Flintshire Observer Mining Journal and General Advertiser for the Counties of Flint Denbigh

On Juno 7 next King Humbert of Italy will have been for 20 years honorary colonel of the 1st Hessian Hnssars, having received this distinction irom the late Emperor William X. IQ 1872. The Crown Prince of Itaiy is also an officer h la suitt of the same regi- ment. On June 4 next several officers of the Hussars, who are stationed in Mayenoe and Frankfort-on-the- Main, will go to Rome in order to wait upon the King and to congratulate him.

FARMING NOTES. 1 A GREAT WIIBAT CILOP. The d of wheat last harvest, as shown in a re- tarn from the Board of Agriculture, exceeds the highest expectations. For Great Britain it is esti- mated at 33'63 bushels an acre, or 1-61 bushels more than the highest yield given since the official re* turns were first issued in 1885. The privtous maxiramn was 32-07 bushels for 1887. England comes out at 33 88 bushels, Wales at 22"95, and Scotland at 38'47. The record of the last It yeari is beaten for England and Scotland alike, but not for Wales. If it were not for the low yield in Wales, where the acreage was greater that in Scotlaafl, the average ior Great Britain would be several points higher than it Is. But as it is nc less than 4'87 bushels above the last 10 years' average, it is a wonderful crop. The total is 57,052,95"i bushels, or nearly 20 million bushels more than in 1895, when the area was less. Barley also comes out well, with 33 63 bushels an acre for Great Britain, or nearly a bushel (0'95) above the 10 years' average. For England alone it is 33'64 bushels, a yield beaten five times in the preceding 11 years for Scotland 37'14 bushels, which has been beaten only once dur- ing the period and for Wales, 26 21 bushel-3, the worst crop but one since the returns were issued. The estimate for oats is 3G-83 bushels an acre for Great Britain, or 1'4 bushels under the ten years' average. The yield of 37'6 bushels put down for England is the smallest crop but two in the twelve years to 1896, while the return of 29-71 for Wales is the worst of all, and Scotland has beaten her latest yield of 37'13 bushels only three times in the period, her crop being 1-37 bushels over the ten years' average. MILK RECORDS. Milk records are so excellent in every way (writes M." in the Agricultural Gazette) that no one would I willingly find fault with them but it appears to me that it would be as well if all could be framed on certain lines, so that the form of the cattle could be seen at a glance, and also that comparisons could be the more easily instituted between the different milk- ing breeds. A definite period should be a sine qua and the different headings of the columns should be in all cases alike. In your last issue you publish the Burton Miik Records, which, while they show the excellenceof Mr. Evens's herd, just fail in this particular, that, not being taken over a fixed period, comparison cannot be made with other records without a considerable amount of arithmetical labour. The fact that they are not a year's record, but merely records of cows that calved in 1895," is apt to mislead at first sight those who do not study all the figures carefully. For the same reason the columns "Days in milk" r and dry" require explanation. To what period do the figures in the column "Days dry" refer—to the time before the date of calving or after the completion of the Days in milk?" If to the time anterior to the date of calving, they do not help the milk record if to the time subsequent to the "Days in milk," the figures do not appear to be clearly given in the case of cows calved in December, 1895. F No business (Professor Wrightson, in his admir- able seasonable notes in the Agricultural Gazette. observes) aHows of the exercise of economy rnort than farnitng. The idea convoyed is not exactly that of saving, for expenditure may be in strict harmony with economy. It is rather equivalent to manage- ment," or the careful consideration of every detail, with a view to carrying each of them out in the best possible manner. There art periods in the agri- cultural year suitable for the reflection, and none more so than December, when the pulse of Nature beats low and life is at its minimum. Such a time is favourable for looking into our methods, for, ta President Lincoln said, you should not swop horses when crossing a stream. Similarly, you cannot alter your methods in the middle of work. Changes should be contemplated well before- hand, and winter is the best time for discussing points of management. Economy involves every branch of agriculture, and a few moments' con- sideration will show that it is more important than scientific attainment or even skill. These may be lavished upon wrong objects, but good management presupposes right objects. If science and ski!! are expended upon barren land, there is a fundamental error, for the effort is not worth making. So, if scientific knowledge is brought to bear upon (tr,)pq not fitted for the soil and climate, or stock not suited to the holding, or on fattening bullocks when only young stock should be kept, the knowledge and labour are lost. Management involves a keen appreciation of the larger issues, as well as of the minutest details, but it is of primary importance that the farm should be stocked and cropped in the manner for which it is naturally best adapted. Money has often been lost in farming because cardinal mis- takes were made in the general outlines of the busi- ness. There may be no want of capital or of know- ledge. The fault consists in persistently following a wrong system unsuited to the climate and the nature of the soil. Such mistakes are often made by men of undoubted ability and strength of will. They ride their hobby to death, and will not condescend to follow the less atpbi- tious practices of their neighbours. Farming heroics seldom pay, and to tbem are to be attributed in a great measure the occasional failure of model farms and "scientific" farming. Examples could be given, for they are only too numerous. They h.-7e often been described in glowing terms and held up for imitation by the Press, but not unfrequentIy have ended in loss and vanished from the scene after a few years. Such cases show the necessity of con- ducting farming upon proper lines suited to the soil, climate, and markets of the district. The practice of a neighbourhood always deserves the highest respect. It has not been invented by any one man, but is the outcome of experience and growth. It is, in fact, a true case of evolution and survival of the fittest. Improvements may be made, but radical changes are dangerous and liable to entail heavy losses. In most cases the practice of the neigh- bourhood carried out with spirit and careful atten- tion to every detail will be more likely to succeed than an entirely new system. Economy presupposes a reasonable rent, judicious cropping, the right description of live stock, well-balanced labour, both horse and manual, and rigid attention to details. Each of these considerations might well occupy atten- tion. Take cropping for example it is, certain that mistakes are made by sowing crops not quite adapted for the character and condition of a field. Much consideration is required before deciding even as between wheat, barley, or oats, and it is the same with the selection of the various root and fodder crops. The situation may be too high up for rape, but turnips would still do well; or it may be the wrong place for mangel, but suited for the hardier swede. The field would, perhaps, be better in roots than in corn, and in another case a good quality of barley may be expected after wheat. Grass may be better broken up, or it may be that the wise course is to let it lie a year longer. Ex- perience shows the vast importance of cropping land to the best possible advantage, and the diffi- culty of so doing. There are a number of economical points deserving attention, some of which we may consider. First there is the question of implements. It is noticeable that many successful farmers work with old-fashioned implements, and yet obtain excellent results. Still, it must be allowed that a labour-saving machine is a good thing. Double or triple ploughs are in use on many farms, and give satis- faction, and on light lands tney might be more generally employed. Two-horse drills and three- norce spring tooth cultivators are wonderful aids to horse labour. Horse-rakes, hay-tedders, reapers, mowers, harvesters, straw elevators, are each and all valuable aids to economy, and if horses can be re- lieved from tillage by the use of improved ploughs and cultivators, they can be the better spared for operations in the hay and corn fields. A craze for new implements is to be deprecated, but the adoption a tried instruments, which really effect a sub- stantial saving, is true economy. The subject of im- proved implements is well worthy of attention at the present season, and time would be well occupied in inspecting them when at work-not so much in trial fields at shows as on the farm. As to the economy of steam cultivation, it has not been so generally appreciated M was expected 30 years ago. Horses still da the bulk of the tillage work on farms, as they can now be used with much greater economy than in the times of dear horse corn. It is too large a sub- ject to enter upon at present, but light-land farmers find horse labour best, especially since the introduc- tion of improved tillage instruments.

GARDENING GOSSIP. (JTrdm; Gardening Illustrated.") KOTB6 ON CHBYSAMTUKMOMS. The past season can scarcely (observes B. C. R.") be described as a good one for plants in pots, the weather having been so hot and dry during the greater part of summer, that where the plants did not .receive constant attention in watering they suffered, often severely, from the drought, while insect pests in general, and earwigs in particular, were unusually numerous and destructive. la naturally cool and moist, or partially shaded posi- tions, the plants did well with ordinary care, but where the situation, was hot and dry only the utmost eftre and an unlimited amount of labour sufficed to maintain them in even moderate health. But on the other hand the outdoor plants have flowered remark- ably well, though having scarcely made so much grpwth as usual, and even now, in the last week of November, blossoms of fair to good quality are still plentiful in the open air in this district (South Sussex)—at any rate where the plants are slightly sheltered, particularly on the north and west. In ex- posed positions the buds and blossoms suffered more or less from some rather sharp frosts experienced a month or more ago, and since that from some heavy storms of wind and rain from the west, north-west, and south west, but. very little protection, such as that afforded by a wall, fence, or trees, on these quarters has sufficed to afford really beautiful blossoms. Among others the flowers of the pint, white, and golden forms of the old f Christine, Mile. Marthe, Emperor of China, Aurea multiflora, Dr. Sharpe, and the exquisite velvety- crimson Julie Lagravere, one of the hardiest and best of all the outdoor Chrysanthemums, have been, and in many instances, still are, found in capital condi- tion. I also find W. H. Lincoln a grand outdoor variety, though late, the buds only now beginning to expand, but our soil being light and warm, and the garden well sheltered on the north, they will pro- b&bly expand all right, unless, of course, severe weather should set in. An entire race, comprising all the leading colours of varieties of the same type as Lincoln, would be a valuable addition to the already long list, dwarf and sturdy in habit, free in bloom, and sure in setting, with large and handsome blossoms of great substance and lasting qualities. There are few, indeed, taken all round, to equal this grand variety; certainly for all decorative purposes, supplying cutting-flowers, and so forth. We have similar good qualities developed to some extent in Kentish White, the fine late white L. Canning, J. Shrimpton, the well-known Mrs. F. Jameson, and one or two others, but not so fully. A tall habit of growth, with drooping flowers that hang about in all directions, is the ruin of many otherwise fine varieties, and the sooner the fault can be elimi- nated the better. HARDY FERN'S IN WINTER. Our British Ferns when growing in their natural habitats (" A." remarks) find ample protection during the winter from the leaves and Grasses which gather round them, and their own ripened fronds also afford further protection; besides which, they are mostly found in very sheltered places. This is not always taken into account by those who cultivate the British Ferns, and when we get a sevore winter like 1894-5 a great number are entirely destroyed, and others so much crippled that it takes a whole season for them to recover, and even then they do not make such nice plants as those which have had sufficient protection to keep the crowns in good condition. One great cause of hardy Ferns suffering more when under cultivation than when growing naturally is that they make their growth, or, rather, continue to grow later in the autumn, and are not so well ripened. They also are much more liable to suffer when grown in pots, more especially if the pots are not plunged into the ground. I do not recommend giving any artificial heat to keep off frost, but all grown in pots should be plunged. In a pit with a northern aspect is the best position, but, failing this, anywhere in the open ground will answer nearly as well. All the deciduous kinds may be covered up on the ap- pearance of the first frost. A good covering con- sists of a few Pea-sticks or other brushwood being laid over first, ànd then a good covering of Bracken for preference, and if this is not at hand straw may be used. The Scolopeadriums, Polystfchutns, and other evergreen sorts should be uncovered during mild weather. I may here mention that Scolopen- driums, though among the hardiest, suffer much from frost if they have been making fronds late id the autumn. Young plants also require protection. If they can be kept in- a pit with lights over them, they must be opened as soon as the tempera- ) ture rises above freezing point. Those which have ripened off early in (he autumn will make a fresh start if given the slightest encouragement, and will then suffer as soon as we get a return of frost. Even when growing wild I have seen many instances wbere they have started early in the spring, and then have been cut down by.a late frost. This has been particu- larly the case with the Athyriunis. Although tfverv care should be taken to prevent hardy Ferns starting prematurely, after they start naturally in the spring a little warmth will be' beneficial L rather, than otherwise. We now have some very beautiful varieties of the Lady Fern (Athytium Filix-fcemina) which make splendid subjects for pot culture, and when started early in the spring in a cool house where the temperature can be kept just above freezing point, such varieties as plumosum diBsectum, superbum, pulcherrlmum, Kalothrix, &c., are among the most beautiful ,subjects than. can be found. It will not do any barm to start hardy Ferns early in the spring provided they can be protected in case of frost. Those ripened off ekrly in the autumn will tart, awav freely without much encouragement. FRUIT GARDEN. There is a good deal of pruning and planting to do yet, and it is important that both these operations should now be in a forward state. Wall-trees with crowded spurs should be thinned. I have often found it advisable to not only thin the spurs, but also to reduce the number of branches. When the foliage is much crowded the leaves must be weak and small, and consequently cannot build up fertile buds. The oharacter of the foliage gives tone to the tree, and upon the activity and energy of the leaves the fertility is based. But the foliage of a crowded tree is always weak and poor, and such trees rarely bear good fruit; therefore thin the branches and also the spurs of wall-trees where much crowded to let in the light and the sunshine. In pruning Mo-rello Cherriee-it is customary to rely .upon the young wood of the pre- vioua year for the dop, lbtit I have aeen&ner crops of fruit borne on spurs. But I think the pruning and management are much simplified if the young wood is laid in about 4in. apart, and the crop taken mainly from the young shoots. The Morello Cheery is very profitable for filling up north aspects on walls and buildings, and the tree soon comes into bearing. If not already done newly planted Strawberries should be mulched with manure. Pot Vines, with strong, well-ripened canes, may be started any time now. VEGETABLE GARDEN. Everything looks promising at present. There is an abundant supply of green stuff of all kinds, and the only drawback is their sappiness. If a sevpre frost set? in any time before the end of next January lots of the Greens will be swept off through cold. It is late for the work, but late Broccoli, if not already done, should be heeled in. his treatment generally saves the plants, though the oheek when done late may cause the hearts to come a little smaller. Spinach is always a valuable crop, which at this: season cannot be improvised. Savoy Cabbages are turning in well, but to my thinking the small, close hearts of Sutton's Tom Thumb are superior to anything of the same kind, and they may be planted quite thickly, or say 9in. apart. Forcing will begin now, even where no epecial effort is made. Seakale and Rhubarb, at any rate, must be had as soon as possible, and where proper means are provided therts will be no difficulty about it. It is important to lmve roots with good crowns and enough heat to start the plants into growth, and then the forcing is a matter of certainty. All vacant laud should be trenched deep now, and left rough for the elements to work upon. Those who wish to lose no opportunity of scouring earlt Peas and Beans may plant a few rows on a warm torder. The cost of the seeds is not much.

THE Royal Commission upon Agriculture has now fiven up hope of reporting before Parliament meets, tis understood that there is a considerable division of opinion as to the main report, and that there will be one if not two minority reports. This divergence of opinion has delayed conclusion of the inquiry, and it is thought now the inquiry will rm woll into February. ¡

AMERICAN HUMOUR. • m TUERB was indignation in the eye of the domestic who stood at the street corner with a covered basket over her arm. An acquaintance met her and said: Could you recommend me to a good place ?" You can have mine, if you'll put up with the treatment." Are you leaving t"Iam. And for good reasons." "Is the work tod hard?" "No. The work's very light." Is the pay. too smaR?v "No. The pay's very good." "What's the matter, then?" "The woman of the house take. too many liberties in the kitchen." "I see. She's one of the kind that's ■ilwaya bossing around." It's worse than that. She had the impudence to come in one afternoon and eat up a lot of food that I had saved up to take home to my own family I" U ARB you angry, Miss Spitely?" "I'm enraged. I'm going to make t^at man's life miserable if I have to marry him to do jt." HE": "Do you like football?" She: I dote on it. But isn't it strange bow the young men wAl rush each other ?" TEACHER What part of speech is kiss Entire chorus of girls: A conjunction." Two young men waose clothes were of such a style as to make it seem probable that they would at any minute fall into picturesque attitudes and execute a song-and-dance, stood watching a big building that is nearing oompletiotr. It's a great piece of work," commented one of them. "Taint anything else," was the reply. I. wonder who's the guy that got it up. He oughtty have his name to it." I reckon he has somewhere. When a feller makes a hit like that it's bard luck if he doesn't get his name on the programme." What does that say ip there ?" His companion slowly read the letters, TM.DCCCXCVI." <rThat's it I" he exclaimed, as soon as he bad spelled it through. That's what?" "The name of the gent that designed the stonepile. I retkon he's some Russian or Welshman that's just start, n' in, in this country. I never heard of him before, but he's good." ■'SAWTER, I've cured my wife's insomnia." • How did you do it ?" Had the maid get up and ring the rising bell in the middle of the night." SIIE: "Do you suppose his wife really supports him 1" He. "I judge so. He told me he didn't know what real happiness meant until aftere got married." HELLO, gloves" said Jack to Tommie and Sammie. "Whatoher call us gloves for?" asked Tommie. "Becatise you are a pair of kids," said Jack. A CHARMING young woman of Detroit recently sprained her ankle by a hasty jump from her bicycle. She was laid up for a couple of weeks, during which time she was wholly incapacitated for walking, or even riding, being confined to a sofa like the heroine in a last century novel. Finally the family considered the sprain of enough consequence to call in the family doctor, who is a distinguished-surgeon. He was out of patience with anything so trivial as a sprain when he was daily concerned in scientific operations of the most-important character, and his first performance'was to give the sprained foot a vicious twist in a surgical- way to find out if any bones were broken. Then he said: "Get up and walk But, doctor, I cannot take a step." Get up and walk l* There was nothing for the- patient to do but obey, and she stepped lamely forth. You're not walking; you-are limping," said the doctor. Walk 1" -She managed bravely to walk to the next room, and the doctor took his hat to leave. "But, doctor, you have not given me any prescription "Walk," said the doctor, "thfen walk. Don't send for me again unless your foot needs amputating. Good-bym" Now the patient is walking as well as: she ever did; SHE waS in a merry mood when her husband cams home that evening.. ,You -have often said, dear," she remarked affectionately, that women haven't any sens" of humour." They haven't." You don't give i.; the creditwe deserve. I'll admit that my «e!ia<> of humour is not very great. But any faculty can be developed with cultivation." Have you been cultivating your sense of humour ?" "Yes." "How did you go %bout it Do. you remember-that article in the paper et which you laughed so heartily last night?" "No, I don't undertake to remember anything that amuses me." Well, I got it and read it. It., was, about how a woman goes out and buys bar- gains a'l day long and surprises her hus- band with biils for bonnets and makes him get her a sealskin sacque whether he wtlatfs to or not." "Yes; I recall it now. So you tave Leen cultivating your sense of humour by reading that ?" Ob I didn't stop with simply reading it." What — what did you do ?" he inquired in a voice that was hoarse with apprehension. I went out this after- noon and bought; bargains, just as. the woman in; the article did, and here's the bill for the bnniiet. All that is needed now to make the joke complete is for me to teà8, you for a sealskin sacqne. And, don': yon know, dear, I think it's all too delightfully funny for anything!" TIIEY were twins, as much alike as two peas, and even their mother had trouble sometimes to discrimi- nate between them. But a oareful scanning of their faces usually decided her, because one of the two wore a serious look, while the other was, &Ivrayi smiling. They were five years and a,half old alid,fail of mischief. Here was a peculiar feature of their characters. The serious boy was brimful of fun, while the one that Was always smiling hadn't a par- ticle- -of fnn in his composition. One day telr mother found them in the china closet, which was a. forbidden territory, and both boys had been eating preserves. They were their own witneHes, .ftInd,nei I,h (: r could prove an alibi. "I'll whip you both," uaid the mother, "and not show any partiality. You both look like little pigs." Off came the maternal slipper, and Master David had a good trouncing, an l the mother had seized Claude togive him the same, when she was disturbed by a caller, who stayed so long ttmt the punished twin had stopped crying to listen to he Conversation. f' Now, C5a>ider it's y.ur turn," said the mother, and whack I- whack! lrEmtthe slipper sole, while the wriggling youngster. howled find bawled. 1 ain't fair," he sobbed; "you got the wrong pig by th* ear, mamma." "Do you mean to say, Claude, that you are not as guilty as; 1,11tf brother?" But the boy krp* on howling, and t'len the other ,twin- said, with a calm intonation that bespoke an unruffled disposition You've wlii"Pecl Davy twice, mamma this little pig didn't get anv." MRS. BILLUS Johnny, if you don't go to bed rghfe now I. won't wake you up to-morrow niortur4 at all." Mr. Billus (looking at her over bis glu., -P?) What good do you think that'll do, Maria?'' Mrs. BiMus l" It will bring him. He has. made ,»rrange- tMentt to go fishing to-morrow morning." It did.) CAN you lend me lOdols. ?" asked the two-headed girl of the fat Jady. "Guess I can," said ilhp fat lady, but you don't mean to tell me you have spent all your salary already?" "I—I didn't meaiy to," replied the two*-he*cfed girl, almost in tears, but ;trewst!lJqb a lovely vase put up at auction, bid- I got to bidding against myself before I thought." TWITTER is not a suecess, and yet he is affable to everybody." "That's just it; be ought to snkil) a few people to get himself advertised. Those woo dislike us talk about its longer than those who li>e us." HBRH, waiter, why is it Itbgt yon charge we1 seventy-five cents' for tttis small steak ?" Dat's kaee we cooks it ober a coal fiah, sah." THE fall ia such a charmiDseaeob that I should like to have a fall the roilhd: Oh, then you don't ride a bicycle?" ,Now, boys," said the new school teacher, "I want you to be so quiet that we can hear a pin drop." There was a cavernous silence far second, then a voice in the rear muttered. liew, then, let her drop!" My wife was rather woztied T, I m I lef, her this morning." What was the trouble ?" "Well, sue bad been worrying about something or other latt night, and this morning she' couldn't remember wht it was." I NEVER thought Riggs would so far forget him- self as to strike a friend. What led to his 4iisatiltcti Tompkins?" "Tompkins said the picture ofBigt, in this morning's paper was a good likeness." ACQUAINTANCE: II How much do yon pay yoiir typewriter?" Humorist: Twenty-Ave <] :ars a week." Acquaintance; "Isn't that, rathf- a high salary?" Humorist: '•Well, yes, but v«» see, she has to write out all my iokes.1' I THLL you," cried the author, "Tm^r'ing to rise in this world." The editor eyed him do '>tfully for five seconds, and then aaked- Balloon, or elevator T MISS DAIST MBDDBHS (coyly): "Do yr < love me. Jaeon P" Ja<on Huckleberry Course I love you Do you s'pose I'd have been aotin' the fool over voli all this time if I didn't r DOESN'T it strike you that the temperature cf th is room is irather high ? There isn't any doubt about. it," replied the frugal yoong man. Svery ton of eoal costs 6dols." .j' ¿

> IMPORTED APPLES. --I Attention has been cttHed to the large imports of apples in the month of October, and 'a paragraph that has gone the rounds states that these "compete seriously with the great bulk of British apples." A* a matter of fact these apples do nothing of the kind, says the Agricultural Economist, for the great bulk of British apples never go to market for two months after pulling, those1 that have not rotted owing to carelesa pulling and storing have been consumed, and after December the few home-grown on the market, are net to, be compared with the importedfrujfc. We are not referring te fruit grown by gertjenaen'u gardeners and specialists, or a few. horticulturists who recognise that what they do in a small way might be done in a larger way to the considerable profit of farmers and others, and without any but a very small additional cost. At autumn shows,of chrysanthemums and garden pro- duce this year we have seen splendid English apples, both dessert and cooking, that nothing can betft. They were off existing trees, trees perhaps that a few years ago were neglected—especially the cooking apples but are flow doing well. The whole secret is bare. The colonial and American exporter knows it is immaterial whether the crop here is a good one er not, he hailonly to place his intelligently kept and intelligently, packed consignments a week or two later, and he meets with the same welcome de- mand here as if the crop had been a failure. A nice little penny might be made by many a dweller in the country by trying his hand at careful pulling and proper keeping, and then seeing what his pippins and his cooking auries are worth after Christmas. It 'a useless to say any more oq the subject. Oar till for apples alone in 1894 was £ 1,389,000, and in 1895 nearly £ 1,000,000. Ia October of this year, 1,602,403 bushels were imported, worth E393,206, or rather more than 4s. 6d. per bushel. In spite of all this, the price of the finest home grown apples is not much interfered with, and Cox's orange pippin, that best of eating apples, which is wonderfully well- grown and highly flavoured this year, makes top prices.

AVILLS AND BEQUESTS. Estate duty has been paid on E112,912 9s. 9d. as the value of the personal estate of Mr. James Brierley, of West Hill, Rochdale, and of the firm of William Brierley and Sons (Limited), cotton spinner, who died on Sept. 24 laet,^e 80 years, and of whose will of April 16, 1895, the executors are his sons, the Rev. Joseph Henry Brierley, of Whitborne Vicarage, Hereford Frank Brieriey, Swinton Cottage, Swinton- park, cotton spinner; and James William Brierley, of Spring Mount, Rochdale, cotton spinner. The testator bequeathed to his wife, Mrs. Alice Brierley, ;CIOW, his Consumable stores, horses and carriages, and outdoor effects, the use and enjoyment of bis furniture and household effects, the nse and enjoy- ment of his house, West Hill, and the adjoining land, and a life annuity of £1000. Subject to^Vire. Brierley's interest, the testator left the West Hill property to his son, Joseph Henry, Mr. Jatne* Whitehead; of Brindle Lodge, Lanca- shire, left personal estate valued at £ 10=>,t)45 ?s.-5d, net, the gross value being X18,3,517 17s. 8d. The executors are his sons, John Whitehead, of \yclif'fe, Blackpool, colliery proprietor, and Thomas White- head, of 54, FisJiergatey Preston, solicitor. Estate duty has been paid on £ 63,243 10s. 10d., as the value of the. personal estpjtp of Mrs. Emilia Gurney, of 3, Orme-square, formerly of 8, Kensington Palace-gardensi who died on Oct. 17 last, daughter of the Rev. Charles Batten, a Master at Harrow, and widow of the Right Ron. tttissell Gyrney, Q.C., M.P., Recorder of London from 1868 to 187*5. Probate of Mrs* Gurney's will has been granted to her late husband's -nephew, the -Re-f. Alfred Gurney, of St. Barnabas' Parsonage,' Pirnlieo, and his niece, Miss Ellen Mary Gurney, of Orms-sqnare, and Mr. Charles JDayier Ware» of 11, Phillimore-gar- dens. The testatrix bequeathed to Ellen Mary Gurney E3000 and her furniture and household effects, feeling sure that Miss Gurney will c,trr)- out her wishes.with regard to her effects, and she bequeaths to the Rev. Alfred Gurney £ 1000 and her leasehold house in Orme-square, and devise." t<- him her freehold estate at llcklield, in f-Vissr.v. The testatrix bequeaths to Florence and Martha Coddington, of Rathendfin, Ireland, £ 500 each, aId she gives to them her share in the freehold estate at Harrow settled on her marriage and her hus- band's freehold' estate at Harrow. Mrs. Gurney bequeathed to her cousin Henrietta Venn, £ 4000 to her cousin, Dr. John Venn, £ 3000; to her cousin, Caroline Emilia Stephen, £ 3000 to Lucy Andrew, j £1000; to QeraVdine O'Meara, £ 1500; to her friend, Dr. George Macdonald, £ 500; to her friend, Katherine Gwynne James, of Aylstone-hill, Hore- ford, £ 1000; in trust fcr her husband's niece, Hoien Gurney, £1000; and upon trust for Louisa Eliza- beth Gurney and her two- daughters, £ 5000. There are nn'oeroflis other bequests to relations and friends and F me annuities, and the testatrix bequeaths to the British and Foreign Bible Society, £ 2000; | to tte Church Missionary Society, P-1000; to the Metropolitan Convalescent Institution (which has a home at Walton), £ 1000 to the London Homo opathic Hospital, elfoo; and to the New Hospital for Women, £ 1000. Mrs. Gurney be- j queathed to the executors £ 7000 in trust to expend I such part thereof as may be necessary in carrying out what they know to be her intentions with respect to the chapel in the burial ground of St. George's, j Hanover-sqnare, in the Uxbridge-road, and the en- j largement, improvement, and decoration thereof, and in the1 repair of the caretaker's house. Mrs. Gurney left all the residue of her property, in equal shares, 1 to tW Rev. Alfred Gurney and Miss Ellen Mary ) Gurney. i Personal estate of the value of £ 55,027 6s. lOd. has been left by Alderman James Robert Creighton, j of The SnabB, ;C4rli»le, twioe Mayor of Carlisle, a 1 director of the North British Railway and a partner of R. and J. R. Cieighton (formerly Creighton and Son)," cabinetmakers and1 timber merchants, Carlisle, who died on September 6 last; aged 51 years. The ( execUtors of the late Alderman Creighton's will, which bears date July 2, 1896, are his brother, the Right ReY. Mandell.. Creighlon, Lord Bishop of Peterborough his sister, Alias Mary Ellen Creighton, of 13, Warwick-square East, Carlisle l^r. j Benjamin Scdtt, of Carlisle, lithographic printeir; j and Mr. Robert Creighton, of The Snabs, timber merchant, son of the testator. Alderman Creighton bequeathed to his said son Robert the gold casket pre- j seated to him by the Corporation and Citizens of | Carlisle With the freedom of the city, and he be- j queathed to his son Harold the silver cradle pre- eented to him by the Corporation. The testator be- ) queathqd to the Cumberland Infirmary, E50 to the t Carlisle Dispensary, £25; to the Carlisle Sick Pen- gion Fund, £ 25; to the Churchwardens of Scotby, £ HX), to apply the income in keeping the churchyard I in order; to his daughter. Marjorie his late wife's diamonds; and to his daughters Ella and Winifred j certain furniture. Aid. Creighton left his house, The Snubs, the .fields bought of Sutton and Carrick, his [ furniture and household effects, timber-yard, stock- in-trade, and the goodwill and book debts of his busi- ) ness (subject to payment of the debts owing and a sum of £ 1700 due to his private account), and the I piece of land in Bvron-streefc on whiob,tUr tiori bwiit, pwan, WTMsfcon ItODertTand he left all the residue of his real and personal estate, including the remainder of his property in Caldergate, that in the occupation of Carr and Co., and in Castle-street, Lowther-street, Junction-street, Court-street, and I Brook-street in trust for sale and realisation, and as to the proceeds in trust in equal shares for all his children excepting his son Robert.

If A SPECIES of bear, new to science, has been found among the glaciers of Mount Elias, Alaska. It is called ttoe Ithw or glacier bear by hunters, and hats been designated as UrsusEmmonsii, after Lieutenant Emmons, the discoverer, by naturalists. It is a handsome bear, the fur resembling that of the silver fox, having a bluish-black pelt with White hairs. The sides of the bead are a lovely tan colour. The claws are small, sharp, and black, and evidently adapted for climbing trees. RUSSIA S foremost historian, Alexander Biichner, has passed away in his 62nd year. A native of St. Petersburg; his education was German. He studied at Heidelberg, Jena, and Berlin. In 1861 he was appointed Professor of History at the Imperial Sohool of Law in St. Petersburg. In 1867 he moved to the University of Odeeea, where he held the Chair of Russian History, and in 1872 he went to Dorput t, take up similar duties. But the Russification of 1. niversity wom- in process of being carried out, ana uchners German sympathies did not chime in with it. so he was relegated with the same- functions to the University of Kasan. But this purely Musoorite fntlteu was not to the taste of" Biichner, for lie soon applied for leave to reside abroad, and settled in Jeaa. where he died.

COMING ARMY CHANGES. If we oould believe hj& we have read recently w« would (says the Tall Mail Gazette) have no doubt whatever that next year was to be a most revolutionary one so far as the army is concerned. All the same we take leave to insinuate-that it will probably be again a case of much cry and little wool," and that the Treasury will as usual Woek the initiation of all real reforms, and encourage the tailoring propensities of the Commander-in-Chief and his advisers. Though it is hardly possible to deny that the army is unable to properly perform even its peace-time duties owing to its being a number of battalions short, we very much fear that Lord Lansdown will not have the courage to insist on the required additions. to the establishment being provided. We hope that the makeshift suggested in certain quarters, of embody- ing one or mote militia lwttalions-of those territorial regiments whose line battalions are both abroad, will net be entertained. It would mean that we would always have some half-dozen militia battalions em- bodied, and we are quite certain that the effect on the militia would be absolutely ruinous. The large majority df militia officers are either business men or men who could not possibly give up their whole time to soldiering, exoept in case of war or some great urgency and it would be too much to expect these gentlemen to neglect their businesses and other avocations because the War Minister was so timid or the country so mean as to employ the militia on,diities for which they were never intended. It is difficult enough now to officer the constitutional force with the right stamp of men, men with some means and a stake in the country if they were liable at any moment to be embodied permanently for two, three, or four years, it would not do much to get over this difficulty.

FROM SENEGAL TO NIGER. In view of events on the Niger, the following par- ticulars of the French railway from the Senegal to that river, supplied by Captain Calmel, a French Engineer officer, in a report to the Engineers' Depart- ment of the Ministry of War, become of special interest. He begins by stating that only unfavourable opinions have been expressed about this Soudan rail- way; but they are quite unjustifiable, because the ) line from Kayes to Bafoulabe already covers its expenses, and its prolongation has been rendered feasible by the successful bridging of the Bating. This broad stream, here a quarter of a mile wide, has been bridged at Mahinadi, about four miles above Bafoul- broad stream, here a quarter of a mile wide, has been bridged at Mahinadi, about four miles above Bafoul- abe. The river here has steep banks of nearly 40 feet, i se that the bridge presented some special difficulties but, on the other hand, the river is not very deep at this point, and during certain months of the year it is even fordablo. The bridge was commenced in April, 1893, and finished in June, 1896. The April, 1893, and finished in June, 1896. The I two next sections of the Senegal-Niger Railway are I I' those from Bafouiabe to Kita and from Kita to Bamako. With regard to the former of these work has been actually commenced, and one-eighth of the j lina—namc^, as far as Kal £ —may be described as finished. Aom Kale to Djoubeba a line is to be built next season, bringing up the portion completed to one-fourth of the whole. The total distance of the line from Bafoulab6 to Bamako will be 270 English miles, and at the rate of 31 miles a year it j will t.ake about eight years to construct it. Four 1bridges will have to be constructed en route, and the total cost is estimated at 31,000,000 francs. The con- struction of this line will, it is said, reduce the j Government expenses as well as improve the prospects j ef trade.

MISCARRIED JUSTICE. Parada, the once famous prisoner of the Relacam Prison, in Oporto, Portugal, is dead. News of his f death in Africa has recently (remarks the Daily Mail) been received. During 15 years this mysterious con- vict, whose only prototype in the annals of famous prisoners was the romantic prisoner of the Bastille, the Man with the Iron Mask," suffered in solitary confinement for a crithe he never committed. Something over 20 years ago all Europe was shocked by the details of the murder of a Catholic priest who had charge of the diocese of Braga, in North Portugal. The priest was conducting early mass, when a young man suddenly sprang to his feet, and drawing a knife from his belt, rushed towards the priest shouting ) You have wronged my family! Under your stole beats a craven heart, and I will tear it out!" Friends seized him and dragged him down the aisle into the street. He raved and shouted back I will kill him yet I He will be dead before ftuttset. I will kill him even if I have to crawl into his be Ii-room to do it I" No one believed he was serious, but nevertheless, more out of a spirit of mischief than in expectation of seeing a crime committed, a crowd of about 20 young men and women gathered in the vicinity of the priest's house between five and six o'clock that evening. They were about to disperse, when they saw the figure of a man leap from a window of the priest's house. He landed in the garden, and raising him- self, started for the hills. It was Parada. Many started in pursuit, but although the entire village was roused he got away. 'Whilë one crowd was chasing Parada, another thronged about the priest's house, and some of them entered. They started back when they discovered the priest lying on the floor of his bed room dead. After several days of hiding Parada was captured, a changed man. He was as meek as a lamb and full of repentance, and begged his neighbours to be lenient with him, though he vowed his innocence. He was placed on trail. His defence was that he went to the house with the full intention of killing the priest for wrongs which he felt his family had suffered. The rest is told in his own words "Fully determined upon killing him I crept to bis bed room expecting to find him in prayer or aoleelg, but when'I looked in I almost lost my breath. He was on the floor. His lips were trying to move as if he were gaeping. I was frightened. I jumped from the window to the garden and made for the hills, because I found myself pursued. In my excitement in getting away 1 lost my knife, but I never. know, where until I heard that it was found I ia the room alongside the dead man. Suicide was the plea put forward by the prisoner's lawyers, but conviction followed, and he was sentenced to death. But King Peter V., of Portugal, I was impressed by Parada's earnest plea of innocence, and changed the sentence tojmprisonment for life. Thereafter Peter V. received regularly, twice a year, just before Good Friday and before his birth-, day, a letter, each time, from some foreign port, written in the same handwriting, and consisting of only, these words: Parada is innocent. Pardon him." The kings of Portugal are allowed by law only to pardon convicts, twice a year on Good Friday and on their birthday, and these letters came regularly for many years. About seven years ago the real murderer, for it was a murder, died in the hospital at Brabanza. On his deathbed he sent for the highest police officials and the Mayor, and made this confession Jik ■M.rsavs ss irTrajThtt morning. I saw a chance of settling a debt ef vengeance. I entered the house early and remained concealed there until I thought it was time for Parada to come, and then I slew the priest and Mcaped." This confession 15 years after the crime brought about Parada's pardon and caused the death penalty to be abolished in Portugal. The news of Parada's I death recalls the story of this remarkable came of of miscarried justice.

J WELSH BULLS. Ireland has long ago lost the reputation of being the only place where bulla" are made. Gallant Little Wales has pow some excellent specimens to show. According to the Cardiff Times, at the last meeting of the Ruthin Guardians one of the medical officers in his reports had the following extraordinary entries: Daniel and Ann Williams, extra nourish- ment required for her and her husband. The husband is dead." The guardians were speechless with surprise, but when the clerk read the next entry: "Owen Williams dead; requires constant nursing," their astonishment gave way to a loud burst of merri- ment. The doctors explanation is awaited with interest: ^—^

ENGLAND'S LAST CHANCE. Whether it will be possible amongst the frienda of the late Lord Leighton to obtain a sufficient sum to- purchase the freehold upon which his house stands must (remarks the Daily Chronicle) be left to their generosity. But at least the thanks of the British public, and especially of the Kensington pubtle, are due to Mrs. Sutherland Orr and Mrs. Matthews for having intimated that they are willing to present their brother's house with its beautiful Arab hall, to the nation, on condition that it shall be properly maintained at the public expense. There has been some talk of an attempt to remove the Arab hall bodily to South Kensington, but it may foe- doubted whether such a scheme, though poseiblv feasible, would have been at all in accord with the painter's wish. To compare great r things with little, one would net care. to see Giotto's Tower, however tenderly taken down piece- meal, put up in any other part of Florence. On the other hand, of course, it is difficult to foresee in what best way such a house could be used by the nation for the furtherance of art work, so near and dear to. the heart of its late owner. It is possible that it might be made the habitation of one or more of the- working art guilds of London, it might become the home of a school of art for Kensington, the meeting place for art criticism of various societies, or even the exhibition place from time to time of certain art work, whether of brush or pencil, or sculptor's or graver s tool, or goldsmith's or ironworker's forge; but at any rate, the house, if preserved for one er any of tttest objects, might fairly have a single room reserved in it for the memory of its late master, and doubtless from time to time gifts would accrue which would go far to the furnishing of such a room with examples of the painter's work. But all this is in nubibus what the friends of Lord Leighton oould do if they chose to preserve an interesting memory of the dead artist is to see to it, that of the many hundred sketches now on sale at the Fine Art Society Gallery, in London, there should be pur- chased a sufficient number of the best examples to show how this careful and conscientious workman built up his larger pictures. One- can hardly imagine a much more liberal education for an art student than a stght of the many sketches, some mere suggestions. some most elaborate and carefully finished work, viewed in close proximity to the original picture for which these sketches were the first design. Let anybody who cares to know read Mrs. Russell Darrington's article in the National Review, and they will understand how those who value the example of honest workmanship in art feel sad to think that so little attempt is being made to keep together foe educational purposes a sufficient number of the beet examples of that which was perhaps the best work Leighton ever did for his art and his country. There in parvo may he see all the thought that went to the making of his Daphnephoria,™ his "Heracles and Alcestis," his Iphigenia, his Clytie," his Noonday Rest," his "Garden of Hesperides," his "Sea Giving r p the Dead." One would have thought that there had been enough interest in the personality of the late President to have induced 15 people, or say 10, to guarantee £100 each for such a purpose,1'; but un- less the gallant 15 can put themselves into communi- cation with Mrs. Russell Barrington without delay., the opportunity of thus honour,ng Lord Leigbtoh's memory will have been lost, and the house, if it be- comes the property of the nation, will fail to obtain an interesting reminiscence of the master who dwelt there.

HEARTRENDING DISTRESS IN ARMENIA. People in England are probably heartily tired (observes a Constantinople correspondent of the Dduy Iclcgraph) of news from Armenia by this time. It is too uniformly sad. But it will never change its character till the causes now at work have ceased. And of that there is no s'"gn. These causes cannot be removed by the Powers; but the distress they engender may be somewhat mitigated by kind- hearted individuals. Whether it is harrowing enouirli will bo evident from a few facts based upon the rt'ncvt. (>: the Relief Committee in the Kharpoot ci i-s-riet, and upon other sources which are perfectly trustworthy. Kharpout is only one of many districts. It is famous for its wine, its honey, and its silk—or, rather, it was famous for these. They are gone*, now, with the 15,000 Christians who created these jncuistiriea., and were massacred, during the recent nc.ubl??. Still, much might be done to regenerate them by the survivors, if tho survivors themselves were cerlaia to live any little time. But they are not. Many of them, to perpetrate,4 Hibernian bull; tire already dead, others are dying of-hunger and hunger-bred disease. How many? Even the Relief Com- mittee would not venture to fix the number; but, it proclaims that it has given relief to 80,000 personam the Kharpoot district alone. The rigours of winter are now Jet looia.on, the land once more, and the condition 01 the people j,1f woful in the extreme. The harvests, in some places (in Kharsandjak, for instance) have failed; in other places in (Malatia, for example) the grain has been seized by the Turks; everywhere business is at a standstill owing to universal fear and mistrust, and, bad as the times consequently are, the taxes have been collected with an energy that would hardly be warranted were the land flowing with milk and honey. This is the reason why about 45,000 people will be dependent upon Christian charity this winter. The worst feature of the situation is the ntterbelp- lessnesa of the sufferers, the most of whom are widows and orphans, emaciated by hunger, palsied by disease; stupefied by terror. In three towns (Malatia, Arabkir, and Eghin) there are 22GS widows and 4826 orphans in the villages of the district about 20,000". What is to be done with this multitude? Thp urks have their own methods of dealing with them, which are horrible, but are none the less frequently applied. For instance, on Nov. 13 a forlorn woman, wandering about the streets of Bitlis, was relieved from the pangs of hunger by Isome good souls there. She told her story,, which has received such confirmation that it cannot be doubted, and here it is: My husband was killed it Agants—that's where I come from. I left a few days ago, because he was killed and because-" Here she burst into tears. "I had no oner.to live for more. My boy—ah a lovely boy-was taken by the Turks, ana, along w ith other children and women, was 3ung into a grain-pit. Then dirt and soil was shovelled over them, and it was trodden down by the men they danced on it, while the women shrieked and the poor children screamed and gasped. Then I left and came here." The Relief Committee and the missionaries hardly know what to do with the children. A little girt of seven, for example, was found Irving in an empty room, where she was locked up all day with a..chunk of dry bread nothing else, nobody with her. Her father and mother are among- the thousands of the Islam; her yotiiig brothers are gone to seek for work. The kind-hearted foreigners here are willing to, do what they can, but they have not sufficient funds to enable them to cope with all the cases that come to their knowledge; and to leave such distressed Ult- relieved seems to them-must" indeed, seem to all who have witnessed it-to partake of the nature of a crime. The ladies here are denying themselves almost necessaries in order to help the dying and the hungry. And y«t they are followed in the daytime by misery-stricken, half-naked skeletons begging for a crust, and are haunted at night by awful visions of human sufferinff. t A loaf of bread or a sixpence cannot support a child until it becomes a breadwinner and these wretched I children, young in years and old in experience, moat be taught to earn a livelihood. It is new suggested that they be placed in homes, where they will be j cared for on payment of a sum sufficient to afford a I small compensation to the family adopting them— I about four Turkish pounds a year- The amount now needed to relieve the distress of about 50,000 persons during this winter are For food 20,000 Turkish pounds; for clothing and bedding, 10,000 pounds; for orphans, 20,000 pounds; total £ T(-0,'K)0. Unless it comes from abroad—and abroad means England and the United States —many of these unfortunate people are doomed to die a horribls J death.

I MR. EDWARD SATTERTHWAITB has been appointed i secretary to the Committee for General Purposes, of ( the Stock Exchange, in succession to Mr. Francis j Levidb, who recently resigned. j THB Foreign Office in London has received a pro- 1 test from settlers in Algeria against the attitude adopted towards British trade and enterprise by the French.Governjoent and the authorities who re- ceive their inspiration and marching orders from it. t ,0