The Cardiff Times

PARTICULAR. HER r4 ATHICII I believe yoij wish to speak to me about marrying, rtY. daughter ? HER ADORER VCT. What are your habits, air And I also wish to inquire concerning the amount of money you save each year, and to ask if. you think you can make me happy.

Customer: Waiter, where is my knife and fork ?—Waiter s Didn't yon ask for a tender steak, sir?—Customer: YQS, of course I did.— Waiter: Well, sir, the Steaks in this place are so Sender yo\i eat 'em with a spoon

WELSH GLEANINGS. I By Llwydfryn. The Welsh University. Mr Thomas Gee, the vetrian Welsh leader, never said a truer word than when he stated that it was not only professors that took an interest in the establishment of a Wellsh University. When Mr Gladstone made his celebrated boulder-stone speech be hesitated for a moment in the course of his address, and said that he was uncertain on what topic to touch next. A rough quarryman in the croud interrupted and said, Tell us some- thing of the Welsh University." Nothing could illustrate better the thoroughly democratic character of the University, and of the nation's enthusiasm for education. The miners of the Rhondda, and the quarrymen of Bethesda, the steelworkers of Merthyr, and the peasants of Cardigan and Merioneth, all bear witness to this universal zeal for education that is one of the best and brightest features of Welsh ife. In no country in the world has there been so much determination and self-sacrifice shown in demanding and striving for a national system of education. The various Nonconformist de- nominations, recognising that the only way in which a national system of education is possible is by sinking all creeds, dogmas, and doctrines which are controversial, have loyally worked together, in peace and harmony, to erect a noble structure of education in Wales. It is to be regretted that the Church has not yet taken a sufficiently enlightened view of her duty and her opportunity as to cast aside all sectarian divi- sions, and to unite in this great constructive work. When Churchman come to realise their responsibility, St. David's College will, we hope, be admitted as a constituent college of the Welsh University on equal terms with the three Univer- sity colleges. The first meeting of the University committee at the Foreign Office on Friday week has been made the occasion in nearly all the Welsh papers of a joyful psean, full of the coming triumph of Welsh talent. "From Owen Glyndwr, five centuries ago," says the Cymro in the best article on the subject that has appeared in the Welsh Press to this hour Welsh patriots have made many an unsuccessful attempt to restore and revive the old Bangors. The idea struck Baron Prys, of Penyg.y-druidion, in the days of William III., and other learned men from generation to genera- tion. It does not appear that the famous men of letters of the beginning of this century— Myvyr, Pughe, Iolo, &c.-paid much attention to the question but T. Charles and Joseph Harries, in the first 20 years of this century, displayed a strong desire to see better means of higher education in the possession of the youth of Wales; in the same way the writers of the Amserau and the Traethodydd, in the forties- Hiraetbog Ieuan Gwynedd, Archdeacon Wil- liams, Tegid, and Dr. Lewis Edwards—drew attention to it. Nor should, we forget on any account the efforts and loving labour of the patriot, Sir Hugh Owen, in the same direction." It is of the opinion that the diffusion of educa. tion will bring to light in the future many "mute inglorious Miltons" in Wales.—The Tai-ianhas-a well-written descriptive article on the Foreign Office meeting. A man of medium size is the Prime Minister; he has reached the highest rung in the ladder at 45 years of age. He speaks freely and without effort, though be can. not be said to be eloquent; his large eyes, which seem as if they would start out of their sockets, prove that he does not lack in Janguage ;,and it can be sftid without ^flattery ?tbat; he is a good elocutionist. His speech was but short, but it was to the point. He laid stress on two charac- teristics of the University. One was that it was mainly established for the common people that in the Welsh University would be found the farmer's son taking bold in his horny hand of his weapons with which he was to carve out his fortune. The other point was that it was to be established on national lines, in unison with the genius of the Welsh people. It aimed at pre- serving and protecting the language, literature, and customs of the nation, while at the same time it would tend to enlarge their ideas, and to ele- vate them to an equal ground in education with any nation on the face of the earth." It ends up an appreciative article by commending the inclusion of theology in the curriculum, and con- gratulating Wales on the harmony that prevailed at the first meeting.—The Bomer rejoices to find the Welsh educational fabric at last completed. Our schools are so it, says, playing upon the double meaning of the Welsh word ysgol," which may mean a ladder or a school, "that children, from their mothers' arms can begin to ascend from the infant to the elementary school —thence to the intermediate schools—thence to the colleges-and by 'taking advantage of the education provided at the colleges they can pre- sent themselves to the University for degrees and the authorities of the University will be able to allow them as truly as those of any University in the land." It commends the thoroughly national and non-sectarian character of the University, and says that the thorough and complete harmony that prevailed at the Foreign Office meeting is an excellent augury for the success of the University.—The Oenedl, after praising Lord Rosebery's description of the democratic nature of the University, says of Dr. Isambard Owen, the secretary pro tern., No one has done more for the movement than this famous Welsh physician, and it is a great gain to secure his services. Wo can only wish it every success, and trust that Wales will show that she appreciates these untiring and success- ful efforts to enlarge and popularise the means of education in our midst." Welsh Home Rule. Even a cursory study of the Welsh Press will convince an unbiassed reader of the ripening of the demand for Welsh Home Rule. The Herald, which is not always favourable to Mr Lloyd George, commends in no measured terms the action of the member for the Carnarvon Boroughs in keeping the question of Welsh Home Rule to the front. "By this time," it says, "the politics of Wales wear a different aspect. We can hardly account for the fact; but no keen-sighted man can fail to see signs that the rallyingcry of WelshLiberala before long will be Home Rule for Wales.' Probably the leaders of the people ace feeling their feet under them at the county councils. And if the people can transact county business as satis. factorily as the squires of the quarter ses- sions, why cannot they transact more important business in a Welsh P"Iiament?" The Oymro ends a strong and outspoken article in the follow. ing words, "Let the Unionists and Tories speak as much asthey like as tothe supposed solid unity of the Empire, neither that nor aught else can stop Home Rule, not only to Ireland but to Wales, Scotland, and England. It must be got." —Even the Llan publishes an extremely interesting and significant article by "Teryll y Banau" on "Administrative Home Rule for Wales," in which the writer says that London at present absorbs all the talent and education of the country, and that decentralisation is, there. fore, essential to national progress, and that Con- servatives need not fear administrative Home Rule, as it is a mere extension of the principle conceded by the last Government in its Local Government Act. Miscellaneous. The Tarian, in making some strong comments on the attack that has recently been made on Lord Shand, the chairman of the Conciliation Board, congratulates Welsh miners on the posses- sion of men like Mabon, D. Morgan, and Daronwy as leaders instead of men who could make such wild etatements.-The Celt devotes three pages to an excellent paper by Watcyn Wyn on the relation of the Welsh language to the religion of Wales.—The Tytt has some pointed and sensible remarks on the extended newspaper reports of the Gwynne-Vaugban divorce case, and its "Round Table" continues to be the onspest and most spicy column, of gossip published in the vernacular papers.—Seven Cymru has an article on "Old Age Pensions," and the Genedl is indig- nant over the refusal of tbe Carnarvon Choir to perform Mr David Jenkins's Devi Sant in Welsh. —The Baner publishes a readable paper by the Rev. Wyndham Lewis. Carmarthen, on the Characteristics of the Early Welsh Methodists."

FISH AND FISHING. BARBEL AND BREAM, By John Bickerdyke, M.A. Except, perhaps, the eel, the barbel is the strongest fish found in British fivers. He does not exhibit the extraordinary vigour of trout and salmon when hooked, but sullenly, doggedly, and. determinedly he long resists the attempts of the angler to bring him within reach of the landing net. He is by no means an ubiquitous fish, and is probably more plentiful in the Thames and the Trent than in any other English river. In the Thames he attains a weight ot about 12 lbs., but on the Continent grows much larger. Cuvier wrote that in favourable localities barbel some- times attain ten feet in length. I would travel many a mile if at the end of the journey there was a reasonable chance of booking such a monster. But our English fish of 12jbs. or so are by no means to be despised, being infinitely more difficult both to mislead into taking the bait, and to play when hooked, than salmon of the same weight. I know no more extraordinary feat in the annals of angling than he capture, by the late Francis Francis, on a single hair line, of a 6lb. barbel hooked in the back fin. When the fish has the hook fixed in its ciutb. it is unde-r control much as is the bitted horse. Take the bit out of the horse's mouth and fix the reins on to the bridle and see what control you have over him. This 6%lb. barbel, hooked mthebackiin, was practically as strong as a 121b. barbel bopked in the month. Francis Francis booked him about five o'clock one November afternoon. He played him until his arm grew tired, and tbeabanded the rod to his friend. When his friend wearied, Wisdom, the fisherman, took the rod. Finally Wisdom's strength gave out, and he handed the rod back to Francis Francis. With the assistance of some hot brandy and water, and a couple of lanterns, the fish was landed about half-past eight, and the marvel is, looking at the weakness of the tackle, that he was ever landed at all. November is full latem the year to catcb a. barbel, for it is THE PECULIABITT OF THESE FISH to hibernate, at any rate during cold weather. I have heard of them being caught during the winter months, when a great shoal of them was lying at the bottom of some deep weir pool. They came up like logs, giving no sport whatever, and when cut open were found to have no food in their stomachs. In one respect barbel resemble salmon, for in most rivers there are pools in which they are not to be caught. Anyone who has been shown a salmon river by a local angler will have been told how this pool ia good for aaimob, while in the next the many fish as they rest in it never rise to a fly or seize a bait of any kind. I have in my mind a pool in the Kennet, just below Newbury. It simply svvarms with barbel, which have been frequently angled for by fishers of light and leading, with the poorest possible reo sults. On the Upper Thames barbel fishing is, curiously enough, not nearly so good as nearer London. The fish, tire there, but for reasons which are not evident they feed badly. There is a tradition that in the weir pools at Goring and Streat- ley no barbel has ever been caught. This is not quite true, but the capture of one of these fish in those waters is extremely rare. There is no mis- take about barbel being in the pools, because I have seen them both in the pools and spawning on the shallows below. Possibly there are great quantities of some food on which they feed in preference to anything the angler has ever yet offered them, for it cannot be seriously contended that the fish in some portions Of the river are so peculiarly gifted that they can live without eating. In this connection it is interesting to consider the list of baits used by the anglers. First stands our old friend the lob, or dew worm. Next come greaves, cheese, and gentles. A barbel will at times EAT ALMOST ANY KIND OF FLY, beetle, maggot, slug, or worm. He does not object to a snail, a leech, or a lump of meat, either cooked or raw. He has been known to take hard boiled eggs, and immediately after spawning, when he or the is very hungry, will run at a spinning bait, showing clearly at that season pisciverous characteristics. The Thames trout-fisher, indeed, frequently catches barbel when live-baiting or spinning in Weir pools in June, before the coarse fish season commences. Great is his disappointment if, after having played a heavy fish for ten minutes or a quarter of an hour in the rushing water, he Gads that it is only an ill-conditioned barbel after all. Barbel spawn on gravelly shallows, somewhat after tbe manner of salmon and trout, and behave in a most reckless fashion, exposing themselves to dangers innumerable. Probably they would have ceased to exist long ago, had they been edible, but being almost, if not quite, the least tasty of fresh water fish, they are not songht after, except for purposes of sport. I have heard people assert that judiciously cooked barbel could be made eatable, but I have not yet come across the judicious cook. Not only is the flesh poor, but it has frequently been asserted to be unwholesome. The roe is certainly poisonous at times, and I believe it used to be taken by country folk as medicine,, acting as a purge, and also causing them to vomit. Gesner, one of the oldest authorities on fishing, said his life was endangered by eating the flesh of a barbel. Dame Juliana Berners, who is reputed to have written the iirstEnglish work on angling, remarked that: The barbyll is a sweet fyssbe, but it is a quasy meete, and peryllous for manny body and yf he be eten rawe he may be cause of manny detbe, whyohe hath oft be seen." The Jews, by the way, who are very par. tial to fresh-water fish, am by no means averse to barbel, and it may be added- that in India barbel are both wholesome and fairly toothsome. Truly, one man's meat is another man's poison. In the heavy waters of the Thames the barbel is usually fished fer with what is known as "ledger tackle"—a simple arrangement of gut, bullet and hook which lies on the bottom, no float being used. In smaller and clearer streams, such as the Trent, FLOAT TACKLE IS MOBE GENERALLY FAVOURED, the float being usually placed at sUch a height above the hook that, the shot on the line, or a portion of them, rest on the bottom. When the water is coloured barbel may be caught at any time of the day, but to succeed when the rivers are running crystal clear in the summer, the angler will be well.advised to be by the side of the river at daybreak. I have, indeed, some reason to believe that during periods of clear and low water, the barbel does most of his feeding at night. Heavy ground-baiting should be done not less than 24 hours before the swim is fished. It is obviously illogical to give barbel an enormous supper, and then expect them to have a good appetite at breakfast next morning. Bream were certainly reared for food in Catholic England, when there were no railways to bring sea-fish inland on fast-days, as may be gathered from the following lines in Chaucer :— Full many a partrich had he on mewe, And many a brome and many a lace in stewe. Bream are found chiefly in deep, slow-flowing streams, and in England are most plentiful in that land of sluggish rivers—the Eastern counties, which embraces the Broad and Fen districts, and in such rivers as the Bedfordshire Ouse. It is a curious fact, however, that the best, indeed the only bream fishing in the Thames, is found in the lower reaches near London, and the fish are chiefly caught in barbel swims^r-iii far heavier waters than they would be apgled for in the Ouse, or the rivers of Norfolk¡ and Suffolk. Attempts have been made to introduce bream into the upper reaches of our premier river; in the neighbourhood of Henley and Marlow, but with what success is not yet known with any certainty. In the lower Thames bream are to be frequently caught in the day time, but in the Bedfordshire Ouse one may fish all through the summer for bream between the hours of nine in the morning and five in the evening without getting a bite from them, and this though the river teams with theie fish. The bream* fishers of the Ouse ustially commence operations an hour or two before daybreak.

An eccentric and Blovenly-looking old man was sitting in an arm-chair with his legs crossed before the fire in the smoking-room in one of the lead- ing Bristol hotels, exposing to vievv a brilliant red, white, and blue-striped sock, and, Noticing two or three of the company looking at it and smiling at each other, he lifted his foot into full view, and said, with apparently great satisfac- tion, Grand pattern that, gentlemen I'll bet there isn't another like it in the room." "m bet cigars all round that there is," replied one. Done I Where is it t" asked the old man. On your other foot," said tbe man who had made the bet, with a triumphant laugh. "That's just where you make a mistake, said the old mac, with a knowing ismile. I generally reckon upon finding one flat in a company, and so come prepared." With that he polled up the other leg of his trousers," and, to the amusement ot everyone but the laser, exposed a black sock to view. A lady had given the small boy an apple, and he bad Did nothing in reoogtntton. "What does a little boy say When be gets anytliing 1" asked the lady, insinuatingly. He hesitated a moment. Some little boys," he said, says 'Thank you,' some says obliged," and some just keeps thiukin how much better an orange i. than an apple.

Profitable Rural Pursuits. A OOLUMN FOR FANCIERS, FARMERS, FRUIT- GROWERS, AND ALL INTERESTED IN RURAL TOPICS, By AN EXPERT." A Profltable Pastime. Many people take to rabbit-keeping as a pas. time. We look upon it as one of the coming sources of providing food for the million as a home industry during at least the summer half of the year. The season for Ostend rabbit flesh in the markets ends about Easter. and begins again early the following winter. During its run the British markets are simply glutted with the dead carcases, long, lean, and scraggy as the best of them look, that are specially bred and raised and "happily despatchedfor us by cottagers in Belgium. Tons and tons of rabbits are killed every day during the season to meet this de- mand. Oar own small producers would find it difficult to compete successfully against it, although the retail price of the flesh averages 8d per pound through the season. But we may do something ourselves, if only in a small way, to fill our mouths during a part of the year, without being compelled to eat the meat of foreign rabbit. -THE MOR&NT HUTOIL I At least one rabbit fancier has proved that breeding rabbits in the summer is a business that is all pro6t. On this plan, keeping rabbits in portable hutches on the grass, there is no food to find for them whatever so long as the grass is there. A dozen hntches on a good sized lawn of good turf would not be too many to keep the stock in food during the summer at least. Re- moving the hutches twice every day—morning and afternoon—providing fresh hutches as the stock multiplies; and seeing to their general safety, is all they will require in the way of atten- tion. Rabbits for food. A good cross to keep in any place of confine- ment is to breed from the pure Belgian hare does with a buck that il3 bred between an Eng- lish wild rabbit and a Flemish giant. We kept a pair of Flemish does and a wild buck in pens some years ago, in order to have some large bucks to turn down in a warren. These madelgrand stock bucks for using with Belgian doe rabbits. The aim of the rabbit breeder.for the pot must be to produce young stock that will mature quickly, and will taice the market. Let our stock fancying friends try for one season what they can do in a small way, and we are sure that those of them who have any gumption will be satisfied with their success. The Dorking/ It isgeneraUy understood that that tbe Dorkmg is the market breeder's jowl. It is not so par excellence; we have plenty thMAare quite as valuable for the purpose are of totally dis- tinct types. But so many breeders have bred Dorkings that they are in the ordinary mind most closely associateq.witb p^y flesh for profit. All the breeds of Dorkings^white, red, cuckoo, silver-grey, and coloured have the proper market features: broad breasts, sq»are bodies, a°Vb°vr,L leg% .X6 average height of adult birds of thejfe breeda Should be, males lOtb., females \b. The whites are a little longer in the leg than the others. but they all possess the same distinguish- ing pedal feature-the e toes. The Dork. ings are not good layers wfen kept in small runs. and they are not so hardy or so easy to rear in confinement as are the Leghorns and somefftheit. Their chicks grow fast a\d. mature- quickly for market. They probably take on flesh-laster at five to six months old thaa do any other breeds. Fashion set by the big poultry dealers demands white legs in A1 fowJ¡." h top value is placed on this breed.' There made in Ger- many about Dorkings. For "hundreds of years the district around Dorking, in Surrey, has been their home, and they take their name from there. If the pure old Dorking breed is still in existence fanciers who see the exhibition types only should make a comparison, and they will learn how the type has varied. The Brahma blood that was thrown into the breed a few years ago has served to alter the type to what it now is. It is a pity in every sense; it has made a deceptive looking fowl, and it has caused a deterioration in the quality of the meat. Crooked Breast-Bones. No fowl is born, or rather hatched, with a crooked breast-bone. Parents that have the defect may produce chicks that have a weakness or proneness to crow that way under certain circumstances, perhaps. Even that is doubtful. The crooned breast-bone is the fault, of the rearer in not providing suitable perches, and in letting large bodied fowls such as turkeys and large breeds of poultry perch too soon in life. It may be prevented in every instance, and there ongbt to be no such defect known. Bone meal for chickens is an excellent thing for making them soon have large frames and strong legs, and plenty of bone. lib of bone to 121b of other food -meal is a good mixture, and birds that are pre- disposed to form crooked breasts wiU benefit largely by such feed. Gardening Notes. Gardeners are busy now getting ut) tnr the bedding out season. All sow^ ? J.°! pose should be done at once. Where suoh lEdf- hardy things as require heat to start the trerirrna- tion of the seeds are grown a good h^™'n d simple plan is to malca up a heap of 3av^ Cd of stable dung into a bed that when troddeS down firmly will not be more than 15 lnoh Upon the top of this lay a bed of ?0od f and leaf mould, and sow rows of alfTe wS- at half-hardy plants upon that, placing roLh frame made with four boards around th* Give the frame a little slope to let rajn « J lay across it some laths, »Pon them a few pieces of glass or a calico-lig^ Tfae ]at(.er made by tacking a piece of caUco # light framework of wood. and giving it after. wards a coating of cold boiled jinseed uiJ. We have had dozens of such covers in use at one time, and they serve excBllfintlv for sheltering and hardening off plants under Aa the seedlings get strong they must be thinned so as not to become drawn, and during fine davs except when the sun is verf powerful, The, may be quite uncovered. They may remain on the bed till planting out time comes by when th»v will have made strong, sturdy plants, aQd havintt received no check of any kind wiu m^ke th| best growth during summer. A his is a D|aa for raising tomato plants for-plantingout TI, The seeds may be put down singly one and a balf or two inches apart, and after they Corne up the light cover need only be used at mghts to protect them from the cold and during very hot sunshine. It is a good plan with seedlings raised in this way to prepare them for lifting by cutting down be- tween the rows with a ttrong knife. This ulintilA be done a fortnight or ten day8 bsfore planting time. 8 Celery Culture. By the above method it is easy, to iretnna stock of celery plants that will beat any one can buy. But first, one should have a pan of celery seedlings to prick out from. If pricked out at two inches apart for dwarf such as Daninls' Golden Heart" and Carter s Solid Ivory or at three inches for the big growing sorts' th6 plants may stand there till the trenclieg are ready for them. Celery trenches are being got ready already by prize growers. J-here is one point they nearly all forget, and it «; the one that often causes failure of the crop. AtJat is to dijr and break up well the soil under the bottom of the trench. Celery stands drought much better when it can draw moisture from below, and no moisture can arise if the bottom soil is a hard and solid bed. Shorthorns. The artists like to paint the shorthorns they are the typical beauties or tne farmyarcj \v0 think our readers will agree with us that if all the pictures are as handsome as the one Qf TIMBREL 23RD J as reproduced from the Live Stock Journal Almanac for 1894. She comes of a long line of Timbrels,and she proved the value of her pedigree by her champion honours in the show ring as a two-year-old. in 1893. Shorthorns may be said to reaohed tbeir level: every breeder of got* for the laab 50 years has tried them, and the rule of fancy prices no longer holds good. We can recall the palmy days of the noted Yorkshire herds of shorthoms-of Bates and Booth, those giants whose fame snrvives-bub we have nothing now to compare in the way of prices with what those celebrated breeders were in the habit of naming to visitors. Last year a solitary 200 guineas was the highest public auction price for a shorthorn, that sum being paid at the Duke of Marl. borough's dispersion sale. The year's average at auctions levelled prices out to an eVen £ 25 per head all round. Perhaps £ 25 per head for over a thousand and a half pedigree animals sold by auction from more or less celebrated herds may appear to some to show a falling off in the love of the breed. It, however, indicates nothing of the kind. It shows that the result of many patient years of labour, selection, and care has been to make the more valuable breed of cattle on earth so common and so plentiful and so thoroughly appreciated that everyone with accommodation can obtain and keep them. That is the real end and aim of every society, and of every breeder of pedigree stock, to make them appreciated and to make them plentiful. As a variation of seasonable matter in this column we propose after this week to devote a little more space and attention to rural pastimes. We hope in the course of the season to give our readers notes on cricket, cycling, tennis, and other outdoor recreations. We propose next week to have a few notes on The i)evelopment of Cricket" (illustrated), and to write something about bats, Also on Roofing Cheap Struc- tures (illustrated); Strawberry Culture for Market and On the Road."

GARDENING NOTES. Flower Garden. Hardy biennials and perennials may be easily and cheaply raised from seeds, and April or May are good months for sowing the seeds. The ground must have been well worked and prepared some time previously to secure a good tilth, so that the seeds may grow with certainty. Among the plants which can be sown now or soon are Gaillardias—some of the hybrid forms of grandi- flora are fine border plants, and all are showy and useful for cutting-DJctamnus FraxineHa, Fox- gloves, Campanulas in variety, Columbines (especially glandulosa, californica bybnda, chrys- antha and ccerulea hybrida), which are far superior to the old-fashioned Columbines, and it is always advisable to grow thu best of everything. Alstroemeria aurea, Alyssum saxatile compactum, geum coceiiieuin plenum, gypsophila, paniculata, Helenium bolenderi, hollyhocks, Flax (Linum flavum luteum), Lupines (Lupinus polyphyllus), musk mallow (malva moschata alba), pansies, scabiosa caucasia, Iceland poppies. Oriental pop. pies, primula, polyanthuses, auriculas, wallflowers, forget-me-nots, and sweet williains-WI the above may be sown in drills one inch deep, and from 9 inches to 12 inches apart. This will give roOro to stir the soil freely during growth. Hardy ferns may be transplanted now. If there is a waste shady corner anywhere where scarcely anything hitherto tried had succeeded, wheel in a mound ef good soil. Work in a few stones or large clinkers as naturally as possible, and plant it with ferns, hardy bnlbs, primroses, etc. Hardy cyclamens will do on one of these little shady rookeries work in plenty of leaf-mould and old turf, with a few bits of stoue to keep the compost open. Tuberous begonias are destined to play a more important part in the future flower-garden. They will soon be as cheap as geraniums and the tubers may be kept from year to year in a cellar when moved from the beds in the autumn. White, scarlet, and yellow shades are required, and those who have a hotbed in the spring may raise their own plants from seeds. Continue to sow hardy annuals in as large masses as possible. Plant gladioli in quantity now. These are de- lightful bulbs, and everybody should raise seed- lings to have a lot of cheap bulbs to fill the borders and produce spikes for cutting. Sow in drills one foot apart and one inch deep. Fruit Garden, By the time these notes appear in type, the peaches and apricots will be set, and a better estimate can be formed as to the future of the crops. As soon as green leaves appear upon the peach trees, a sharp look-out must be kept upon the young shoots, -and the moment a curled-ap leaf appears prompt measures for the destruction of the insects must be taken. The best treatment I consider is to dust tobacco powder among the foliage pretty early in the season, and if the work is to be done cheaply, do not wait for the leaves to curl up. Many amateurs are puzzled by various things in the management of peach trees. In the case of the plums and other atone fruits, including apricots, a large part of the eroo is taken from what are called artificial spurs. This to the uninitiated may be a puzzling ex- pression, but the term is used to distinguish the spurs which form naturally on the young wood from those which are created by the use of the knife. The former are called natural spurs, and the latter artificial spurs. Peach trees as a rule are not worked oh the spur system. They will bear on spurs, but it is found simpler and better to take the crop entirely from the young wood and, in the work of disbudding, this matter must first of all be understood. By way of example, we will sAy we have a peach branch from eighteen inches to two feet long. There will probably On this length of shoot be ten or more wood buds, and if these are left to form shoots the growth would be too much crowded to bear fruit. All the shoots required on a branch of that length are two. or at the most three—one at the base, and a leader, and if there is room, one shoot may be left about the centre. Disbudding should be spread over a period of three or four weeks, hub at the very beginning the shoots intended to be left should be marked out and the others gradually removed, com- mencing first with the fore-rights or the shoots which spring from the front of the branches and are badly placed. Vegetable Gar.den. In these days, when most little towns and a good many villages harve their horticultural societies, the question as to what are the best vegetables to grow for competing occupies a good deal of attention. Most of the shows are held about the end of July or beginning of August, and some judgment is required in timing the things right. To have peas in good condition early in August, the peas should be planted about the middle of May, and special pains should be taken in the preparation of the ground. An amateur friend, in his. anxiety to, beat all his competitors in peas, made & trench, put a layer of manure in the bottom, and sowed the peas on the manure. As might have been expected, nearly all the peas failed to grow—they rotted in the manure. If the manure had been covered with three or four inches of soil, the peas would doubtless have been a success, as the roots would have reached it just when the pods were forming and the manure was getting mellow. Longpod and broad beans should be planted in May for the early August shows. French beans and scariet runners may be planted as soon as it is safe to do so. HAre again, where shelter can be given, the beans may be planted much earlier. I have planted both French beans and scarlet rutlners in a trench at tbe foot of a south wall early in April, covering up on cgld nights. Cauliflowers, when in good condition, carry weight in a collection on the exhibition table. The best cauliflower for July and August is the autumn giant, but it must be sown early m spring to be in time, as wfren sown late it will not turn .in till September. Greenhouse. It will require a good deal of care and attention to keep all the plants moving along in good condition now. There is in many greenhouses at this season a general tendency to overcrowding. To some extent this is inevitable, and to counter- act this, frequent change of position is desirable. A.U bedding plants which are established in pots should be moved out to the frames and pits. TPot off young stock before they get starved and stunted, give liquid manure to all plants showing flower. Weak and often is better than strong doses at longer intervals. Open out the branches of pelargoniums with small neat stakes. The best shape for fuschias is the oone or pyramid, with one stake in the centre, to which the main stem should be loosely tied. Tie in creepers as they grow. Fill baskets with IVY, pelargoniums, and other suitable plants. Pot off balsams in good soil and keep the plants near the glass. In very bright weather a light-shade will prolong the bloom of azaleas, deutzias, etc. Window Garden, Re-pot ferns and re-arrange fern oases. Maiden- hairs and pterises are the best room plants, and foliage plants requiring more root space may be re-potted now. All things will require more water, and the foliage should be sponged fre- quently, especially in warm rooms. In re-potting palms, see that the pots are well-drained. (Wage Gard-ting.

Welsh Tit-Bits. I Neu Wreiohion Oddiar yr Eingion. [BY CADRAWD.J Proverbs. Proverbs in all ages assisted in maintaining human liberty and the common equality of man in the presence of his Maker. Not until a highly artificial age arrived could any literary man be found to depreciate the use of proverbs. My Lord Chesterfield, whose letters to his son (de- scribed by the sound-hearted Doctor Johnson as having the manners of a dancing master and the morals of a courtegan) allowed himself to write that no man of fashion quoted proverbs. If that were so, so much the worse for that man. Pro- bably had his lordship recommended his worth- less offspring to study well a page of proverbs, they would have been found, even in a wordly sense, capable of teaching him better things, and perhaps have made him a wiser man and more a gentleman, if less a man of fashion. Proverbs are amongst the most durable of all things. A proverb has been proverbially defined as the wisdom of many and the wit of one." A fact in connection with tbe proverbs of all nations, no one with certainty can be cited as having made any one of them, or being present at the making. Collectors j of proverbs there have always been from the )< dawn of history down to the present day, but i outside Holy Writ no known creators. They j have come down to us through countless ages like f the air we breathe or the wind that bloweth as j it listeth." Saint Paul the learned quoted them. even from Greek comedies. Evil communica. tions corrupt good manners is a distinguished instance. The voice from the clouds that arrested him on his way to Damascus hurled at him a proverb, one that must have been to him well known. "It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." No great poet from Chaucer to Tennyson has slighted them. Shakespeare is remarkably fond of quoting proverbs. Measure for measure," All's well that ends well," Let the galled jade wince," etc., are amongst the numerous examples. The earliest recorded collector was no less dis- tinguished a man than Aristotle, who made a collection of Greek proverbs. Numerous as the collecting fraternity has been, it may well be doubted if in any language an approach to a com- plete collection exists. A profound analyst of character, one who knows the minds of nations by studying the national proverbs of various tongues, easily discover the peculiar genius, the mode of thought, the moral character, and the sense of right and wrong that each separate nation is possessed of, It has been asserted that the Chinese and Japanese regulate their lives by means of proverbs, and that they possess at least the prodigious number of one hundred thousand. Probably no nation so small as tho Welsh possess relatively so large a number of proverbs. We have it upon tbe authority of Dr. W. O. Pughe, the great Welsh lexicographer, that they number 12,000. Many of them are doubtless extremely ancient, dating back to the Druidic period. They are the proverbs of a pastoral and agricultural race, for the references to rural pursuits are in them very numerous. They are, as it were, out-of-door productions, redolent of the soil with the mountain air blowing through them. The one who seems to have undertaken first to. make a collection of our Welsh proverbs was Saint Catwy, Abbot of Llanfeitbyn, in Llan- carfan. who is said to have flourished in the 6th century. In the 11th century Cyrys o Ul laboured in the same direction, and again in the 15th century we have it on record that one Lypen Oyfeilwg followed in the same commendable work. The first printed collection of Welsh proverbs was those published by the learned Dr. Davies, of Mallwyd, which he placed at the end of his Antique Lingua Britannica Dictionarium Duplux," which was published in 1632. It is supposed that this was the collection of Cyrys of I&l/with an addition to them by the doctor him- self, which are marked with an asterisk. In 1659 the proverbs contained in Dr. Davies's j dictionary were published with the proverbs of other nations in the Lexicon Tetraglotton," with a translation into English of the same by the Honourable James Howells, Esq., a native of Llangamarch, Breconshire, a profound scholar and traveller, who was made Royal His. toriographer of Englaad, an office created by King Charles II. purposely for him. Mr Howells's translation is by far the best we have as far as he has gone, and it would be well if bis English rendering of our grey-haired adages were republished for the benefit and edification of the present generation. Mr Howells has admirably discribed the ingredients of an exquisite proverb to be sense, shortness, and salt. The following are of his translation :— A arbeto ei fach, arbeted ei gynogyn. —Spare the surety, spare the principal. Achos i'r bysen fod ar y barth.-The besom ought still be busily. Addug yr hydd yn llyn.—The hart breathes for the brook. Addug yr hydd yn maes mawr.—The hart being fed, takes the field. A gria'r fran fawr, a gria'r fran fach.—-Tbe great crow doth ory, the young says I. Amaerwy adnabod amynedd.—Patience is knowledge's life guard. Amser i fwyd, amser i olochwyd.—A time for food, and a time for mass. Aueiriau pob direidi.—Choler waves kindred. Angeu a dyr ddeddf.—Want cancels command. Aneglur gennad gw ceudawd.—An hallow man is an ill messenger. Aughwauegid mefl maworair.—The more fame the more shame. Ardd cyd bycb, ardd cyu uad byeb.—Plough while thou art, plough e're thou art not. Arwaesaf a ddiffydd ddiffaith. — Power weakeneth the wicked. Algas direidd-ddyn.— A fighting skit a foul scale. Barf nid ardd, iu chwardd ycklas.—A lazy calf laughs coldly, GOLDEN GROVE. Bid war antur glew wrth awr.—The vallient charsreth wisely, not wildly. Byr anedlag digasag saut.—Good and loved ot long lived. Cyuheusedd gwedi brawd.—A plea after judg- ment. Dewiu pab eiddiy.—-A jealous eye doth prophesy. Dywal dir fydd si; alaeth.—A cruel friend, death's his end. Ebawl yr ebawl i ddnw.—-Give God the first fruit free. Ffordd aell i wr o -benllyn.—A far way to foreigners. The Book of Baglan. Sir John Vaghan, knight, sone to Walter Vn., sone to John Vn" sone to Hugh Vagban, sone to Gryffydd Vn., eone to David Vn., sone to Llu. Vll., sone to Ree, sone to Einion. The mother of Sir John Vaghan was the da. of Gru. Rees, of Newton, esqr., sone to Ree! sone to Sir Gryffydd Rees, Knight, eone to Sir Rees ab Thomas, Knight, Governor of Demecia, called Defed, in South Wales. The mother of Walter Vaghan and John Vaghan guere. The mother of Hugh Vaghan was the da. of Gruftlth ob Tewdwr ab Goronwy. The rest of the matches guere. The paternall cott. of Sir John Vaghan First, the field vert., a lion rampant, A. Powis Land w6 name Madoc ab Meredith, of North Wales second, hee may also bear a field S. et. A. a lion Or. rampant, bye the name of Tewdwr thirdly, hee beareth Or. a lion rampant G., bye the name of Btethyn ab Cynfyn Prince of Powis; fourthly, bee beareth O. 3 lions A., bye the name of Griffith ab Cenau, Prince ot North Wales fifthly, hee beareth A. et S. a lion Of. couchant. GLYNNEDD. William and Jenkin and 'John and Thomas, the male issue of Rees ab Jenkin ab Rees ab Llu. ab Rees ab Gronowe ab Rees ab Richard ab Caradoo ab Owen ab Einion lo., ab Cedevor, Prince of Defed, in South Wales; ab Collwyn, Prinoe vv ^fclisey, alias Mona, in North Wales ab Teganwy ab Edyn ab Owen, surnamed 1 endew, prince of North Wales ab Blethyn ab Pledris, prince of Westeex. and afterwards at last prince of all Wales; ab Cynock the Great ab Jerwerth, ab Hirflawdd ab Teganwy ab Theon ab Gwmen, dan. Vreiddwyd, King of Scotland, and so paternaUie to Belie the great sone of Dyfneval or Dunwallo King of Brittaine. LLANHAMVLCH. lobn Walbiir, sODe of Robert Walbiff, sone to John Walbiff. The mother of John Walbiff was Maud the ell. of Watkin ab John Hir ab Thomas ab Phe. Vaghan. The mother of that Maud WM Maud, the d", of Meredith ab Morgan ab Dafydd Gam, and her mother was the da. of Thos. ab Gwillym ab Jenkin ab Herbert. The mother of Robert Walbiff was the da. of Morgan ab Ievan ab David, of Glamorgan. The mother of ould John Walbiff was the da. of Jenkin Gunter, of St. Jule, by the da. of William ab Rees Lloyd ab Adam ab Rees ab Einion Says, NORTH WALKS. LtD., last Prince of North Wales, submitted himself to Edward, King of England, the third year of this King's reign, which never before now noe Prince, of Wales made any submission to the Kings of England.

if AMBER ALE i PALE ALE, & STOUT i WMG IN PALE ALE, STOUT CASK Apply fer \Nf />X ANn TERMS, ice. X</ Apply for \Nf />X AND TERMS, ice. X</ SToitim & opricr-s- k WESTGATE-STREET, ly I'll CARDIFF 0 15323 N

,,OIRTZMA,wx'& coot COMPLETE R ttOUSE FURNISHEB 67, 69, 71, 73, 75, 77, and 79, IIAMPSTEAD-ROAD, LONDON, W. tKear Tottenham Court-road and dower-street StAtfMj IMPORTANT SALE OF STOCKS NOW PROCEEDING. SPECIAL ILLUSTRATED SALE CATALOG Ul POST FREE. r All Carpets made up free of chug*. 41*

WORKMEN'S TOPICS. BY MABON. OOUNCILS OF CONCILIATION AND ARBITRATION IN BELGIUM. In Belgium, councils of conciliation and arbi. owe their existence to M. Jalien Weiler, engineer at the collieries of Mariemont Bascoup. After the strike at Mariemont in M. Weiler organised Chambers d'Exptana- tift in workshops. These at the time were !ftOIY meetings of clerks, or foremen and work- held from time to time to discuss all Jettons that might arise in connection their work. Each of the nine J^has of industry in the workshops were by a committee constituted of six r*8 or foremen and six workmen, the same y, attached to all the committees. In ltion to this there was a central committee tnPosed of a delegate from each group, which occasionally to discuss general questions. )t first, and owing to the lack of previous Ib Ranisation among the workmen, and to the fact the establishment of these chambers Jta a serious reduction in wages, the fctwL Was noi! satisfactory. From the :1ctnen's point of view the scheme was con- tain to be a new device for effecting tR thet reductions in wages, and they obstinately hllted to give it a trial. However, after the tre bad been established for about three and some modifications had been in their organisation, several important *b<5- were achieved. Fines were entirely 0p. »hed, while the officials were unanimously of that the regulations had never been better b;ted. The regulations were revised by jjj^Otral committee. The system of what fcJ* there call task-work, which had been considered impracticable, was p^T^^ully organised, and the cost of VjjjJ'^ion was reduced at least 20 per cent., ^Wages were advanced to an equal ratio. 686111 the Chambers d'Explanation exists myj, ,^0r the workers connected with the the nery» an^ have not yet been extended to flf t^°^ers properly so-called, although the rules >°VirJ °ouncils of conciliation and arbitration that they may be established in all where they would be beneficial. They divided into workshop, haulage, and felto ,Do sections, each of which are sub-divided jSrat. many committees as there are to he represented. In the and haulage sections there are ten com- '*elv aQd in the machine sections there are ftat* The committees are composed of dele- Elected by the workmen with a chief (chef de delegation) chosen by the ^tes themselves. Each committee meets once Sorter, and at the close of the quarterly a ''ag of the foremen (chef de brigade and chef i rria^iniztt$) general meetings of the workmen each Bection are held. These meetings take e during the working hours, and the chief ineer of that division presides. It is now laterally held that these chambers have frequently of use in arranging disputed questions and Hj Renting ilMeehng between the companies and ^•workmen. ry, 1888, a council of conciliation and klid 1011 was instituted at both Mariemont b, p for all classes of workmen employed kfellr herulesof both the councils ara-aJjtapet W M. '» each is composed of six representatives 6111 ploy era and six of the workmen. The thej^y chooses its representatives from among si* including the general manager, and members are appointed to act as nong ^8. The workmen's representatives are 4ted by an electoral body of of &tes appointed by a majority of the votes Workmen employed at the various pits, classed in six groups for the election of N 2*. Only those workmen who are over 21 age are allowed to vote, who must employed at the colliery for at least six Previous. All the representatives of the l*es must be upwards of 30 years of age, been employed for at least five years at Nk}ery- board,consisting of the workmen's and secretary and an assessor chosen by conducts the electionof the workmen's htatives, who are elected from among the a maj°rity votes. The members council serve for two years; half retire but may be re-elected. A president bsjL. Vl°e-president are appointed annually, one and one secretary being chosen from ^j^^kmen. Chambers d'Explanation, to technicalities, may, if necessary, be Hi^^ed in any branch of the industry. And °'iam^ers e3"stquestions must be ^oii* to fc^em ^e^ore being referred to the i necessary, boards of conciliation '^ted to examine questions that concerns only, and matters which they cannot I ar6 referred to the council. Meetings of the Council. | P^ident convokes meetings of the couttoil, Ic!e loh two-thirds of the representatives of each fonn a quorum. Questions of general ^Tiat be discussed by the whole of the 4b4"- The president has one vote only; in I an equality of votes, the question is [ 40 t^e management of the company. [ the examination of a dis- [ Point, and during its discussion, [ be continued under the conditions S. when the difficulty arose. Both "\i, agree to accept the council's decisions, are binding for at least three months, and question cannot be revived within that h **3^' All the expenses of the council are de- Ndi ^e company. Each representative [ egata is allowed two francs for each Jl^tbat he attends, and is indemnified for *lQje lost; the secretaries receive, in ad- SSj,1"1 annua^ salary determined by the 4., Work of the Council. the second meeting of the Basooap a tti ^Ve <luestl'ons brought forward workmen, three of which were in their favour; one complaint e- tbdrawD after investigation, and '*44 ti proved to be without foundation. SL 88' t'le year 'ts establishment, Council investigated 19 general ten relating to only one group or 'vi<J^°* workmen, and nine concerning in- 8' 1891 it investigated 33 general, 12 fcwo individual questions. Both at i Mariemont important questious, | j* adda«Vance of wages, reduction of hours, l0Qal safeguards for workmen F SL9 COJ^ settled by these councils. miij 6 organisation of all work done in contHu an t'ie system of payment adopted, 1^1 feeli„ Ute(^ greatly to prevent friction. The v'lier 8ll 'udqoed by these institutions is k^'dent 0fTw by tfle lanSf«aKe of the vice- Mariemont Council in February, for 4.tted th^fc. in tbe event of a general ( ^en 8 rev^9'on the constituti<Mi, | i|> °blige(j at Mariemont would I Ih. ^anajfemo t SUpport He had begged bev^,jQOt to consider the movement as that th a Poetical demonstration, and that th COUno" would not be affected tigers and th B°od between the ij'^ed. Th«6-Va)r'anen Wou'^ continue nn- fp0m till" ,U0Qce of the council may ,n May I/Q,06 that darin» the political was 1 Work at the Basooup VjtNi of 20 per eP°l l^terrnpted. A reduction in h?. min6r8 !"fc M baen gently accepted SStSi L" to the councils ha1'e glil-d SStSi h the °°ndltlC)B8 of labour at

CORRECT. BLOTZ i What do yon tbink of bhe. Labour I Problem? < LiwyAw I think it would solve itself if the employers were always ont t

Andrew Fletcher, ot Salteun, in a letter te tJte Marquis of Montrose, wr*te :—" I knew a very wise roan that believed that if a man were permitted to make all the ballads he need not care who sheuM make the laws wf the nation."

HELPFULNESS. Who causes sunny smiles to grow Where none were known before; Or makes one's cup of joy o'erflow When sorrow's at his door; Who kindles in another's breast A bright; and healthful glow— ? That generous soul, by Heaven blest, Will rare enjoyment know. < t Who meets along life's rugged road J A traveller wan and worn, Bending beneath a heavy load, Friendless, perchance forlorn, And offers now a cheering word And then a helping hand. Has in two hearts emotions stirred » That will Heaven's praise command. Who sees a brother in the path ) That leads to sin and shame. Indifferent to impending wrath And careless of his name. And guides him in the better w&y«> God's way of life and peace— Will see the light of perfect day hjne round him and increase. —JAMES J. RERVES.

THE CHilD AT THE TELEPHONE. When aU the house was still, one night, And just before the lights were out, A little girl, all robed in white, Stole down the stairs in trembling doubt. All silently, with gentle care, A chair she placed against the wall; And tbd her tiny feet were bare, And tho' she risked perchance a fall, Yet, bravely, and with scarce a fear, She found and rang the telephone, And listen'd then with anxious ear For one voice wanted—one alone! Is that you, central Hallo there Lisped the child in accents clear I cannot say my good-night prayer,— For my papa, he is not here Hallo, central My ma told me That dear papa has gone away Has gone to live beyond the sea, Has gone to where the angels stay Dear mamma says-aud she is right- That my papa may come once more s May come and kiss us both good-night— I wish he now would ope the door For mamma is upstairs alone Been crying, oh so long and deep- But papa. has a telephone— Why does he let my mamma weep I 1 co Please switch me on to heaven, sir I And call papa to speak to me, For mamma will not move nor stir— I cannot bear her tears to see I Then, hallo central please be quick Here's mamma coming down the stair— I surely think she must be sick— i Is that you, papa ? Are you there II Are you with God and angels bright t Please speak to ma, we're all alone, And kiss us both once more good night-—; J Ma, papa's at the telephone „ By CHARLES D. BLNGHAM.

The Household. « Paraffin Lamp Dangers. The dangers of paraffin lamps with reservoirs made of glass or other fragile material have been exemplified very frequently of late. The London County Council had issued the following regula- tions, regard to which would prevent theae accidents The wick should be enclosed in a tube of thin sheet metal, open at the bottom. This wick should reach almost the bottom of the reser- voir containing the oil. The oil reservoir should be of metal and not of china, glass, or other fragile material. The upper part of the lamp, which comprises the burner, wick, tube, &c., should be constructed to securely screw into the metalr reservcir. The oil reservoirs should have no feeding place nor opening other than the opening into which the upper part of the lamp is screwed. Every lamp should have a broad and heavy base, and a proper extinguishing apparatus. Wicks should be soft. and not tightly plaited, and should quite fill the wick-holder without having to be squeezed into it. Wicks should be dried at the fire before being put into lamps, and should be soaked with oil before being lit. The reservoirs should be quite filled with oil every time before using the lamp. The lamp should be kept thoroughly clean; all oil should be carefuliy wiped off and all charred wick and dirt removed before lighting. When first lit the wick should be partially turned down and then slowly raised. Lamps which have no extinguishing apparatus should be put out as follows Tbe wick should be turned down until there is only a small flicker- ing flame, and a sharp puff of breath ahould then be sent across the top of the chimney, but not down it. Cans or bottles used for oil should be free from water and dirt, and should be kept thoroughly closed. How to Make Ice. The following method is the one usually adopted for freezing various,preparations :—Pro- cure a few pounds of ice, break it into small pieces, mix three or four largehandfute of bay salt with it, and put it into an ice pail. Put the preparation into a freezing pot and cover it. Place this in the midst of the brokrn ice. cover it, and when it is cold twist it round rapidly then work it well with spatula until it is smooth. H this is not done the ioe will be lumpy. Put it into a mould, and embed it in ice till it is set. In the piston freezing machine the preparation is placed in cylinders, and outside these are put pounded ice, salt, and a little water. The piston is then worked up and own, and this not only moves the ice and salt round tbe cylinders, but also moves tbe "stirrers" inside the cylinders, which makes the preparation smooth. When it is frozen it is pressed firmly down and moulded, then embedded in ice till it is quite set. Freezing powders for generating ice are much used. Some machines can be used with these powders only, others require a mixture of I ice and salt. A freezing pail may be procured for about 73" 6d; a pewter freezing pot, which will hold one quart, for 12s 6d; two quarts, 16s 6d three, 25s a Bpatula for 5s; freezing machines for 35s. Freezing powders are sold in boxes or by the cwt.—"Cassell'a Dictionary of Cookery." Hints. A PoT-Pie.—Buy two pounds of beef-steak. First fry the vegetables, two onions, two carrots two parsnips, and one head of celery, nicely cleaned, in a frying-pan with a little drippintr as you fry them put them into a saucepan. Fry the steak on both sides just to brown it, and lav it on the vegetables then cover only the vege- tables with boiling water, put on the lid and let it simmer one hour. By that time have readv a pudding made with half a pound of flour and two °unCeL Sfl (or ?Qod dripping willdoj choppedI with the flour; mix with coid water and of tbe saucepan Jay m the pudding, and let the three'quart"s of an bour WDWiU. pepper Md fufofCbut^wfthNDE-^e,fc a good tablespoon, whfi VtX °ne of flour' add balf a pint of lemon peel • anci a dash of grated meanwhile, J!finfr ten minutes and stir meanw ule; add a ha.lf pint milk or cream and little l«»m«« i ln,s" seasoning with a three r 15?-* Many cooks use the yolks of with rJfif5 <luantity, but it is rioh enough mp_ broth can be made from we trimmings 9 c^Ic^en °r bones or BALLS.-Take the remains of a well- bolled tongue, about 4oz., and pound it to a soft Paste; add half a saltspoonful of white pepper, a gram of grated nutmeg, and of butter warmed to a cream. Let it stand an hour; then make into balls the size of a. walnut, dust them < £ *r with'baked flour. Dip each into beaten egg, then flour again and fry in plenty of boiling f»t till browned.

GOSSIPS' CORNER. Humming-birds fly swifter than any birds it creation. More than half the English clergy get DO mow than R150 a year. Mr Irving's pin from his American trip, more than £ 60,000. Mr Davis, of St. Louis, has just died, leerinf behind him a fortune of 25,000,000. It is calculated that there are about 7,001 hawkers of newspapers in London. Legislators at Iowa have passed a Bill prohibit- ing artificial colouring of butter or cheese. Mr Chamberlain is spending more money tbafc ever upon his favourite flower, the orchid. The Ven. Archdeacon Griffiths has promised tIC preach shortly at Christ Church, Cyfarthfa. The Queen of Italy is very fond of writing, and often amuses herself by attempts at fiction. According to publishers the public are taking up with renewed relish the historical novel. The Sun has been acquired by Lord Button, Mr Whitbread, M.P., and another brewer. Mr Curzon is going to bring out in the autume a volume on the Problems of the Far East." There are now 70 idle steamers laid up in tht Tyne, a large number for the season of the year. A Yankee has invented a bicycle on which In thinks he can skim over the ice to the North Pole. Lord Rosebery has consented to address a public meeting in Manchester on Wednesday, May 2nd, The Rev. Theophilus Chubb has been elected president of the South African Wasleyan Con- ference. The Duke of Bedfotd on Saturday presented the Bedford Corporation with land valued at £ 10,000. It is stated that the rent paid by the Queen fot the Villa Fabbriootti from March 16 until April If is £ 3,200. Several men got to dispute about their wivetf bonnets in New York the other day, and a riot was the result. It is not generally known that cataract is < disease which particularly affects those dwelling in low-lying localities. The Badminton Library is to be enriched by two volumes on Yachting," by contributors too numerous to mention. A writer in the Stage says that Mr and Mn Kendal have made a clear profit of 200,000 dollats over their American tour. The Llandudno Improvement Commissioned have resolved to take steps for holding tht National Eisteddfod there in 1896. Orange growing in Syria is conducted exoto. sively by natives. Each orange garden amtsim some 2,000 square feet of planted area. A clergyman, writing in an English Churcl paper, favours a combination of Sunday cycling and attendance at an early service. Miss Ellen Terry has attained a new dignitJTr She is a grandmother. Her son, Mr Gordo)t Craig, has raised her to this honourable estate. Mr Rudyard Kipling is credited with the in. Mention of starting with a distinguished brothef novelist yet another magazine journal." Of the 1,587 persons who died in London last week, 792 bad not reached their 20th birthday. while 263 were between the ages of 60 and 80. Mr Coryndon once found under the akin of + rhinoceros which he shot six native bullets, which the animal must have carried about with him for y- __M!MBet.M Haistoo, Actress, and daughter of Bar Joseph Hatton, is stated to be the authoress of Enid Lyle." The young lady is but 19 yean of age. The Imperial Police will leave Matabelelandkis May, when the various posts hitherto garrisoned by them will be taken over by the Chartered Conk- pany's police. The longest span of wire in tbe world is wnd for a telegraph in India, over the River RisAk, It is over 6,000ft., and is, stretched betweej £ |j* hills 1,200ft. high. *> It is reported at Berlin that the AtHOChist organ Der Sozialist will shortly cease to esi." The publisher has been arrested, and nettly aU the responsible editors condemned. The Savernake estate is one that can only--to held by a rich man, and the new marquis (1AJf the Sporting Times) will be left, after paying al costs, with under £3,000 per annum. As the phrase "cads on castors" is getting t bit stale, Cycle offers a few variations"Rough# on rallers. Johnnies on jiggers, blackguards o< bikes, cubs on cycles, tramps on troltiel- A deoree has been issued forbidding tb4 Mosoow Press to comment upon the approach celebration in oommemoration of the T&Ofcb anniversary of the foundation of Mosoow. London, it seems, is to experience a new departure in the line of domestic service. A company intend starting an establishment hett for the supply of Chinese servants to the publio. A Paris correspondent telegraphs that ttm are already no lees than eight candidates for the French Presidency, not including M. Carn6t, whose decision as to seeking re-election is not yet known. The Princess of Wales and the Princess* Victoria and Maud are expected to arrive at Marlborough House for the season from Sandtingb ham either on Thursday, the 26th, or on Monday. 'the 30tb. Princess Christian has promised to open or Saturday next the Children's Salon At Home at Westminster Town-hall, on behalf of thf children's cot in the North-West Londoo Hospital. Only a week ago Mary Ann Cunningham pNt, vented a woman named Reeve from committing wiicide in the River Lea. A few days afterward! Cunningham herself disappeared, and on Friday bar body was recovered from the Lea at Bromley. Mr Scbnadhorat was recently credited witk the remark, apropos the Wisbech election, thai, fighting against the beer trade is going to was with the devil and all his angels." We are now informed on the best authority that he did not make any such observation. A correspondent of the Chemical New pointt out that among the numerous streets in Parif. named after men of science 13 are consecrated te English (including American) savants. Tbeseaxv garvey, Jenner, Newton, Herschell, Franklin, Faraday, Bacon, Watt, Stephenson, Fulton, Davy, Priestley, and Cavendish. The Welsh section of the Incorporated Society of Musicians will hold its next meeting at LlaneUy on Thursday, May 10th, under tin presidency of Mr Swindell. The subbequent meeting of the society will be held at Abery. atwyth on Thursday, June 7th, Mr A. W, Parsons, Mus. Bac., F.R.C.O., in the chair.

A SATURDAY SERMON. The whole heavens may present to superioi beings the appearance of a solid body. Yo," recollect what Bosccvier and otbor Physical writera have said about the ultimate atoms of matter—that they do not touob, and thut they have what we call repulsion for one another. That distance from each other which is requisite for the ultimate atoms of this tree we are looking upon, which yet presents a solid appearance may find, perhaps, an exact parallel in, the die tance of these stars one from another; they may therefore, to a Being who could behold them after the same fashion as we behold this tree. present the appearance of solidity. I cannot help thinking that no space is lost, and that the whole universe is as much occupied as the spaas which this tree seem* to occupy. There are small creatures to whom this stoue appears compact whije all the rest that it can behold, perhaps *^e*0d<*«i°">ted yet to us these wide, ,mgS S0lid- 1 d0 know how toiVJnf J f my fanc,es » but, at any rate, I «FWt you Wltfa tbRt there is immortal consolation in the aspect of these heavens, which we are allowed to look upor4 probably the great- est Physical privilege periaittedio man and that from this vast contemplation we may ti some comfort for every sorrow, some allavietio* for every regret, and some benign hope to throfV & ray of cheerfulness into the gloomiest depths of despondency, jwxrJI6