just perfected an invention which promises to revolu- uionise the lacing of shoes. The invention enables maen or "woiiiton to lace their shoes with- out stooping. The invention is simple. One lace string is permanent in position, arid pulling the top of it laces the shoe. Pulling the bottom string loosens the shoe. For considerably over half a century a Free Methodist church, -at Nassington, Northants, has been completely hidden from view by a. row mf cottages which abuts on the main road. In fact, so wedged in by the back ygadg of the cottages is the building that it is impossible to obtain a photographic view of its front. The late ,Mr. S. Forbes had! collected during [lis lifetime a unique collection oif paintings by old masters, including Comt, Diazo Daubigny, Millet, and, Rousseau. This collection he had hoped to exhibit shortly, but, unfortunately, death prevented him carrying out this wish. The nation, however, will now helve an oppor- tunity of seeing these works, as: his trustees have engaged the Grafton Galleries to show them during the coming season. They will be • a great attraction for any parties given at the galleries. It is a. curious fact that a boy's iuair grows one-half slower than a girl's. In boys., the, average rate of growth is three feet three inches r in six years, being an average of .018 inch a day. During the twenty-first and twenty-fourth years a man's hair grows quicker than at any other period. It takes an eyelash twenty weeks to reach a length of .429 inch, und then its life- is from 100 to 150 days. By means of a camera. the wink of an eyelid) has been measured, and it was found' that twenty winks can be made in. four seconds; Professor Beanly, who discovered the prin- ciple of wireless telegraphy, has communicated5, to the Academy of Sciences, Paris, a descrip- tion of an apparatus he has invented, for effect- ing or controlling -a 'series- of operations of any sort afe a great distance by means of' electric wiifses acting on coherers. The apparatus works weS in the laboratory of the,, Catholic Institute of Paris. Glen tana, the splendid; property on Deesi dis- owned) by the late Sir Wiifom Cunliffe Brooks,. and inherited! -after his death by Mr. Ean Cecil, grandson of the third Marquis of Exeter and (through his mother) of Sir William himself, is understood to be in the- market; and it is said, that £ 300^000 is the sum asked for it. By the will of Sir William Brooks the bulk of his immense fortune passed! at his death to his younger daughter, Lady Francis Cecil, and' her only son, Ea.n, who, until the birth of Lord Birrgfoksy the other day, was- heir-presumptive to the Marquisaite of Exeter. It is well., says the Monthly," to*, think twice over a dedication before it goes out into the world. When General Lew Wallace wrote "Ben Hur," he desired to- dedicate it to his wife. She suggested' the words, "to the wife of my youth," and they appeared in the first edition. Promptly there came scores, of letters pouring balm -on the widowed heart, as it was supposed, of the author. He may even have had particular offers for its healing anyhow, Che dedication was changed to read*, "To the wife of my youth, who still abides with me." Soyalty comtplaias some,times cf. long hours, asadi cfreary speeches, and heavy bouquets, and bowing and saluting. Yet it would appear that Royalty enjoys itself pretty well in the long run. Not long ago Kiag Edward was dining with a party of intimates. The question arose, If not yourself, who would you 'he?" and was answered in tern ;by every man at the table. "Put the question to me!" laughed the King*. His 'answer was, "My nephew, the Geraoaa Empemr." And years ago the late Duke øt Clarence, then a lad, wrote in a friend''s "Gon fession Album," in answer to the same ques- tion, "if not yourself, who would you c"J It is not often that a lover drops from the clouds, but the event is recorded as having recently happened m Sweden. The Swedish aeronaut, M. Fraa-kel, while engaged in an ascent, found that his balloon had sustained daamage, and descended in the island of Oeland- The balloon came down ip. the park of » country house occupied by' a large employe of labour, who was then oetebratmg the silv jubilee of his wedding. The unforeseen was •welcomed, <a«d between him audi the eld daughter of feis bast" flhesne sprang up near approach -to love at fiist sight UleOIlltt left the pair were already JiJ.