Weekly Mail

By the death of Mrs. Clara Piirk, of TeJdington, the authorities of Mr. Spurgeon's Orphanag-e, at, Stockwell, become enti;ledto a legacy of E2,000. The sutumn macker. fishery on the sou: II-Wfst coast of County Cork has opened most favourably one boa: netting about 60,000 fish in Dunmoun's Bay a few nights ago. At a meo'ing of the Two Hundred of the Dept- ford Liberal Association on Thursday night Mr. J. U. Wilson, secretary of the Sailprs und Firemen's Union, was accepted as the Liberal Democratic candidate for the Parliamentary borough of Dept- ford, by a majority of sixty, the figures being 89 against i9, Three members did not vote John Redman, alias Eappy Jack, a notorious poacher, was brought up at, Driffield Police-court on Thursday on a warrant issued seven years ago charging him with threatening to shoot two police- officers in the early morning of July 2,1881. The prisoner was met by the officers coming from land where he had killed" a hare, and he kept them at bay with his gun, threatening to shoot the first who attempted to take him.—The Magistrates? sen- tsnced him to a month's hard labour. A Chatham clergyman writes:—As a fellow- clergyman and myself were walking up a slope just, abova the railway station at Chatham we were witnesses of a strange phenomenon. An engine in the station was letting off steam, and as it rose aiu. came in contact with the strong rays of the sun there formed in the sky a complete rainbow, which lasted for some seconds and then gradually faded away. I don't know if this is a common occurrence, but neither of us either had been or beard of it before.

THE HOUSEHOLD, a GAlE. (By "Gwenynen Gwynedd.") The advent of the game season is welcome, not only to the sportsman, but also to the housekeeper. To the latter the arrival of the time when game can be had is at once suggestive of new dishes, and is hailed with delight, as affording a welcome change and variety of diet. The first birds which find their way into the market are grouse, to be followed afterwards by partridges, pheasants, woodcock, snipe, &c. All game should be kept until properly tender, Lut as grouse often are sent to friends at a distance care should be taken that they are fresh when they are packed up, and when arrived at their destination they should be at once examined. It frequently happens that some may require immediate cooking. They should then be cleaned and trussed, and roasted at a smart fire, but not a fierce one, as soon as possible. Whilst roasting the birds must be well basted, buttered, and slightly frothed. Send them to table very hot, with bread sauce and fried breai crumbs and good gravy. From the remains of cold game many delightful dishes can be made. They will form welcome additions to either breakfast, luncheon, or dinner, whilst game soup is also not to be despised, and can be made from an old bird, which would prove rather tough for eating, with the addition of any stock at hand. Some cooks never remember the distinctions between young and old birds. The following rules will generally be found correct. Old pheasants may be dis- tinguished by the length and sharpness of their spurs, which in the younger ones are short and blunt. Old partridges are known during the early part of the season by their legs being of a pale blue, instead of a yellowish brown. To ascertain the age of a hare examine the first joint of the fore foot. If it is a leveret there will be found a small knob, which disappears as it grows older. Then examine the ears. If they tear easily, it will eat tender; if they are tough, so will be the bare, which, in this case, had better be made into soup or jugged. Game, espe- cially pheasants and partridges, are much appreciated by invalids, and form for them an appetising little dinner when they are pro- bably wearying of the dishes of lamb, poultry, sweetbreads, &c., with which they have been familiar during the summer. Children, too, are fond of game, and when sound and in good condition it is very whole- some for them. BROILED PABTJSIDGE. Sp'it a young and well-kept partridge, and wipe it with a clean cloth inside and out, but do not wash it; broil it delicately over a very clear fit c, sprinkling it with a little salt any cayenne; rub a good piece of butter over the bird the moment it leaves the fire, and send it quickly to table on a very hot diah. CROUSTADES OF GAME. Pick the meat from the bones of any cold ga ne; free it carefully from ikin and smew then miuce it finely and pound it to a smooth p .ste, with a seasoning of salt, p pper, and powdered mace, and a small pioportion of warmed butter. Put the preparation into a stewpan, moisten it with some good stock (made by stewing the bones and tiimmings), and befit gently without boiling; prepare some croustades or bread patties which have been fried crisp and dry; fill these with the prepared mince, piling it high in the centre, and eprinkling the surface liglitly with finely minced parsley and sifted egg yolk; arrange the croustades neatly on a hot dish; gnr- nish with crisp fried parsley, and serve hot. GAME RISSOLES. Proceed as above, but mix with the mince a few bread cruiijbp, pepper and salt to taste, a few chopped herbs, a little lemon peel, and some chopped mushrooms; add a little milk or stock, and then put all together in a saucepan and stir over a bright fire for ten minutes. Then turn out upon a plate, mix in one raw egg, and leave it six hours to Co when the mixture will be quite hard; make into balls, egg and bread crumb, and fry in boiling fat sufficient to cover the rissoles; drain them on kitchen grapes in front of the lirp, and serve very hot. POTTED PHEASANT, PARTRIDGE, OR GROUSE. Roast the birds as lor the table, but let them be thoroughly done, for, if the gravy be left in, the meat will not keep so well. Raise the flesh of the hreas, wingf, and merrythought quite clear from the bouep, take off the skin, mince, and then pound it very smoothly with about a third of its weight of fresh butter; season it with salt, mace, and cayenne, added in small portions, till the meat is rather highly flavoured; tightly fill the earthen- ware pots with the mixture, then pour over them boiling butter till the pots are filled; set them to cool and use as required. Some people use a mixture of boiling lard and buttei to pour over the pots to exclude the air. SNIPE ON TOAST. Do not draw a suipp, but wipe it with a soft cloth, and truss it with the head under the wing suspend the bird with the feet downwards to a bird spit; flour il. well and ba-te with butter, which should be ready dissolved in a pan lay a thick round of buttered toast, buttered on both sides in the pan for the trail to drop on the birds will be done in twenty minutes; lay the toast, on a very hot dish, and dress the birds upon it, one piece of toast tD each bird. Next Week: SOME FRENCH RECEIPTS.

I ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, j I POULTRY KEEPING AS AN INDUSTRY. — BTf EDWARD BROWN, F.L.S.. Editor of the Fancier's Gazette." XXI I.-GEESE (CONTINUED.) Young goslings, if the fields are clear of their crops, should be allowed to wander about most of the day when the weather is at all fine, but they ought to be placed under the care of a lad so as to prevent their wandering away too far and over-running themselves. A lad can easily keep them in order and bring them home at night. Before going out in the morning they should have a feed of barley meal made into a paste, and at night another feed, but this time of whole oats steeped in water. This, with cut grass, cab- bage leaves, turnip tops, or other green food of a similar nature, will be all they need in the way of food; and as for water, unless there is a running stream, a tub or trough sunk in the ground is as much as they need have. They must be kept under cover at night, and an empty barn, dry shed, or large outhouse littered with straw is best. In bad weather they need not be let out at all. THE TRADE IN GEESE. In this country geese are amongst the blost profitable of poultry, and during cer- tain seasons of the year there is a large and unfailing demand for them. It is true that turkeys have taken the first place which was cnce occupied by geese, and are preferred by many for great festive seasons, but commen- surate with this change there has been a great increase in population and in wealth, and this has much more than compensated for the change. Green geese are regarded as a great delicacy, and at the Christmas season vast quantities of fattened birds are sold. The finest of there are home-grown, princi- pally the product of the Eastern Counties of England, and of Cumberland, very fine ones also coming from Ireland. We have also a iarge supply from France and some other parts of the Continent of Europe, and of late years large shipments have come from Canada. Consequently the prices for inferior qualities, such as we receive from abroad, have been very low through flooding the markets, and geese can generally be bought at sixpence or sevenpence per pound. These lack the flavour of our home-grown geese, and are evidently not very carefully fattened. The lesson to be learnt is that in order to succeed the very best should be produced, for which there is always a good demand. The trade done in them is very great, and one Leeds poulterer has informed us that he received 2,500 Irish geese for his Christmas trade last year (1890), NORFOLK GEESE, If we look to the great geese-raising dis- trict of England, we shall learn something of the method adopted in the place where the best specimens are bred. In Norfolk the trade resolves itself into two great branches —green geese and the Michaelmas, the Christmas trade being really a continuation of the latter. Farmers, as a rule, do not attempt fattening, which process is left to the dealers, who lay themselves out for it. In March and April dealers begin to get in their gosling supplies from the farmers, or cot- tagers near the commons, and as a rule these goslings are about five or six weeks old, and very thin. They are fed for six or seven weeks under stages on barley meal, maize, wheat tailings, and brewers' grains mixed, which food soon makes them ready for the green geese market. These stages or pens give them sufficient room to move about, but not too much, and they are kept there for all the period, being allowed out now and again for a bath and for cleaning the pen. Michaelmas geese take their plaoes under the stages in August, and the endeavour is eutde to have them ready for market before the Irish and Dutoh supplies begin to arrive. On turnips geese are found to be capital sub- stitutes for sheep, and when a dealer has a turnip field he not unfrequently hurdles off a portion of it and eats it off with them. They first eat the tops, and then the bulbs of softer turnips; but when they are put upon swedes, the man in attendance gives each turnip a chop. Geese will eat a field cleaner than sheep, and their- manure is equally good. When fed in this way they need nothing more than a trough of water, and the finishing process consists in putting them under stages for a month, and feeding them on brewers' grains and meal. Gravel or grit should always be supplied as an assistance to diges- tion. Mr. H. Digby, whose success as a breeder of exhibition geese has been very great, speaks in the highest terms of Spratts Patent poultry-meal for giving goslings a good start. In the autumn large numbers of young geese are offered for sale in nearly every market town, and at reasonable prices. These have been sold by breeders to dealers, the the former having in many cases no accom- modation for fattening, and farmers whose grain is off the land will do well to purchase a number of these birds, which can be put out upon the fields, where they will pick up a great proportion of food required by them for the next few weeks. After roots, also, they can be put on the land. There are many opportunities which the farmer possesses of keeping these birds, and they need as little sare as almost any kind of farm stook. FATTK.VI.NG. Geese are altogether different to ordinary fowls or even ducks, in one respect, and a mistake is sometimes made in the final fat- tening off, by putting each bird into a sepa- rate compartment. Geese never thrive in this way, and instead of getting fatter actually pine away. They appear to be miserable without company, and each lot should be killed together, or the one left behind rapidly loses flesh. Some birds fatten quicker than others, and as they are seen to get into ripe condition, which can be best decided by the state of their appetites, they had better be killed off. As soon as they are as fat as they will get, the desire for food begins to slacken, and then it is that they should be despatched, or they will lose flesh instead of gaming it. We have known gos- lings fed up to fifteen and eighteen pounds in weight, but these have been exceptional, and a dozen pounds is nearer the mark, 8:) that all must not be expected to turn out exactly the same, i-0 go on feeding in the expecta- tion of increasing the weight after the fowl has shown the symptoms already mentioned would be found a losing game. When the system suggested is regalarly carried out year by year, arrangements can be made with breeders to supply goslings in the autumn. In buying we prefer the grey variety, as they fatten better than do the others; but the chief thing is to pick tall, healthy-looking birds, those with big frames cipable of supporting a lot of flesh. Never Mind if they are thin and lanky> ^S8 £ re faults which can soon be remedied, but Avoid any that have the least of being stunted in their growth, f°r s?0h do not thrive well, never &ttaiii size, though they may eat near] as tiltick as the others; and as size has all to do with the matter of the price at which they can after- wards be sold, hence the importance of choosing large-framed birds. Goslings may be bought at about half-a-crown each, or even less in quantities, and six or eight weeks' fattening, at a cost of sixpence per week, will bring them up to a dozen pounds weight and upwards, according to the length of time they are so fed. Thus it will be seen that the margin to pay for trouble, and as profit, is a sufficient one. KILLING. Mr. J. S. I!awson, a well-known breeder of geese, thus describes the best methods of killing and dressing* :— "Before killing a goose, it must be kept without food for at least twelve hours, though fifteen or eighteen hours will do no harm; this clears the crop of all food, a very neces- sary point to be attained. Having fastened the goose for the time required, the next part of the business is to kill it as expedi- tiously and in as painless a manner as possi- ble. There are two or three ways of accom- plishing this, but the best is by piercing the brain with a knife. Secure the bird's legs with a piece of twine, and then feel for the correct spot at which to insert the knife. At the base of the skull, and at the point where the head is joined to the neck, will be found a hollow place without any bone to protect it; here is the vulnerable point. Now hold up the bird by the legs, and with a stick or short piece of wood, give it a smart blow at the back of the head, thereby rendering it unconscious. It must now be held between the knees, the head being grasped m the left hand, bill down and neck somewhat bent, so as to get a better chance of finding the base of the skull. This having been done, a sharp- pointed and strong penknife is inserted in the hollow place before mentioned, and a quick stab or cut given. If this is properly done, one of the chief arteries is s vered, and the bird quickly bleeds to death, care being taken that in the meantime it is firmly held, and prevented from throwing the blood over its feathers or the clothes of the operator. As to the time for plucking, that is a matter on which opinions differ, some people pre- ferring to do it at once, whilst others aver that it is better policy t o let the bird grow quite cold before it is taken in hand. In the former case the feathers will be found to come out much more readily, and the time occupied in plucking thereby very consider- ably diminished but, on the other hand, the skin and flesh being more tender, greater care is required during the operatjbn to prevent the membrane being torn. The usual plan is to leave the head unplucked, and thus let it act as a sign-board to tell the nationality of the bird, whether it be a large duck or a small goose. Care should be taken of the feathers, and these ought to be separated into three lots, the first containing down only, the second small and fin5 feathers, and the third division strong quills. The latter may be peeled and the feathers afterwards mixed with those of the aecond division, If the poulterer requires the geese ready trzissecl, as is not infrequently the case, the fo lowing is the method to be observed:— After plucking the 'goose it must be care- fully singed, drawn, and wiped out with a damp cloth, Then cut off the neck as near the back as can be done, leaving the skin long enough to draw over the stump. Next out off the feet at the first joint, and do the same with the wing pinions. To make the bird look plump, press in the breast-bone and run a small skewer through the lower part of each wing. Now draw up the legs, and skewer them through the centre, into the body; when this is done, two more small skewers are needed to complete opera- tions by fixing the shank of each leg to the side bones, It is now in proper shape for the Bpit, the only thing that requires doing being to cut off the vent and make a hole large enough to pass the rump through, in order to keep in the seasoning when served at table. The goose should now be laid upon a stone or marble slab, and if the dressing has been done shortly after killing, it will be necessary to allow it to stiffen and cool before packing for market. To improve the colour of the flesh, it is a good plan to wrap it in a cloth which has been dipped in old milk, and afterwards wrung nearly dry. Geese, and in fact every kind of poultry, ought to be killed at least 24 hours before they are packed to go away, and great care should be exercised in the latter operation, in order to prevent bruises or disfigurement of any sort. In following out the above directions, the giblets must not be overlooked. These deli- cacies should be put on one side, together with the liver and gizzard, and sent along with the goose to the poulterers. I GEESE IN FRANCE. IV, e- give the following extract from a French poultry journal, whioh, in the form of questions and answers, will inculcate many lessons which will be of service to our readers:— Is it possible to have a flock of geese (say from 100 to 150) at liberty on a large estate, returning home every evening, and intended as egg producers, or whether is it indispen- sable to isolate each productive family, as it is said the males fight furiously ? In any case, how many females are to be associated with the male ?"—"Geese in flooks live in per- fect harmony during the rearing period, but such agglomeration would be profitless at the breeding season worse than that, for it would expose one to a thorough disappoint- ment. J'o ensure success, tthe goose requires quiet and to be made comfortable. The ganders that live happily together during the whole of the summer and autumn become very quarrelsome at the first cold weather, and are always fighting most viciously during I the laying season. The result of this fighting is non-fecundity of the eggs. We maintain that with a flock of 100 geese and twenty ganders the production would be far inferior to that of two or three little lots separate and kept in proper manner. A running st-eara appears to us indispensable during the laying season, without which the majority of the eggs would be clear. 011 a sheet of water a gander can ..serve five geese, otherwise he could only have three at most. A goose of a good breed may lay 30 to 85 eggs, most of which would be fertile if kept in a healthy con- dition, that is, if she has a good grass run, good corn, and good water. Construct four runs separate from each other, with five geese and a g&nder in each. You will then be able to rely on a sufficient number of goslings to make a fine iiock for the following season, Mind you do not work your young ganders: they ;must be two years old, other- wise almost all the eggs would be clear." Is it possible to distinguish by any out- ward signs the gander from the goose when young ? "—"In the common breeds, not cross with the Toulouse, the male is always white, and is known as soon as his feathers begin to grow, but the female is not completely white. In the Toulouse breed, the male and female are exactly alike it is only by their gait they are recognised, and even then it is when they are almost adults." ARTIFICIAL HATCHING AND REARING. In the artificial incubation of the eggs of geese are not their speoial points to be noticed, such as an average heat less than that employed for hen eggs or any special care at the time oE hatching P" The artificial hatching of the eggs of geese is easy and regular. One condit ion is necessary, viz., the June 12tb, 1890, eggs must be very fresh, and must not have travelled. The hatching takes place without the least difficulty or special care. Notwith- standing this, our advice is not to hatch the eggs of geese artificially; there will be no advantage whatever; you cannot forward the hatching as with hen's eggs, the goose only lays at her season, she sits naturally and generally well, and rears her young with a care quite remarkable. The gosling requires to roam in the fields from ics birth. Under these circumstances the artificial mother would be less useful than its natural mother. In incubating artificially one is prone to believe that an early second laying is anticipated not so— whether the goose is free or brings up a troop or goslings the time of her second laying will not vary. Artificial incubation is necessary, we may even say indispensable, for a surplus of eggs, or at the time of hatching when certain over-hatching mothers stifle the young ones at their birth; but, as far as the eggs of geese are concerned, we consider artificial in- cubation quite useless. Upon the whole, the rearing of geese, with all the advantages of land and water, extent of common, and in proximity of cornfields at harvest time, is one of the most profitable that can be under- taken." Heady .September 25, "Paul!ry Keeping as an Indus- try for farmers and Cottagers." B "v FBWARD BROWS. F.L.S., Editor of the FANCIERS' GAZETTE, Fttily I lus- tra led. Ciotli, 4to. 55" post froe, (L-judon"The Fanciers' Gasette," Limited.)

HOUSEHOLD NOTES AND REPLIES. [Conducted by Dorothy,"] DOROTHY will be glad to receive notes and queries on an topics likely to be of interest to the housewife. As far as possible, she will personally answer correspondents' interroga- tories, so that there may be no unnecessary delay. All communications should be addressed" DOROTHY," care of Editor, Weekly Mail, Cardiff.

NOTES. To KILL CRICKETS, Place rhubarb leaves about the floors they infest; they will eat them and die. SOILED WHITE KID GLOVES. If your white kid gloves are soiled rub cream of tartar on them and they will look like new, SIL VER PLATE. Silver should be washed with a chamois skin, saturated with silver soap each time after use, thus avoiding a general cleaning. A DELICIOUS MODE OF USING UP COLD MEAT. Butter the bottom of a pie-dish and strew it with a mixture of sweet herbs, parsley, onion, a pickled gherkin (all finely minced), some sifted bread-crumbs, and a little pepper and salt. Then place in a layer of cold meat, cut in slices, another layer of herbs, &c,, and so on alternately till the dish is full. Pour in a little good stock, strew bread-crumbs over all, put some bits of butter on the top as big as peas, and bake in a slow oven. Serve in the same dish. VEGETARIAN COOKERY. A better dinner need not be asked bv king or peasant than a bowl of thick lentil and barley soup, with a slice of bread and some potatoes. Try the following dinner for a f.mily of two grown-up persons and five children-seveii in alllib, lentils (split), 2d.; lb. Scotch barley, Id. or 1 id.; lib. onions, Id.; a few powdered or chopped herbs (mint or sage, &o.); pepper and salt, id. Put the barley into three quarts of boiling water, and let it boil for an hour. Then well wash the lentils and throw them into the pan, adding the onions slioed. Let the whole boil for two hours, the herbs and seasoning being added a quarter of an hour before serving. Four pounds of potatoes (boiled or roasted) would cost about ltd. With a little bread this would make a good Sunday's dinner, leaving enough soup to warm up with a few more potatoes for Monday. Or take lib. maizemeal, ld.; lib. dates, 2d.; lb. 2 sugar, Id. The maize (or Indian meal) being boiled as porridge for twenty minutes, then stir in the sugar and dates; after picking over the latter, turn into a dish and bake one hour, or, if without an oven, brown in front of the fire, or boil for half an hour longer. At a cost of 4d. this will provide more than enough for a good dinner for such a family. Oatmeafj maizemeal, barleymeal, and other porridgeal for breakfast; lentils, haricot beans, and peas (in soups or stews), macaroni soup, date pad- ding, stewed barley or rice, plum puddio rice and raisins, treacle roly-poly, and a host of other cheap, and at the same time nice and good, dishes for dinner may appear in turn, -Dietetic Reformer.

REPLIES. DucK STUFFING. (Reply to "ALICE.") Chop very fine an apple, an onion, and lozy of sage leaves add 6oz. of bread crumbs, loz, of butter, au egg, and a little pepper. FTEAK OR KIDNEY PUDDING. (Heply to "JESSIE M.") If kidney, cut in small pieces and soak it, and season that or the meat. Make a suet paste of flour, suet, and milk; roll it, and line your pudding basin with some. Pat in the kidney or steaks, and a little gravy; cover with some paste, pinch round the edge, then cover with a cloth and boil a considerable time. COW-HEEL. (Reply to W.L.") Procure an undressed cow-heel, boil it till tender, then cut it into handsome pieces, dip them first in egg, and afterwards in breai crumbs, and fry a light brown lay the meafc I round a dish, and put in the middle sliced onions fried with butter, or in good gravy. The liquor they were boiled in will make soup. Rashers of bacon or fried sausages are very good accompaniments. TOMATO SAUCE. (Reply to "DAINTY.") Take as many tomatoes as you please, boil them for twenty minutes, wash them through a sieve. To every pint of pulp and juice allow half a pint of vinegar, prepared thus :— Boil loz. of chillies, half a dram of mace, the same quantity of ginger, cloves, and allspice, loz. of shalots, garlic, black pepper, and sugar allow it to stand for a day, then add the vinegar to the juice, add a teaspoonful of salt; let all come to a simmer; when cold, bottle, cork well, and seal. SUPERIOR SALAD. (Reply to "M. M.") Try this salad :—Cut tomatoes, which mast not be too ripe, into thick slices; salt them lightly and lay them in a glass dish; dust over each a little black pepper, a little sugar, and some very finely-minced shalots; sprinkte them with a few drops of oil, and lay on eac& slice of tomato a shelled prawn cut the top off a lemon, dust it with cayenne, and use the juice instead of vinegar for the salad; grate a little cheese on top of the prawns, taking care not to scatter it over the dish, and gar- nish with a wreath of parsley. To KNIT A HALF-SQUARE SHAWL. (Reply to M. D. E.") Cast on four stitches, and knit one aoross. First row: Bring the wool round the right.. hand needle so as to make a stitch, knit olies make three stitches out of the next by knitting one, purl one, knit one before slipping it off the left-hand needle; knit two. Second row: Purl. Third row: Bring the wool round the needle, knit one; make three as in first row; take three together in purl knit two. Fourth row: Purl. Repeat, always increasing until the shawl is large enough, then cast off and fringe to taste. German fingering or Penelope wool is best. POTATO CHEESECAKES. (tteply to "BESSIE JONES.") Take a few lumps of loaf sugar— 2oz. will be suffioient-and rub them upon the rind of half of a fresh lemon until all the zest is absorbed. Then pulverise the lumps and mix the sugar with3oz. of boiled potatoes (the potatoes should be dry and mealy) then add to the mixture 2oz. of clarified butter, and the well-beaten yolks of two eggs. Now beat up the whole thoroughly, and add t; white of one egg whipped to a stiff froth and stirred in lightly. Have your patty-pans ready, lined with puff paste, put enough of the mixture in each to half-fill them, and bake for twenty minutes in a moderate oven.

SODA IN THE KITCHEN- The following extract from an alarming letter which has appeared in the Morning Post is worthy of re-publication in the Weekly Mailt that its contents way be brought to tho know- ledge of cooks generally:- Many people suffer from ill-health without knowing the reason, because their cooks put common washing soda into vegetables. The effect is most injurious feverish symptoms appear, and total loss of appetite, headache, lassitude, depression of spirits, and all tha disagreeable sensations which attend blood poisoning It is almost universally used in kitchens, and if the cook is in a hurry she takes up a handful of soda out of "a bandy tin," where she always keeps It, and pops it into the saucepan whre the green peas are, or into tile French beans, spinach, cauliflower, biusscls sproutst orcai bage. In fact, one can hardly eat anything with safety in a housw Where the cook is in the habit of using 3o<la with All her vegetables, as she puts it into the car- rots for her soup, into turnips, parsnips, split plg, &0. I know many instances of the deleterious effects of soda, and I think it is only right to put householders on their guard, so that they may tell their c:;oks not- to use it in any way where it carl possibly come ieontact with food. A cook who is in the liabit of using it becomes very obstinate, and it is a difficult matter, to persuade her to give up the practice. She will sav that' she cannot get her vegetables to have a good colour without it, but this is only ignorancr. Ai I that vegetables require is to be put into a saucepan of boiling water with a good pinch of salt, and the cover of Llie saucepan should be left a little open. It this is done the vegetables are quickly boiled, anet retain a beautiful green colour. Invariably they put then* into lukewarm, or even cold water, and then the colour fadws, but if they are at oncO placed in boiling water the colour is set.. The origin of the use of this unwholesome mineral alkali in so many kitchens is beeansebicarbonate of soda, although it-is very unwholesome and bad for the diies- tion, is allowed to be used in cooking, and inoradi cooks think the common washing soda is the same, and use it freely whenever they wish to do so. Think of the effect of soda upon a greasy sausepan when it is used all grease and stain of any kind instantly comes off; and think then of the effect of soda on the digestive organs. I am firmly convinced a great deal of the indigestion which so many people suffer from is caused by the deb t«rious effects of soda, used almost universally by unthinking and ignorant people."

The Culunial Office I¡a. consented to the estab- lishment in the -m-.tli colony of St. Helena. of a Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes. At present the number of Crown colonies with a divorce law is extremely sm,,ill, but now that, aftec many years' persistent effort, St. Helena has over- come the opposition of the Colonial Office, other colonies may think it a fit time to claim equal facilities. Accompanying the proclamation ara the new rules and regulations, and a list of fees to be paid in the new court. These are of the most moderate character, the highest being 4a. for "sweating a jury of eight" and 53. for taxing costs. To file a petition and enter a cause in th9 action book cos's only 2s., and a rub nisi can be had for 33., the fee for a rule absJlutebeinrt the same.

A CLERGYMAN writes as fallows :—"I have seen Mr. Pnrrett's (ofWorle) r Magic Cough Mixture'doinq great deal of good. It takes immediate effect, and sures coughs of the most distressing character. In < lase of consumption I have known it to give very gr1 relief.—Yours faithfully. Rev. Dv Samuel, Morrfston# awajisea." 99050