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FIELD AND FARM. ,1
FIELD AND FARM. 1 FAVOURABLE FA1!M WEATHER. I Except for small downfalls of rain at the beg inning of the month, the weather of November up to the time of writing (says the current "Agri- cultural Gazette") has been generally dry, and the period of freedom from any considerable quantity of rain has been the longest experienced since September 26, at which date tnere had been thirteen days without a tenth of an inch of rain in most parts of the country. The recent spell of dry weather came just in time to allow of the carting of the mangel crop, which was in danger of being damaged by the frost, that may be severe enough to injure it on any night or I even any day. The land, too, has at last become dry enough for ploughing and sowing, and for raising the large portion of the main crop of potatoes that was still in the ground at the beginning, of the month.. Some fair tilths have been made for wheat and other winter crops, especially where the land was freshly ploughed. Old-ploughed land that has had a deluge of rain upon it proved tough and difficult to deal with. November is a very good month for wheat- sowing, and in some districts heavy-land farmers prefer that time to any earlier one, provided that they can make a good tilth. Indeed, some years ago there were farmers in a heavy-land district who commonly waited till November before beginning to sow wheat; but a wet autumn or two, when they were unable to complete the work, drove them out of the risky system of delay. It is other winter crops which are placed at a dis- advantage when they cannot be sown before November, and we imagine that the acreage of the winter varieties of beans, barley, and oats will be very small this season, while it is pro- bable that the full breadths of tares and rye will not be grown. As to the wreckage of the corn harvest in the late districts, a large portion of it has been salvaged, although in such condition as to be of comparatively little value. WINTER FEEDING. I May I be permitted (asks "Samson") to offer a few hints from the North of England view of the feeding of cattle for the Christmas fat stock exhibitions, and also as to the economical, healthy, and profitable winter feeding of dairy cattle? First, as to fat beasts for exhibition. By most feeders far too much oily substances are used. By the use of oilcake, you can produce a glossy coat and the semblance of much flesh, but the animal will never find favour with a competent judge, and more particularly with a butcher judge. Before being taken off grass, we add per diem 31b. of mixed crushed oats, beans, malt, and Indian corn, and 31b. of oilcake. After soming into the house, 4 stones of roots are added, with fair allowance of hay, and chop. In all cases, quantities have to be regulated by size of animal and appetite, and occasional variation of food. About a month before the animal is due for exhibition or slaughter, mix up of oatmeal and cold water into the consistency of dough two or three balls about the size of cricket balls, and place them on the top of the morning tub. Increase the number gradually until they may rea,ch six or eight daily, but keep a watch on the dung, and, if costive, withhold the balls for a day, and add to the oilcake, or give a dose of linseed oil. We finish pigs in the north on this system oatmeal balls, and, whether of pigs or cattle, tile 11 flesh is of the highest quality, firm, yet kindly to the touch, and the beef choicely firm a.] marbled, and sets quickly after death. Few judges can pass animals S11 finished, and they will command the very best prices as flesh meat. No foreign meat ever equals this. Dairy cattle are taken into the shippons on November 12, and as a rule they do not come out again until May 12 the following year, except to water. Even if the winter is mild, turning out for an hour or two in the middle of the day is held to unsettle them, and they do not milk so well, and in the best of years they do a lot of poaching of the grass lands, always soft at that season. Of course, if provender is scarce, and there is a. bite of grass, needs must when a certain unmentionable person drives. In a herd of large- framed Shorthorns the morning tub consists of pulped swedes, chopped hay, straw, and brewers' grains in equal proportions, with 31b. of mixed crushed malt and Indian corn—say, 141b. After milking, 2 stones of whole swedes and a feed of long hay; another feed of long hay, about 71b., at noon; a repetition of the morning tub at 3 p.m., and the same weight of whole swedes after milking, 71b. of oat straw or hay, the daily ration running out at about 1051b. In a herd of ordinary-sized cross-bred Shorthorns, the morn- ing tub consists of 81b. barley chaff, 41b. brewers' grains or pulped swedes, Jib. oilcake, i10. cottoncake, tlb. crushed oats-131b., prepared overnight; then 141b. swedes and 71b. long hay after milking; at noon, t 7ib. long hay; morning tubs repeated at 2 p.m., also 141b. swedes and 311b. long hay; after evening milking, 71b. long hay—total 78Mb. y- 2 In a similar herd of cattle, where ensilage was made, and grass butter was said to be made all the year round, the daily ration was:—During morning milking, 3-Jlb. of long hay or oat straw, followed by 71b. of ensilage and 21b. crushed oats; forenoon, 141b. ensilage; noon, 141b. ensilage; mid-afternoon, 71b'. swedes; evening milking. 71b. ensilage and 21b. crushed oats, s followed by 121b. ensilage-total, 68,llb. Cross- bred dairy Shorthorns, milk selling and butter- making: -Morning tub of cut oat sheaves, pulped swedes, cut wheat straw, lflb. each of oilcaka and eottoncake, 141b. after milking, 141b. whole swedes, and 71b. of lon^ hay; forenoon, half tub of morning feed and 71b. hay; noon, 3Hb. hay; afternoon, the morning's tub repeated; after milking, 141b. swedes, 71b. cabbage, and 71b. hay—total, 94Jlb. Dairy cross-bred Shorthorns, all milk made into butter:—Morning, 71b. straw and 71b. swedes; after,milking, 71b. mixed hay and straw; forenoon 71b. swedes; noon, 71b. long hay; afternoon, tub of cut oat sheaves and two quarts of crushed oats, followed by 71b. swedes evening, 71b. long hay-total, 611b. The above are all farmers' cattle. 1 POULTRY IN WINTER. I Poultry- keepers (says "Chanticleer" in the Agricultural Gazette"), always look forward anxiously to the prospect of a mild winter, and this year, if we are to believe the weather pro- phets, there is every probability of a mild winter after the variant summer we have been experienc- ing. Naturally, when the weather is bad, poultry I suffer more than during a mild season. The ex- tent to which they do suffer depends largely upon the accommodation provided for them—those which have sheltered runs and covered-in scratch- ing places, and which are housed in a suitable manner, are less liable, of course, to disease, and moreover will, as a natural consequence, lay better than those which are not kept under'these favourable circumstances. The commonest winter ailments of poultry, of course, are bron- chial troubles, and these may be divided for pre- sent purposes into two classes-one, simple bron- chial troubles, and two, roup the difference be- tween these being that the former aTe ordinary troubles affecting the bronchial passages, whilst the latter is a complication of bronchial trouble with impurity of the blood, for let it be under- stood that roup is due to an impure state of the blood, and is developed by the instrumentality of a cold. There are several forms of the simpler lung trouble, the principal being bron- chitis and asthma, the difference between which is, that asthma is a chronic form of bronchitis and is brought about by repeated attacks of the latter. An ordinary cold should never be neg- lected, because it may turn to bronchitis, or it may develop into roup, if the state of the system is not particularly healthy. The best way to prevent poultry from having colds or from de- veloping roup is to see that they are not over- crowded, to protect the runs from cold winds as far as possible, and to let them be housed in open-fronted roosting places. To crowd poultry together in limited runs, or to make a large num- ber roost together in an ill-ventilated poultry- house, is one of the surest ways of starting lung trouble. Prevention, therefore, is better than cure, and care should be taken to provide dry shelter, where there is plenty of litter for the birds to scratch about amongst, and also to see that their sleeping places are well ventilated, so that they are not obliged to be breathing over and over again the same vitiated air. loup, when it breaks out, is usually very mis- t" "vous, and, being of an exceedingly contagious r :ure, is likely to run through all the poultry; and an outbreak of roup on one farm is quiie likely to spread to all the other farms in the dis- trict, and therefore should be attended to it once. Isolation is the great necessity; let the birds be divided up into small colonies, and select a*, once and pub right away any which are attacked by the disease. For treatment they need to have their nostrils and mouths sponged with warm water containing some little antiseptic and they must all have good purging pills-liver pills for poultry are the best, as to clear the liver is always a considerable advantage where birds are suffering from roup, because they are bound to be more or less feverish, and that is the best way to reduce that condition. Where a very large number of poultry are kept, and, it is not possible to dose them all separately with pills, the simplest plan is to get some good roup and liver powder, and mix that in with the soft food, so that all can be dosed without any trouble.
--GARDEN GOSSIP.
GARDEN GOSSIP. Owners of cold greenhouses should (advises "The Gardener") grow a few of the hardy Cycla- mens in pots. If not showy, the llowers of most of the species are quaintly pretty, and freely pro- duced when the plants are well treated. Late flowering chrysanthemums such as L. Canning and Princess Victoria should not be dis- budded. The flowers when left in clusters are very pleasing and suitable for decoration. For continuous and late blooming the old Monthly Roses are very hard to beat. Be careful to use no more water than is abso- lutely necessary in cool structures discretion in this respect will prevent much damping of foliage and blossoms. As Apples are so scarce, there is sure to be an extra call for early Rhubarb this season. Get some roots out of the ground as soon as the leaves have died down. Roots taken up and left on the surface of the land for a week or two always force more readily than those not simi- larly treated, particularly if they have been frozen. Strong young dwarf Roses lifted from the open ground and potted up at once will supply many flowers in April and May. Orchids that are now opening their blooms should be in a warm, airy house; keep a gentle heat in the pipes, and maintain a rather dry atmosphere. Duchesse d'Angouleme is a fine showy Pear when given good culture, and may be grown to & lar^e size. When grown on a wall it is of fair quality in ordinary seasons but after such a one as the present it is apt to be decidedly second- rate. All strawberries will be best under cover from this date; the pots should be plunged in ashes in cold frames, to protect the roots from frost. It is wise to prepare soil for Melons in advance. The old growers looked well to this item, and we do not grow better Melons nowadays than did they. Streptocarpuses that have been in flower for some time will be better for a rest under drier conditions. Frequently examine late houses of Grapes for decayed berries, for where one is allowed to re- main it may quickly cause the loss of a whole bunch. Doronicum Austriacum dotted over a carpet of crimson Tulips makes a fine combination for the spring, but, of course, must be on a large scale to be effective. Never hurry Freesias into flower by hard forcing it is far better to get them potted in good time when wanted early. It is a matter for some surprise that Pond's Seedling Plum is not more frequently planted. Intending planters should make a note of this fine variety. Not only is it a splendid culinary sort, but when allowed to hang until thoroughly ripe the large fruits are not a bad addition to the dessert. When training fan shaped fruit trees, keep the main branches down and outward as much as possible; there is seldom any difficulty in filling up the centre. Never give Spireas much root room when pot- ting them; an ample supply of water is of more importance to these than root space. By turning gravel walks they may often be made to look equal to new; the present is a good time for this work. Remember that Black Currants do best in a moist soil, and when planting choose such a position if possible. Cuttings of many kinds of shrubs may now be rooted if inserted in firm ground. Strong plants of Freesias will bear gentle forcing, but there must be no hard driving, or both growths and flowers will suffer. Those who are thinking of planting climbers should not omit the beautiful old favourite Wistaria Sinensis. Nerines are amongst the most charming of bulbous plants, and their value in flowering at this season is unmistakable. Do not dry Celogyne cristata sufficiently to cause the bulbs to shrivel. By the use of mats and litter cold frames may be made frostproof. Deciduous Calanthes must have regular supplies of water up to the time the first flowers open. No time should be lost in potting Solomon's Seal if the plants are needed for early forcing. Always dig or trench deeply when preparing land for Onions; it is astonishing to what a depth the roots will penetrate for food and moisture. Those who have not hitherto grown the single Chrysanthemum Ladysmith should make a point of obtaining cuttings of this free flowering variety. It is a question if many Chrysanthemums are not propagated too early; some of the finest blooms seen this season were on February and March struck plants. Lachenalias may easily be spoilt by becoming drawn and weakly. Keep them as near the glass as possible and in a low temperature. Sulphate of ammonia in weak doses will be of great benefit to Zonal Geraniums now flower- ing in warDD. houses. Only give this stimulant when the pots are well filled with roots, and when the soil is fairly moist. Attend to the staking of all newiy-planted trees and shrubs as the work proceeds. CAMELLIAS.—The plants, though perhaps fairly clean, should be cleansed thoroughly, first syringing every part with hot soapy water, and then sponging with an insectitude. Disbud at the same time, and by no means allow the plants to become dry at the roots. DECORATIVE CHRYSANTHEMUMS.—It is sur- prising that these useful plants are not more generally grown in town greenhouses. The flowers are exceedingly pretty, and nothing is more attractive than a well-trained Pompon massed with bloom. A few of the thread petalled and spidery Chrysanthemums are fairly hardy, and the graceful flowers have a pleasing effect in bouquets or for table decoration. For bright- ness of colour, nothing can exceed some of the single varieties, which are specially valuable at a time when ordinary flowers are scarce.
I OUB, SHORT STORY. 1
I OUB, SHORT STORY. 1 I SYBIL'S SWEETHEARTS. "Won't you trust me, papa?" Mr. Ricard Harris, of the great engineering firm, Harris, North and Co., was in no doubt in the matter. "I am not in the habit of trusting people, Sybil," he said. "My shares' wouldn't be standing at 8 premium if I'd started that game. Just tell me what you mean, if you please." They were a finely-contrasted couple, this father and daughter. The father big and rough, with a chin beard that did not at all suit a man worth several hundred thousand pounds, and the uncompromising harsh eyes with which he had begun life, determined to crush all who stood in his way rather than waste time in par- leying or-mercy. The daughter, tall and grace- ful, with gentle eyes and the hall-mark of Gir- ton culture upon her. Her smile added to her beauty and her father's exasperation. "I only mean, father, that I am sure if you knew everything, you would not think of my marrying Mr. North." "Heavens alive And why? That's what I'm driving at. Why ? "For the simple reason that we do not love each other, father." "But that's a lie. Well, the word slipped." (Sybil had started.) "But it is one. Tom North was fond' of you when you wore your hair long and bowled hoops. He's always been fond of you. And he's a sound, straight chap as ever was. If he hadn't been all that, and my in- tended son-in-law, do you think I'd have taken him into the firm like I did, without a penny piece passing from his pocket to mine? I looked years ahead-that's what I did. He'd put his head under a steam hammer to give you pleasure, and here you talk nonsense about his not loving you! Why, it's not three months back he said he felt the happiest man living in the prospect of calling you Mrs. North some day." "Yes," said Sybil sadly. "That is the pity of it. Why did you keep this secret to your- selves, without a word to me, father?" "Because, my sari, he's a shy man, though as able as a Prime Minister. A modest man, too! And because I'd no notion of being disobeyed by my own child when I said the word. You had your books and studies to fill your head, and were that set on a degree we both agreed it would never do to put such thoughts in your mind till you were twenty-one. There, there, my girl, and now you know everything and mean to be reasonable, I do hope. Tom's coming to dinner to-night. So's young Capel. Just fix it up between you and let me have no more of it." Mr. Harris took up his pipe and rammed a finger into it. "I've nothing more to say on the subject," he added quickly, "and I hope you haven't either." "Father," said Sybil, colouring faintly, and with a look of distress in her gentle eyes, "it's only since Tuesday that Mr. North has under- stood." "What do you mean by 'understood'?" cried Mr. Harris, with a most unbecoming frown of annoyance and in his most bellicose tone. "Please don't be angw, father, but I can't be quite candid with you,Tei.. It isn't because I do not wish to be, but there is someone else to be considered." "Someone else!" Mr. Harris threw his ancient briar from him, thrust his big hands into his trousers pockets and faced his daugh- ter fiercely. "Are you telling me you've had the cool independence to be in love with someone else? Is that what you mean?" Sybil nodded. "I'm so very sorry to disappoint you—for the present, father, but that is it. Mr. North knows. He's splendid, father. I do think there are few better men in the world than Mr. North." "Who's the fellow?" "Father dear! Do be patient, and trust me." "I've spoken my mind on that subject. Tell me his name this minute, miss." "I cannot, -really, father. That is the tele- phone." Mr. Harris tightened his lips ominously as he glanced first at the telephone apparatus on the wall and then again looked at his daughter. "If you think I'm standing this," he said quietly, "you're mistaken. That's all." His "Well!" in answer to the telephone's tinkle was calculated to warn the person at the other end to mind what he also said. As it happened, t'us other was Tom North himself. It was a business communication, soon completed. "One minute, Tom!" then said Mr. Harris. "Are you alone?" "Quite, sir," came the answer distinctly for Sybil's hearing. "Right. What's this about Sybil? You want her, don't you?" "Papa!" whispered Sybil. "Please don't." "Speak, man!" cried Mr. Harris. "Say 'Yes' or 'No.' Would you like to marry my daughter?" "I would ask for no greater happiness, sir, if-- "That's enough. She'll give you your chance to-night. I've been talking to her about it. And now just hurry on with those three boilers." Mr. Harris shut the apparatus with a snap, and turned to his daughter with a downright last-word expression. "After that, Sybil," he said. "I think you'll see that a father's not a chap to be fooled by a young girl's silly love fancies. I never thought it'd come -to my lot to be ranting about cutting folks off with a shilling, but by-well, I'll not swear, I'll just say this—it'll pan out the same in the end; if you play the rebel with me, miss, you'll have to keep yourself, same as you said you could, teaching or what not. So there, my girl! Think it over, and with all the sense you've picked up at Cambridge, or should have for the money I've paid out on you, you'll be Tom's missus all right after all." Mr. Harris satched up his pipe and left the room, banging the door after him. Sybil seemed shocked for a few moments. She heard another door bang and saw her father cross the lawn with great strides, his square-cut hat well on the back of his head. Then a serene and sweet smile came to her lips as Tsho took a jewel case from her pocket, opened it and looked at the ring of diamonds and rubies it contained. She kissed the ring. "Poor papa! she murmured afterwards, with happiness and content in her eyes. Mr. Harris bore traces of his mental disturb- ance when that evening he came into the draw- ing-room ready for dinner. He wore dress clothes as usual, and perhaps they had seldom become him less. His nods to Tom North and the gentlemanly young apprentice were business nods. Sybil turned to her father eagerly, and it seemed to him he had never seen her look so beautiful. 4 "You are late, papa," she said. 'So naughty of vou, dear." The simple words renewed Mr. Harris's exas- peration. But suddenly he perceived some- thing: young Capel looked just as happy and handsome as Sybil herself. Of course that was it. What a fool he had been, to give this young fellow the run of his house just because he had had a university education and Tom North swore by him What a "Tom," he said, "go into my den and search the second drawer for a letter—a letter in a long blue envelope." "Now?" said Tom. "Yes, now." No sooner had the door shut than Mr. Harris fired his shot. "I'm a plain man, Sybil," he said, "and Im going to risk it. Has this young gentleman been making love to you?" Their faces answered him. "That'll do," Mr. Harris went on. "In an ordinary way, I wouldn?t be rude to a guest, Mr. Capel, but I'll thank you to leave my house. I'm saying nothing against your character when I say you'd never have set foot in it if I wasn't a thickhead where a woman's concerned. But it's not too late. The sooner you clear out of temptation's way the better. Take it as meant, and go." Sybil's murmur was overridden by young Capel himself. "I—think .perhaps I'd better," he said, rather to Sybil than her father. "You will, sir!" said Mr. Harris. Basil Capel nodded. "All right, sir, I will. I-haven't exactly the right to speak yet; but Sybil has promised, and I—that is" (Mr. Harris was visibly on the boil), "I quite realise your standpoint and respect it, sir. Good-bye, Sybil." "But, father, dear-" Sybil demurred. Mr. Harris escorted his guest to the hall, saw him into his coat, speechless with emotion, and grunted a "good-night." Then he joined Tom North, who was solemnly looking for a letter that did not exist. "Now it'll be your own fault if you don"t straighten things out smoothly," he said. lie wouldn't let his partner speak, and at the drawing-room door called to his daughter. "They've taken in the soup. Give her your arm, Tom—as you've the right!" It was a droll meal in its way. Mr. Harris did most of the talking, at heavy cost, and to the astonishment of the servants. Afterwards he sent Tom with Sybil to the drawing-room. "You don't want any port," he said; "being a teetotaller." Not until an hour later did Mr. Harris seek them, confident now that the best had happened. But he found Sybil alone, reading a book. "He has just gone, papa," she said. "'He hoped you would excuse him." Mr. Harris understood, without another word. There was no mis-reading Sybil's face. "Just listen to me," he said. "I'll give you one week to get sensible in. This day week you change your mind or your residence, Sybil. Good-night." Sybil's arms were out in appeal the next mo- ment, but her father's back was towards her. He disregarded her cry of "Father, do trust me and again banged the door upon her. He did one thing more. He wrote a letter to young Capel and dared that young gentleman to show his face at the works in the morning, or anywhere in Sybil's vicinity. That letter to Basil Capel crossed strangely with another from Basil to Mr. Harris, declar- ing that domestic affairs had called him away for a few days. An enterprising photographer would have offered Sybil's father a good round sum for the privilege of photographing his face while he read that letter. Nevertheless, for forty-eight hours there was peace in the house of Harris. Neither Sybil nor her father mentioned the late trouble or the future. They thought their thoughts respec- tively. Tom North had attempted to speak on the subject. But Mr. Harris shut him up testily. "I'm sick of it. Hold your tongue," he said "or use it in the right quarter." Tom also thereupon said nothing. On the Monday the card of Lord Tatterton was brought in, with a polite request to be allowed to see the works. Mr. Harris had a weakness for the nobility and himself played guide to his lordship. He was surprised by his visitor's interest and intelligence in what he saw, and delighted by his increasing civility. At the gate Lord Tatterton smiled and made another request. "I wonder if it would be too much, Mr. Harris, to ask for the pleasure of an introduc- tion to your daughter as well as your admirable manufactory," he said. "My daughter!" "Why, yes, since I believe she is going to be my daughter also. But let me tell you about it." Lord Tatterton's tale was brief, yet full of significance. Basil Capel was his second son and, owing to a slight difference at home, had decided to make his own way in the world. His love for Sybil had followed, and a domestic reconciliation had followed that. "He's a straight and a clever boy, Mr. Harris," said Lord Tatterton, "and I'm sure if he's set on engineering I've no objection. He has a few hundreds a year, too, and with a good girl's love to back him he might go far. That's why I wish to make Miss Sybil's acquaintance." Mr. Harris was visibly staggered. I "Well, well, well!" he murmured. And then, "If your lordship will kindly wait while I get my hat, I will accompany you." In the office North met him with a smile. "You know all about it now, sir?" he sug- gested. "Ay, lad," said Mr. Harris. "And I'm sorry for you." for you."
,EXPLORERS FOUND.i
EXPLORERS FOUND. VESSEL CRUSHED BY ANTARCTIC ICE. The Argentine Minister of Marine at Buenos Aires has received an official despatch from Rio Gallegos announcing that the Argentine war vessel Uruguay has arrived there with the members of the Nordenskjold Antarctic expedi- tion on board. The Uruguay found the officers of the expedition on Louis Philippe Land, and the remaining members on Seymour Island. The Charcot expedition in the Francais, which was sent out in search of the Nordenskjold expedition, will now be employed in scientific research. The Antarctic, it has been ascertained, was crushed by ice on February 12 of this year. The Argentine war vessel Uruguay left Buenos Aires last summer, having been specially sent out by the Argentine Government in search of the Swedish explorers, regarding whose safety con- siderable anxiety was felt. The Uruguay was a gunboat sheathed in wood and specially strengthened for ice work. She was under the command of Commander Irizar, of the Argentine Navy, and formerly Naval Attache at the London Legation. Rio Gallegos, the port at which the relief ship has arrived, is situated at the extreme south- eastern corner of Patagonia, slightly to the north of the Straits of Magellan. Louis Philippe Land, where some of the explorers were picked up, is the extreme northerly point of Graham's Land, while Seymour Island, where others of the explorers were found, is further south. It is difficult to explain until further news is to hand how the two parties came to be in the localities mentioned. Dr. Nordenskjold's expedition left Falmouth in the steam yacht Antarctic in October, 1901, and he expected to be home again early in the present year. The Swedish expedi- tion staff numbered twenty-nine men and a crew of eighteen men. Before leaving Falmouth, Dr. Nordenskjold told a Reuter's representative that he expected to be absent two years. The Antarctic section known as the Weddell Quadrant was to be the special sphere of opera- tions. After finding a suitable spot to land the stores and houses for the winter party and certain members of the expedition, the ship was to return to the Falkland Islands, to remain until the next Antarctic spring. In November or December, 1902, she was to call at the winter quarters and take the expedition back to the Falkland Islands about February, 1903. It was the prolonged absence of news from the expedition that gave rise to the search expedition.
A BLACKMAILING INSPECTOR.…
A BLACKMAILING INSPECTOR. I Thomas Winter Calverley, an assistant sani- tary inspector of the City of Westminster, was on Monday, at the Central Criminal Court, con- victed of demanding money with menaces and in- tent to steal. It was shown that the prisoner went to a Soho restaurant and there condemned a quantity of eatables, telling the proprietor that the matter was so serious that he had incurred penalties amounting to £ 700. He promised, how- ever, to lett the cape drop if the man gave him £ 20. The refreshment house keeper pretended to fall in with this arrangement, but at the time the payment was being made a detective, who had been concealed in the room, stepped forward and arrested the prisoner, who was now sentenced to twelve months' hard labour.
[No title]
Lord Londonderry, the new Lord President of the Council, has been known by many names in his time. He was born plain Mr. Vane, but when his father succeeded to the earldom he became Viscount Seaham, and on the death of his uncle he became Viscount Castlereagh. In 1884 he succeeded to the Irish marquisate, and has since, of course, been known by his present title. His great wealth is chiefly derived from the Vane-Tempest collieries.
-IWOMAN'S WORLD. ,
I WOMAN'S WORLD. ATHLETIC GIRLS. The American girl has now turned her attention to lowering athletic records. Her greatest ambition has been to reduce the Vassal" College hundred yards' sprinting record of fourteen and two-fifths seconds. A New York message stutes that Miss Sophomore, of Wellesley College, has just run the distance in. thirteen, and eiie-liftli seconds. if DAINTY GLOVES. A charming fashion hats made its appearance on the Riviera, and gives the finishing touch to many pretty toilettes. White kid gloves, with soft gauntl&ts, are lined with kid of at contrasting colour as pink or pale blue. The cuffs are then turned back so as to expose an inch or two of lining, which of course harmonises with the general colour scheme of the costume and gives a dainty finish. THE TRICORNE'S TRIUMPH. The triumph of the tricorjie (according to tke D-aily | Mirror") is drawing to a r close. As a shape it is- no* 1 longer numbered among the longer numbered among the élite, for it is not seen on the head of one woman in every omnibus tipped backward at the wrong Ii angle. But smart milliners are celebrating tlse j' approaching abdication of the tricorno in glories I of red, orange, and purple, for it may still take its r place as a chapeau de luxe when carried out in the ¡" lovely and curious colours which are unobtainable in a cheap make of hat. The mode of trimming also has the power to lift the shape once more to > a proper level of smartness. Taking these con- ditions into consideration, one realises that a. hat which fulfils them both is one of rose red moufflon, with a wide line of black silk military braid and a narrower one of white binding to edge, and a white I osprey to one side. PAPER STOCKINGS. Rather startling, perhaps, is the assertion that paper stockings, are now an accomplished fact, Paper pocket handkerchiefs, paper serviettes, paper even to bed-clothes, is not altogether strange to our understanding, but paper stockiiigs- The paper is made into a sort of strong twine, which is roughened, and thus- given a woolly look. Then it is knitted up. It sounds simple enough, doesn't it? Yet paper stockings i "A MARRIAGE ARRANGED." The moral deterioration of smart woman (says Rita in the "Gentlewoman") is some- times gradual, sometimes start- ID Iingly swift. Marriage means a great deal to her, or very little. Either depends on her sense of rectitude and her powers of devotion. One of the worst crimes of smart" society is the enforcing of a loveless marriage—the bartering of a girl's bright youth, loveliness, and purity for a title, for wealth, for a great position, or any of the baits dangled before match-making mothers. There is something absolutely horrible in such marriages as these. The slave-market of the Turk is every whit as respectable as those salons where year after year the young debutante is put up for auction, and warned that the sole duty of her social existence is the catching of a rich or titled husband, no matter what his moral record may be Little wonder is it, says "Rita," that after a time the yoke becomes more than irksome, more than endurable; that some other is at hand to teach her how to love; to paint for her in vivid colours the joys she has foregone, the penance she daily endures! If women of the smart" world become reckless, callous, wicked, the source of these things can only too often be traced to that foolish step—"A marriage arranged." FASHION'S IRON HAND. That it is utterly impossible to I combine the present fashions with a healthy and artistic style of dress was the conclusion arrived at by Mrs. Matthews in a lecture on Health in Relation to Clothing," at the Women's Institute in London the other day. The lecturer drew an appalling picture of the evils of corset wearing. The expansion of the chest should be from three to six inches," she said, "and this is impossible with the present style of dress, as the shape of the fashion of to-day necessitates rigidity." A sound of sighing passed through the room as each of the 150 women present drew a deep breath in the hope of refuting the speaker. To point the ill effect of compression on the heart, Mrs. Matthews said that a girl who performed a certain exercise when her waist measured twenty- five inches increased the beats of her heart sixteen per minute when performing the same exercise laced to a twenty-four-inebed waist. A woman may have the right to say how she shall clothe herself, and if she may wear high heels and cultivate a 16in. waist or not; but shn has no right to run the risk of injuring the future generation," concluded Mrs. Matthews, and sat down amid much applause. It is the iron hand of fashion that prevents women adopting an artistic style of dress," declared a rationally garbed woman, who, in the discussion that followed, conceded she was "provincial," and sagely added that I- no woman cared to be different —even prettily different—to her friends." Well, I haven't heard all the lecture," said a matron sharply, as the audience was dispersing for tea, but what I did hear was mostly nonsense Every woman must dress according to her peculiar style. You ca.,inot hang garments on sloping shoulders." WOMEN'S WALK. "The new instep skirt is a boon to women, but it reveals the fact that women are bad walkers. A surprising number of women are I pigeon-toed. They tread on the side of the foot, or run down the heels of their shoes, which gives a most ungraceful appearance to the feet" (writes a correspondent in a letter to the Daily Express "). A physical culture expert discussed this allegation With an Express" representative, and in the course of conversation reported in the columns of our contemporary every count of the indictment was admitted. "It is true," he said, "that women who are otherwise pretty and graceful exhibit in walking a remarkable amount of clumsiness. Watch a woman going upstairs at a railway station. In nine cases out of ten she will plod laboriously up; her feet will come down at either side of the stair, and her toes will be turned in. Half the fatigue would be avoided if she would work the foot from the ankle and set each foot truly next the other, with heels touching for the instant they are together. In sitting, also, women are guilty of a number of sins of awkwardness. The stout woman, for example, invariably sits squarely, with feet planted about twelve inches apart, and her toes turned out. The lean, long-legged woman, on the other hand, winds her feet round the legs of her chair, or else crosses her legs and thrusts her feet out in front of her. Now the stout woman should poise herself and sit very erect. The lean woman should choose the highest possible seat, and plant her feet firmly on the ground, thus reducing her excessive angularity. The small woman also does some peculiar things. She either sits with her small feet dangling in a helpless way, or perches herself on the edge of a high seat with the toe of one foot touching the ground and the other foot hooked round the ankle of the first. Instead of aggravating the smallnesa of her stature, she should choose the lowest chair in the room, and sink gracefully into it. But the greatest offender against this physical art is the mannish girl. Her very attempt to assume man's ease and freedom is the cause of her downfall; her exaggerated atti- tudes, indeed, become absurd mimicry. "Yes," said the expert in conclusion, women are bad sitters and walkers. They forget the following primary rule: 'Whenever the feet are on the- ground at the same time they should be placed as closely as possible together, heels touching. toes slightly turned out.
[No title]
A well-known landscape painter, working in the open, was busy "dashing in" the colours of a sunset. The different tints were hurriedly conveyed from tube to palette and from palette to canvas, for the artist was anxious to catch the superb effect. A rustic standing by watched the operation intently for a little while, and then remarked:—"Ah, you be a-painting two pictures at once-that's clever! I like that picture best, though-the one you've got your thumb through!"
j EPITOME OF NEWS.
EPITOME OF NEWS. —-— The Federal electiona in AusSaalia have beery nxed for Dec ember 16. The Pope has appoint.-A Cardinal Merry del Val Prefect of the Sacrei Palaces, a position which under Leo XIII. was disjoined from the' office of Papal Secretary of State. Though there are only 18,000,000 people' in Spain, there are 35,000,000 in America speaking, her tongue. 0 The Belgrade Castoms officials have appraised the late Queen Draga's jewellery at a value of £ 7,400. The buyers will have to pay 2520 export tax. The London University has accepted the offer,, made by a Dundee gentleman, of £ 1,000 for the provision of courses of lectures on Sociology. A report that Colonel Marchand, of Fashoda. fame, has resigned owing to a q, uaxrel with the French War Minister is denied. While a wedding party at Lielenzig, Prussia, sat drinking and singing last week, the bride fell dead, tight lacing having caused a, fit. The Queen has kindly purchased an artistic bed-spread worked by the inmates of Yarmouth Infirmary, who, by age- or infirmity, are unable to do active work. American sky-scrapers are the wonder of the world. The new City Hall of New York will be forty-five storeys in height, and a fifty-five- storey building is being planned for New York City. After being successfully operated on for armendicitis in Guy's Hospital, a platelayer named Deane borrowed a pair of scissors from another patient in the same ward and com- mitted suicide by cutting his throat with them. Owing to the offensive character of some of the picture postcards which are circulating in France,. the French Portmaster-General has ordered any such cards posted to be forwarded to the dead- letter office. Before his accession to the Chair of St. Peter,, the Pope had accumulated a collection of over 10,000 post-cards. He is still an enthusiastic collector. In Italy the Government permits an old warder to act as moneylender to the convicts. He advances them money to buy luxuries in the shape of sugar, butter, and oil, and in return he receives an order on the amount they earn. Aluminium can now be rolled into sheets so. thin that 4,000 laid together measure only an inch in thickness. It is proposed to use these for writing-paper where lasting records are desired. One of the wealthiest heiresses in the world is Lady Mary Hamilton, only daughter of the late Duke of Hamilton. She is a charming girl of nineteen, and in two years will be mistress of C200,000 a year. The Temperance Committee of the Wesleyan Methodist Conference has declined to endorse- the recently issued temperance manifesto bearing, the signatures of a large number of distinguished people. The fields behind the historic "ducker," the Harrow bathing-place, are for sale, and E80,000 is required to save them from the builder. Old Harrovians have subscribed z225,000 so far. Hostesses of house-parties are suffering from the present mania for eccentric pets. Vanity Fair" tells of a lady who insists on accommoda- tion being found for her pet boa-constrictor. A marriage has been arranged, and will take place early in January, between Captain Vis- count Fincastle, V.C., 16th Lancers, and Lucinda. Dorothea, eldest daughter of Horace William Kemble, Knock, Isle of Skye. A marriage has been arranged between Colonel the Hon. W. L. Vane, youngest son of the late Sir Henry Morgan Vane, and brother of Lord Barnard, and Lady Katharine L. Pakenham, younger daughter of the late Earl of Longford, G.C.B., and the Dowager Countess of Longford. In Prague there is a goose fair where 3,000,000 geese change hands. They are driven in from the country at this time of the year, and that they may travel with comfort their feet are en- cased in tar boots to preserve them from injury on the road. The Moors are inveterate coffee drinkers, and it is stated that their sight begins to fail at the age of forty or forty-five and many are blind at fifty. The number of blind in the streets of Fez is striking, and excessive use of coffee is always given as the cause. There is conclusive evidence to show that in one unbroken nocturnal flight the European bird known as the Northern bluethroat passes from Central Africa to the German Sea, a distance of 1,600 miles, making the journey in nine hours. Kubelik, the world-famous violinist, is the son of a gardener, to whose wisdom the former attri- butes the development of his genius. Kubelik is the most grateful of sons, and says he can play best when he imagines he sees his father sitting in the audience in front of him. The Penrhyn quarry strike, which ended on Saturday, after laf three years, cost the dis- trict, it is estima the sum of Y.364,000 in wages alone. T imports of slates into this country have eatly increased since the strike began. The Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria is nine times king, twice a grand duke, once a grand prince, four times a margrave, and the multitude of his titles as count, and so forth, is past enumeration. In addition, as King of Hun- gary he hears the title of "Most Apostolic," which is one of the four honours bestowed by the Pope. The Rev. Simon Carter, the Nonconformist chaplain at one of Birmingham's cemeteries, who was eighty-two the other day, has probably con- ducted more funerals than any man living. He was appointed to his position at Witton Ceme- tery about thirty-five years ago, and he conducts more than 2,000 funerals a year. Mike Brassel, the eight-months-old son of a New York tailor, was awakened recently by the pungent smell of smoke, while the rest of the family slept soundly. The wise baby began to roar so persistently and penetratingly that he awakened everybody just in time to save his or her life. Dr. J. W. Blankenship, botanist of the Mon- tana Experimental Station, U.S.A., is making a collection of the herbs used by the Indians for medical purposes for the St. Louis Exhibition. He has unearthed the Indian recipe for bread- making from sunflower seeds. A lady churchwarden is something of a rarity in any circumstances, but more especially is this the case when the lady is a peeress. When, how- ever, the people of the little parish of Croxton, in Cambridgeshire, came to hold their annual vestry meeting recently, th-ey elected1 Lady Dysart to the office, and her ladyship in turn signified her will- ingness to fulfil the duties. 11 A few days ago a white bull terrier bitch, the property of Mr. Butterfield, the landlord of the Red Cow in Allestree, near Derby, gave birth, it is reported, to a pup, which had around its neck a collar, perfectly circular in shape and present- ing the appearance of a bone serviette ring. The collar is of hard, horny substance, and about an inch in width. An enterprfing tradesman in the East-end of London makes a special feature of dealing in pawn-tickets. He always has a large variety of these in stock, and at his establishment you can pick up a pawn-ticket for anything, from a dia- mond ring to a pair of socks. Those who find themselves unable to redeem an article in pledge have no difficulty in disposing of the tickets to this enterprising dealer. At Kansas City a female lunatic in a Missouri State asylum bit the finger of the superinten- dent. By his order all her teeth were extracted. Much opposition is shown to the erection of a new town ball for Holborn at an estimated cost of £ 100,000. A petition against the scheme is being largely signed. Danger-buildings are about to be erected in an isolated part of Plumstead Marshes in con- nection with the lyddite factory, Woolwich Arsenal. Entries for the contest for the International Cup for motor-boats will be received by the Automobile Club, Piccadilly, up to February 1.