THE GARDEN.

(11 v lion-run).

alondar of Operations. December 15,

(iroinis is willing to answer any queries. Cor respondents must give their lull names ami addresses, though not for publication.]

TO COUKKHI'O..I_.N- ..

Fruit Thick.-, (Waikato).—l bijlievo from your description I hat your trees are suffering from poverty of soil and neglect; perhaps an over crop 1,1 fruit also. 1 would try mulching now Willi well ml ted manure, and when the dry Hummer sets in give occasional heavy drench ings with liquid, manure. This may assist in bringing .your trees round again.

I'Kis (Newtown). -Nip oil' lire top of each shoot whenever four or live llgs have formed. This will have Ihe effect of throwing tho strength nf tho imp towards swelling anil ripening the fruit left,. How often do we see tigs loft Lo carry all Uio fruit which acta. The crop is I,'i.i.e as far as numbers arc concerned, but nothing In size or flavour to what they might have been if hull' the crop hail been disposed of while the fruit was iorniing. I believe v. lion the lig is properly cultivated and dried i I; will become a valuable export to the southern portions of New Zealand.

Kitchen Garden,

Till! recent wet weather will tell in the .growth of a good number of vegetables, and bo detrimental to others. The soil

should now be in a splendid state for plant ing out the main crop of celery and leeks. Whore large leeks are wanted, plant them in trenches the same as tho celery, and earth them upas they increase in growth. Make preparations for planting out the in ii. crop of Brussels sprouts, savoy, drum head cabbage and brocoli. Tomatous will be Rowing la 1 : have the trellis put up at once. Tic up nnd pinch back to one eye beyond where a bunch of Unworn has set. Pumpkins, cucumbers, melons, etc., pinch bad: and regulate, thinning out, . .lporllous sho its. Earth up advancing crops, such as potatoes, eablnige, cauliflower, .tc. Weeds lit../ hen growing very fast during tho list few weeks; strict attention must lie "•iveii to them, in.l allowing them to seed, iissc'od we.l., only promote future labour. Give attention to lire slug.- with lime and by picking. Flower Garden. In this department the wet weather will havo euu.iod a rapid, rank, and propor tioimto curtailing of the display of Mowers. All rank growth stop by pinching as soon as il makes it- appearance. Tie and stake all [limits which aro tnll-growiug, pinching bank and regulating those which may re quire it al tho samo time. Continue plant ing out dahlia- ; pinch, thin out, and stake those planted curlier. Budding plants will have been making raj ltd growth during the late moist weather. They will require con stant attention to pinching and pegging. There ought lobe no difficulty in getting the bodscovored this season. Allow thoplnntsto flower now. Continue mulching whenever you can obtain material. This is a trouble some season with the grass ; it is no sooner out than il: wants re-cutting. Keep tho roller- going, as tho soil is sure to swell with the moisture. Heavy rolling will cause it to subside again. Still look out for slugs. Greenhouse, fjook over the plants continually, so as to detect the presonco of insects. Whenever such make their appearance, take measures at, once for their destruction. Continue re potting its plants advance in growth. See thai no plant is allowed to suffer for want of water. If such does occur, take the pi.nits out and plunge them in a bucket of water for a few minutes. This is the quickest and surest method of renewing the circulation again. Uivo plenty «f air during the day. '

Thk I'kak ami I'i.c.m Lkkcii, ok Sum.— This disgusting and offensivoly-smolling in sect, usually puts in its appearance hero on the pear ami plum-trees about Christmas time, nnd commits a great deal of havoc if not taken in hand whenever it is first ob served. It resembles in form and appear ance, when it attains full size, a small tad polo, H hie h induced Reaumur to give it the name oi vcrliniaco — slug-grub or slug worm, i; i- provided with twenty feet, aud changes its skin four times. The black, glue, slimy skin disappears, and it bocomes of a yellow orange colour. It then descends tho tree, anil makes for itself a cocoon with grains of earth joined together by threads of silk. It soon bocomes hard and assumes a leather - like toughness, is insoluble in water, perfectly water-tight. In this cocoon the, slug resides during tho winter. It changes into a chrysalis when the spring is pretty fur advanced, in which state it takes from fifteen to twenty days to mature into a perfect insect, when it emerges from the cocoon and ascends the tree, and re commence- ils ravages on the leaves of the tree, and it not chocked, will soon strip the tree of its leaves. 1 have often seen the trcos without a singlo leaf by tho end of February, whicli causes tho tree, when wo re«oivo the usual autumn rains, to push out tho blossom buds, and soon the treo is Covered with (lowers, which naturally, under proper conditions, should not have flowered till spring. The result of this autumn flowering is, f need hardly say, very little fruit tho following spring. A ponr or plum which has lost its loaves through tho leech I would at once root prune, so as to to check th.' flow of sap to the llowor buds in tho autumn. By this means I would send the tree to rest, and retain the flower buds till the following spring. But it is better to check the insect whon it makes its ap pearance on the trees during the summer, and retain the leaves till they fall naturally in the autumn. Asoriesof experiments for the purpose of finding tho best means of killing tin'- insect wero mado in Amoricn, where it i- n- formidable ns it is here. As soon a- ihe leech appeared thoy were treated to a supply of dry sand, thrown all over the branches of the tree. Tho sand stuck thickly on the slimy skins of tho insect. This did not conquer; in a few days they had shed their sand-covered skins nnd commenced their depredations again. The sand was applied a second and a third time, with n similar result. Ashes were noxt tried, wit li similar results. Next they weretreatedtoa Strang dose of hellebore and water. On the thirteenth of August a branch of a cherry treo was experimented on, on which there More 04 leeches. This brand) had only nine leave:, so it was pretty thickly inhabited, A dose of hellebore and water was applied, when the leech soon manifested symptoms of uneasiness, twist inir anil jerking about in a curious mannor. Many died dming the day, and only six sickly-looking ones remained alive the fol lowing morning, and these soon after died. One ounce hellebore to about two gallons was tho quantity used. A light shower of this water, applied with n garden syringe, is sufficient. If the insect makes its ap pearance again iv must receive another ap plication.

There is another method which I liko, as it supplies to tho soil a commodity which 'most soils nre deficient in, and that is applying lime, (lot some fine dry lime, and throw or dust it all over the tree ; or, mix up a strong mixture of lime, soot, and water, and apply it to the trees with a Syringe. Neither of these mothods is so deadly as the first. They have to be repeated pretty often. I have had to apply tho dry lime about every ten days for somo timo till the pest was fairly overcome. But iliero is tho consideration that the lime can always be nt hand, does not require any

preparation, can be applied at any moment, and it only takes a few minutes to give each tree a good dose. Quick fences suffer a good deal from tho ravages of this insect. It is scarcely any use trying to keep the insect in check in the orchard if there is a whitethorn fence about the place without taking it in hand also, as the leech would breed there and travel to the trees. In fact, every tree or bush about the place which it feeds upon ought to receive attention, so as to stump it out as nearly us possible, or reduco its ravages to a minimum.

EXCURSION TO TE AROMA.

NOTES BY THE WAY.

By telegraph the public have been made acquainted with tho main objects and leading incidents of tho trip to Tc Aroha which a number of prominent citizens enjoyed last week at the invitation and expense of Messrs J. M. Clark and J. C. Firth, tho enterprising proprietors of the first battery erected upon tho new gold field. Tho news Hashed ovor the wires, however, like the familiar elliptical met hod of writing a telegraphic despatch, merely convoys a rough outline of the subject, and the recipient is expected to fill in the details as his knowledge or imagination may suggest. It is this lilling-in pro cess to which we now address oiti'selves for tho edification or amusement of our readers, feeling assured that tho exclusion is deserving of a fuller description than it has yot received. 80 much by tho way of preface, nnd now Lo our sheep. From Auckland to the Thames. Invitations for tho trip had been issued to some hundred or so of gent lemon, of whom the hulk reside in the provincial metropolis, and for the conveyance of theso to tho Thames the steamer Anno Milbank had been expressly chartered. It was ar ranged that she should leavo the f.neen- Street Wharf al 11 o'clock onTno-lay night week, but, with great, thoiightfulnoss, it Mils also notified that thoso who preferred it might go by the Rotomahana in tho after noon,ns passages would boobtninod for them. Only twelve gentlemen availed themselves of this privilege. The remainder made their way at or about the appointed hour lo the Anno Milbank, where thoy wore met by Mr 11. (iilfillnn, juii., and directed lo their quarters. 11 was a bleak and windy night, and the steamer's accommodation being limited, the passcnge.-s as they arrived showed that thoy were fully im pressed with the Hugeness of the aphorism that " possession is nine points of the law " by at onco picking out tho spare bunks and "turning in." Olio -or two of the latest comers thus paid for their unjiiinctuality by having to accept less comfortable provision than their fellow-voyagers. At half-past eleven the steamer cast off from the wharf, tho paddles began to revolve, tUu vessel to heave and pitch, and wo were off. Down in the two saloonsthero was comparative peace. In the larger one, both upper and lower bunks or shelves wero covered with re cumbent forms. Ono active little Council lor of a suburban ward, who had hurried down tho wharf nt express speed, just in time to save his passage, was trying hard to accommodate his nether limbs to a rather Procrustean bed, cureless of tho banter of his nearest neighbour, who was advising him to insert his irrelevant pedal extremities through tho porthole. Another Councillor, yclept " the Majah," who had tho delicate choico of a bed either upon the lloororthe cabin table, was gazing moodily out upon the receding wharf, while the drowsy steward, tired out with fatigue and want of sleep, was preparing his own humble shakedown near the door. In n fow moments the" light of the lamp was turned down, and the travellers courted tho embraces of Morpheus. The majority slept fitfully, but one or two who could not rest joined the uiiberthcd Councillor and him with abridged accom modation in making up a euchre party, while a wakeful ofiiecr of the vessel amused himself by stuffing snuff up the capacious nostrils of the sleeping steward, thereby producing tremendous explosions of sternu tation but no awakening on the part of tho sleeper. At four o'clock, we could mako out through the doorway the dim outlines of tho Thames ranges, and at half-past five the vessel got on the mud less than a hundred yards from tho Grahamstown Wharf. After an hour's delay, the tide floated her off, but another rlight calamity awaited us. In getting alongsido the Roto mahana broadside on, the two steamers collided, and our cook's galley was stove in, whilo the worthy chef de cuisine bad just time to dash out to avoid being squeezed to death. Dp the Walhou. Shortly before 8 thelit tie riverboatWaiton, in which the remainder of the journey was to be performed, mado her appearance, and the Anne Milbank's passengers were soon aboard, in company with the excursionists who had preceded them by tho Kotomahana, including Mr Firth, a few Thames residents, and Professors Brown and Tucker. We were rather crowded, but the weather, for tunately enough, was fine, and thero was no immediate prospect of a change. There was, however, a nasty jbbble of a sea on, and tho little vessel tossed about upon it with so lively a motion that a few distressed individuals with pallid countenances and internal disturbances were glad to seek the seclusion of tho small cabin. The majority, however, remained upon the deck and pre pared to inrike themselves comfortable.

In less than an hour the more placid waters of tho river had been gained, tho sick list was speedily reduced, and tho spirits of the party gradually rose. As the steamer mado her way further and further up tho river, the excursionists became charmed with its picturesque appeal .nee and tho smiling aspect of the fertile volley through . which it wound its sinuous courso, Away to tho eastward, extend ing in a lino almost parallel with the river, the eye traced the serrated ridges and rugged sides of the Thames ranges, while the western horizon was bounded by a belt of dense forest. Through the heart of tho intervening country, which is as level as a table, tlie Waihou pursues its tranquil course. The scenery is both diver sified and lovely. New wo pass a flax swamp or a grove of nikau palms, and then, on turning a curve, we aro brought into viowr of a long roach of weeping willows, their long nnd pliant boughs trailing in the water, and their fibrous roots holding togother, against disintegration, the loose earth of the banks. Anon long lines of peach trees laden with tho promise of a bountiful har vest succeed and intersect the willows. The vegetation bocomes' more and more luxuriant, and one is oasily led to fancy himself travelling through the heart of an extensive orchard. Here, tf c pass a collec tion of Maori whares, with tho meeting house in the centre, a herd of long-snouted pigs sharing the scant herbage of a, largo paddock with some weedish-fboking cows,, and ono or two of their indolent owners gazing sleepily at the party on the river. There, wo reach a stretch of table-land almost monopolised by sweet-briar, which forms such queer little hillocks and mounds ns to suggest tho resemblance to a village of huts. By-and-by, an aching void within the internal anatomy begins to

assure the excursionists that the time for dinner has arrived. Enquiries are made, wlioii it is found .that there are somo thirty six or forty stomachs to fill, and that the little cabin will only accommodate eleven people at a time. Mr Firth cannot tolerate such n prolongation of the dinner hour as this would involve, nor is lie inclined to allow any of his guests to wait, and so, at his direction, preparations are made for an al fresco luncheon on deck. With a ready adjustment of means to the desired end,'the gangway is turned upside down, nnd thus transformed into a table ; plates and smoking dishes make their appoarance; a corps of waiters and carvers is enrolled, and the excursionists soon learn how to balance a well-filled plate on their knoes while they ply a doxterous knife and fork. About this time wo reach tho junc tion of tho rivers Waihou and Oliine mui'i, and Pnoroa is seen in the distance. Following up the sorpontino courso of the former river, we become im pressed with its growing loveliness. The rangesarenow nearer, whilothebanks aro con tracted bittlevel, and they areprofusely over grown with poach and cherry trees, willows, palms, tree-ferns, sweet briar, and numerous specimens of tho indigenous Mora. Resides this, the river now pursues a tortuous course, winding in and out of a perfect labyrinth of sub-tropical voge tation, and sometimes turning a bluff or a sandbank so sharply that, alter hugging the opposito bank closely enough for one to step ashore, we steam along in a line parallel wiLh the part of tho stream we had just I raverscc'. Ere long the lofty cloud-capped form of To Aroha pierces the landscape, but several hours of steaming up the coiling length of the river ensue be fore the township is reached. The Destination. At fi o'clock we are moored alongsido the bank, and our party, headed by Mr Thomas Macffarlane, the active intijur-dorno, strike a bee-line for Warren's Hotel, a hostelry which all admit to be far ahead of the pre sent requirements of tho district. There are 37 of us, and -10 beds can bo supplied, so that all apprehensions of an enforced camp-out are at once allayed. A few seek tho reading-room, others start out on a surveying expedition, and a third party, with whom we enrol ourselves, make tracks for the sulphur bath. It is located in a low shed, to which each of tlißpublicans possesses a key, and our first impressions are emin ently disagreeable. We find a pool measur ing some ten feet square, the water of which is of a deep blue black colour, and whose exhalations seem to be a foul con glomeration of sewer gas, soapsuds and sulphur. Tho temperature, too,is very high—■ 180 degrees we ore assued, However, the appearance of one or two natives of the place in the bath tends to dissipate our tears, and having at last ventured in, our ropugnance also vanishes. After having been parboiled here, a cold water douche from the shower-bath is properly appreci ated, and the refreshed and invigorated bathers return to the hotel with a sharpened appetite for tea. If we had been surprised at the size of the hostelry, we were no less astonished at the resources of the cuisine. that evening Fully seventy or eighty people sat down to tho meal, which was well served and very appetising. A Narrow Escape. Coming up in the steamer, Mr Firth, iv loaguo with Professor Tucker, had arranged for the night a programme of entertainment consisting of compulsory impromptu speak ing on subjects to be drawn by lot, and a sjielling bee. Despite the seercsy of the piiiicipals,tlio news got abroad, and, to uso an expressive vulgarism, the wholo party "funked "on the affair. When, at nightfall, Mr Macffarlane, with childlike innocence and insinuating address, came to gather them in to Mr Firth's presence, he found them all, including tho two professors, deeply pre occupied either with cards, chess, or litera ture. His eloquence aud persuasiveness wero alike of no avail; it would have taken a charge of dynamite to have moved them. Tho nameless terrors of enforced speaking upon unknown subjects, with the further ordeal of thespelling beein the background, wore too severe a trial.and even professional talent backed down before it. Conse quently, the projected entertainment did not eventuate. To Aroha and Waiorongomai. To Aroha is a model mining township. It is situated at the western base of the mountain from which it takes its name, and to the front and sides of it there is a broad expanse of arable land, as smooth and oven is the floor of a houso. Here and there over its surface lie patches of shingle, this and other deposits suggesting the idea that the place was once the bed of a large lake or estuary. As for the township itself, although scarcely two years old, it is of a respectable size, and most of the leading in dustries are represented in it. It boasts several capital hotels, one or two chemists' shops, a few medical men, and a due pro portion of butchers, bakers, grocers, sta tioners, drapers, &c, as well as a highly creditable weekly paper—" Tho Te Aroha News." The streets are of a decent width and well laid out, while the soil, being of a porous character, a fall of rain does not have tho effect of converting it into mud. There is a healthy, progressive look above the place that tho visitor cannot fail to mark. About two miles further round the base of the moun tain the crescent township of Waiorongo mai is met with. It is a smaller edition of Te Aroha, and bids fair to rival it in importance. Further along in the same direction may be discerned Shaftes bury, the head-qunrtersofGrnntand Foster's soi-disani Lincolnshire Farmers' Special Settlement, and away on the other side of the river, some 15 miles off, Matamata caii be pointed out. Tho Battery. All this was noted the following morning, ns the party, after an early breakfast, made their way to the battery at Waiorongomai, preparatory to tho ascent of the range, which was understood to be the feature of tho day's proceedings. Some trudged along by twos and threes on foot, and others journeyed by coach, buo by far tho largest number were mounted on horses which the surrounding settlers had sent in for their convenience. The visitors were much im pressed by what they saw at the battery. Every one of its 40 stampers was in full work, and tho automatic method in which tho "machinery performed every function, from the reception of the loose quartz down the shoots to tho puddling of the tailings at tho other extremity of tho building, formed tho topic of general remark and admiration. Visit to the Mines. At this point, as already mentioned by telograph, the excursionists, dividing into three distinct parties, began the ascent to tho mines, which are situated far away up the hoaviiy - timbered range. A party of sedate and olderly gentlemen, inclined to adiposity and careful of their wind, wero marshalled by Mr John Lamb and led away up the bed of a watercourse at the back of the batter)-, which promised an easy route. A few athlotic spirits, feeling safer on Shank's pony than on any other kind of animal, sot off at a swinging pace up the steep incline of the first grade of tram way, but the effort, colloquially speaking, "took the stuffing out of them," and they negotiated tho remainder of the iourney with slower steps and much expenditure of breath. The third and by far the largest l

party, mounted on sure-footed horses, rode along tho devious and difficult track which has been cut with immense labour up the side of the gorge to a point more than 2,000 feet abovo the sea level. It is a perilous road for an amateur equestrian or an ordi nary horso. In no part is it ten feet wide, and in some of the dangerous spots, whore the exceedingly loose formation is flanked by a precipitous descent of several hundreds of feet, it is less than four feet. It is, too, extomoly slippery, and a shod horse would have rather a poor chanco upon it. Thero .ire frequent ac clivities of great steepness afong the route, sometimes paved with looso stones, and in other places with corduroy, __.', transverse sleepers, which afford a very treacherous fgothold. As if thoso perils were not quite enough to alarm tho wayfarer, nt ono stage of the journey a painted board warns him to bowaro of descending boulders. Apart from its dangers, the pathway is romantic iv the extreme. Bounded on one side by a. dense forest now almost imponding abovo it, with here and thero a stream of water falling in graceful cascade or in shimmering spray, and anon sloping away in soft undulations, and, on the other side, frequently over hanging a declivitous forest-clad gorge—no mere description can do it full justice. Five minutes' observation conveys more meaning to the mind than a volume of word painting. ./.Those of the party who stuck to the march rendezvoused at Wells and Souttar's store, 1,870 feet above the sea level, and hero, too, several incon tinently throw up tho sponge. After the thirst of the inner man had been assuaged, and the hearts of the miners gladdened by Messrs Firth and Cl.-.rk with the promise of a half holiday, the horses were loft behind, and the shortest cut to the Premier mine was taken. There was a handover-hand climb from tho hoppers to the upper level, which put a few of the party in vivid remembrance of the ascent from the Waitakerei Falls, and convinced others that they had seen about as much of To Aroha mining as they eared for. : Great interest, however, was evinced in inspecting the drives and winzes, for shafts are almost, unknown, the conformation of the .grouiid rendering sinking un necessary, seeing that it is safer and moro expeditious to put in a fresh drive at a lower level. For this reason accidents have been few and far be tween, and none as yet have proved fatal. One fact that powerfully struck the visitors was the practically inexhaustible amount of quartz that is embedded in the mountain, and another the apparently even distribution of gold through it. No one in deed after seeing a few of these mines can doubt tho permanence of the goldfield. An inspection was next made of the Colonist mine, but our party by this time had wofully thinned down in number. - Then followed a capital luncheon at the store, where tea was swilled by the quart, Eng lish ale quaffed by J,tho pint, cheese con sumed in huge junks, and sandwiches put away by the dozen, with infinite gusto. Gastrouomic feats were performed there by the heads of many a city household that would startle the inmates thereof, but tho moun tain air and the weary journey were an swerable for them, and we therefore con siderately draw a veil across the scene. When volunteers were, called for the trip to New Find, not more than eight or nine responded, for the rest were quite sated with the ardours of visitation, and their curiosity was completely exhausted. Those who did venture were rewarded with a rich show of quartz, and fagged out by an almost per pendicular clirhbthrough thick slush. There is no need to linger on the descent. It was executed with singular alacrity, and the re rurning voyagers, on regaining the battery, were regaled with a sight of the retorted gold for the month, 'some £5,400 worth. Here everyone halted, for a strange report had gained currency. It was to tlie effect that the whole party were to form in order of procession, and, headed by the Union Jack, march into Te Aroha as an escort with the first consignment of ?old. On the return of Messrs Firth and ■lark, travel-stained like their guests and genial withal, the rumour was exploded, and the party, in straggling array, rode, drove, or trudged back to the township, where ablutionary preparations, accom panied by a resort to the toilet, were made for the banquet. Banquet at the Hotel. Host Warren supplied a dinner worthy the occasion. Covers were laid for 120 guests, and the table groaned under the weight of good things, while a powerful corps of waiters, gathered from far and near, bustled about in attend ance upon the guests. We had the misfor tune to be waited upon by a person of ample shirt-front and benign appearance, who soon gave evidence of his mellow con dition. He would receive your order with a benevolent smile and a reassuring look, and then scuttling down to the other end of the table, he would suddenly loom over the back of your opposite neighbour and receive his order also with the same effect. Ho was open to receive any number of orders, but he evidently considered that there his duty ended. In one instance, how ever, did he swerve from the rigid course he had marked out for himself. Recognis ing in one of the Councillors an old friend, he furiously dashed off, and returned with a gigantic plum pudding, which, with in finite condescension, he . set before him. His face was wreathed in smiles, he ac cepted every remark as addressed to bim solf and answered it, and whenever anyone laughed hejoined in with a powerful guffaw. The entremets set forth upon the.menu card gave rise to dire confusion among the waiters and uproarious fun among the sruests. Let the reader peruse the list, and he will at once understand the reason. Herb it is : —" Gateaux ala ' Butler's Spur,' lemon jelly a la ' Premier,' blancmange a la 'New Find,' 'Colonist' puddings, ' Wai orongamai' tartlets, ' Mata Mata ' cheese cakes, ' Waihou ' plum puddings, Fan chonettes a la 'Inverness,' Bonne Bouches ala ''Dividends.'" " Gateaux ala Butler's Spur" were greatly fancied, and, while on one hand a person might be heard stipu lating for some "GUiteau," on the other hand another would be insisting that he had ordered " Butler's Spur," and not lemon jelly. By degrees the other names were dropped altogether.and Butler's Spur, Dividends, Matamata, and Waiorongamai became the rage. The speechifying was highly complimentary, but awfully long winded, and it was not until half-past eleven that a start could be made for the door, the dispersal being hastened by a few enthusiastic Scots calling for "Auld Lang Syne "as a fitting sequel to the National Anthem. ■ Tho Return. Early next morning the bulk of the visitors took their departure by the Waitoa, delighted with their outing and full of admiration for the manner in which Messrs Clark and Firth had done the honours as hosts. Thetripto the Thames was uneventful, and it would be cruel to dwell upon the rigours of the passage thonce to Auckland, seeing that a large proportion of the Council, together with naany.staid and ostimable citizens, succumbed completely to tho assaults of mal tie mer. However, they regained their composure, though missing their dinners, after reaching the Sandspit. At 9 o'clock we were landed on the wharf, and no time was lost in striking ' the trail for home.

Hard on the Bachelors.

It s said that tho bachelors of fc_ ~ arete be taxed. Every baehet S^ income of a thousand dollars a vcTr •*> pay a tax of twenty dollars unleifSffl . prove an intention to mam- a__ U;*» years. The only exemption i wC„> is unable to hnd a bride even nfh. j"4" tisins f.r otic. However con oh-* 1!. new Taw may be to the disapiS "„ of eligible maidens, as such it is t 0S?m8 reflection on their'personal a.Wlßtin< * If the girls rf.ManiLin^iS^S!l,,?i ing, and graceful, and sweet -w H. d loot to be there would be no oe__ wW 1 bachcors, because tliTre 3 f'l bac he ors, to tax. On the other hanrl.f _° bachelors be shy a tax of twe_■„ In " tto annum will not thaw t£ r Vt? * Many shy men wouldi^dlt* bachelor tax to be feeffi _S £ 9 portumties of man-huntin„ feinab. t Utile while women will cometotok £* the taxed ones as bachelors confi™ J Tx licensed by Act of rarlian en I _dl_* foro utterly hopeless. ' ld *««■

A Clever Trick.

In a fashionable square at Kensino+o not far from Kensington PalLefaWeffi party was invited the other da. %ll presents wore magnificent, for as the hriS. was marrying a rich man, and in fS would have everything that money S buy, the friends were proportionate v generous in their gift,. Uy girls wS are niarrv.ng poor men are p u f oil' with Church services, Keblo's "Christian Yea " orelectro-pated spoons. The „«_. alter noon "at home" had been held on the previous day, and the presents, laid out.* tables in the drawing-room, remained to dazzle the guests on the return from church During- the absence of the family the se. vants also with the exception of those e£ gaged in the kitchen, went to see the cere mony leaving the coast quite clear. Two men bearing portmanteaux were seen by the policeman to leave the house, and believing, them to be the servants takiriu luggage to the station in advance, the Officer ca led a cab for them and helped them on their way. What was the dismay of the bride and bridegroom and their friends, on their return, to find that a clean sweep had been made of all the valuables leaving nothing behind but some paltre drawing-room trifles ! '

Abolishing Long Trains.

Lose trains, except in court ceremonial, have bad their day, never, the "Queen" hopes, to have another. Of all superfluity of clothing this is perhaps the least defen. sible ; it serves no useful purpose whatever and the taste must be very depraved which could consider it ornamental. It extends a woman's sensibility in exact ratio to its length ; the nervous system radiates ia keenest fear and anticipation of evil through aU the inanimate stuff composing it, and its wearer suffers indescribable torture in' tho dread expectation of feeling a sudden pull at the waist, and the sound of _ rending stuff, or of "gathers" torn following hard upon it. Women, when trains were commonly worn, knew in _ moment what the sound portended, fliey heard it ringing in their ears for long after as they had in their forebodings imagined often before that the evil had befallen upon them —an evil against which pins, and needles or thread, which careful mothers carried with them to every assembly or ball were of no avail. What men .thought of trains had better be left to tlie convenient phrase of the provincial reporter—it can be' more easily imagined than described. To a man of assurance and ready wit it was no drawback, but more often an oppor tunity of apology and chance of ac quaintance; but to men not brnseri, the train was a standing or rather trail ing- menace, an unhappy and incon groii3 union of women and serpents, uniting the two extremes of the greatest good and chiefest evil in all created things. ° A man might be careful, but in a crowd the trains become mixed, and caution only led to greater difficulties. In a dance care was out of the question, and, however effusive his manner and ample his regret, it was only the man of the world ■par excellence who . had effrontery enough to bear up against the frown of in' jured beauty and frozen acceptanco of the voluble excuses offered in palliation of .his offence. Ninety-nine men out of .very hundred would fe,r rather tread on the tail of a trailed coat in an Irish fair than on the train of a ballroom belle. ifjj

Hard Boiled Eggs.

The fashion of let wufs.durs (hard-boiled eggs) having advanced from Peterhoffto Potsdam, and travelled from Potsdam to Paris, has now reached London, and, like every fashion old enough to be. new again, has been adopted most eagerly,' The first record of the exporimont of(« nut's ditrs is found in "Tbe Diary ofrjj Lady of Quality," who being invited to dine with the Empress Catharine, expresses the great surprise and disgust with whiti sh c beheld a servant enter with a silver! trayon which were placed a quantity of whit appeared hard-boiled eggs placed upright in little china cups standing On the gold zarf used by the Turks for holding the coffee cup. " Although the idea of eating a hard-boiled egg after a hearty dinner: rather overcame me, as every, guest took one of these eggs as they were haridedi round I did not dare refuse*" says the, Lady of Quality ;'' aud, following the! example of the rest, I broke the top of the; shell, not with aspoou, as is the eU6tom with) us, but with tlie sharp edge of a silver knife laid beside, my plate knocked off by a trick. of legerdemain the extreme end—and found to my amazement that the contents: con-: sis!el of a bombe of ice, imitating wit.! great exactness an egg in shape, ssize, a_s colour. The white was of lemon, the'ijrall. of orange ice. I assureyou I was no longer'; disgusted, for nothing could be more Jaw quisite than the flavour of the ice nor mow: ■grateful than its ■ delicious coolness." The! ceufsdurs have appeared at :many aristo. cratie dinners in London, and bid fair toM in high favour next season. ■ Hi

" Whatrlo you suppose I'll look like whet jj I get out of this _ indignantly inquired^. fashionably-dressed young lady of acoij ductor of a fearfully over-crowded omnibii. ' —" A good deal like crushed sugar, _iss,° f ': said the conductor. And the lady stow. up and rode four streets further with 'raj smile of an angel. . v9B Queen Margherita once asked a little girlf to knit her a pair of silk ptockings as h birthday gift, and gave her 20 lire tflb-^ the material. The Queen forgot tbe circum-, stance till her birthday came when she _- reminded of it by the arrival of a pair of well-knit stockings and the makers best,.; wishes. Not to be outdone, Queen War-, gherita sent a pair to her young friend as * return gift, one stocking being full, of 111*"" pieces and the other of bon-bons, . They. were accompanied by a little note:—"Tell me, my dear, which you liked best. A reply reached the palacenext day :—"Dew-.: est Queen,—Both the stockings have maw, me shed many bitter tears. Papa tooktW v one with the money, and my brother thfl, other. ,' -'". ■. ,; T i

STAR SATURDAY SUPPLEMENT, DECEMBER 15, 1883

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