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..-FARMIXG NOTES. .
FARMIXG NOTES. (From the "Agricultural Gazette.") AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENTS. Mr. John Hughes, F.I.C., District Agricultural Analyst for Herefordshire, writes The common "defect of most tnanurial experiments, and one which deters practical men front deriving much useful in- formation from them, consists in the omission of any details respecting the chemical composition of the soils on which the experiments were carried out. This defect applies to the results recently pub- lished under the direction of Dr. Somerville of the tnanurial trials in the counties of Cumberland, Dur- ham, and Northumberland. Although these experiments were conducted at no less than 66 stations, embracing llsio plots and representing 831 acres, no information is afforded re- specting the chemical composition of the respective oils. This omission is very much to be regretted, and seriously reduces the practical value of the recorded results. For instance, what useful information can farmers, respectively located on stiff clay, light gravel, chalk, and black peat soils, derive from the perusal of manuring trials where the chemical composition of the trial plots is not given. The fact that these official results were carried out. on io less than 66 stations, and upon soils admittedly of great variety, only increases the difficulty which the average farmer must experience in determining how far the results obtained in those three Northern counties may be safely regarded as applicable to the BOils in his own particular locality, and under pro- bably very different climatic conditions. As Mr. P. McConnell very truly remarks, we require a common denominator for the purposes of comparison." We vsant *ot only a standard of value for the cost of the experiment itself, but we want information about the chemical composition of tho soils upon which such experiments are carried out, also parti- culars of the rainfall. Soil and season have much more to do with the results than science, because the conditions of Nature are neither fixed nor under the control of man, and agriculture is really much more of an art than of a science. On the farm where I reside experiments on old pasture were carried out with artificial manures, but the results were of no practical use, because the season of 1895 was so unfavourable and the rainfall so de- ficient. To have published such resulr9 would have afforded no practical aid, but probably would have caused confusion in regard to the merits of certain artificial manures and mixtures of manure. Indeed, it is a long and tedious process to conduct agricultural experiments carefully, and with a view of obtaining sound practical information for future J guidance. And when such information has been obtained, it iB:only applicable to similar soils, under similar cli- matic conditions, and in reference to similar crops as the original experiments were carried out upon. This consideration carries us a step farther, and we may reasonably conclude that, having selected the crops to be grown, and knowing the composition of such crops, and the ingredients they take out of the soil, we may, with the aid of a careful analysis, ascertain at once how far the soil is capable of sup- plying naturally the requirements of the particular crops, and how far it will be necessary to supply by artificial means the deficiencies of such a soil. Quite recently a gentleman, who has been carrying on experiments for many years, remarked to the writer that he much regretted be had never taken the precaution of having his soils analysed from time to time as occasion required, for he believed it would have saved much unnecessary expense, and have enabled him to have selected the manures most suitable to his particular soil at once, instead of waiting the completion of a series of experiments carried on each year under different atmospheric conditions. After 30 years' experience, it certainly does appear to the writer reasonable to conclude that an agricul- tural analyst should be able to advise a farmer how far any soil is or is not deficient in the important ingredients of plant food, such as nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potash, and lime, and in what form these ingredients should be most economically supplied. When we are ill we call in the doctor, who, from his own acquired experience, proceeds to administer the remedies best adapted to the particular case. THE GROWTH OF LUCKRNE. A short account of my experience may (Mr. Sanders Spencer says), perhaps, prove of assistance to some of the many who purpose growing this won- derfully prolific and valuable forage plant. In my opinion there is not a tithe of it grown in England that there should be and could be with profit to everyone who keeps a horse, cow, or pig. With regard to the last-mentioned of our domesti- cated animals, I know of no green food which appears to be so generally suitable as lucerne, whilst the amount of food produced fiOm a small area of it, properly managed, is simply marvellous. I am at a loss to account for the neg!e?t of the general body of farmers to grow it. It is true that a difficulty is frequently experienced in procuring a good plant when the seed is sown with a crop of corn on land which is in a high state of cultivation, since it is a plant that must have air in its younger stages and, further, it is a fact that lucerne so sown does not produce any great weight of greenstuff the second year of its growth, as compared with the quicker- maturing plants, such as clover, trefoil, &c. My firs t experience with lucerne was gaired some 40 years since on land of a loamy character. The Iystem adopted was that of drilling the seed in rows about a foot apart, or just wide enough to allow of the ground between the rows being dug each winter with the old-fashioned three-tined manure fork. As soon as autumn set in, a coat of stable manure was spread on the lucerne, and in February or early March all that remained of this was dug into the land between the rows, every piece of twitch being picked off, and the lumps of natural grasses or other weeds being also buried to form manure for the lucerne. Since that period I have seen many different systems of planting and growing lucerne, but for good land I have not yet discovered any plan to equal it. Last season I drilled 201b. of seed on an acre of land. liather less than half of the land was also drilled at the rate of two bushels of barley per acre the other portion was prepared as for barley, and during the months of March and April was horse-hoed and harrowed so as to start the weeds and to secure a fine seed-bed. The whole of the seed was drilled early in May, when rain threatened; a nice quantity of rain fell, and the seed quickly germinated. On that portion not soww wi-h barley the young plants were soon high enough to allow the hand-hoe to be used by July there was a nice cut, and by the end of August it was again ready for cutting, after which a good coat of pig manure was applied this has since been dug in, and the shoots are some lin. or 5in. high already. On that portion where a barley crop was taken the lucerne plants wera very weakly, and the plant so irregular that I have plouglfcd it up, and intend to treat it in the same manner as the other portion was treated last year, when I shall doubtless secure a good plant, and at least one good cutting of fodder in lieu of the corn crop. I shall also obtain a far greater weiglt of greenstuff off the portion grown without a corn crop than I should have done oft that part grown amongst the corn, had I succeeded in obtaining: a good plant. 1h>s !a*t is most difficult, especially if the seed bo sown in barley eith er OHts or whfftt are preferable, aud these drilled thin, ?o that tie growing lucerne secures a suflic.enoy of light and air. I have attempted to grow lucerne in a corn crop at least eight times during the it 20 years, and have only once succeeded in securing a good plant. I am convinced that on good land in high condition it is advisable to sow the lucerne seed without a corn crop. It may appear to be the somewhat more expensive plan, but of this I am in doubt, since the cost of once hand-hoeing the young plant is not more than 3s. 6d. per acre, fond, instead of a corn crop, which at present prices is not or any great value, you obtain pretty well a year's s art in the lucerne growing, and with a tolerable certain y of a good plant against a tolerable cer- tainty o a east an uneven plant. Another poir.t on winch there i3 a variety of opinion is tho advis- ability o or mg the land between the iows of lucerne. I Rill st-rongly of opinion that this answers; at all events, it is possible and profitable to have this operation performed once a year, in the earlv spring *• when labour is plentiful and the work on the fa,rm not so pressing. The land is thus kept cleaner, and the lucerne plant will last several more years than it will where grass and weeds are allowed to figlit for the mastery with the lucerne. Should any twitch spring up. it will, if not furked out. in a short time tQttBider-bly, and eventually kill it. When I was on a light-land farm in Suffolk, the plan adopted was to drill the lucerne in the barley- crop at the rate of about 201b. per acre, in drills about loin, apart; then each autumn a plough was run up between each drill, and a thin furrow turned over on to each row of lucerne; then in the early spring the land was harrowed across the rows, and any grass or twitch which had grown was harrowed out and carted off into a heap, where it soon rotted and was carted on to the land again.
THE ANGEL DANCERS.
THE ANGEL DANCERS. A good deal ef apprehension has been caused in New Jersey by the appearance and location there of a new sect whose members call themselves the Angel Dancers. What their tenets are, or what the name means, has not been made very clear. The Angel! Dancers only number 28, all told, men, women, and! children. One of their number made them a present, of some property, they settled down on the farm, andj all lived together in one home. They are described as vegetarians who will not even eat eggs, as believers in faith cure, and as exceedingly hospitable. The leader.^InasonHuntsman, calls himself "themodern: Christ,' and other members of the band are known as. tile, Baptist," "Silas the Pure," and so forth.j I' and other reasons they are not favourites, "P lilbours. ==-
ATIONAL" DRESS FOR ! r.. BICYCLISTS.…
ATIONAL" DRESS FOR r.. BICYCLISTS. i- president of the Lady Cyclists' Association; iles to Hearth and Home a forcible p!ea for! :[iJon by women of the "rational" costume! .iM'-V';nS ,t" In a dozen years' experience as a •' L ,ve'' says the writer, hardly ever known t.c-.sf accident to a lady cyclist that has not been 'ler. s^irf. Th» breaking of a fre;nio, tri* ccnision with other vehicles, Uie less of con- ( f a machine-all these hive been few and as compared with the casualties of the It is the one element of peril in a womin's r fimg, and it places her in ten times the danger can threaten a man. She is not only ex- posed to constant risk of catching and winding up, even with the most sensibly short and well- contrived frock; but it is impossible for her ro free !jeiself from her machine in an impending accident, to dismount in haste, or to spring clear with half the ease of an unhampered man. The skirt is a handi- capper of the benefits a woman should derive from cycling. Half the virtue of the exercise is discounted by the dragging weight her knees have to lift with every stroke of the pedals, and by the constant I flapping friction of drapery against her ankles. To keep a skirt in decorous place, it must either be made so heavy that it is an appreciable drag against, every movement of the muscles, or it must be strapped down with elastics, which double the danger of catching in a hasty dismount, and drag the material down in the same way against, the action of the limbs. The fatigue is enormously I increased, and the exercise, instead of freshening and exhilarating the rider after any distance, leaves her exhausted and drained of nerve power. I should like any man, before he raises his voice against the adoption of rational dress by his woman-kind, to put on a skirt and take a 10-mile ride in it. I am much mistaken if he does not return with a con- siderably-enlarged vision, and a mind filled with wonder how, under such conditions of discomfort and fatigue, a woman can ever be found to mount a bicycle. There is not a doubt that if men were con- demned to ride in women's garments, not one out of a hundred among the present race of male cyclists would ever mount a wheel after the first trial. All arguments of common sense, of hysiei.e, of convenience, range themselves on the side of rational dress. The one argument that can with any reason be brought against it is that of appearance. Much of the prejudice against, its adoption lies in its novelty, and in the altogether baseless feeling that a woman must needs put off her womanliness with her draperies. There is no doubt that the skirt looks graceful and pretty on the wheel, a thousand times prettier and more graceful than knickerbockers. Suitability is beauty. From this point of view even rational dress may appear lovely, in time, when we have become accustomed to it. Meanwhile, it is 'perfectly possible, by the help of a good tailor, to appear in a rational costume that is at once smart, neat, and inoffensive it can never be lovely-no garment fashioned on the lines of mascu- line ever is-but the coat and skiifc and Ascot ties, the golf jersey, and the covert coat come under the same condemnation."
THE STAR TOWER OF GALILEO.
THE STAR TOWER OF GALILEO. The world has spoiled most of its places of pil- grimage, but the old Star Tower is not harmed as yet. Generations have come and gone; tyrannies have xisen and fallen; full many a time the plain below has been red with the invader's fire, and the curling flame has burned the fruitful land to blackened barrenness; full many a time the silence of the olive thickets has been broken by the tumult of war and revolution, and the dead bodies of men have drifted thick as leaves in the blood-stained current of the river. Come up softly between the old gnarled olive stems tread noiselessly the winding pathway, where the wild hyacinth shakes its blue- bells on the wind be reverent a little-if reverence I in this age be possible—as you climb the narrow wooden stair, and through the unglazed arches of the I walls look westward where the sea lies, and south- wards towards Rome. Be reverent a little, for a little space at least, for here Galileo learned the story of the sun, and here Milton, looking (n Valdarno, dreamed of Paradise.
..,.. AT MONTE CARLO.
AT MONTE CARLO. A special correspondent of the Manchester Courier at Monte Carlo describes an amusing scene the other day. An American lady was making a great noise because the manager declined to pay her more than XIO, whilst they had given a French lady 1:12 with which to return to Paris. Why, I have spent thou- sands of dollars here," she said, "whilst this lady came to Monte Carlo with about a louis in her pocket, and has been living upon you ever since. I want £ 40 to take me back to New York, nnd I will make a row until I get it." The Casino people detest a scene in or about the rooms, and the manner endeavoured to pacify her with an offer of £10, under the plea that the sum would take her to London, and she'could then communicate with her friends. No She did not intend to go sponging on her friends in London. The gambling tables had taken from her the whole of the funds which she brought with her for a tour in Europe; unfortunately site had stopped too long at Monte Carlo. Now tho Bank must take her back again. And she succeeded in getting her £ 40. I* a losers were as persistent as this American lady the dividend from tho gambling would be still further reduced.
ALPHABET ON A MAN'S EYES.
ALPHABET ON A MAN'S EYES. In Alonzo Lee, of Atlanta Galveston, the Ameri- cans have found a singer phenomenon, nothmg less than the alphabet MARKED quite plainly on the EDGE of the iris of each of his eves, similar to the figures on a watch. This ponder is eaid to have beer, caused by his mother, who was an i h.orate woman, desiring to J i, „ Tn EACI eve tne entire alphabet, 13 educate herself, -i" 1 IT J POPITAF teaers, but not, however, in PLAINLY MARKED IN C»T „ 1 ,• > RRI,^ »Y IS AT THE LOWER PART OF THE RE RU.AR ORDER, LLIE A 1 R U V » FI,F> TOP. I HEY APPEAR TO BO MADE OT A „ORD, BEING CONNECTED AT THETOPBV A WHITE ^REORNERVE C°R .;KED«TOTL]E EXTREMITV"OF WHLTO. ^RD SE^,INGJ/E IT^LF IS VERY BLUE, WITH WHITE EACH O TER. TIE Y CENTRE ALMOST TO THE LETTERS LINES RADIATING FROM 1 DO GL -N THEMSELVES, BUT THESE G the A.rectmn that T^TOM WITH W „ AND FOL,V.N. I! 0LNN,RIN THE D(3A OF a clock, they can be HI 5?ngu»hed. TUN, too, the irregularity I7A STRIFE^ FEATURE shoeing how the mother learned her LETTERS in broken patches, as a child learns when REACL ,LEE' WB° LM9 been three times divorced, has a son whose eyes are similar to his htber's.
[No title]
PaomnLY Lord Breadalbane has now more deor CN U- „ .1^ F LI M AN7 other landowner in Great Britain Oil his dorn»INA I" Perthshire aud Argyll- JJritain. un MS F RED deer, roe deer, and fallow shire are thousands ^INSTANCE., it was a curious deer Under THY« TORD Breadalbane should have freak of fortune THAT steward of the Household been appointed LO ENFC( AS it happens that the under tho last GPVERF TJIAT functionary is venison, of I principal perquisite O |E BUPPLY> being entitled to which heno-ivesan eyery year from the Queen'* six bucks and six does herds of fallow deer. i> r •
GARDENING- GOSSIP. -
GARDENING- GOSSIP. (From 11 Cottage Gardening.") FLOWER GARDEN. Divide and transplant early-flowering Chrysan* mums; there have been fewer deaths among them; this season, as the weather has been so mild. Last: season there were many losses. Madame Deograngeti in the several forms has not yet beenaupersededj Source d'Or, Elaine, and Lady Selborne are also useful* for autumn work outside, especially near a wall. A little mulch after planting will be useful. Roses may be pruned now, beginning with the hardiest first, and finishing with the Teas first iveet in April. It ie always best to cut to dormant buds where it pan be done, but this season the mild weather has caused many of the buds to shoot. After pruning, dresi ike beds o*er ancl mulch before the dry weather sets in. In the application of mulch and other cultural matters, a dry, porous soil will require much more attention than one that is stronger and more holding. The strong soil is, of course, the bestfor Roses, but any soil may be made to grow Roses if one likes to go to the expense and trouble. Bulbs and other spring flowers will now be coming to their best. Daffodils, Wallflowers, Forget-me-Nots, white and red Daisies, Primulas, and Auriculas are charming now. Daffodils, Snowdrops, and the small Cloth of Gold Crocus may be dropped into the lawn in nooks and corners and under trees, any- where and everywhere. This is a good time to plant climbers and creepers on walls and buildings. For real beauty nothing beats a wall ofl Tea and Noisette Roses, but the aspect must be good! and the site well prepared. I have seen people struggling with insects that might have been avoided: if the ground had been trenched up and properly; manured before planting. Experience is a dear school, but some people will learn in no other way. OM shrubs may be cut down now. If the bottoVns are nakwd this is the only remefly, and, if lerge masses have to be dealt with, openings may be made here and there for a few Hollies and Lawson's Cypress. Unfortunately the Cypress does not trans- plant well. On good soil, where the plants have been regularly transplanted, they will move all right, but they must be kept on the move. FRUIT GARDKN. If not already done, all newly-planted trees should be mulched with manure, and, of course, all tall trees must be staked. In staking and tying treep, caremust be taken that the ligatures are not too tight-there must be room for the trees to grow, and this refers also to trees trained on walls or vrood fences where nails and shreds are used. Blackberries are not much cultivated, chiefly, perhaps, because in many parts of the country they produce abundantly in a wild state. The American l'tackberries which have been introduced have not gi ven general satisfaction. Possibly this may have been due in some instances to errors of cultivating. But I think selections might be made from our native Blackberries which, under cultivation, would be found useful. Where intelligent trials have been made, sufficient success has been obtained to warrant further efforts being made in that direction. Those who are thinking of growing our native Blackberries might give them the same culture as we give to Raspberries. Plant in rows, 5ft. to 6ft. apart, and train to stakes or wires; cut away old canes in autumn and train in the strongest of the young canes. VEGETABLE GARDEN. Onions which have been started in gentle heat, with a view to give them an early start for the summer shows, should be planted out as soon as they are strong enough. The ground cannot be too well cultivated and manured for growing prize Onions, but it is very important to have the manure well blended with the soil, to encourage the roots to scatter in search of their food. The more the roots of a plant are encouraged to strike out the stronger the top growth. There is always a reciprocal actios between roots and branches. There is no time to be lost now in sowing the main crop of Celery it is better to sow in good time and bring on the plants without much forcing; A little seed of a good hardy red kind may be sown outside early in April for late planting. These plants will not reach a large size, but they will be hardier and stand the winter better, and will not run to seed so soon in spring. In plant- ing Marrow Peas now, draw drills 6in. wide and 3in. deep, and place the Peas individually 3in. apart all over the bottom of the drills; Very large Peas way have even more space. Get all Peas supported with sticks in good time. When the tendrils are once thrown out they should find something near to cling to. Make now plantations of Globe Artichokes by taking offsets from old stools. Plant Jerusalem Artichokes in rows 3ft. apart and 1ft. apart in the rows. In heavy land, draw shallow drills, lay in the sets, and then draw earth over them. WINDOW GARDEN. As Freesias go out of flower, do not neglect them if you wish them to flower well next year. Give them water as long as they continue green. The* move to sunny window in spare room, and in summer place out in the sunshine, laid on their sides till August, and then re-pot. Freesias are one of the few families of bulbs which do not require to be im- ported annually. SEASONABLE TOWN GARDEN NOTES. One of the very best of bardy plants for smoky places is the Iris, or German Flag, which in any fairly good and light soil grows and blooms just as well and as freely as in the open country. There are a good many named varieties of this section of Iris alone, now ranging in colour from nearly pure white to deep purple, and when in bloom they are extremely howy. The other sections of this large family —that is, the English, Siberian, Spanish, and Japanese varieties do not seem to thrive in very Bnioky places like the German kind, but they are very useful in suburban gardens, and greatly extend the season of blooming as well as the variety of colour. Another excellent town plant is Megasea cordifolia, of which the purple form is even finer than the common rose-coloured variety, and M. crassifolia is also a handsome and desirable plant. Nearly all the Saxifrages (and there are a lot of them altogether), are excellent plants for town gardens, thriving in almost any kind of soil, as well as on rockwork, in vases, &c., where little else would grow. S. grantilata fl.-pl., 'S. umbrosa (London Pride). S. retusa, and the forms of S. oppositifolia, as well as S. longifolia verna, ought to be found in every suburban garden. Then the -whole tribe of Campanulas also do well, and there is no better or prettier flower for cutting than the double white form of C. persicifolia. Canterbury Bells should be freely planted, not omitting the Cup and Saucer varieties, which are much more effective than the ordinary kinds. There is plenty of time for Chrysanthemums (out-of-doors) and Michaelmas Daisies, and even the beautiful Perennial Phloxes have hardly begun to move yet, but all summer flowering plants ought to be got in as soon as possible now. Sow plenty of Cornflowers, Mig- nonette, Annual Chrysanthemums, Godetias, and other hardy annuals in the open borders at once. THE TROP/EOLUMS, OR NASTURTIUMS, as they are commonly called, are some of the very best of town plants, thriving wonderfully well in even the smokiest districts. The dwarf kinds may be grown in the open beds and borders, in window-boxes, or in pots, while the tall, or trailing varieties, are pre- eminently useful, not only for covering ugly walls, fences, rubbish heaps, &c., but also when trained on strings or wires round windows, for furnish- ing hanging-baskets, and to droop over the front of boxes in windows or balconies. A very good way of treating the dwarf kinda is to sow the seed in pots or boxes under glass, early in April, and when up and srfficiftntly strong to transfer them to the open ground when safe to do so. As they transplant admirably, this is a capital plan, especially as in this way the bloom is produced considerably earlier. Seads can be sown in the open towards the middle of the month. The common trailing Nasturtiums are certainly somewhat coarse and strong-smelling plants, but as they grow freely where most other things could barely exist, this may be overlooked. The dwarf kinds, especially such as King Theodore (deep crimson), Ruby King. Empress of India, Aurora, &c., are, however, much superior, and very effective in almost any position. The Lobbianum (tall) kinds, again, are excellent, and the well-known Fireball, which must be propagated by means of cuttings, cannot be surpassed as a window or basket- plant, while under glass it flowers freely during the greater part of the winter. There is also a race of tine dwarf perennial varieties propagated by means of cuttings, but these I have been unable to obtain of late years. Lastly, we must not forget our old favourite, the Canary Creeper (T. canariense), than which no prettier or more floriferous subject can be found in the whole range of annuals. This frequently sows itself, and comes up annually in scores or hundreds, but it is easy to sow a few seed's oneself. ;&.o.J ,I i- >> •' t .«<
-............ HOINIE HINTS.■…
HOINIE HINTS. ■ CURRIHO EOGs.-Doil as many eggs as you. require (allowing two for each person) 15 minutes put them in a basin of cold water, while you make the curry sauce. Peel three onions and three sour apples melt a generous lump of butter or nice sweet dripping in a frying-pan when it frizzles slice in the apples and onions. Let them fry a nice brown, put in a heaped tablespoonful of flour, two table- spoonfuls of curry powder, pepper and salt to your taste; pour in slowly, stirring well, a breakfastcupful of milk. Let this boil for five minutes to cook the flour, then turn it into a clean saucepan, cover close, and set on a hob where it will just simmer. Boil a teacupful of rice for 15 minutes in boiling water,; drain well and wash the rice in plenty of cold water three times; then let it drain in the colander for a quarter of an hour then turn it into the saucepan to get hot. Take the shells off the eggs and put them into the curry sauce in the sauce- pan for ten minutes to get hot through, make a border with the rice on a hot dish and put the curried eggs in the centre serve at once. STEWED RABBIT.—Cut the rabbit in neat onts, the legs in two pieces, and give the shoulders a chop, without dividing them, to keep them in shape. Into a very clean saucepan put a teacupful of salad oil, when it boils, well dry the pieces of rabbit, dip each piece in flour, and fry a nice brown, taking them out on to a plate as they brown. When all are nicely browned, slice into the boiling oil three onions and three apples, and the white part only of two heads of celery. When the vegetables are nicely browned, pour off the oil, leaving about a tablespoonful in the saucepan just cover the vegetables with milk, put the pieces of rabbit on the bed of vegetables, cover close, and let the rabbit simmer for an hour. Mix a tablespoonful of flour with a little cold water, qutfce smooth; take out the pieces of rabbit on a hot dish, pour the flour AND water in the saucepan, stir well, and let it boil for five minutes. Put the vegetables round the rabbit, pour the sance over, and serve. STEAK STUFFED AND ROLLED.—Ask your butcher to cut you a thick steak, weighing about 31b.-Jess if you are a small family. Make a stuffing with a tea- cupful of breadcrumbs, a tablespoonful of finely- chopped parsley, a thick rasher of fat bacon, a little lemon-thyme, half an onion chopped, and seasoned well with pepper and salt; mix this all well together with one whole egg. Lay the steak on the board, and spread the stuffing evenly over it; roll it up as you would a rolled jam pudding, and fasten it with a skewer or tie it twice with twine. Melt some drip- ping in the baking-sheet. When boiling hot put in the rolled steak, baste it well, and bake in a hot oven for one hour and a-half, basting it often. Make a nice melted-butter sauce, put in a teaspoonful of finely-chopped parsley, and the juico of half a lemon, pour over the rolled steak, and serve as hot as possible. CLEANING WINDOWS AND PAINT.—To make more easy the cleaning of windows and paint., get a large sponge, such as is used to wash carriages, and a piece of chamois leather, and go to work. Use lukewarm water. Wash off the windows, glass and frames thoroughly with a sponge; then with the leather wipe them off, and no rubbing will be re- quired. Proceed the same with the painted work about the house, and you will find your paint and windows never looked so well before. Wring the chamois as dry as you can each time you use it. One advantage of this method over the old way of cleaning is that no lint is left on paint or windows. A handy thing to have for the window corners is a tooth-brush to take dust or dirt out. If the paint has been white and turned yel!ow, take a little soda on the. sponge and rub over it, washing off with clean water, and you will be surprised to see how much better it will look. Or, if the window- sill has any grease spots upon it, spread the soda thickly over them, then scrub with soap and water. One.or two tablespoonfulB of ammonia added to a pail of water will clean windows better than soap. MOTHS IN CARPETS.—Moths can be successfully re- moved from carpets in the following manner: Wrilfg a coarse towel out of clear water; spread it smoothly on the carpet, iron it dry with a good hot iron, re- peating the operation wherever the moths are sup- posed to be. There is no need to press hard, and the colour of the carpet will not be injured, as the moths are destroyed by the heat and steam. TJSES FOR NEWSPAPERS.—Most housekeepers know how invaluable newspapers are for packing away the winter clothing, the printing-ink acting as a defiance to the stoutest moth as successfully as camphor or tar-paper. For this reason newspapers are invaluable under the carpet, laid over the regular carpet-paper. The most valuable quality of newspapers in the kitchen, however, is their ability to keep out the air. It is well known that ice completely enveloped in newspapers, so that all air is shut out, will keep a longer time than under other conditions, and that a pitcher of ice-water laid in a newspaper with the ends of the paper twisted together to exclude the air, will remain all night in any summer room with scarcely any perceptible melting of the ice. These facts should be utilised oftener than they are in the care of the sick at night. POLISHING MARBLE.—The cleaning process ought to leave the marble so that, with a soft dry cloth, a nice bright surface is the result. Failing this, if it is marble with a fine finish, this simple method will, I think, give you a clear bright polish, but elbow grease is really all that it should need. Mix a tablespoonful of salad oil with a teaspoonful of lemon-juice until thick. With a soft piece of flannel rub the marble- rubbing briskly. ORANGE SALAD.—Peel eight oranges with a sharp knife, so as to remove every vestige of skin from them, core them as you would core apples, and lay them, either whole or cut in slices, in a deep dish strew over them plenty of powdered loaf sugar, then add a large wineglassful of pale brandy. Keep the dish covered close till the time of serving. SCRAMBLED EOGs.-Beat up some eggs in a basin with pepper, salt, and a small quantity of French tomato sauce; melt some butter in a saucepan add the eggs, and stir with a spoon until nearly set. Serve on toast, or in a very hot dish. If no tomato sauce is added to the eggs, a little chopped parsley should be sprinkled over them just before serving. HARICOT BEANS.— Soak them for 12 hours, put them in a saucepan of cold water, let it come gradually to the boil, then simmer till quite tender; drain and put them at once into a stewpan, with some fresh butter, chopped parsley, salt, pepper, and a little lemon juice; toss them well, and serve very hot. Another Way.—Soak about three-quarters of a pint overnight, put them on in plenty of cold water, boil till tender, which will take three hours; stir in salt, pepper, two tablespoonfuls of lemon juice, and 3oz. of butter. A moderate-sized onion can be added if liked. Simmer for half an hour more, and either serve in the liquor in which they were boiled, or strain it off and keep for soup, and serve with parsley sauce. They are also nice mashed, when they should be boiled an hour longer, mashed with a wooden spoon, and more butter used. To STUFP A HANi.-Select a nice ham and boil it; when -done; let it get cold before you skin arid trim it. Prepare a stuffing of bread-crumbs, butter, pepper, parsley, thyme, and celery. Begin at the hock and make incisions with a sharp knife, about, an inch apart; put in the stuffing as you draw out the knife. Rub in a bowl the yolks of two hard-boiled eggs, and brandy sufficient to make a paste: spread it on the ham smoothly, and grate over it bread-crumbs stick in cloves ornament. Put in the stove and let it brown gently. Eaten cold. WIFELY TACT.—Whenever you find a man about whom you know little oddly dressed, or talking ridiculously or exhibiting any eccentricity of manner, you may be tolerably sure he is not a married man for the little corners are rounded off, the little shoots are pruned away, in married men. Wives generally have much more sense than their husbands, especially when the husbands are clever men. The wife's advices are like the ballast that keeps the ship steady. They are like the wholesome, though painful, shears snipping off little growths of self-conceit and folly. HOME EDUCATION.—One of the most important duties of the matron or mother of a family, and for which she should always arrange to have time, is the home education of children. By this we do not mean a routine of lessons from books, but that bene- ficial oral instruction, those practical lessons on the duties of life, which should pervade entirely her intercourse with children. It is thus that lessons of love, forbearance, truth, kindliness, self-denial, and generosity may be deeply impressed on the ductile mind, and the seeds of true piety and upright behaviour scattered carefully over the prepared soil. The first care should be to distinguish between the different disposition which nature has given to children —to strengthen the weak and vacillating, soften the obdurate, encourage the timid, and repress the for- warcl-to eradicate weeds, and sow the eood seed.
- THE WOMAN'S WORLD: -
THE WOMAN'S WORLD: GRASS linen, batiste, and holland, will 00 fashion- able next season. Taffetas will again be the most popular silk for summer. One of the new capo col- lars springs out in a mass of ripples and ends, plastron- like, in a point just at the waist-line. A many-pointed sailot-collar, with revere-liko ends, Uaring cuffs, and a fancy vest, make a stylish addi- tion to a jael-et-basque. REAL lace iii. in greater demand than ever, and is I used for trimming jabots, ruches, collars, chemisettes, and every style of neck dressing. Tm. latest style of tailor-made costumes from Paris are made ,vith very short, full basquee, elaborately braided and trimmed iajrvnt with frog buttons, and with the skirts also braided. TIIF. Watteau plait is conspicuous on fashionable mVhtfTowns while nainsook or cambric is the mate- rial most often selected for pretty night-robes, though for those who prefer a heavier fabric, dimity is gene- rally employed. IT is said that spring hats will be worn well-tilted over the eves, as has been the fashion for some time now and "the hair will have a more fluffy and un- combed appearance than ever to give the required breadth below. TIIFRB are any number cf materials which arc suitable for sofa cushions. Pieces of thin summer silks cotton crapes, odd oilks, Oriental scarfs, chiffon or any pretty fabric. Small, plump cushions are the rule, and two colours of satin ribbon are plaited evenly back and forth. College colours form fnTOiii-'iiA combinations with some girls, while others u«e Shades of blue, yellow, or hefiotrope combined whh while The ribbons are drawn very closely over the cushion, and fluffy loops form large bows at, tho corners. Other very dainty cushions are covereci with the finest linen lawn over silk, and embroidered with garlands of flowers in wash silks, while the full lace frill around the edge is headed by lace beading, through which baby ribbon is run and tied at the corners or at one side if the cushion be round, in a rosette'bow. Most of these fashionable pillows are small and some are quaint and original in shape, some of the oddest being long and narrow, such as 10 by three inches, or six inches in length by one and a half in width. THE fashionable wedding gift for the bridegroom to make to the bridesmaids (says the Season) is a pendant watch in enamel, of a hue to correspond with the tone of the toilette. Bouquets are replaced by baskets of spring blossoms or unconventional "posies "banging loose, composed of the oldest of "old world flowers which happen to be in season. Posies of wallflowers with old lace fichus, over gowns of white cambric, frilled at the edge of the skirt, gavo some recent nuptials an air of great distinction. The hats were of wide Leghorn, poke shaped, and the bridesmaids wore their waved hair parted to either side in 1830 style. Old lace mittens were chosen to supersede gloves, but the fair wearers struck at the innovation. IT is possible to make very pretty little shoes for babies by using firm, moderately thick materials and sewing them to a sole. Patterns for shoes of this kind are furnished, and deft fingers may work eye- lets and set a row of dainty enbroidery around the ankles. A BABv'a first short dress is made of nainsook with feather-stitched or hemstitched hems. The body is gathered into a square yoke of embroidery or tucks, and hemstitched ruffles fall over the sleeves, which are long and full and finished with hemstitched 'cuffs. A DAINTY little wrapper for a child is made of flannelette. It is cut with full-length breadths, the yoke being shaped tp-by plaits stitched down and feather-stitched. Three plaits turn toward the middle on either side front find back. The hem down the front and that at the lower edge of the skirt are also feather-stitched, as are the turned-over collar and cuffs. A STYLISH "apron is made in a modified Mother Hubbard fashion, witfa.round yoke edgad with a ruffle trimmed with lace. There are, short sleeves made of full, lace-edged ruffles. The back breadths are gathered in, and wide strings are tied in a bow at the back. A belt is set around the front of the inside to keep the garment in place. I' WIIITE open-work ornamentations of various kinds worked more or less elaborately give the most II. admired finishes for table and bed-liuen. The plainest decorations are composed of one or several rows of drawn work above the hem of a table eloth, &c,, the most elegant of the beautiful Italian drawn work called punto tirato and punto tagliato, on which the pattern is left in the linen and the ground consists of ¡ drown threads worked up in the most artistic manner to look like a trellis. Richelieu, renaissance and Cluny guipure, guipure embroidery and Irish laces are also included in the list of white trimmings for the same purposes, and offer a wide field of variety and beauty. GIRLS of 12 to 16 years wear gored skirts quite full; indeed, are planned very much on the fashion of those of their elders. The skirts may be entirely without trimming, or finished with velvet or satin ribbon, set on in rows above the hem, or, what is quite as stylish and very much liked by many, with bands of velvet or ribbon from the waist-line almost to the hem, the lower ends being finished with rosettes of the trimming material. These bands are set down the seams at the sides of the front, and the next seams towards the back. Other skirts have ribbon trimming aboilt halfway down, but set on in loops, with long ends. A STVLISH costume for a girl for a dressy after- noon occasion is made of gtaco silk, in the warp- dyed goods now so popular. The skirt is full and flaring; the waist is gathered into a plain yoke, which is covered with embroidery or lace. There is a velvet cape set on at the edge of the yoke. This falls over the sleeves, and is narrower at the front, being gathered up and fastened with a ribbon rosette. The lower edge of the cape is trimmed with passe- menterie, and edged with lace or embroidery to match the yoke. The large puff sleeves have cuffs of velvet extending to the elbows, and these have i^ide, turned-up caffs of embroidery. ANOTHER dreesy drew-is of India silk with a light ground and printing of roses and leaves. This lias velvet bands down the seams of the skirt terminating in, rosettes. The vest front is full and droops over the skirt. Velvet ribbon bands extend from the sides of this front around to the back, nnd there are rosettes of the ribbon on the shoulders. The collar cuffs V et* dr00P'DS sleeves have velvet A rEETTY dress, suitable for school, is of clan tartan, with full skirt, loose front and leg-o'-mutton sleeves. Ihe collar of velvet has a cape in round- yoke shape. Prom this capo, over the shoulders and down tne sides of the fl*ont, extend little tabs, each one trinnned_ with six buttons, three on a side. The tabs are pointed, and they, as well as the cape, are lined with satzn. AN exceedingly attractive ^^ncing-sehool dress for a, sma girl is ruado vrilh full-length breadths froni the yoke down. it ;s jn a modified Mother Hubbard style, has a square lo* neck and very large sleeves extending to the elbows. Over the tops of the sleeves are lace Vandykes, and similar lace, in narrower widths, falls from uarroVv ruffles at tue elbows. elbows. PIN FEATHERS and pin curls seem the most desirable "properties" f0r e;enitJg use. The feathers are newer-than aigrettes, and when well adjusted, give t. elderly ladies an appropriate air of dignity. A young head is required for an aigrette, but a middle-aped dame with a neat plait of hair to match her own and an ostrich tip or two in harmony with her gown', can &»°iS-»«r,pnce' a,°d disc,rd did§ for the „nLt„S their own cranuims have tj are. s failed, and the con „ n Vle necessarJ twist b,as head, one can jN"L PERVERSELY lies flat against the adjust the p/n QSCe &u of recommencing operations, demands it, and °Url wherever the shapeless mass coiffure is a suen 8° on,our Ways rejoicing. If one's ^resource in Wlth?ut lfc' *t\and Sood' bufc as "urgency it is worth keeping. .a, T 1 0
FUN ANDFAN WI1 . -
FUN ANDFAN WI 1 A BAWJ. Room-The nursery. LAPS of Time—Old coat tails. A MAN (,f Letters—A sign-painter. Tim Home Office-To support one's ta MAIDS of Honour—Those who do not WIIAT day in spring is a command to fetors. March fourth! 4h ead ?- W11 Y is an umbrella in wet weather like aw horse ?—Because it is used up. *orn-ont WHY is the letter d like the marriage —Because it makes we into wed." Service? How to prevent flies from getting at your suit)nier.-Eat it all in the early spring. aeon in Loss of a China packetship exclaimed u lady. "2yo wonder, when iron ones aren't wfe(" alwaya "IT is a poor rule that won't work boH, >» •xclaimed the boy, throwing the rule bai>t wa^?' schoolmaster. at IT is better to be born with a disposing things on the favourable side than to an eatn»° » see thousand a year. of ten CALL a lady a chicken," and ten to 0„o angrv. Tell her she is no chicken," and r\» e 1B ane she is still angrier. tWenty to My dear wife, I wish you would try to temper. My dear husband, I wish you i. P y°ur ko get rid of yours." *°u]d try THIS suspicion that Othello entertain Desdemona's faithlessless to him did not h, ? Moor the merrier. e ^he "WHY," asked a disconsolate widow, jg like my late and never-sufficiently-to-be-k,^m?°j husband ?" Because—oh dear !—oh dear—e" departed." 11» dear A THUE Briton was lying in bed at a boarding u •ne Sunday morning, when a friend stepped in t? ■aid, "Brown, breakfast is coming on." ''Let it „ «n," «aid Brown; I'm not afraid of it." eome A PROSECUTRIX, in a criminal case resorted t tVr expression, I said to myself," so FREQUENTLY0 t excite some merriment. "Mrs. Taylor," said^th chief baron, you must not tell us what you s 1 yourself unless the prisoner was by." judge," said a friend to the president nf & Paris court under the Empire, did you con^™»» many to death at your session to-day?" '"•111, and I don't hecukte to sav that two of them deserved ArnER, the composer, notwithstanding ]jj8 f •core years, retained his brilliancy to the last °Ho assisted at one of the court balls, and an intimate friend advanced to bid him good evening. After the ordinary salutations, the gentleman approached the illustrious composer, and laughingly remarked" I see you are getting old, dear sir," and at the same time picked a white hair off Auber's coat collar. Ah," said the other, smiling, I think that some eld man has been pushed against me in the crowd." A YOUNG gentleman happening to sit at church in a pew adjoining one in which sat a young lady for whom he conceived a sudden and violent passion was desirous of entering into a courtship on the spot; but the place not suiting a formal declaration, the exigency of the case suggested the following plan. He politely handed his fair neighbour a Bible open, with a pin stuck in the following text: Second Epistle of John, verse fifth: "And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new command- ment unto thee, but that which we bad from the beginning, that we love one another." She returned it, pointing to the second chapter of Ruth, verse tenth Then she fell on her face, and bowed tier- self to the ground, and said unto him, -Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that though shouldst take knowledge of me, seeing that I am a stranger?' He returned the book, pointing to the twelfth verse of the Third Epistle of John: Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink, but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full." From the above interview a marriage took place the ensuing week. ALPIIONSE (who has had an attack of mother-in- law) Parbleu, madame, it is not zee troublez at your daughter is my wife? Non it because she i. not an orphan when she is married to me!" DON'T mistake arroganse for wiedum; menny people hav thought tha waz wize when tha waz onla windy. CHARLES ERSKINE, afterwards Lord Juetice Clerk Tinwald, was at the age of 20 a teacher of Latin in Edinburgh University, On one occasion, after his elevation to the bench, a young lawyer in aiguing a case before him used a false Latin, quantity, where- upon his lordship said with a gooa-natured sinile, "ÀrtJ you sure, sir, you are correct ip your quantity th^re t" The young counsel was nettled at the query, and retorted petulantly, "My lord, I never was a schoolmaster." "No," replied the judge, "nor, I khink a scholar either." Do you believe in ghosts, Mrs. Partington?" was asked of the old lady, somewhat timidly. To be sure I do, replied she, "as much as I believe that bright fulminary there will rise in the yeast to-morrow morning, if we live, and nothing happens. Two ap- prehensions have sartainly appeared in our family. Why, I saw my dear Paul, a fortnight before Tie died, with my own eyes, jest as plain as I see you. now, and-it turned out afterwards to be a rose-bush, with a night cap on it I shall always think, to the day of my desolation, that it was a forerunner sent to me. T'other one came in the night, when we were asleep, and carried away three candles and a pint of ispirits that we kept in the house for a embarkation. Believe in ghosts, indeed I guess I do, and he must be a dreadful septic as doesn't.The 1torld oj Wit mud Humour. A LADY and gentleman were married very <J"'etly in tho country, and proceeded in their carriage to spend the honeymoon among the Cumberland lakes, the gentleman giving strict orders to his Irish foot- man on no account to state to inquirers that they were newly married. When leaving the first 'inn on the road, the happy couple were much astonished^aiad annoyed to find the servants all assembled, and, point- ing tn the gentleman, mysteriously exclaiming, That's him that's the man On reaching the next Rtate, the indignant master told his servant e had divulged what he impressed upon him secret, and that he had told the servants at the inn they were a newly-married couple. Sbnre' it's not true, yer honour," replied the servan tould tho whole kit that yer honour, and yer1a° lady (heaven bless her !) wouldn't be married y a fortnight!" # j_WT1 A i.iTTi.F, boy, some time ago, while coming etaiirs, was cautioned by his mother not to balance. His question which followed was a puz ■ Mother, if I should loso my balance, where wouiait I t.IXE to see the dear little creatures themselves," said Mrs. Brown, whea her elder hoy took her visitor's new bonnet, and fastened it to the tail of his kite. Never fear," said the good nlfttr.on to her visitor, when she saw her bonnet in the air "as soon as the kite comes down he will give it .to you." I "*as.poor, A PIITI.OSOPIIETC, like all philosophers, At times he was hungry, at all timea he was r:1^ jQ He offered the Pacha to teach his donkey to r^aS to five years. But during the difficult task be clothed in purple and fine linen, fed on wag and lodged in a palace. If he failed the pena rporth death. One day an old friend met him leading d tQ the donkey to the grove where lessons were supp be given, and he said, Snrely you do not expe j^g ass to read?" The philosopher winked ooe ° d learned eyes, and said nothing. "But. Con»u the friend, if you fail at the end of live 7ea\f *ded will surely be strangled." Mv friend, resp? ass the philosopher, you forget that in that may die or I may." b WTI for DtrxcA.t GonM, a Highland idiot, well kno for many milea on Tayside, used to run nessage-OLS a many of the country people, among **hom "he' ^ith great fav.nirite. On one occasion he was se a fine hare as a present to the minister, bu<erd's carelessly laid it down by the roadside, a, A. t>eing U dog which was passing made off with it wi^tho jong seen. Duncan, on missing his charge, s°uS ]etter time for it, but could not find it. having n rrade for the minister, he went and delivered that, D ^ad- no mention of the lost hare. The minister o ere's ing a note remarked, Oh, Duncan, Uee that t ^jed a hare here." Gosh, then that s a richt, jt« Duncan. I thocht I had lost it, but if its the a' richt. I'll just tell Mr. Sinclair that ye g birn hare a' safe, and that ye re muckle obleeged j.t„re for sendin' it." And Duncan took his dep' his apparently convinced that all was right With message.. v <oo> » HAVE another cigar, uncle." No, tha £ but my dear." There are plenty of them." there's only one of me." ^ge." ELSIE My husband is very hard to P fijt»Ce Louise: He must have changed considerlblf he married you." it- ii;. i