The Daily Southern Cross.

LUCEO, NOV URO. If I have been extinguished, yet there rise A thousand beacons from the spark I bore.

MONDAY, MARCH 14, 1870.

The recent tour* of the Governor and Premier up the "Waikato, although of a private character, suggests matter for reflection by the Auckland settlers. The progress made in the settlement of the Waikato is not, perhaps, so great as might have been expected, but at the same time a good foundation has been laid for the future. During the past five years the Waikato settlers hare had many drawbacks, which may fairly enough account for the backwardness of the district in sevei'al respects. There was a false start almost at the very commencement. The military settlers were unable, in the majority of cases, to hold on by their farm and town sections, and provide food for their families. Hence many sold their allotments early, and left the province. Others held on as long as possible, and only abandoned the land when the Thames goldfield was opened. The goldfield held out a prospect of profitable employment, if not of affluence in time ; and it must be admitted that it relieved the pressure from which the Waikato was then suffering. Then, again, a great deal of the Waikato lands passed into the hands of speculative purchasers ; and it was only ■lowly that the thriving yeomanry who are settled on the delta, obtained a foot, ing there. But a footing has been »ade good j and in spite of the frequent \rar patiios, and of the scarcity of farm labour, now keenly felt, the' Waikato district will compare favourably with any other section of the province for the •mount of work done within the time. This is extremely satisfactory. It is a promise that, when peace shall have been firmly established, the inland settlements, within the confiscated territory, will. be a source of permanent •wealth to Auckland. This fertile district, if fully occupied by improving •ettlei-H, would itself employ ten times the surplus labour now in the province ; and inasmuch as we look forward to the restoration of amicable rela.tions.with

the native race at no distant date, the wants of the Waikato settlements, in the matter of farm, labour, should be taken into serious consideration by our rulers. Jndeed, as the country gradually becomes pacified, the demand for labour -will come fr»m all sides. Already much valuable work has been done by the Government in this direction, the fruits of which will soon be apparent. In addition to the road to Taupo from Tauranga, which has been begun, a horse track, twelve feet wide, is all but completed between the settled districts of Whanganui and the south side of Lake Taupo ; and the very men who are doing this work by contract for the Government, were engaged fighting Colonel Whitmore and his forces on the West ( oast. So much for the non-aggressive policy of the Administration, and their efforts to secure the permanent settlement of the i interior ol this island. From what we have said, it is evident that the pacification of the country is nearer than many suppose it to be ; and when the Hauhau tribes consent to live on terms of amity with us, the settlers will be in a much more favourable position for breaking fresh ground, and occupying it beneficially, than they could have been if the old war policy had been pursued. But, as we have indicated, a great drawback would arise from the want of farm labour. Of couise, with a better understanding with the natives, a good deal of assistance, in the shape of labour, I may be counted on from them ; but it j would nob be reasonable to expect that the native race could supply all the i requirements of the country. It therefore becomes the duty of the authorities to devise some system of immigration for the North Island, calculated to meet its more pressing wants. Farm labour never was so scarce in the pi-ovince as at the present time ; and it is equally scarce in O^ago and Canterbury. And if great inconvenience and loss now result from the want of sufficient hands to gather the crops and prepare for the spring sowii g, what may be expected when the demand has been increased a hundred-fold 1 Reverting to the Waikato, one cannot but be struck with the immense advantage the confiscation of the lands of rebel tvibes has been to this community. Without the outlet for our populat ; on, and the new field for industry opened in the Waikato, Auckland undoubtedly would have languished. "We are not now discussing the policy of confiscation, which has been settled long since in its favour : we are speaking of results. And these results are now so patent to all, that they should not be ignored. It remains with Auckland, however, to make the best use of its position. The Auckland merchants may command the Waik^lo trade. The port of Auckland may become the outlet for its produce j but to secure these advantages, communication with the Upper Waikato must be more rapid and frequent. The Messrs. Quick have done much, by their coaching enterpi ise. to settle the Waikato district ; but the settlei-s require cheap and expeditious transport of their produce to market, and this they cannot have without a railway. Considering the vital importance of this enterprise to Auckland, we are surpi'ised that no sign has yet been given that capital will be raised for the completion of the railway. Let us hope, however, that the delay is only temporary, and that, with the coming spring, we shall see a commencement irade of the Auckland and Waikato railway.

The Chamber of Commerce has given some sign of vitality at last. A special meeting of the Chamber was held in the Mechanics' Institute on Friday last, at which Mr. "Randall, an influential settler of South Australia, attended, and stated \va views on the subject of " intercolonial free trade." A report of the meeting appeared in our issue of Saturday ; and we are certain our readers will agree with tis in saying that Mr. Randall quite deserved the vote of thanks accorded to him on the motion of Captain Daldy. Indeed, quite apart from the merits of the speech which Mr. Randall made, he deserves a great deal of credit for stimulating the Chamber into something which may lead to action, because it was pretty generally believed in. town that it had collapsed, as it made no noise in the world of late. The subject which Mr. Eandall brought before the Chamber of Commerce is one which, years ago, we endeavoured to recommend to the favourable attention of our leading mercantile men and politicians. We foresaw that the time was fast approaching when New Zealand would become an exporting country — when its exports would consist of a great variety of commodities, and not of one or two staplps as heretofore. But business men were too intent on private pursuits of a profitable nature to give attention to questions of public policy not immediately affecting themselves ; and our politicians did not appear to think that such a subject lay at all in the line of their public duty. Hence ib has happened that our Chamber of Commerce did not awake to the importance of adjusting our commercial relations with the colonies on the Australian continent, with, a view to securing the free interchange of colonial produce, until stimulated by a stranger, But now that the Chamber has had the subjeot brought before it, we trust it may be considered fully, and that the members will not rest satisfied until they have secured this most important object. Our opinion alwaya has been, tnat the Australasian group of colonies might produce within themselves almost every commodity needed for home consumption, and likewise might compete huccessfully with American and European nations in tho "markets of the world by exporting surplus produce ; but this result will never be attained without free intercolonial trade. Victoria and New South Wales, and South Australia, should consider New Zealand as much a domestic market for their natural products as their own tovroa and, settle-

merits ; and, in ]ike manner, New Zealand should consider each one of the sister colonies in the light of a home market;. When our intercolonial relations are placed on this footing, but not till then, we may hope to have uninterrupted prosperity in these colonies. There are no insuperable obs.ncles in the way. No doubt the Imperial Government would withdraw its objection to the imposition of differential duties in favour of intercolonial produce, if requested to do so by all the Australasian colonies ; and this obstacle once removed there need be no delay, inasmuch as the] leading colonists in Australia appear to be unanimous in its favour. It is not necessary to add anything to the very telling remarks of Mr. Kandall, whose speech contains a great deal of valuable matter. Captain Daldy very pithily stated the grounds of public policy on which he felt it his duty to support the proposal for intercolonial free trade. With these we entirely agree ; and we sincerely hope that the project may be speedily realised.

We had to complain of not receiving our U9iial exchange of files from Wellington by the s.s. 'Airedale,' and again we have the same cause of complaint. The only Wellington paper which came to hand by the ' Stormbird,' on Saturday, was the Daily Advertiser, which journal has, since its first publication, reached us regularly. Some time ago it will be remembered that representations were made to her Majesty's Government by the Governors of at least two of the Australian colonies, on behalf of certain ex-Ministers, who weje reluctant to part with the "honourable " handle to their names on being relieved of the cares of office. Her Majesty was graciously pleased to signify her pleasure that gentlemen who held office aa Reaponsible Ministers for three years should be styled " honourables " during life, within the colony in which they had served the Crown. His Excellency Sir George Bowen made a similar request on behalf of New Zealand statesmen ; and the same privilege has been accorded to them that was so highly prized by Australian politicians. We shall, therefore, have the Hon. Mr. Stafford, the Hon. Colonel Hanllain, the Eon. J. Crow Richmond, with more ; — rather a fair ovop of ' ' honou'\xble^ "to start with. And in course of time there is no sayi'ig who or what maybe become an "honourable" in this democratic colony. Of course, Ministers and ex-Ministers, and Mm"sters in expectancy, must feel grateful to his Excellency foi securing to them the enjoyment of the social distinc'on which such an empty, and in their case unmeaning, title is calculated to confer ; but as it may please some, and can possibly harm nobody, we suppose we should feel grateful all round. We understand that the Hon. Colonel Wiiitmore lias been created Commander of the Most Honourable Order of St. Michael and St. George, for distinguished serv'ces in the field as Commandant of the New Zealand forces. However much we may occasionally have differed from Colonel Whitmore, we are exceedingly pleased that hia great public services have been recognised by her Majesty's Government in a becoming manner. We wish him a long enjoyment of hia well-won honour. On Saturday last we commented upon a portion of Dr. Nicholsons remarks at Coromandel, in the course of which he is reported to have said that "He agreed that a fair share of the funds should be expended at Coromandel, but he could not see why the goldfields had a special claim, although it waa generally considered they had. He did not himself think that the goldfields were as profitable an industry as flax-growing and some others, although ,1 few made fortunes. He believed the province would have been better without the goldfields. " The Provincial Secretary has since explained that what he said was, that the Government was called on to exisend, in a very short space of time, a g^eat amount of money, in order to develop the field, while the income arising from the field required years before it nearly balanced the expenditure ; therefore the Provincial Government were for the time absolutely losers by a goldfield. It is intended to make up a Home mail to be despatched to Sydney by the s.s. ' Auckland,' with the view of its going on by the steamer from Sydney on the 26th instant. But only letters specially so addressed will be sent by the 'Auckland,' because it is uncertain whether she will catch the boat at Sydney, no arrangement having been made for sending a mail by the P. and 0. boat, as letters sent by the new San Francisco service, starting on the 2nd April, are expected to reach London five days before the bags via Suez and Southampton. Saturday's business at the Police Court was of a, heavier character than generally falls to that day. It was disposed of by Dr. Home and H. M. Jervls, Esq., J.P.s. Three drunkards were fined. The deserters from H.M. s. 'Phoabe,' who have so often been remanded, were ordered to be brought up once more next Wednesday. The reason this time was that the ' Comerang ' was unable to take them to the ' Eosario, ' as was intended. James G-olland, the man who cut j n. boy's hand with a bottle, was ordered to pay a fine of 495., and doctor's expenses. An action for threatening language was brought by Mr. John H. Clifford, the actor, against the p 'oprietor of the Kensington Houae, Wakefield-street ; and when both sides of the question had been put forward, the Bench dismissed the case, -with a caution to the defendant, as will be seen elsewhere. The Rev. J. Buller was a passenger on Saturday last, per s.s. ' Stormbird,' from the South. The Civil Sitting of the Supreme Court is ta be commenced at ten o'clock this forenoon, before hJa Honor the Chief Justice and a common jury. A fine mansion, from plins by Mr. James Wrigley, is now being erected for the chief R,apana on the Pukerahui hill, Shortland. ! The house is" on a line with that of Taipari, but more elevated in position. On Saturday afternoon last, a Maori gentleman who, like his pakeha friends, no doubt, found business nearly at a standstill, ! resorted to the auctioneer's hammer to drive a little trade. Perching himself on the palings of the market, he began to sell to the highest bidder, and without reserve, watermelons, kits of peaches, grapes, &c. A large crowd soon gathered, and some spirited bidding ensued for the various lots. It was amusing to hear the Maori urging on his bidders with "Kapaithia kit," "Big melon, this one, pakeha '. " How much you give V "One herria — one nerrin. three cop — thank you — only one herrin three cop — going, going ; one herrin sioapenny— ka pai." From the nearty manner in which his audience entered into the fan, ws are pretty aure our would-be auctioneer drove a slashing trade for the time being. And when our dark friend came to the balanoing up, he could very well report bidding brisk, prices highly satisfactory. We understand that the Key, D. Bruce and his family are about to visit the old country, having taken passage by the fine barque 'Anne Main,' now loading for London. We regret to notice in our obituary column, on Saturday last, the announcement of the death of Mr. H. Lewis, who was well known in Auckland in connection with shipping reporting department of the Ntw Zealand Herald. Mr. Lewis, who was the eldest son of Mr. J. W. Lewis, of Shortland-street, and Who always bore a high character, died at Queensland on January 3, aged 26. A lady has travelled overland from New Plymouth to Whanganui,

The Grey Biver Argus of the 3rd. instant, in a leading article, advocates the working of the Grey coalfield by the aid of English capital, and makes some very strong remarks on the apathy of local capitalists, Our contemporary, however, falls into the error of including the -whole of the colony in this condemnation, for he says : — "New Zealand pays over £200,000 a year for imported coals, and yet allows its own rich resources to remain unproductive. " The editor of the Grey Jtiner Argus ought to have learned ere this that for a long time past a company has been in existence in \ tickland, and by whom the Kawakawa coal mines have been developed at a large outlay. Instead of paying for imported coals, the company has, by producing a cheap and serviceable fuel from the local mines, practically driven out the Newcastle coal. The Kawakawa Company has succeeded in establishing demand for its coal in this province, and almost the whole of the steam machinery at the Thames is driven by the aid of Kawakawa coal. It cannot, therefore, be said that the people of Auckland are open to the charge of allowing their coal resources to remain unproductive, whatever may be said of the rest of the colony. It is notified that John Gibbons, of Shortland, licensed victualler, has filed a declaration of his inability to meet his engagements with his creditors. — A meeting of creditors on the estate of J. It. Davidson, storekeeper, of Tararu — who has made an assignment to Messrs. George Dacre and W. J. Vance, of Auckland, for the benefit of all his creditors — is to be held at 3 o'clock to-morrow afternoon, in the store of Mr. J. Buchanan, j ! Queen-street. — A meeting of creditors on the j estate of Harris and Laurie is to be held at Mr. Roberton's store, at 3 o'clock on Wednesday. Booth's flax machine has attracted a good deal of attention, especially in the Middle Island, where samples of fibre produced by it have been exhibited. A notice as to an amended specification, which Messrs. Booth, H. J. Morse, and H. Law, of Dunedin, have applied to have annexed to the patent granted to Mr, Booth on August 19th, 1869, has appeared in the New Zealand Gazette, and it is published aa an advertisement in another column. JSTo less than 116 persons attended at the opening of the gates at the Immigration Dep6t, Melbourne, for the purpose of hiring 36 single women lately arrived by the 'Lady Jocelyn, 'and fully thirty persons arrived after the office for the issue of tickets of admission was closed. The hiring room, presented a very curious spectacle, the girls sitting down on chairs, while around the more promisinglooking specimens there would be at leaat a dozen eager employers. All the girls were very soon engaged, many of the employers leaving the place after looking in at the door of the hiring room. The next meetiug of the Famley Gun Club ■will be held on the Ellerslie racecourse today. The matches and side 3 will be arranged at two o'clock, and members are requested to be punctnal. There was a short sitting of the Resident Magistrate's Court on Saturday, for the hearing of a "speedy" summons against the captain of the 'Helenslee, ' for an alleged shortdelivery of some pig-iron. The plaintiffs weie nonsuited. His Lordship the Bishop of Auckland arrived here this afternoon by the p.s. ' Luna. ' and was met by the clergy and leading gentlemen of the district. His Lordship is expected to officiate in St. George's Church, Shortland, to-morrow. By proclamation in the Provincial Government Gazette the Hon. the Supermdendent has appointed the nomination of candidates for the Mining Board to be held to-day. A man named Joseph Hyde was apprehended at Parnell on Saturday night by Constable Cosgrove, charged with stabbing Peter Marwell, with intent to do grievous bodily harm. Even Whanganui has its Horticultural Society, for we notice by the Wanganiti Chronicle of the Bfch that a show is to be held on the 15fch instant, when a first-class exhibition of fruits and flowers is expected. We may remind those who feel interested in horticulture that a meeting is to be held at the Masonic Hotel ab seven o'clock this evening, with the object of placing the old Auckland Horticultural Society, of which we have heard so little of late, on a proper footing. We understand that a special meeting of the Council of the Auckland Acclimatisation Society will be held to-morrow, to consider the question of introducing trout into the province. We are a progressive people, despite what croakers may say to the contrary. We have had amongst us for a long time past a number of itinerant street bands, in which the old familiar baas-viol has played an important part. On fine evenings the saunterers in Queen-street have had the pleasure of listening to the rich manly voice of a "troubadour," but he has recently been eclipsed by a female vocalist, who may be heard any evening in favourable weather, singing 1 the most popular ballads of the da3'. By-the-by, what has become of the barrelorgauists ? Did they find their vocation unremunerative here ; or did they take flight, fearing a Street Nuisance Act ? Certain it is that they have lately disappeared from Queen-street, having apparently been driven out by the violins and bass-viol. The first meeting of creditors in the estate of Charles John Nelson, biscuit manufacturer, was convened to be held at the offi 3e of the Provisional Trustee, Supreme Courthouse, at noon of Saturday last. As there was no appearance of the creditors, the second meeting will, according to the. provisions of the Act, be held next Saturday, at the same time and place. Mr. Mowbray, Provisional Trustee, has, by operation of the Act, been appointed trustee in the bankrupt estate of Henry Pilkington Hay ward, upholsterer, Auckland. Mr. Lewisson has exhibited in his windows for some days past an ingenious design illustrative of the recent improvements in the share market. The design consists of a balloon which has just been released from its holdings and is rising into the air. On the balloon itself are inscribed the names of several of the beat and most payable claims on j the Thames goldfield,whilethe pegs at theend ' of the holdings bear the names of a great number of bubble companies, most of which I have been wound up. There is a motto at I the bottom of the design stating that, the rotten pegs having been pulled up, the sharemarket goes up like a balloon, Bachelder's diorama of Paradise Lost was exhibited at the Otahuhu Public Hall, on Saturday evening, to a very fair audience, considering that only one day's notice had been given. The descriptive lecture, which was ably delivered by Mr. W. G. Carey, was listened to throughout with much interest. The lecture affords scope for a good deal of I dramatio ability, and it requires good reteni tive powers in order to render it effective : ( Mr. Carey has both, and therefore, in hia hands, it is a decided suooess, The diorama will also be exhibited in the Otahuhu Hall this evening, and we learn that there ia some probability of ita being also exhibited at Drury. A parade of the Auckland Naval Volunteers took place on Saturday last. The following officers were present : — Major Tisdail, Captain Guilding, Lieutenants Leßoy and Isaacs, Quartermaster Hampton. There were also about thirty Naval Artillery and twelve Auckland Naval Volunteers present. Major Tisdail put the men through a number of evolutions, including skirmishing drill. He then complimented them on their efficiency. The next parade will take place on Friday next. The settlers, in the Mount Albert District are promised a literary and musical entWtainment, which is to consist of readings, recitations, and singing, and to be given iv, the schoolroom of the district to-morrow eveningi commencing at 7 o'clock. • A meeting of the Central Board of Education will be held to-day.

Annual licensing meetings are announced as follows : —Districts of Papakura, Wairoa, Drury, and Pokeno, at the Court-house, Drury, at noon on Tuesday, the 19th April; districts of Onehunga, Howick, Otahuhu, and Panmure, at the Court-house, Onehunga, at eleven o'clock on Tuesday, 19th April. Calls in the Lord of the Isles Groldmining Company are in future to be paid to Mi-. C. Holmes, who Las been appointed manager in place of Mr. P. Dalton. Meetings of the following goldmining companies will be held to-day : —Sea Lion Company, at 0. J. Stone's; Thames Crushing Company, at 81, Queen-street, at 3 o'clock. Mr. F. H. Lewisson has on view / a number of handsome articles of jewellery made from perculum shell, from the South Sea Islands. These have been very beautifully set and polished by Sir. Lewisson. We may remind the Volunteers that the competitive firing for the selection of representatives to contend for the Government prizes will take place to-day, at the rifle range. Firing will commence at 9 o'clock, the distances being 400, 500, and 600 yards. The quarterly meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge of New Zealand will be held at the Masonic Hotel, Princes-street, this evening, at half-past 7 o'clock, The anniversary services of the Welling-ton-street Presbyterian Church were held yesterday, when sermons were preached both morning and evening by the Rev. James Hill, of the Thames. In the morning the rev. gentleman selected as his text a portion of the Bth verse of the 4th chapter of Revelations : ' Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come." An eloquent discourse was delivered in the evening upon the subject of the Christian's rest, the text selected being the first claase of the 7th verse of the 116 th Psalm: "Return unto thy rest, O my soul." Collections amounting to £22 7s. were taken at the c^ose of the services. ,

At the last meeting of the British Association a paper of much interest to intelligent farmers was read by Mr. F. F. Halle tt, "On the Law of the Development of Cereals." | From continued observation and experiments extended over nearly 20 years, Mr. Hallett said he had arrived at the following conclusions: — "1. Every fully developed plant,whether of wheat, oats, or barley, presents an ear superior in productive power to any of the rest of that plant. 2. Every such plant contains one grain which, upon trial, proves more productive than any other. 3. The best grain in a given plant is found in its best ear. 4. The superior vigour of this grain is transmissible, in different degrees, to its progeny. 5. By repeated careful selection the superiority is accumulated. 6. The improvement, which ia at first rapid, gradually, after a long series of years, is diminished, in amount, and eventually so far arrested that, practically speaking, a limit to improvement in the desired quality is reached. 7. By still continuing to select, the improvement is "maintained, and practically a fixed type is the result." The best method of raising annuals is to sow them in pans or boxes, or in a bed of about 3in. or 4in. thick of light soil placed on a gentle bottom heat; water sparingly and give plenty of air when the plants appear; thin out or prick off in small pots, and be careful to get the plants well inured to the weather previous to planting in the open border, aud also to give water as may be necessary after planting, until they become established. Cinerarias planted out will require particula" attention in keeping clear of aphis, and, if a few waterings of liquid manure be afforded at regular intervals, the trusses of bloom v/ill be large and the colours more distinct. When properly attended to, this favourite flower makes a most elegant display, and furnishes one of the most useful plants for bedding or border decoration. General Maxims in Gardening and Fa lining : Whatever you do, do well; a little wel done is better than much half done. Keep the ground clean, in fine tilth, deeply dug or trenched, choose fine seed rather than small, and well manure the land. Plant whole sets rather than cut potatoes; let them be the size of a small hen's egg ; plant deep, they will be a little longer in breaking the ground ; and in cleaning do not earth up but keep it as level as possible, as the earth v/ill not evaporate so freely as when in ridges. Throw no docks or weeds in the road ; it is untidy : collect them aud char, and they return to the land that which they have robbed it of. In watering in very dry weather well saturate the ground watered, if only once a week: it is better than a little every day: the roots of plants will then be invigorated. The best way is to make a trench round the plants, take off the rose of the water pot and pour into the trench; next day, hoe the earth into the trench again. In hoeing the ground do not rake it fine, but leave it rather rough than otherwise. Grasses for permanent pastures : —Sandy soil: Hard fescue smooth fescue,crested dogs tail, smooth-stalked soft grass-meadow soft grass, yarrow or common milfoil, oat-like &oft grass. Calcareous soil: White clover, rough cocksfoot, meadow hard and sb.eej)'s fescue, perennial rye grass, rib grass, yellow oat, sweet-scented vernal, and narrow-leafed poa. Argillaceous soil : Meadow foxtail, timothy grass, cocksfoot, tall and meadow fescue, tall and yellow oat grass, rib grass, sweetscented and perennial rye grass. Peaty soil: Sweet-scented vernal, rough cocksfoot and meadow soft grass, meadow foxtail, timothy grass, creeping bent or florin, and crested •pogstail. Fenny 1 : Creeping bent or florin, note fescue, note fox tail, water hair grass, water pod or reed meadow grasa. Fenny 2 ; Situation hill side: Smooth-atalkedpoaj sheep's fescue, rib grass, crested dogstail, creeping bent, yarrow,white clover, trefoil. Undulating land : Smooth-stalked poa, creeping poa, meadow fescue, tail fescue, meadow fox tail, crested dogstail, timothy grass, rough cocksfoot, yellow oat grass, yarrow, trefoil. Parsley should be sown on all sheep pastures, as they are very fond of it, aud it is a diuretic. Low or wet lands cannot be better than the above, viz., those under the heads peat and fenny. Rubbish Heaps : In places of considerable size it is advisable to have two or three rubbish heaps in the course of the twelvemonth, the oldest to be used first when all the bulky material is sufficiently decomposed. To give efficacy to such heaps of refuse, nothing is better than short grass, as its heating sets the whole mass fermenting, and the largest cabbage stumps, hollyhock stems, &c, thus soon > ecome decomposed. The grass acts best ■when mixed with cabbage stems, small primings and clippings, &c, and when kept pretty well down, so that the heat from it will rise ; and the surface should be covered with refuse soil, so as to prevent the fertilising gases from escaping, the strongest aud most unpleasant to the sense of smell being most valuable when diffused andfixed in the mass. We have known such accumulations of short grass, left to themselves, become a perfect nuisanoe —nay, dangerous to the health of the workmen near them, whilst, more spread out and covered, they beoame valuable, and caused little or no offence to passers-by. Even in a small garden, and especially where there ia a lawn, and sides of walks to clip and clean, the quantity of vioh excellent material that may thus be collected in a year is very great. One great advantage of short grass, and even a little stable manure, forming part of the rubbish heap, is that the heat not only decomposes what has rather too much woody fibre, as huge broccoli stumps, but it also destroys many seeds, and drives away many insect enemies that otherwise would, find a congenial home. We know in many cases it would save time to trench down vegetable refuse at once, and let it decompose slowly in. the soil, and thus we have done with exhausted quarte rs of broccoli, borecole, and cabbage; but such digging down did not improve the succeeding crop like a dressing from the rnbbish heap, dug down or incorporated with the soil in tne usual way. Besides, we have reason to believe that insect depredators often insert ' their egga in the stems of vegetables, and, jf these are not well buried, the young larvp could scarcely at first have better feedingground ; but wh«» these are well sunk and

[ well heated, in a rubbish heap, there is more i likelihood that eggs and larvae will be destroyed. — Journal of Horticulture, That's Ac-cording : The Spectator, remarlc- ! ing on the teetotal traiuing of the Harvard crew, says that " alcohol is only good as a wMp, enabling thetaker to crowd 20 mimitea' | work into 10. " Is it this fact which makes people talk of lashings of rum ? Cauliflowers, brocolis, and other brassicaceous plants are generally much infested with grubs at this season. To clear them off, remarks the Gardener's Magazine, is an easier task than it appears. Dissolve a coffee-cup full of salt in hot water, then put it into a common-sized watering-pan, and fill up with cold water. Juat give each plant a gentle switch over with this mixture, and they will all disappear in a moment, and the salt and water will nourish the plants wonderfully ; all greens are fond of salt and water. Some people would be afraid of killing their cauliflowers ; but it must be borne in mind that the salt and water will not penetrate the leaves ; it runs off to the roots, killing every caterpillar in its way. Alderman Mechi writes to the London Times he shall hereafter arrange to make his hay by fire heat. The apparatus consists of a coke furnace, and a fan by which the heat is driven through the chamber filled with grass. In fifteen minutes it is converted into hay, sweeter and greener than that made by sundrying. It works in all weather, and it dries grain, corn, and roots as well. An English farmer, by picking over his seed wheat with the utmo3t care, and planting a grain in a place, at intervals of a foot each way, produced 162 bushels to the aci-e. Clover and grass make better and more nutritious hay if cut early, and well and quickly cured in the shade, rather than dried out in the sun. All conceatrated manufactured portable manures, such as guano, bone-dust, &c. , are best applied sparingly every year near the sur."ace, and well incoiporated with the soil , before the seed is sown. J Power in nations in the last analysis comes down to a question of wheat and coal. That Government can stand up to hard fighting longest which can produce the greatest crops of wheat while war is raging, and which can keep afloat the most steam war vessels. A man of about 50 years of age has eloped with and married a girl of thirteen from the , neighbourhood ef Airdrie, near Glasgow.