The Brecon County Times Neath Gazette and General Advertiser for the Counties of Brecon Carmarthen Radnor Monmouth Glamorgan Cardigan Montgomery Hereford

THE BALTIC. The Cronstadt journals mention an extraordinary subsidence of the waters of the Baltic in that lo- cality. It began in the evening, the wind being S.W. and rather fresh. At ten at night the level of the sea was a foot lower than ordinary, and continued still to sink. The following morning at six it was two feet below its normal point, the wind having veered round to the N.E.; and at two in the afternoon the greatest de- pression was arrived at, namely, three feet two inches. The water then began to mount rapidly, and during the night exceeded its ordinary level by a foot. Nearly all the steamers plying between Cronstadt and St. Petersburg were aground, a circumstance almost unprecedented. As to the cause of this phenomenon nothing is known but the supposition is that a strong N. E. wind drove the waters towards the Swedish, Danish, and Prussian coasts.

— THERE CAN BE NO DOUBT now that famine is inevitable over a large area in the north-west provinces of India. Rajpootana will suffer in an especial degree The state of affairs in Central India is but little better. The Government are fully alive to the crisis, and have published an able State paper for the guidance of tht local authorities at such a crisis. J

THE COURT. t ON Friday Sir Stafford N orthcote had the honour of dining with the Queen and the Royal family at Balmoral. THE Queen received on Thursday the intelligence of the death of her Majesty's first cousin, Duke Ernest of Wurtemburg. HER Royal Highness the Crown Princess of Prussia took leave of their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales on Saturday, and attended by the Countess Hothenthal and the Hon. Mortimer Sackville West, left Mariborough-house for St. Leonards. The Prince of Wales accompanied her Royal Highness to the railway station at Charing-cross.

THE ARTS, LITERATURE, &c. OLD INNS —The most famous of the Saracen's Heads," which was once a common sign in London, has now disappeared. The old house and yard on Snow-hill, which Tarleton and Stowe have alike noted, can no logger be even traced. The other famous-house, in Friday-street (Sir Christopher Wren's), was taken down in 1844. Many of us may remember the grim twin heads at the gate, the huge head at the bottom of the yard, and the small likeness of the terrible Saracen that was emblazoned on all the stage-coaches that took their departure from or put up at this inn. In what year the Saracen first glared over Snow-hill is not known. Some say he was first set up in the city out of compli- ment to Thomas a, Beckett's maternal grandfather, who was popularly said to have been a Saracen. Others take the sign as being in memory of the crusades. Of its antiquity there is no doubt. At the Chelmsford Assizes, nearly 40 years ago, the Lord Chief Baron found, by an ancient deed, that the Black Boy there had been the Slack Boy ever since the reign of Edward II. In London, the ancient inns are nearly all gone. The year after the Saracen's Head in Friday-street was demolished, the renowned Swan with Two Necks dis- appeared, and Lad-lane with it. In was in the yard of this inn that Sydney Morgan, on first reaching London, sat down 011 her little trunk, bewildered as to what she was to do next, and fell fast asleep in the midst of her disturbed thinking—Athenceum. TALKING CANARIES,—In a recent number of Once a Weak is an account of a talking canary-bird at Berlin, which articulates Wo bist du, mein liebes Maetzekin ?" This phenomenon, it is stated, has raised a perfect storm of excitement" at the Ornithological Society at Berlin. A correspondent, who is well known to us, writes that he is rather astonished at a talking canary- bird being sach a wonder, but that perhaps he is biassed by old knowledge. "Fifty years ago," he continues, a sister of mine became possessed of a very young canary. She used to amuse herself by repeating to the bird the words, 'Sweet! pretty, pretty, pretty, sweet One day, quite suddenly—the same thing is said of the Berlin bird—the canary burst out with "Tweet, wichy, wichy, wichy, weet.' From that day, he gradually lost his old song, and at last gave nothing but the above words to the day of his death, which was years after his change of note." There are scattered stories which seem to indicate that many, perhaps most, birds have some power of acquiring articulation.—Athenceum. THE Minister of Public Instruction in France has caused an inquiry to be made as to the sanitary condition of the various lycees of the capital. According to the report, six students out of 18,000 die in the course of a year; that is, one in 3,000. On the other hand, the deaths of children of like age-that is, between 10 and 15 years-in Paris amount to 5 in 1,000 annually. A GUN which was taken at the capture of Bhurtpore, in 1827, and ever since kept in charge by the Royal Artillery at M< erut, has been sent to England, and is now at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich. As soon as a carriage is prepared it will be removed to the Royal Artillery Barracks, and placed with the other trophies, one of which is a large gun captured at the same place. FEMALE CAPPJCE.—the saints of the stage have their little caprices, like commoner folk. Some of them have gone into convents or monasteries, but not all have stayed there. Last year, two were added to the list. Mdlle. Mouravieff, the Russian dancer, of the Grand Opera, became a Carmelite nun, and the outer world hears no more of her. After her, MdlJe. Thuillier, the pretty and clever actress of the Odeon, overwhelmed by a tender domestic affliction, withdrew from the stage, .preparatory to entering the Carmelite convent at Blois. But the young lady has changed her mind, and has returned to the stage.—Athenceum. THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION.—The accounts of the local committee for condusting the Norwich meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science have just been made up, and show a balance of !332. This sum is to be applied as follows :— £ 50 for the pur- chase of elementary scientific books for the Norwich Free Public Library, the selection to be left to the Rev. Hinds Howeli; £ 100 to be granted to three trustees for the purchase of meteorological instruments for Nor- wich and the balance to be granted to the Norfolk and Norwich Museum unconditionally. THE Fioe Arts Exhibition at Leeds closed on Satur- day, and short addiesses were delivered by Earl Dudley, Lord Houghton, and Mr. Beckett Denison. During the 143 days it has bem ou view, the number of visitors has reached 570,000, and of that number 450,000 paid for admission at the doors, the remainder obtaining entrance by season tickets. The largest attendance was on Thursday, the 22nd October, when no fewer than 13,231 persons entered the building. The highest weekly at- tendance was reached on the week ending the 16th October, when it amounted to upwards of 46,000 per- sons. THE Arundel Society is about to issue a new work, being a description of its own publications during twenty years. This book will be illustrated, and has resulted from the success of some experiments in photographing the prints, casts, &c., on a small scale, suitable for book illustration, which the society has issued during the period in question. THE Council of the Archseological Institute have selected Bury St. Edmunds as the place in which -to hold their congress next year. HER MAJESTY'S "Leaves from a Journal of Our Life in the Highlandsis being translated into Marathi &nd Guzerathi, by desire of the chiefs of Western India.

PIGEON EAGES IN BELGIUM. The increasing amount of attention devoted to the pigeon races in Belgium may be inferred from the com- parison of the relative number of races flown, and value of the prizes given, during the four months of June, July, August, and September in 1867 and in 1868. During the summer of 1867 the number of matches flown by the several societies was 463; the prizes awarded were 7,432 the number of birds taking part in the races being nearly 60,000. During the past year 675 races have been flown, 11,478 prizes awarded, and upwards of 90,000 pigeons have been engaged in the competitions. Taking the expenses incurred for each bird at the low estimate of three francs, or 2s. 6d. each, the total amount incurred for the races of 1868 is pwards of XII,C,00.-Fild.

THE BRITISH GbBN TRADE. The past week and the close of the previous have brought us large quantities of rain but we hear of no such floods as in France, or of such disasters from this cause as have emphasised the advices from Italy. A wet time is considered well for wheat-planting after good tillage, so everything for the future of this country looks cheerful. 'The young plants up are healthy and strong, and a generally fine growth will no doubt be presented to face the ordinary severities of winter. But with terrific earthquakes and floods abroad, and some such signs in Ireland, we are cautioned not to be over-confident. The revolution in Spain, that once looked so threatening, as yet turns cut of so moral and healthful a character that it has the aspect of a blessing after a bad harvest, as there seems no doubt the rulers, de facto, will consider it imperative upon them to provide food and labour for the people. Thus so scenes of strife and bloodshed, which might have sprung out of present distress, may be effectually prevented, and shipments made to every part of the Spanish coast without fear. The past week records a more healthy tone as regards the wheat trade, an Irish demand agaia coming to our help both in London and off the coast. Marianopoli wheat having sold for this destination at full rates, with barley, beans, and peas bringing the same prices as wheat, and oats relatively as dear, they must be nervous indeed who force off their exceptionally fine stores of the leading grain under the apprehension of much further decline. Be it ever remembered that the admitted surplus amount does no more than place our stocks on the average scale of past years, and occasional famines are not so scarce as to warrant a thoughtless dependence on an annual growth. To distrust Providence we know is bad. but to tempt it would seem worse so let us seek to fall into that groove called the happy medium." The late dull ad vices from London have continued to exercise some influence on Europe, but only moderately so, and though New York is irregular, and lower for the prices of flour, a speculation has sprung up for Spring wheat, which has caused a rise of 3 to 5 cents, per bushel.— M&Tk-lane JSxjsress, I

AGRICULTURE. AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS. One of the first fruits of our attempt to collect agri- cultural statistics was noticed by Mr. Caird in his excellent letter to the Times. The yield of wheat has been ascertained to be unusually large. Mr. Caird estimates it at 32 bushels per acre, which is five bushels above the average but our resources can only be confidently ascertained when we know the actual acreage under wheat. We might have had a short area, whereas it appears that some 300,000 acres beyond the average were planted with wheat hence it follows that we have an addition of 1-12th to the acreage, eq-ualtoan extra month's supply. Here is a fact of the greatest importance, affording a clue to the home demand, and giving the farmer the means of judging as to the pro- bable price during the coming winter. Mr. Caird calcu- lates that our own crop will require supplementing by six and a half millions of foreign wheat, and that, the importations for August and September having been about at this rate, it would appear that present prices are required to draw from abroad the necessary supply. This is a comforting doctrine for the farmer, but is it quite a sound one ? Are August and September fair specimen months ? Will not the abundant American and Canadian crops find their way in greater quan- tity later on. At any rate, we may gather from the investigation that it will be wise to sell our wheat freely at present rates, and by thrashing as we want straw, and so steadily feeding the market, we may hope for an average of about 7s. a bushel, which is considered a pay- ing price. Mr. Caird's calculations are founded on the supposition that 54 bushels of wheat are consumed per head in the United Kingdom, that the population num- bers over thirty millions, and that our own crop will yield 15,700,000 quarters. Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert contribute an important paper to the current volume of the Royal Agricultural Society's Journal, on the Home Produce, Imports, and Consumption of Wheat." Their figures, though approximating, do not entirely agree with Mr. Caird's estimates. They consider that the area under wheat has diminished since the estimate of 1850, and, if we place full reliance on the completeness of the Government returns for 1866 and 1867, it would appear beyond doubt that a great redaction had ensued but the differences are in many cases too great to allow of rur doing so. Thus in England we have no facts pre- vious to 1866, save Mr. Caird's estimate in 1850. Acres. 1850. Mr. Caird's estimate 3,416,000 I 1866. Agricultural returns 3,126,431 1867. Ditto 3,140,025 The Highland Society were very successful in collect- ing statistics during the four years from 1854 to 1857. The mean area in wheat was, according to these returns, 211,500 acres; whereas in 1866-67 the mean was re- turned as 110,610-a difference hardly to be accounted for on any other ground than deficient returns, although it is generally allowed that the breadth under wheat has sensibly diminished, whilst barley and oats have increased. In Ireland the difference between 1852, when the collection commenced, and 1867, is again large—viz., 353,566 acres to 261,034 acres and hence, making all due allowance fer defective returns, we are driven to the conclusion that less land is planted with wheat than formerly. The yield per acre appears to have increased in Great Britain and decreased in Ireland on the whole, however, giving a trifling increase. The average yield may be taken at from 27 bushels to 28 bushels per acre. Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert estimate the present crop at 34 bushels, which we think must be too high for although the yield on wheat soils is generally most abundant, the lighter soils will in some cases not be an average. According to their figures, less than five and a half millions of imported wheat will suffice. A sensible in- crease in consumption per head appears to have taken place; thus, from 1352 to 1859 the average of the United Kingdom was 5'1 bushels from 1860 to 1867 5'5 bushels. Should population continue to increase at the same rate as no w, it is evident that in five years 22 million quarters will be annually required and, accord- ing to present growth, the home produce will average twelve and a quarter million quarters hence from nine to ten million quarters of foreign wheat will be required. Thanks to our commercial freedom, we are in no danger of starving; but, should a short yield prevail here and abroad, we must be prepared for high prices. In trying to form a just estimate of the past harvest, we must not forget that both barley and oats are deficient, the latter especially so. Mr. Caird estimates the deficiency over an ordinary crop at £ 10,000,000. Potatoes, however, are likely to pay well. The later varieties are especially fine, having grown rapidly since the rains indeed, generally there is more or less of a second crop. In several instances, within our own knowledge, .£28 to .£35 an acre has been made for the crop in the ground and we have heaid of one instance where 100 acres were sold at the latter figure. This was, however, on a fine warp soil, and is therefore exceptional. There is a doubt as to the keeping character of potatoes that have grown out, aDd certainly the quality is not improved. The profits on wheat and potatoes will, however, be partly met by the increased cost of cattle during the coming winter; and should it prove severe, the expense in arti- ficials will be heavy. All who are fortunate enough to have roots may make a good return by wintering sheep and cattle, as both will be very dear next spring, and Pra- comparatively cheap at present. Great economy s-hould be displayed in the feeding. Store cattle require shelter. Much of the food is often wasted in keeping up the temperature of the body. Good yards, with deep roomy sheds open to the south, are the best possible quarters, and far before covered yards for store cattle. Straw chopped up and mixed with a very small allowanca of pulped roots will keep the animals going but their case and the manure will be much improved if we add a small allowance of artificial food. If we cannot afford roots, chop and a larger quantity of arti- ficial will do indeed, we have known beasts thrive well upon straw and cake. In this way, with management, store cattle will pay extremely well for wintering and we advise all those who can by any means manage it to fill up their stock. Should we be favoured with an early spring and abundant gras3 growth, the demand for use- ful grazing stock will be very great.-Field. DESTROYING WOOD-LICE IN POTATO FlousE.-These troublesome pests are partial to potatoes therefore we should advise active measures to be taken to destroy them. If they are abundant, thousands might be destroyed by smashing them with your feet. If boiling water can be poured into their haunts without touching the potatoes, it is desirable. We have caught thousands in fion er-pots filled with dry hay, and laid on their sides, once a day lifting the hay out of the pots, and shooting the wood-lice into a pail of hot water. Whether they would care for the pots in the face of the superior attraction of the heap of potatoes with the covering of bay, is a problem which can very soon be solved.— Ilibbercl's Gardener's Magazine. SAVE THE MANURE.—Farmers are not aware how much is wasted on their farms, that with little care and trouble might be made into valuable manure. Every- thing that can be decomposed, either in process of time, with the assistance of the elements, or by the aid of chemical agents, should be saved for the compost heap. Select some place in the barn-yard, or adjacent lot where it will be convenient of access, and there gather your compost, addiog from time to time such solvents as may be necessary. Here bring all the weeds, sods, briars, thistles, &c., that you are compelled to dig and cut up through the summer, and add to these from time to time whatever you have of waste material, muck from from the swamp, decayed fruits, potato vines, leaves, the deposit from the sink, &c., and at the close of the year you will be surprised at the size of your heap, and be able to see for yourselves how much is really wasted on your farms that might be turned to valuable account.— Rural American

HIJSTTS UPON GARDENING. KITCHEN GARDE, N.-Wo shall surely submit tr. UIR rigours of winter with more complacency this yeia we have enjoyed a long and a brilliant summer WIHd has been one of the most fruitful known in the experiw^a of any among this generation. From this time it is the gardener's duty to take advantage of every ray of sun- shine, so as to promote the ripening of all kinds of stock, and to keep greenhouse plants exposed to the air as long as it is safe to do so. It is not the cold, but the heavy rains which do most injury to tender plants at this sea- son hence, many things besides true greenhouse plants are all the better for the protection of a frame or cold pit, where they can have shelter, but plenty of air and light. This is a busy mouth nearly every kind of winter work may be commesced, and, indeed, completed, if weather permits. Pits, frames, and houses, ought now to be clean and free from the smell of paint and putty. If any repairs have been neglected, see to them at once, and get all sweet and dry without a day's delay for when we get to November we are never sure for a week together but that our appliances and manual skill may have -a sudden trial. Usually we have mild weather till Christmas, and there seems every probability that this season will be no exception but the prudent gardener works by anticipation, and is always ready for emergencies. In preparing for next year's crops, trench over first the ground intended for root crops next season, and choose for potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and beet, plots that have been well manured this year. If the soil allows of deep digging, fork over the second spit, and if it is of a friable and fertile nature, bring it to the top, so as to turn the whole soil over eighteen inches or two feet deep. Plant out the August-sown cabbage; leave the weakest in the seed- bed for future planting. Plant out lettuce in a warm situation take up potatoes, carrots, beets, and par- snips earth up celery. Use the fork, spade, and hoe as much as possible to keep all plots clean, and destroy the large crops of weeds that the autumn rains will bring up. Lay cabbages and broccolis that are forward with their heads to the north. Cauliflower plants to be transplanted into frames or under hand-glasses. Fork over asparagus beds, and clear away all litter remove the stems with a knife, and dress the crowns with manure, and a little fresh mould over all. FLOWER GARDEN.—Let chrysanthemums be securely staked; train out plants in pots, and make them neat and tidy for blooming give plenty of water. When required to take the place of bedding plants, get them into their places without delay, and lift carefully with good bal!s. Chrysanthemums in the borders should be looked over without delay, to see that they are suffi- ciently staked. Where they are required to take the places of bedding plants, they should be got to their places at once, and be lifted with good balls, and5 well watered in. Choice and delicate sorts are best flowered in pots under glass, and for this purpose they ought to have been potted two or three months ago, and shifted as required, and trained out, so as to give effect to their beauty when in bloom. The bulbs to be planted this month are hyacinths, crocuses, scillas, crown imperials, liliums, irises, narcissus, jonquils, daffodils, and early tulips. Herbaceous spring-flowering plants may also be got into the borders, to bloom at the same time as the bulbs. Get all plants of questionable hardiness, and any that are liable to suffer from wet or the attacks of snails, under cover. Remove decayed leaves wherever they occur, to prevent the formation of moulds about growing plants. The ground for the best bed of late tulips should now be forked over two feet deep, and lay four inches of cow-dung in the bottom of each trench as you proceed. Show tulips to be sorted over, and arranged for planting. Be particular as to heights, as it spoils a bed to get first or second row flowers into third or fourth rows. Ever- greens planted now will make better growth next spring than those planted in February and March. Hollyhocks of the best sorts to be propagated, to keep up a good stock. Dahlias require a good deal of care now to keep them trim, and, as flowers are getting scarce, let the dahlias have necessary attention to keep them gay to the last. FRUIT GARDEN. Towards the end of the month, gooseberries, currants, and raspberries may be moved. In all removals, whether of trees, bushes, or herbaceous plants, let the roots be examined, and all diseased or mouldy portions cut clean away. Currant and goose- berry canes may be put in to increase stock, and for this purpose two-year-old wood is better than the shoots of the season, if disbudded a foot or eighteen inches from the base. In planting fruit-trees, unless the soil is poor and exhausted, use no manure whatever pure loam is preferable to an enriched soil for all trees intended to bear early and live long. Apples to be carefully gathered as they ripen, and to be stored at once without wiping them. GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY.—House at once whatever is to be wintered under glass. Remove the shading, give plenty of air, and whenever green-fly or thrips appear, resort to effectual methods at once, and much future annoyance will be saved. Plants that are to bloom during the winter should have the best place as to warmth. Give plenty of air, day and night, and remove the shading, so as to let in all the sunshine that can be had. Avoid making up fires but, when it becomes necessary to do so, make a brisk fire, so as to dry the house and promote a current of air; otherwise push nothing into growth more than may be needful to ensure vigorous health and plenty of stamina. Azaleas and camellias standing out should be got under glass at once, but still to have plenty of air. Those coming on for bloom will require frequent syringing. Geraniums newly struck will require to be kept rather warm, to encourage the'formation of roots those that are strong in pots may have plenty of air and be kept rather dry to eheck growth. If more geraniums are wanted, put in the ripest shoots you can get, five or six round the sides of five-inch pots, and place them on a top shelf. Of course they must be kept moderately dry. Cinerarias should be kep,t growing freely, and be regularly stepped to produce gsod specimens. Pelargoniums for spring exhibition will now want another shift. Get them into their blooming-pots at once use good turfy loam and old manure, plenty of drainage, and, for a fortnight after shifting, give very little water. Bedding plants may still be propagated, but the stock ought to be com- plete by this time. Calceolarias put in now will make good plants for bedding next summer. VINERY.-Beware of too much heat in the vinery this month, for any excess will cause vines to push too fast for the amount of light they get. FRAME —Auriculas to have plenty of air, and be protected against damp, which is apt to injure them as the weather grows chilly. Carnations potted last month will require to be looked over to remove dead leaves, and to see that mildew is not attacking them. Keep them well aired.-Tite Gardener's Magazine.

I j'" WHY DO THEY BIE ? The Times of the 21st October records the death of a labouring man named Richard Parser, who according to apparently sufficient evidence, had attained the age of 112 years. This patriarchal length of days, although rare, is not unprecedented even in comparatively modern times. Henry Jenkins is said to have lived for 169 years. He was born in the reign of Henry VII. When a boy he took a cartload of arrows to the English army at Flodden Field, and lived to relate the circumstance in the reign of Charles II. Thomas Parr, well known as "Old Parr," died at the age of 152, and enjoyed the posthumous distinction of being dissected by Harvey. Jean Claude Jacob, a serf from the Jura Mountains, appeared before the National Assembly of France in the time of the first revolution, when he was 120 years old. There is said to be an inscription in Camberwell Church perpetuating the memory of Agnes Skuner, who died at the age of 119, having been a widow for 92 years. In Hendon churchyard is the tombstone of an old woman who died at 104. A tailsr of Chertsey was in- troduced to William IV. on his 100th birthday, and survived the interview for four years. Many other ex- amples of similar longevity might be mentioned. But thsugh in a series of generations it is easy to find that a not inconsiderable number of persons have survived 100 years, yet,, as compared with the mass of humanity, their number is almost infinitely small. Few travellers reach the end of that bridge which has a hundred arches; most fall victims to the dangers ef the road. Few men live long enough to die of old age. They succumb to one or other of the diseases by which life is beset, but which are not the inevitable accompaniments of any period. With regard to the fortunate few who escape premature death from what may be considered accidental rather than neces- sary causes, we may wonder, not why they live so long, but why they die so soon. Indeed, we do not know, oi know only very imperfectly, why they die at al-1. We scarcely know anything about the progressive changes that occur in the body which lead to its inevitable ( destruction after an existence of between one and two centuries. It is a matter of interest and importanct that we should learn what are the definite and materia changes which occur as the result simply of age. How are the nervous, muscular, and glandular structures altered ? Are they degenerated into oil, or replaceo by connective tissue ? What is it stops the machine Lancet,

Facts and Facetiae, > A THEORETICALLY benevolent man, on being asked by a friend to loan him a dollar, answered briskly, With pleasure;" but suddenly added, "dear me, how unfortunate, I've only one lending dollar, and that is out. IN a garden in Lynn, Massachusetts, is a pear tree which was grafted four years ago, and, by mistake, an apple scion was put into it. It has now on it several ripe apples of a new variety unknown to fruit growers. ON a recent occasion a marriage ceremony was about to be performed in a Western church, when the minister from the altar requesting the parties desirous of being married to stand up, a large number ef ladies instantly rose to their feet. AN inveterate toper, when receiving a lecture from his wife on the subject of his convivial habits, savagely reminded her that woman had brought more sin and sorrow into the world by her eating than ever man had done by his drinking. RIGHT AND LEFT.—Two Quaker girls were ironing on the same table. One asked the other what side she would take, the right or left. She answered, promptly, It will be right for me to take the left, and then it will be left for thee to take the right." GLIB OF TONGUE.-In Congreve's comedy of The Way of the Woriel, one of the characters is thus made to speak of a lady, in allusion to her glibness and inveteracy of talk :—" She has got that everlasting rota- tion of tongue that echo hath no chance with her, but must wait till she dies to catch her last word." WHAT do you mean by a cat and dog life ? said a husband to his angry wife. Look at Carlo and Kitty asleep on a rug together I wish men lived halt as peaceably with their wives. Stop," said the lady tie them together, and see how they will agree." A FAMOUS judge came late to court one day in busy session whereat his clerk, in great surprise, inquired of him the reason. A child was born," his honour said, and I'm the happy sire." An infant judge?" "Oh, no," sail he; '"as yet he's but a crier." AN English gentleman travelling in Ireland, remarked to the driver of a coach upon the tremendous length of the Irish miles "Confound your Irish miles! Why, there's no end to them Sure," said the coach- man, the roads are very bad about here, and so we have good measure." MAMMA," said a young lady to her mother, "what is emigrating?" "Emigrating, my dear, is a young lady going to California." What is colonising, mamma?" "Colonising, my dear, is marrying there and having a family." Mamma, I should like to go to California How TO INCREASE THE MEASURES.—A thirsty Quaker, having stopped at a tavern to get a pot of beer, observing that the measure was deficient, asked the landlord how many casks he drew in a month. "Ten," was the reply. And wouldst thou not like to draw cleven, my friend T' "Yes." Then I'll tell thee how fill thy measures." WOMAN.—Why was woman made from the rib elman, in preference to any other bone ? She was not taken from the head, lest she should rule over him, nor from the feet, lest he should trample on her but she was taken from his side, that she might be his equal from under his arm, that he might protect her and from near his heart, that he might cherish and love her. WHEN Jones was at Oxford he was a most ex- cellent fellow, and only had one enemy—soap. He was called Dirty Jones. One day the wag, Brown, went into his rooms, and remonstrating with him on the untidy, slovenly, and dirty state of everything, said, Upon my word, Dirty, it's too bad, the only clean thing in your room is your towel J" THE RETORT CHURLISH."—Some of the Western editors are decidedly complimentary. William T. Dowdall, an Illinois editor, having read Brick Pome- roy out of the Democratic party, the latter replies by calling Dowdall an idiotic swill-headed chunk." Whereupon Dowdall calls Brick a Pandemoniac paste- pot cut.throat.New York paper.. As a clergyman was burying a corpse, an old Irish woman came and pulled him by the sleeve in the middle of the service. "Sir, sir, I wish to speak with you." Prithee wait, woman, till I have done." No sir, I must spake to you immediately." Well, then' what is the matter ? Why, sir, you are after bury- ing a man who died of the small-pox near my poor hus- band, who never had it." HUSBANDS AND WIVES.—Grave natures, led by custom, and therefore constant, are commonly loving husbands. Chaste women are often proud and forward, as presuming upon the merit of their chastity. It is one of the best Isonds, both of chastity and obedience in the wife, if she think her husband wise, which she will never do if she find him jealous. Wives are young men's mis- tresses, companions for middle age, and old men's nurses. FIRST LOVE.—David Crokett, when quite young, fell in love with a beautiful Quaker girl, and he thus forcibly, graphically, and poetically describes the effect, on an ardent and susceptible mind, produced by first love :—"I found myself over head and ears in love with this girl, and I thought that if all the hills were pure chink, and all belonged to me, I would give them if I could just talk to her as I wanted to. But I was afraid to begin for when I would think of saying anything to her, my heart would begin to flutter like a duck in a puddle and if I tried to undo it and speak, it would get right smack up my throat and choke me like a cold potato." How TO PROLONG LIFE. -For many years there prevailed in China an extraordinary superstition and belief, that the secret sect of Tao had discovered an elixir which bestowed immortality. No less than three emperors died after swallowing a drink presented to them by the attendants of the palace, as the draught that was to confer never-ending life. The best method of prolonging life, and making life happy," said a wise mandarin to one of these infatuated princes, "is to control your appetites, subdue your passions, and practise virtue. Most of your predecessors, oh, Emperor! would have lived to a good eld age, had they followed the advice which I gave you." ONE FOR HIS NoB.Wee Davie Johnston, the joiner, had to be accommodated with lodgings in the police-office a few nights ago. Just as he was being conveyed upstairs to his deal mattress," the lieutenant who had booked the charge said, Well, good night, Davie. As you are a joiner, you'll be able to pick out the softest board to lie down upon." This was good- for a policeman but Davie, although bacchi plenus at the time, is not all a fool, and was able for his man. Thank ye, sir—thank ye," he replied "an' if I can fin' ane as saft as your heid, I'll be a' richt. Gude nicht t'ye." GATE AND STYLE.—Coming into court one J day, Erskine perceived the ankle of Mr. Balfour, who generally expressed himself in a very circumlocutory manner, tied up with a silk handkerchief. "Why, what's the mattter ? gaicl Erskine. "I was taking a romantic walk in my brother's grounds," replied Bal- four, when, coming to a gate, I had to climb over it, by which I came in contact with the first bar, and grazed the epidermis of my leg, which has caused a slight extravasation of blood." "You may thank your lucky stars," said Erskine, "that your brotber's gate was not as lofty as your style, or you must have broken your neck."

ATTEMPTED SUICIDE THROUGH ILL- TREATMENT. Mary Ann Skailes, a poor, miserable-looking woman, was placed at the bar of the Westminster Police-court, charged with attempting to drown herself. Police-con- stable Melson, 42 B, said that on Saturday night the defendant complained to him that her husband was ill- treating her. The constable said that he would remain on the spot if she wou.ld go indoors and interfere if there was any necessity, but she refused. Shortly afterwards he saw her walking with her husband. They were quar- relling, and he heard the hueband say, Go and drown yourself." They were at this time in Cambridge-terrace, Chelsea, near the water, and she rushed towards the Thames, fallowed by her husband and witness. The former caught her, and they returned to the door of their own house, when they had more words. Wit- ness then spoke to her husband on his wife's behalf, and while he was doing so prisoner slipped from behind them and hastened to the river. She threw herself off the bank, and he was just in time to seize her by the foot, and with the greatest difficulty he held her by it until he procured assistance. Mr. Arnold What was her husband doing all this time ? Policeman: He was standing at the door without making any effort to save her. He was drunk she was sober. Defendant: Your worship, for 14 years my life has been a burden to me. Every Saturday night that comes round my husband gives me a hiding when he comes home. I am very sorry for what I did. Husband I had a drop of drink on Saturday. Mr. Arnold: Hold your tongue, sir; the less you say the better. Prisoner was remanded.

NO EPSOM DERBY IN 1869? "Vigilant," of the Sportsman, states "on excellent authority" that there is just a chance that there will be no Epsom Derby for the next two years. He says —" It appears that all that part of the Derby course which extends from Tattenham-corner to the furzes, near the starting-post for the City and Suburban, is included in the Six Mile Hill purchased from Mr. Carew by Mr. Studd. This portion was let by Mr. Carew to the proprietors of the Grand Stand on a yearly tenancy of 4300 a year. Mr. Studd, who came into possession of the property last November, would not renew these terms, but offered to give a 20 years' lease of the property at XI,000 per annum. This proposal the Grand Stand Committee stigmatised as extortion, and they at once proceeded to lay oat a new course. It has now been found that this new course cannot be made available unless the Grand Stand is 'removed, and even then there would necessarily be such a dangerous curve beyond Tattenham-corner as no prudent jockey would risk his neck over. The committee of management are thus left in a rare quandary, for although they have not come to any terms with Mr. Studd, they have advertised that the races will be run over his pro- perty as heretofore and this has so incensed him, that he now declares that they shall not hold any races on his grounds, no matter what terms they may offer, and therefore for the present proceedings are at a dead-lock. Should Mr. Studd remain obdurate, all the entries will have to be cancelled, and the nominations would be void if the race were to be run on any other than the ad- vertised course, the conditions expressly saying. the last mile_and a-half, to be run on the new course."

NEW ZEALAND IN 1867. It appears from the report of the Registrar-General, which has just been published, that the population of New Zealand amounted to 218,668, according to the census taken is December, 1867, having increased no less than 46,510, or 27 per cent., since the latest pre- ceding census in 1864. The number of immigrants was 11,126, being less than the number in any year since 1860, when it was 8,935, the numbers in the intervening years ranging from 15,000 to nearly 45,000. The shipping entered and cleared at port in the colony amounted to 617,737 tons. Its imports were valued at X5,344,607, being a decrease of half a million on the preceding year, but its exports had an increase of zE120,000, having reached the highest value since the foundation of the colony—namely, £ 4,644,678. As might be expected, gold and wool together make up nearly the whole of this large sum, being respectively valued at X2,700,000 and £ 1,580,000. The total value mof gold exported in the last seven years is X14,000,000, being an average annual export of X2,000,000, and even this large amount seems likely to be exceeded in future years. During the same septennial period the value of the wool exported amounted to more than £ 7,000,000, being at the rate of one million per year; and this, too, seems likely to be increased. The revenue of the colony was, in 1867, zCI,864,155, being rather more than L9 per head of population, and the expenditure, including the many works of improvement now being carried out in the colony, was about £ 5,000,000. The liabilities of the colony amounted to rather less than four millions and a half, being of nearly the same amount as her exports.

A GALIFORNIAN WEDDING. The California Alta says :-Ala,ulre's Opera House in its palmiest days never contained a greater throng than on last evening. Madame Cuppy invited an audience to remain and witness a marriage ceremony, which would be performed by herself, she being, as teacher in a religious organisation, clothed, legally and legitimally, with the right to carry out the rite. A young couple advanced from behind the scenes, and at this novel hymeneal altar they were united by a female. The ceremony was brief but impressive. "You do solemnly swear, Abigail, in the presence," &c,, "to take," &c.—our readers know the formula better than we (a bachelor) can give it. At the conclusion the parties retired beyond the scenes, the groom not for- getting to drop a liberal amount of coin in the purse of the fair functionary who had made himself and his so happy.

.L DARING BURGLARIES IN STEPNEY. On Sunday morning last the houses of three respectable tradesmen were broken into and plundered in Waterloo- terrace. The fronts of the tenements are in the Cøm- mercial-road, and the backs of the houses and yards in the rear are separated from each other by low walls. The burglars appear to have scaled a lofty wall in a court behind, and descended into the yard behind the parlour of Mr. William Wagg, bootmaker, No. 9. His premises were so well secured as to render any attempt to break in quite hopeless. A dwarf wall was soon got over, and the burglars commenced operations on the premises of Mr. Caggett, fancy stationer and post- master, No. 8. A stout iron bar was ben-t and removed, the shutters of the back parlour window forced, and admission to the premises obtained. A great many cases and closets were ran- sacked, about £ 7 worth of postage stamps and various portable articles to the value of £ 20 stolen. to the house of Mr. Stebbing, undertaker, No. 7, the burglars removed a bar and shutter behind the kitchen window of Mr. Edwin Loveland, hatter, and forced an entrance into the kitchen. The thieves abstracted plate, wearing apparel, and linen valued at £ 40. There was a new linen shirt, with gold studs and gold links on the wristbands, which Mr. Loveland intended to wear on Sunday, hanging up in the kitchen, and this was removed, and a dirty old dilapidated slop shirt substi- tuted in its place. The premises of Mr. Jones, grocer, No. 2, were also broken into, and a few articles of inconsiderable value taken away. A few nights since the counting-house oil the rope ground of Mr. Easum, Commercial-road, Stepney, opposite Waterloo- terrace, was broken into, and X40 in money, including a £20 Bank of England note, stolen. On Sunday night, between the hours of eight and ten o'clock, a bedroom at the back of the Queen's Head public-house, York- square, Stepney, in the occupation of Mr. Thomas Eaton, was entered by thieves, who took from a chest of drawees a silver watch, a gold Albert chain, a guinea, a few pieces of jewellery, five pairs of trousers, two coats, two vests, and other property, valued in all at 416. An entrance was effected by mounting a water- butt in the back-yard, and reaching the window-sill. The window was then opened with ease, and the robbers selected every portable article of value in the room.

MADAME RAOHEL AGAIN. At the Central Criminal Court, on Wednesday, Mr. Com. missioner Kerr, on an application made in Madame Rachel's behalf, consented to have it stated on the record now being prepared, in consequence of the Attorney- General having granted his fiat for a writ of error, that he, Commissioner Kerr, was the judge before whom the trial took place, though other judges were in the build- ing. Madame Rachel's advisers seek to obtain the ad. mission of Mr. Kerr's individual action, because they believe themselves in a position to prove that the com- missioner was not legally justified in trying the case. It has always been the practice in making up the records n such a case to state the names of all the judges who were present during the session, and every one of the judges who were in the building was supposed to preskUfc

-=-- Our ivjLxcjcciiaiiy. LATE AUTUMN.— The violet, white spring cloud, and summer rose, The slips of sunshine on the forest floor, The ocean's blue luxuriant repose, The long calm days and sunsets by its shore, Sweet air, that from the meadowy stretches flows, The lark, the dusky nightingale that sings To morn and twilight's star, when fields are green And golden-past and passing are I ween. And Autumn late from western evenings, Risen in the wild sad wind, that shadowing blows Up the dim void, murmurs, Winter is come Pile up the logs and dust the books, for soon Will swell the broadening tempest's sullen hum, From the white surf-line underneath the moon. -The Quiver. GALLAS MODE OF REMOVING FATNESS.—It is universally stated that the Gallas are in the habit of opening the stomachs of those who are too fat, and removing the superfluous load. This all agree in and in the country itself, the Gallas, to whom I had not mentioned the report, one day pointed out to me an old rich curmudgeon, who was said to have undergone the operation thrice he was stout enough to speculate on a fourth, and spoke of it as a matter of course.—" Travels in Abyssinia and the Galla Country." By Walter Chichele Plowden. REVERSING THE ORDER.—Henry Ward Beecher tells, in the Ledger, that when he was a youngster of nine winters, he had a long checked apron put on him, snd was set to do the housework—"to set the table, to wait on others during meals, to clear off the things, shake and fold the tablecloth, wash the dishes, scour the knives and forks, sweep up the carpet, dust the chairs and furniture," &c. "To these tasks," said he, "I soon added the hemming of towels and napkins, and of coarse fabrications—bags, ticks, and such like. During this period I also continued my stable work." Mr. Beecher avers that the knowledge obtained in this way has been of incalculable value to him all his life and he thinks that men should be made acquainted with such things in these days, when women are emerging from the house- hold, and learning trades, professions, and arts. We always thought that the woman's rights movement would come to this at last.—New York Times. THE DEVIL RoCK.-Did you ever hear of the Devil Rock ? If you look at a chart of the approaches to the English Channel, you will see the Devil Rock marked with a note of interrogation after it. The note of interrogation expresses doubt, the- fact being that nautical men have for years been at issue whether there is any such rock or not in existence. The curious thing is that it lies (that is, if it does net lie in another sense) in the centre of the most crowded maritime thorough- fare in tke world, and one would think it should be as familiar as a lamp-post in Fleet-street; yet some deny its existence altogether, saying that the back of a stray whale has been mistaken for a rock, while others have seen it (standing four feet out of water, black and hideous, and have exactly fixed its latitude and longitude, namely, forty-six degrees nine minutes north, twelve degrees fifty Minutes west. These persons suppose it to be the peak of a range of submarine mountains. I hope this autumn to go to the Azores on board of a fruit-clipper, whose captain is an old friend of mine and if the weather is favourable, I mean to persuade him to sail over the sup- posed site of the Devil Rock. Should I see anything of the dreaded reef, I will let my readers know of it.- Out in Blue Water," in Cassell's Magazine for October. A SIMPLE TEST AS TO SMOKING.—Physiolo- gists are familiar with abundant examples in which articles of food, eminently nutritious to the generality of human beings, act as poison3 on some exceptional organisms. There are many people who cannot eat fat, ethers who cannot eat butter, or eggs, or mutton, game, or peculiar sorts of game, without the most distressing effects. The late Dr. Prout knew a person on whom mutton acted as a poison. He could not eat it in any form. This peculiarity was supposed to be owing to caprice, and the mutton was repeatedly disguised, and given to him unknown, but uniformly with the same result of producing violent vomiting and diarrhoea." Tissot says he could never swallow sugar without vomit- ing. Hahn found that seven or eight strawberries sufficed to send him into convulsions. In presence of such examples, how can we help concluding that tobacco also must to some organisms be of quite peculiar dan- gerousness ? If the excretory action be not rapid, we know that tobacco will be a poison to all men and inasmuch as there are varying degrees of excretory vigour in different organisms, it is clear that the effect of tobacco will be strictly dependent on this varying susceptibility. It is in every man's power to answer very decidedly for himself the important question whether tobacco is injurious to him. Does he suspect any evil influence, let him abstain, and closely watch the result. If, with no other change in his way of life, he can detect the disappearance of any marked symptom, which reappears whenever he resumes his cigar, then he may be sure that it is wrong to smoke, or that he smokes too much.-St. Paul's, THE LATEST PARISIAN ATTRACTIONS.—The Boulevard des Italiens has for the last fortnight been lifted from the worldly prosaicness of its social reputation —it has its bit of romance. Everyone knows the small round glass stalls, brilliantly lighted with gas in the evening, within which the marchands de journaux dispense their daily heap of newspapers. In one of these stalls, opposite the Grand Hotel, there has lately appeared a young Provengale girl—almost Spanish, for on her black hair she wears a high comb and lace mantilla—whose winning face has made her the rage. Although this rare little marchande has large eyes with long dark lashes, brilliant teeth, and splendid hair, her features are by no means perfect; but her expression is so beaming, her smile is so charming, that it is not to be wondered at that every evening around her kiosque, spreading out like a huge fan from her little window, is constantly collected an eager crowd of purchasers, wnile around her, in her glass house, lie bouquets of violets and rosebuds offered her during the day. At five o clock last evening it was with difficulty one passed the place, and, peeping between the heads of her admirers, one could see, her eyebrows lifted, half in surprise, half in fear, the pretty face of Mdlle. de la Perine.—Paris Letter. EFFECT OF LIGHTNING ON METALS. -The following curious communication has just been made to the Paris Academy of Sciences. A woman was crossing a canal bridge, near Nantes, when a powerful flash of lightning seemed, according to her own expression, to envelope her she was not in any way injured, but the contents of her purse underwent an extraordinary change. A ten franc gold piece was in the small minor pocket oi thQtjportemonnaie, and two silver coins in the larger division of the same. A certain quantity of the sil^e!- Was vaporised by the action of the lightning through the leather lining of the purse, and e.s deposited with great uniformity on the gold coin, wlllC had all the appearance of silver, while the surface ° the silver coins had assumed the appearance of havill" been matted or frosted. M. Bobierre, who made the communication, said that he had examined the gold coin with a microscope, and found that the silver waS uniformly deposited apparently in the form of globules, without lany intervals between them. Having removed a small portion of the silver by means of a weak acid? M. Bobierre found that the surface of the gold coin ha been affected, and presented a very different appearance to that produced by the coining press, and was in faC nearly in the same condition as the deposited silver fusion had in fact commenced, but the effect had been instantaneous, and purely superficial, "POPULAR EPUCATOR" CLASSES.—Young me11 meeting together, and comparing notes of what each in P his own way has derived from his individual study oi any particular branch of learning, is so powerful a meaPs of impressing the details upon the mind and ntemorIP and of stimulating to further activity, that students °; the "Popular Educator would do well, where practi' cable, to avail themselves of the opportunity of takin part in such meetings. The association of a convene number of individuals engaged in one common pursuit is so mutually invigorating, that the strength and ex- perience of the entire body becomes the property of each member. We cannot, then, but feel great pleasure ill seconding the efforts of those wh0 seek to turn to full practical account the means of learning which the "Popular Educator" places within their reach. The success which attends the enlightened schoolmaster-- and here the "Popular Educator itself is the school' master-is foreshadowed in the wholesome spirit of emulation which he creates in his pupils. It is tle special office of this work to supply the instructive voice of the living teacher, and those of its students who can conveniently form themselves into bodies or classes of mutual improvement will assuredly master its con- tents with greater ease. Study, when pursued in con- genial society, becomes, moreover, a recreation rather than a labour.-From Cassell's New Popular Edu- cator" for- November. D

DURING THE PAST WEEK 71 wrecks have bee reported, making the total for the present year 1,78