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FARMING NOTES. .....,...._....--.-
FARMING NOTES. BRCT.DISG SHKKP FOR WOOL. Mr. JOLN NV. Turner contributes to the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society a paper on wool-grow- ing, with respect to the reversion to lustre staples. He laments the fact that while the fashion has run upon soft goods," many clips in the lustre districts of former days have been spoilt by crossing with Down sheep. The Lincolnshire breeders have established a Flock Book with a view to maintain the purity of their flocks. Half-bred wool is beaten out of the market by colonials, but there are wools which can be grown at home without risk of similarconipetition. Thew Mr. Turner enumerates as follows 1. The Scotch Blackfaced, in which the buyer principally requires length and strength of staple. The pure old breed possessing these qualities will always find a market for the carpet trade. 2. The Cotswold, long, strong, and healthy wool, which has throughout the long depression sold better relatively than any other wool for making the hard stiff goods known as camlets and lastings for the Eastern markets. 3. Pure lustre, the growth of Lincolnshire, Not- tinghamshire, and the East Riding of Yotkshire. There is no wool precisely like this anywhere else in the world. It moves in price with alpaca and mohair. It can be mixed with, or used in place of, the latter, which, owing to the disturbances in the Turkish Empire, is scarce and is likely to be scarcer; or it can be mode into beautiful bright goods without any admixture. These goods are in fashion and are using the wool rapidly. But the countryside is covered with sheep which will not grow it, and which are orowding out the legitimate tenants. 4. Deini-lustre, straight, silky-haired wool, not so bright as Lincoln, but a little finer, and which one has got into the habit of calling the Leicester breed. The Midland Counties and a great part of the Western Counties can grow it. [Increased fineness in any of the foregoing would not be an objection so long as it was arrived at by selection within the breed itself, but any crossing with Southdown spoils the original properties and produces the one class of wool which hes to face the keenest competition.] 5. Pure Down, a wool which is still unequalled for hosiery purposes, and which will always find a market of its own, sometimes quite independent of the general course of prices. Of this wool I should like to say—Keep to the old-fashioned style keep it as short and as fine as possible let no suspicion of a longwool strain get into it and, if I am not mis- taken, pure D«wn wool will take a respectable place as regards eomparative prices. Manv of the so-called Downs are, however, nothing but half-breds. I have often been asked, in eftect, by growers to believe that what I called a half-bred clip was grown on the backs of the very purest Downs. But you cannot get the trade to believe anything except what it sees, and if you want Down prices, you must not offer half-bred wool. MANGEL AND Ko IIL RABI. The season has now arrived (writes Mr. Gilbert Murray in the Agricultural Gazette) when every ad- vantage will be taken to complete the seeding of these crops, which, for general purposes, are the most useful of way of the root crops. Under favourable conditions both are heavy croppers, and may be stored and kept sound for a lengthened period. Mangel are the staff of the sheep-breeder during early spring and summer, whilst for cows in milk and the rearing of young stock they are invaluable. If on strong land, assuming the land has had a deep farrow early in the winter if after a cereal crop, and has since been ridged and received a moderate dressing of farmyard manure, the ridges should be split and exposed to the mellowing influ- ences of rain and sunshine. Advantage should be taken of the first spell of dry weather, when a light chain harrow is passed lengthways over the ridges, forming a finely-comminated surface. On this should be sown broadeast a liberal dressing of phosphatic and potash manure, the latter having been already supplied to some extent in the farmyard manure. A double mould-board plough is passed between the ridges, the fine soil forming the ridges, and if the land is dry the seed is at once sown. If dry enough, to prevent clogging, a roll of consider- able weight should immediately be pngsed over the ridges; this has the beneficial effect of causing the fine soil more closely to embrace the seed and enable the epongiole of the infant plant to become nioie firmly established. Immediately the young plants make their appearance, a horse hoe or small grubber should at once be set to work between the ridges. By this meaps the soil is loosened and aiiiated, and nitrification encouraged. One-half to lcwt. of nitrate of soda should then be sown broad- cast, and the horse-hoe continued. AB soon as the young plants have emerged from the cotyledonoBs state and donned the rough leaf there should then be no delay in setting them out. To do this different practices obtain. In some districts the work is entirely accomplished by the use of the hoe. The plants are bunched by a stroke of the hpo, mid are afterwards singled by the double action of a thrust and a pull. In this way the work can only be skilfully accomplished by trained work- men. The plants should be bunched by a clean stroke of the hoe drawn towards the operator, and the plants singled by band by a small boy or girl. The -way in which the work of singling is performed, to a large exteat influences the subsequent develop-, ment and quality of the •crop. A profusion of roors all round is not desirable. A single tap-root, with the necessary small feeders, is much preferable. By clear- ing the soil well from the roots during the early stages of growth this can be ensured. We are frequently met by the contention that roots cannot be grown on strong clay soils under ordinary conditions when the land is worked in season the heaviest root crops can be grown. Then there is the diffioulty of removing the crop without injury to the land. This bogey disappears in face of the light portable rail- ways now generally available. I look upon the growth cf root and forage crops at no remote period as the means of restoring the strong clays of England once more to a profitable state of cultivation. SWISE F-KVEIU The report of the Departmental Committee ap- pointed by the Board of Agriculture in Jamwr.v, i 1895, to consider the work of the Department in con-, nection with swine fever from a scientific point of view, has just been issued, and will be found to con- tain matter of the greatest interest to all concerned with the subject of which it treats. The pbject of, the Committee is stated to hare been to review the experience gained since 1893, and to supplement the review by an experimental inquiry in order to, strengthen the scientific basis upon which the opera-, tions against swine fever are founded. The report opens with a sketch of the history of ovinrye fever in this country since the appointment of the first Swine Fever Committee in February, 1803. Allusion is made to the fact that no apparent iiit- pression on the prevalence of swine fever was made during 1894, and it is stated that tlie investigations ewroodied in the report were undertaken in conse- quence of this apparent want of success. The subject of the report is next defined to be the common form of «^in» fever, or that in which the distinctive lesions are commonly confined to the alimentary canal. Two other diseases sometitnew classed as ewiue fever, the pneqinonia of the pig and swine erysipelas, are men- tioned, but they are not iacluded in the inquiry, and appear to be regarded as having no important bearing on it. After emphasising the fact that swine fever is a truly contagious disease, the report deals with the two forms which it sometimes aslumes, and which may be termed the acute and the chroni; form. In very acute cases of swine fever, it is pointed out, a pig may die so quickly that no characteristic lesions are developed in the intestines, and it is only by bacteriological methods that certain diagnosis cim be arrived at. But, as is pointed out in, a later paragraph of the report, the bacillus which is regarded by the Committee as the cause of swine fever cannot be identified by microscopic examina- -.tion, and can only be distinguished with certainty J by the mode of its growth when cultivated. The I diagnosis of any large number of cases of suspected awine fever by means of cultivation of the bacillus is not, of course, practicable, and it would therefore seem to follow from the nature of the disease that under the present system of dealing with swine fever a certain number of cases must be rejected by the experts of the Board, who have to form their op.inion an. of the intestine* forwarded fo them by the local veterinary surgeon. JThe#e_acute ^SeS wr hl«°th!Ier 10 be Optional, and, as it ,8 probable that m «o.t instances other pigs of the herd show symptoms which lead to further inquiry, it may be assumed that few outbreaks of swine foet- al together escape detectioa o9laft cliaraetsf, etic of the disease The portion of the report that deals vfith chronic cases of swine fever is of ereater JnJIO It hllf, t 7 ci- Vt- ..t j 11, c • *i 7. J,l)' "3' t — ,u !f long bci-ii known that cat-es of this disease occur in "h ich tIle affection runs its course without causing .1Ie swine to show any of the usual symptoms. vi Hut the report of the Committee brings this class of castes into greater prominence, and rather leads to the inference that the chronic form of the disease is more common and more in- sidious than has been supposed. The experiments conducted for the Committee by Professor Brown, M account of which is given in Appendix II., show that a pig which has been exposed to infection may live for five months under close observation without showing any of the recognised symptoms of swine fever, and yet prove on post-mortem examination to have passed through a severe attack of the disease. The latter part of the report is occupied with a description of tile lees pronounctd lesions of swint fever. ———————
HUMOURS OF CHILDHOOD.
HUMOURS OF CHILDHOOD. Profe.-sor Sully has an article in the Nations lierirw full of anecdotes of the humorous aspect o| childhood. Imitation of their elders produces » quaint sort of humour, partly by the mistakes f>' enunciation and partly by the incongruity of the sitna- tion. Professor Sully gives as examples the twr. childish misquotations "Children should be sawed and not spoke," and Many" are called but few are frozen." Childish veracity becomes a fertile source of what strikes adults as whimsical. Thus an American boy of three exclaimed to his little companion who had just, donned a new suit of clothes, I wish you'd i die and on being asked why, replied, Why, if rot, died. I t-)uld have your new clothes." Again, a bo.v of four asked to be taken with Im elders to a ball. lie was told that ho must first learn to dance. Upon this he delivered himself as follows: "But I tan dance, and my way is more difficult thaft your way. j' I tan dance alone, but you have to be holded up."
A MODERN BLA.OK PLAGUE.
A MODERN BLA.OK PLAGUE. The "black plague" still runs riot at times in China. The disease appears in dense centres of population, where the Chinese herd together under filthy circumstances, preferring to rot and die where they stand rather than allow the sick to be isolated for the benefit of the rest. On the last epidemic in Hong Kong the cleansing parties found dying people half suffocated under heaps of rags or exposed to the rigours of the weather on housetops, in order to conceal them from the sani- tary authorities. A wild anti-foreign feeling sprang up, and a hospital worked by Chinese doctors had to be established in order to meet the tales of hideous atrocities on the part of the British authorities that were flyidg about among the natives. Nevertheless, 100,000 Chinamen of all grades protested against, the whole sanitary system by leaving Hong Kong and going to China. Only 16 per cent. of the Oriental patients recovered, while 82 per cent. of European sufferers survived.
MAIL "MOTOCYCLES."
MAIL "MOTOCYCLES." An arrangement has been made for the trial of horseless carriages in Washington (U.S.A.) for the work of the Post Office Department. The vehicles to be used will be 12ft. long, 6ft. wide, and somewhat more tJwn 6ft. high. Each will be fitted up like a miniacure post-office on wheels. The machine is to be operated with a gasoline motor, and is claimed to be capable of making four speeds, five, ten, and twenty miles an hour forwards, and three miles an hour backwards. It can be quickly geared to dif- ferent speeds, and it involves no hazard either from fire or explosion. It is proposed to use the postal motocycles in city and country districts where there are no railway lises, and where the service can be improved by assorting the mails between offices while in transit. These vehicles will be of great service in picking up mails from stations, and even from letter- boxes.
THE "ANGEL GABRIEL" PROPHETESS.
THE "ANGEL GABRIEL" PROPHETESS. The young Parisienne, Mademoiselle Coupsdon, who alleges that she is the mouthpiece of the Angel. Gabriel, is again occupying, the attention of the Paris correspondents. She has just told the Standard!$representative that her mission consists in lending her mouth to the Angel Gabriel, who spoke by it with the object of saving as many souls as pos- sible. Though she was unconscions of what tke Archangel said by her mouth, she had been told by her parents, friends, and visitors that the reason for Gabriel speaking to mankind at the present moment was because great catastrophes wertt near at hand. Closing her eyes, the prophetess repeated the now well-known predictions. The words were pro- nounced rapidly and in the monotonous tone so often adopted by boys and girls reciting what they have learned by heart." The landlord of the house where the Conesdon family live, to prevent crowds filling the stairs for eight or nine hours a day, bus given them notice that they must leave in three months. Manv peiwons will, no doubt, share the opinions of the fatuous Dr. Dumont-lVllier O* eette jeune fille est une folle et une farceuse ") and of M. Zola, who is reported by the Daily News correspondent to have visited the Rue Paradis. The pythoness fell into a trance at his desire, and "the Angel Gabritl spoke through her mouth, but he did not seefn to know in the least that lie had for an interlocutor the author of "Lourdes." He seemed to think M. Zola a good Catholic, which he is not, congratulated him on going regvlarlv to Mass, ,I and enjoined him to give more time to pious thoughts, 'I prayers, and readings. The Angel Gabriel foretold that his interlocutor was soon to be rejoiced, after many disappointments, with a grand success, but he kept silence when questioned on the nature of the triumph. Most of what he said would apply just as well to anyone else as to M. Zola. That novelist thinks that MdIle. Couesdon has been influenced by all the talk there whs about Joan of Arc a few years ago, and now apparently fancies she has a mission like Joan.
SNAKE WORSHIP.
SNAKE WORSHIP. The negroes of Cuba are a peculiar people. Kept in slavery until a few years ago, and living isolated lives, the majority of them on the great sugar plan- tations have retained much of the barbarity of their African ancestors. They are ignorant., uncouth, superstitious to an amseing degree. Although mosr of them are nominally Christian, they are manv of them still practically Arican devil worshippers. The snake is the great object of their veneration. Iu the island snakes are numerous, although none of them are poisonous. The principal snake is the maja, a variety of the boa-conetriefcor. It is several feet Ion,, and as large round as an arm. In colour it is a silvery grey, and it has a well-shaped head. Its bite is not poisonous, and unmolested it will not attack anyone. The maja is a frequenter of the sugar mills, and thereat feeds on theratsthat often infest those prices. It often, too, makes ex-eurg?om on the planter's poultry yard, and in Cuba it is never safe, without substantial evidence, to decide whether the absence of one of the plump hens from the flock can be laid at the door of the maja. or one of the plantation negroes. Feeding on the sugar, as, the darkies believe the snake does, and on chickens and birds, the flesh of the maja has, by some of the negroes, come to be considered well worth eating. It is a practice frowned on by the planters. Therefore, these serpent feasts form part of the worship uf the powers of darkness carried on surreptitiously. The coast negroes participate little in this practice, but in the interior of the country it from time to time breaks out with the certainty of an epidemic. Little is known of this to the outside world, as the negroes, fearing the displeasures of their masters and overseers, keep their doings as quiet as possible.
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MOST of the members of Lord Hawke's cricket team, which has been touring in South Africa, arrived at" PIvmouth lute on Sunday night from Capetown, in the iioyal Mail steamer Pretoria. The party included Lord Hawke, Sir T. C. u'Krien, Measr- C. B. Fry, H.1 It. Bromley-Davenport, S. M. Woods, and C. W. Wright. with flaywaid, Tvler end Butt. MR. J. W. if KILL, who has been appointed to the new Professorship of Indian Law, instituted at p University College, was educated at King's College and Edinburgh University, and served for 25"years in India, finallv becoming Chief Commissioner of the Central Provinces. IIie last important, work in India was as President of the Commission on file J)eccitn Agriculturists' Relief Act. The Council of University College Iiitve also appointed Mr. J. F, Blumhardt as professor of Hindustani, and Mr. F. deAaarta as leCtiirgf on the Itaj^n Ja^^iingo arid literature. •: ■> n 0 >; -(. -•■< si
Q.9[r.
Q.9[r. (From Gardening Tllustra td.") • CONSERVATORY* Rearrange the house as often as time will permit This toill, at any rate, be done for Easter, whet white Bowers will be in demand. Arum Lilies Lilium Harrisi, Spinea japonica, white Azaleas Deutzia gracilis, and Lily of the Valley if in sum. cient numbers will afford scope for many obartaing groups, mixed with Ferns, Mosses/Grasses, Palms &c. The Variegated Japanese Grass (Eulalit japonica variegata) is one of th best, grasses foi giving what may be called finishing-touches to groupf of very choice plants where Palms would be toe heavy. The Japanese Azaleas (A. mollis) are very useful now unfortunately they are nearly all lack- ing in fragranco. This sweetness is what makes the old Arafea pontica such a favourite. Tile flowert soon drop if not gummed, and though some people may object to tampering with nature, yet I think thi, may be overlooked in the case of plants whioh cAst their blossoms so easily. Even moving fsom on< house to another will sometimes make the flowers fall) nd a spot of colourless gum in the centre of each blossom will hold them on till they fade. The Indian Rhododendrons and their hybrids are among the most beautiful plants for the cool conservatory, but they must have good peat, and should be watered with soft water. It is difficult to keep these and Azaleas in really good condition in a district where chalk or limestone forms the basis of the geo- logical formation. Even watering the plants with water from a chalk formation will soon make them lose colour. Hence the necessity in chalky districts of having large tanks to hold a good supply of rain- water for these plants. If there are plenty of soft young cuttings on the Tree-Carnaticos they will strike now in the hot-bed, and will make flowering stuff in 5-inch and 6-inch pots next winter. Give liquid-manure to Hydrangeas now showing their beads of bloom. -These are- very useful conservatory plants, and if a little iron dust is used t,hey will put on a more or less blue tint in the flowers. The common form and the white variety, Dr. Hogg, are the most useful. They are very useful for furnishing, as the flowers travel so well. STove. There is some propagating to do in this depart- ment yet. It is specially important to work up a good stock of Poinsettas, both the scarlet and the white; fewer of the white will be re- quired than the scarlet. I wonder if the doublo variety of the scarlet form is now in existence any- where? I paid a guinea for a little plant when it first came out, but somehow its progeny got mixed with the type, and I was never afterwards able to pick it out, and it went, in my case, back to the old form again. Pot off Bouvardias as soon as rooted well, I and help on in the hot-bed till well established, and move to light position near the glass. These are very useful plants if not coddled. I remember having a lot of old cut-down plants and planted them out on a warm border under a south wall, and they made splendid stuff for lifting in September, and after being established in a close, shady house for a fortnight they came in most useful. Fill a number of pots with Panicum variegatum, Tradea- cantia discolour, and Mosses of various kinds for winter furnishing; they are sure to be useful. The Mosses may be brought on under the stages. FNRNS UNDEK GLASS. Growth will now be very rapid, and more space must be given to large specimens. Some of the hardiest species may be moved to other houses, as there will be no difficulty in finding suitable tem- perature under glass now. They will do very well under the shade of Vines or Cucumbera. The chief thing to avoid in the case of Cucumbers is not to take any plants into the house which are infested with green-fly. There has often been a difficulty ia destroying green-fly on Maiden-hair Ferns without injuring the young fronds, but this may be donp now by using the vaporiser, which, if done according to the directions supplied by the manufacturers, is quite harmless to tender foliage. Fern spores may be sown any time under suitable conditions, which are these a firm seed-bed surrounded by a close, warm, damp atmosphere in a shady spot. When the seedlings are large enough to handle prick off into boxes of light soil, a&d keep close and shaded till established, then pot off, and keep warm and shaded till they are again established afterwards the ordinary treatment given to established plants will Biiffice. Gymnogrammas (Gold and Silver Ferns) must have a warin honse to do them well. ■ TirminNg crc&pBS. I, There will soon be a go/Ad deal of Grttpe thinning to do in many gardens. This cannot be taught. by writing, for the simple reason that the operator must know something of the constitution of the Vines J before he can do his work properly. Begin as early as possible-i.e., as soon as it can be seen which berries are taking the lead, as it is important for the robust early-set berries to be left. It is better to go over the bunches twice than to run-any risk of dis- figuring the bunches by ctttting away"tOO much at the same time. vThe man who grasps the.situation properly will not leave much for tbe second time. The crop to be left must depend upon the condition of the Vines and the amount of support it i»intended to give. Vines in good health with their roots in good condition will utilise more support than is usually allowed them, but of this more anon. i COLD IIHAXM. 1. We often wish we had more-of these at this-season to harden off plants and to give more room in the house, but a considerable use may be made now Qf, temporary btriiettireg, which may be covered at night with oiled cloth or canvas. A few rough boards to, form the sides and ends, and a few stout laths tacked across to support the covering, and a very useful frame is improvised at a very small cost that will be useful through the spring and Bummer for many purposes. FRCIT GARDEN. Young Vines just planted should have a little warmth to get. them well into growth. A night tem- perature of 60deg., and a moist, genial atmosphere will enable them to make a good start, and it, is tlU- portant to get the growth made in good time, espe- cially if it is intended to take a crop of any kind off the plant next year; this is not a waiting age. It is a good plan to let the Peacbes bear as soon as they will, as there is often a difficulty in checking ovef- i.luxurinnoe under glass. I was rather afraid our trees: of Alexander and Waterloo Peaches would have had! rather a thin crop this year, as many of the early buds dropped; but the late buds have set so well we shall' not, do so Sadly after all. It is a peculiarity of these kinds to drop their plumped buds, and then push out and set the late bud- In this district there ap- pears to be a fair prospect of a fruit crop, pq Ieci-ai y, in the case of Pear-,ttie trees of many varieties being specially thick with expanding buds. Grafting should be pretty well done now. I have generally done as well with late grafts as early ones. When there is a rush of sap the scions unite sooner. See to the iiittlching of newly-planted trees, and giye' water if necessary. VEGETABLE GARDEN. This is a good time to make new plant^t'low# of' Globe Artichokes. The Chinese. Jerusalem Artichoke may also be planted; the last- named makes a good summer screen, and will grow, in any good soil. Plant the best-shaped and smoothest, sets. Selection has already done some- thing to refine the shape of the Jerusalem Artichoke. Plant out the remainder of the Cucumbers which have been wintered under glass. They will be safe now anywhere. Runaway Cabbages, of which there are sure to be some this year, should be pulled up, and ( the vacancies filled from a later sowing. Tie up Lettuces under gl-iss to blanch. Prick off early-sown Celery, and sow main crop if not already done; in most cases this will" have been attended to, but good Celery for ate, planting may be raised any time in April if there is a-, little heat to start it. Make up Mushroom-beds inf succession. The house, unless on the north side ofi some building, will be too hot for summer work, and after this time eutside beds will do better. No one, likee to eat Mushrooms infested with maggots. Get- the manure quite fresh, and after shaking out the! longest of the litter mix wne fourth in bulk of loamy soil with the manure, and when the mass gets warm* give it a shake up, and turn over and make up the bed. Continue the planting of Potatoes. Weeds will soon be on the move now, and must be dealt with promptly.
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Foi: a second time within a few years a Lord Ciiitf; Justict of England goes to America as the guest of American Bar Associations. When, asks the Law, Times, will English lawyers invite a United States judge of similar eminence to visit England ? True, we have nothing yet to compare with an American Bar Association, but we ought to be able to step out of our insular exclusiveness and prove to lawyers of other countries—if we can-tliat. the legal profession in Enirland is an intellectual and learned body. ft. •"
'CTHE WOMAN'S WOMJ): < -\
'C THE WOMAN'S WOMJ): < AMOXO the notable features of spring costume* will be the belted blouse, which promises to be not only fashionable but extremely stylish and—what it with many women more to the purpose—comfortable. Belted garments allow more freedom of action and much more agreeable under-dressing than women are willing to adopt when wearing fitted waists. The present fancy is for a blouse with under-arm seams, except with wry full figures, when darts are con- sidered desirable. This blouse extends about four inches below the waist-line and is kept in shape by a belt. rrE fancy for belts is running riot. They are of gold wire or filigree or silver. Plainer ones are of leather variously decorated, and satin ribbon belts are also very much liked. WIIITE serge suits are made in this vay, and the same model is used for semi-dressv outings in which tourists are so fend of indulging. Very narrow belts are worn with these white dresses, preferably of white leather. Some belts have large leather-covered buckles, others handsome gold buckles. WHITE alpaca is coming into favour as a rival to serge, of which many ladies are becoming weary, having worn it for many years past. MANY very attractive alpaca gowns will be seen (remarks Mrs. Aria, in the Daily Chronicle), in the coat and skirt style with the coat lined with an elabo- rate brocade showing a tucked shirt with the collar hemstitched, the front of this displaying alternate rows of tucks and hemstitching, overhanging per- haps a deep corselet of black silk, satin, or moire, while at the neck a black tie is worn—or a greater novelty is the full cravat of chiffon in a vivid colour. SENSIBLE and inexpensive dresses are made of the fine cotton material styled cheviot in some, of the drapery establishments. These come in very narrow R'pipes or in mixed colours, and some of them have a slightly crinkled effect. In buying these goods, how- ever, special attention should be given to their wash- ing qualities. Many of them lose all their beauty after the first washing. They do not appear to fade, but all of the brightness and clearness of the colours vanish, leaving a dull, cloudy effect, which robs them of all their attractiveness. Before purchasing they should be thoroughly tested. Reliable merchants refuse to warrant them fast colours. While some of the colours are durable, more of them are not, and it is scarcely worth while to go to the expense and trouble of making up a dress of cottpn material that is worthless after its first washing. THE dressmaking art seems to have reached a higher ajsthetic level than that of millinery, which exhibits this year (observes the writer of the fashion notes in the St. James's Gazette) the usual atrocities of colours, to which in spite of the teaching of the Artistic Dress Union our eyes appear to be becoming reconciled. An additional opportunity for exhibition of colours, whose violence appears to be their recom- mendation, is afforded by parasols, many of which repeat the intense crude mauve or pink of the wearer's bonnet. One lady whom we observed upon a fashionable seaside promenade carried a scarlet- handled en-tout-cas composed of alternate stripes of ivory and scarlet satin edged with a lace flounoing ornamented with big scarlet bows at intervals. The husband that has to accompany this parasol would really seem to have a legitimate ground for seeking divorce, or at least separation AMONG ladies' hats, we may mention some charming oridesmaids' hats to be worn at one of the numerous weddings which take place this month. They were a kind of picture shape, made of the palest green straw, with waved edges, and trimmed with warves of pale green embroidered lisse with a cluster of pale upstanding pink roses and dark leaves in front. A PROFESSIONAL gentleman writes to one of the ladies' papers gravely suggesting that women with small incomes might increase them by opening offices, in different towns, where on application pitiful kindly ladies would be obtainable by the hour to sit and listen to the grumblings of lonely men who are tired and over-strung and require a sympathetic ear for. their grievances." Supposing the pitiful kindly ladies were young and fair, no doubt the employment might be found profitable, although one would have thought there was always some feminine ear open to the sufferings of a lonely bachelor; but it is to be hoped that elderly spinsters will not embark on this method of obtaining a livelihood without considei- able caution. THERE seems a tendency to revive the chatelaine^ which, on the whole, is but a tiresome appendage, whose belongings continually exhibit a desire to attach themselves where they are least needed- the <spiked end of a pencil may be invariably found fixing its best affections on to any,piece of laoe with which we may have seen fit to decorate our bodice,1 And, by the way, lace frills for the ends of the sleeves are once again to be adopted-truly a, becoming order of affairs, as these shed a most softening influ- ence on the least attractive of hands and wrists. FOR indoor wear, picture gowns are eminently luitable, and also (as a correspondent of the Pall Mall Gazette well says) to women of slender proportions, sminently becoming. They seem, in some subtle manner, to suggest mental and physical repose. A rery lovely garment of this genre has a full, slightly- trained skirt of soft satin, in a dull shade of blue, with sprays of pale pink apple-blossom scattered over ,ts surface. The skirt is not designed on avowedly' fashionable linea, for instead of assijming^ a square ippearanco in front it hangs frotp waist to hem in I, graceful folds, and at the back is gathered into the waistband after the fearless Old fashion of bygone; lays. The bodice boasts a deep corselet of" japphire velvet covered with wonderfully beautiful Jinbroideries executed in black floss silks, while sparkling jet spangles play no small part in the scheme of decoration the embroidery design, adapted from a piece of 17th century Flemish lace, embodies breast-plates, which somewhat resemble the Austrian arms—two-headed eagles surmounted by heraldic crowns. This design is carried out with rare skill; tiny overlapping spangles form the bodies and heads of the fabulous birds, the outspread wings are worked in soft black silks, and the crowns are encrusted with most realistic sapphires and brilliants; drooping elbow sleeves, of the same material as the skirt, terminate in triple frills of pale blue wamscline de soie, and a, gathered, chemisette is confined at the throat by a band and rosettes of black satin. This cannot truthfully be described as a simple gówn nor is it likely to recommend itself to practises of domestic economy, but as a work of art its claims de- mand immediate respect, and the cortele* portion might well find a place in a catalogue of iieirloonae. H.ARBI.Y is marked success attained by creators of "picture-" mantles or coats, and while hats and gowns of the same species often mount the-ladder of fame "i, admirable celerity, the less adaptable coveral find themselves early branded with the fabal word "dowdy," and hustled into unenviable Obscurity by perky Paris models, which, to the' initiated, are too often monuments of Lutetian audacity, but to the general are ever enveloped in1 rosy clouds of surpassing splendour. Entirely sue-' eessful, however, is a spring coat made from the design of an eminent artist, which is exquisitely pic-; turesque and individual, without being unduly re-' markable. It is sleeveless, and the loose back is set into the yoke in two full box pleats; the material is soft cloth in a rich, dark shade of blue, with tiny green hairs all over its surface, and the yoke is, .fashioned from strips of Japanese embroidery, iawhich; many dark colours co-mingle on a foundation of black' .satin. The open fronts fall in full pleats; there is an immensely large Medicis collar of black gimpl edged with ostrich tips, and on each shoulder;, attached to the yoke there are loose tabs of embroi- dery; the lining, distinctly a thing of beauty, is of dark green silk shot with blue and black, and on each Beam there is an inch-wide band of Japanese hand-, work outlined with small metallic beads., The vest and sleeves, which to all intents and purposes form part of the jacket proper, are of dark blue mirror velvet shot with green, and at the wrists there are wide gauntlet cuffs of wired gimp, with a feather- pdging similar to that on the collar; there is a full bow of point d'Alen^on at the throat, and long lappet ends, which fall far below the waist. It would be difficult to imagine a more desirable garment than this, for it combines riohness and individuality in a marked degree, and the gimp collar Lnd cuffs are of sufficiently generous proportions to satisfy the modern spirit of exaggeration, be it ever so exigent. ( V /■ lr f '•5. l, 1 v r "tW". :r <v v?>• "i '• v
IHOME HINTS. -
HOME HINTS. WRMKLXS.-TiMe and physical suffering catise anc creases about the eyes more than anything t'le Therefore, with proper attention to your health, yot havo it in your power to avoid many of these Nervous suffering often gives a hard look to thf 'mouth, and sometimes pulls it out of shape. We al of us that are worth anything must go through more oi-JIess of it. But the spirit in which we bear itrwil1 be sure to leave its impress about the most mobile of all the features of the face. Pain of all kinds anguish, agony. care, wrinkle the forehead from temple to temple. Thought and passion ere if e it perpendicularly between thebrows: All these out- ward manifestations of the internal coniict that goe* on in every one of us frcrm day to day are, to some extent, within the control of our wiil, but they do not ield one iotaitoall the cosmetics in the world. You have a certain feeling, and your face takes on certain lines, and in proportion with the recurrence of that feelijj^ those lines deepen. But you may, by the exercise of your will-power, keep that feeling in cheek to a certain extent, and to a certain extent also control'the lines of your face. This is all the preventive or cosmetic th«t there is for wrinkles. So save the money you have put aside for any other so-called cure of them, and i),ge it for a better purpose. There can be no real and lasting beauty without truth. Try to be true to a noble ideal all through. That is the foundation, the corner-stone of true beauty. An attractive face is not a made-up one it is the face of one on good terms with his or her own soul. Yes, that is the grand secret of all efficacious cosmetics for the face. Be on good terms with your own soul and secondly, treat your body with all the respect and reverence that are due to the temple of the soul.— Hoimrd Glyndon, in Domestic Monthly. SHEEP'S TROTTERS.—Take three sheep's trotters as prepared at the tripe shop, boil them for two hours in salted water, take them out, split them in half, and remove tho big bone. Put 2oz. of butter and a tablespoowful of flour into a saucepan, amalgamate the two together on the fire, and add half a pint of boiling water, with salt and white pepper to tasta. Put the trotters into this wIth B dozen or more button mushrooms, and let them simmer as gently af possible (adding more boiling water if necessary) for three or four hours, or until the bones that remain can be removed with ease. Stir in, off the fire, the yolks of two eggs beaten up with the juice of a lemon and strained, as well as a small quantity of very finely minced parsley, and serve hot. Small pickling onions (not pickled onions) may be, if obtainable, put in along with the mushrooms.- HINTS BY DR SPENCER THOMSON.—Happy are those who can have the use of baths for purposes of ablution, but anyone who can command water and a towel need not lack the comfort of cleanliness.—Every breathing animal, man included, is continually draw- ing into the lungs air, and the next moment giving out, instead of the life-sustaining oxygen, poisonous carbouic acid. It is evident from this, that if an individual or individuals are enclosed in a room which possesses no means of ventilation, in other words, which has not its air continually charged, the air contained in that space must become unfit to be breathed health will suffer, life may be extinguished.—Those who suffer from plethora, and consequent head symptoms, from chronic cough, or oppression of breathing, from gout, gravel, Or habitual acidity of the stomach, should never touch either ale or beer.-There is an alteratire preferable to medicine—obedience to the laws of health. Temperance in eating and drinking, exercise, attention to the state of the skin, and to the ventilation of sleeping rooms especially, are alteratives which everyone may employ. The various species of bean are most nutritious to those whose stomachs can digest them. The nutriment they afford, as shown in the case of the miners in South America, who live almost exclusively upon them, is calculated to sustain a high condition of muscular development and vigour.—It must be kept in mind. that a person in an upright position faints sooner from loss of blood than one who is lying down; and that when faintness comes on, a little cold water, and a perfectly flat position, are the best restoratives. N'ANITY PUrps.-Bept the whites of six eggs to a stiff froth, sift in a pound of powdered sugar, and flavour with lemons. Drop by small spoonfuls upon buttered paper and dry in a cool oven two hours. INFANTS' POWDER.—Perfumed corn-starch makes an excellent powder, and when used in moderation is, according to our thinking, harmless. Take any suitable paper box having a tight-fitting top, cover the bottom to the depth of half an inch with corn- starch; over this place a piece of writing paper saturated with any extract—we use patchouly, think- ing it imparts to anything a o.leanly odour—and cover with starch to the depth of another half inch. Repeat until you have in a sufficient quantity of starch. Cover and tie up in paper a few days before using. Always keep the box covered. NURSKS AND X U lis ING.—In any really critical esse of illness, almost everything will depend upon the doctor's directions being properly carried out in the nursing of the patient, and that it is generally essen- tial to obtain the services of a trained nurse. Of' course, there are exceptions to this rule. There are serious illnesses, even certain to be last illnesses, and hopeless as to their ultimate end, though perhaps lengthy and tedious, but in which little beyond allevia- tion is possible, with sueh care as only affection can furnish; or even more technical duties may be of a 3implekind, with the exception of euch services as the medical man must himself render from time to time. In such cases it is mainly a question of whether the strain of nursing is or is not beyond what the domestic circle ought to be allowed to undertake; which must1 depend upon many circumstances, and especially- upon the work to be done, the number who can share- the burden, and the disposition of the patient. There aro also ca^es—prominent, examples are well known —in which wives, mothers, daughters or sisters pos- sessing both intelligence and. character, have renqt'l'cd' services which no nurse could have surpassed, and which, when rendered with ,personal affection, may. be of double utility. The danger, however, is t ¡¡at: every woman considers herself to be one of these, whilst the vast majority are noti but have absolutely: no conception of the mechanical precision in earn ing out directions on which, at any moment, life or d'at It may depend. Melancholy experience has too ofien" witnessed a fatal issue from weak and mistaken afiVc-: tion, not to necessitate most clear warning upon this1 subject. Case after case is recorded in which medicine or food has been ordered to be given at frequent and* unvarying intervals, and the f-ule been broken, owing to the patients's circumstances at the moment, or perhaps refusal; with fatal results or at his request! forbidden food has been allowed, with misplaced joy at the supposed (and perhaps real) improvement,, with similar melancholy issue to a case perhaps) really snatched from the )aws of death, if only weil had been let alone and the doctor implicitly obeyed It is also to be considered that the constant attentioJlsi often needed In a eerious <Sase of ilhiess, if they are to be rendered so As to distrefslindweary the pat ient, as little as possible,, demand a high degree of technical'^kill. The vtty best methods of rendering Aem Lave only been developed by long hospital experience; and their actual performance is in only to be acquired by practice. It would be a rovel,itic)a to many an affectionate wife or mother,, only to see the rapidity and ease with which a. cotil.1,1 of qualified nurses will perform such a Binapla act 11<' changing the bedclothes of a bed-ridden patient. Hot we have said enough to indicate the grave responsi- bility of neglecting to secure qualified nursing when really required.— Casscirs Book o/ the Household. HASIIICD CALF'S HEAD.—Mince an onion and a slice of fat bacon, fry them both with an ounce or; butter until the onion begins to colour, stirring well all the time to avoid any piece of one or the other jetting burnt. Stir in a tablespoonful of flour, and a minute afterwards moisten with a sixpenny bottle of rood tomato sauce. Add ahay leaf, two sprigs of ihyme, one of marjoram, and three of parsley, two loves, a dozen peppercorns, salt to taste, and the. least possible quantity of cayenne pepper (as much, as can be taken tip with the end of a trussing needle). Let the sauce boil gently for heilfati hour. Add a little stock to it if necessary, Add strain it into a clean saucepan. When quite cold lay the pioces of calt'g head into it and let the wholo be warmed very gradually on a slow fire- The longer it will take to get hot, tbe better will the dish be. Care should be taken that the pieces of oalf s head are well covered with the sauce. Serve garnished with fried sippets of biead. CALF'S LITER.—Mince a couple of shallots and frv them slightly in two ounces of butter, with a desert spoonful of flour, lay on them half a dozen slices of hver half an men thick and the size of a mutton cutlet; let them cook a couple of minutes on each Plde. moisten with a little stock, adding pepper and salt to taste, and a dash of tarraeon vinegar let il>« | Whole cook ten minutes longer and serre hot. j :r ,i v [-■ »..•>;••• -• .1. Hi:' .{: ;h.:c: r. '1
-....-1 ART AND literature.
1 ART AND literature. Tns walls of the National Gallery are nr% becoming very mucli overcrowded Som^ barracks are m course of erection L ? Millbank site. When these Je rTady adjoining the National Gallery will be aboLwT^ it is expected that the Treasury extension of the latter building. 1 authonse TUB picture of the year (observes the Globed w«i». most probably be Mr. E. A. Abbey' laro-e ill„ J!?1 tion of Shakespeare's lines, Was ever woman this humour wooed; was ever woman in this humon won ?" It is a particularly clever example of a suh^ ject picture which has succeeded in arriving at th highest degree of dramatic expression without cteeenf^ ratings into theatrical mannerism. Its drama ia strong and straightforward as its design and colonS arrangement; and the combination of qualities whifcK it presents is extraordinarily complete and eompr^ hensive. If it is to be the first of a series of equal; importance, the Royal Academy will have cause ta regard the admission of Mr. Abbey into its ranks aft an event of exceptional moment. Certainly this on. pIcture more than justifies his election. M». POYNTKR will have two pictures in the Royal ih^r hv'r sma11, one insPired b7 Horace, th* nnntS, The tumult of storm an<J mountain gather round "An Oread"' flying to her retreat an elfin impetuous figure, with tossing hair u'v "k i bfea1thing the wild spirit of the hilla. Neobule is half pensive, half fettisb. She ha«. lung down her embroidery, and broods over tyranny of her uncle, whilst thinking of Hebros, tha young athlete, and of the freedom denied, and typitied in the golden afternoon, visible through th. open window, and a thousand times more splendid than the polished marbles of the chamber whick aieans constraint. JtlR. ALMATADEMA has ready two very characteristic examples of his learned art work. The larger of the two, "The Coliseum," is in one sense a now departure, inasmuch as he has in it not followed his uøuat sustouv of painting effects of bright midday light, but has given instead the glow of the late afternoon 3un. Compared with his comparatively unsuccessful Spring in the 1895 Academy, Tho Coliseum is » Mr- Tadema's less important work. Whispering Xoon," is more in his usual manner, an arrangement of white marble, delicate-coloured draperies, and bright blue flowers against a back- ground of pale-blue sky, and green-blue sea. TIIE Glasgow Corporation has set an example which might well be followed by other bodies who assist in maintaining schools of art and yet never think of utilising them. They have offered in their School of Design a premium for a wrought-iron bracket for continuing the existing gas-lamps, and rendering them suitable for a pendent glebe. Once let artists see that there is some object in attempting decorative work, and they will set their brains to work much more willingly. THE military painters will be much to the fore this. year, and will include in their ranks at least one new name. Mr. Gow has been producing of late work of an increasingly small and delicate character, and will again enter the arena, not only in subject but in method, against his great predecessor Meissdnier., There will be many ready to aver that in his Wel- lington Crossing the Bidassoa," The New Com- mander-in-Chief," and Napoleon in Pursuit of Sir John Moore," he approaches very nearly to being his master's equal. Mr. Hamilton has also taken the Peninsular War for his theme, and in his picture. of A Forlorn,Rope" has dramatically represented an episode which has been seldom attempted. lr. Woollen carries us to more modern tillies with his "Abu Rlea," where th& British square is being attacked by the Mahdi's troops on all sides. Still more recent, and of singular interest at the present moment, is Mr. Alan Stewart's Last Stand of Major Wilson," in which the little band of Chartered Troops, clad in the company's khakee uniform, is facing the death which befell them all at the hands of the Matabele hordes at the Shangani River in December, 1894. IT will be news to many, perhaps even to the artists themselves, that members of their craft are usually endowed with a Grecian nose—admittedly the most beautiful df any, and indicative of refinement of character and a freedom from pretension and. con- ceit Such, at least, is the opinion of Mr. Wilaey Martin, who has studied the subject very thoroughly and set down the result in an oposoululll of the Odd Volumes entitled n Our Ncfses," He does nofoupte living artists as examples of his assertion bu,t he mentions Kaffaelle, Claude, Rubens, MuriUo, Titian, Holbein, Van Dyck, Gainsborough, and .Reynolds, as proofs. Of course there must be exceptions; Leonardo and Turner possessed Roman noses; whilst Diirer, Michael Angelo, Renibrandt, Hogarth, and Wilkie had the cogitative, or wide-nostrilled nose. But not a single name of note occurs under the celestial, or turn-up, nose, nor amongst the snubs." Mr. Martin complains that the nose has not received the treatment it deserves. Poets, for instance, never sing' its as they do those of eyes, eyebrow, ftps, cheeks* chin, and even ears. He claims that this discredited organ should receive more attention as an index of character, although he does not go so far as to make ra election to the Iioyal Academy dependent on the pos- session of an art-loving nose. SCHOLARS will welcome the facsimile in photo- gravure of the early 11th century codex in the Laurentian Library at Florence, which is the arche- type of the tragedies of Gischylus and Sophocles. The Sophocles was reproduced in phototype by the- Societv for the Promotiou of Hellenic Studies in 1885, but it is now out of print, and CEschylus has never been published before. The edition consists of only 190 copies, the price of each, E4. There are 71 plates, with an index of verses at the head of each, and there is a palieographic note by Professor Kostagno. The work is issued under the auspices of the Itafian Minister of Public" Instruction, and has been prepared in the Press of the Koyal Military Geographical Institute. IN his confidences the, hite Mr. Frederick Locker tells the following story of Thackeray: When' 'l'ht Newcmies was coming out in numbers, Mr. Locker met Thackeray leaving his club, and, after expressing his delight at the last instalment and making some remarks about the illustrations, which bad been sharply, criticised, was tackless idiot enough to add, 'But, my dear fellow, perhaps there may be *ln^ people who will say that you did the cuts and Doyte tbe letterpress.' On this Thackeray's jaw dropped, and he exclaimed bitterly, 'Oh! rfa 7* that's your opinion, is it ?' I saw' al once w»at a mistake I had made; but I could only rePjJ' x spoke in fun, pure fun you know perfectly well bow much I adnnre your writings, and also Doyles cuts.' But Thackeray would have none of it, and turned wrathfully away. The fact, is I had so exalted ah opinion of Thackeray and his writings that it seemed impossible such a dewi- god should care for aught anybody said; whereas, like Tennyson, he felt everything that everybody said." A SINGULARLY artless method of recommending nrse has been adopted by the publisher,of a forth- coming volume of verse. If poetry," says he, in a prsdiminary notice, "improves by keeping, one may anticipate great pleasure from the perusal of by Mr. which that gentleman has kept 50 years from the light of publicity." In commenting "poO this putf, a writer in the Morning Post remarks sagely that the only kind of keeping which im- proves poetry—that is, seven-tenths of the verse that is offered to the world—is its conservation in the cup- board of ita author. TWENTT-FIVK years have passed since Mr. Thomas Hardy's first novel, "Desperate .Remedies, ap- peared. A new edition has just been published, and in accordance with his admirable custom the author has added a preface. Although the beok was so early, and Mr. Hardy's style has become so much more individual since then, he has thought it better to make no change, save in the nomenclature of towns. To use his own dry words, As it happe^e that certain characteristics which provoked mucii dis cussion in nay latest story were present in this first—published in 1871, when there was no Fre^ name for them—it has seemed best to stand unaltered." The parenthesis is very charac- teristic.
Advertising
ONE reason why the expedition against the poor savage King of Ashantee was so popular in military circles was, though there was littlerisk of life or ii nab, it was expected that the King had a rich accumulation of gold treasure, and it was certain that a shower of promotions would fall on the officers cood«oting the expedition. There was great disappointment at amount of gold in the King's possession, but thie Ie now compensated by the number of promotionø districted. L y J v." i ,.1-. >-» '<_L'' I.K i riv'i ■J I,1 ,}!