RANDOM SHOTS.

[By Zamiel.]

il-jme write, a neighbour's name to lash, iHEcmo writo—vain thought!—for needful cash, Hfcome write to please tho country clash, . [If And raiso a din. 1.3. or mi, an aim I never fash— |y I write for fun. Sn_ local Frozen Moat and Storage Com- Kmy have held their first annual meeting, [Sid so far as I can understand, they make lemselves out to be in a very flourishing mdition. But yet they have not frozen a ngle sheep, and have no buildings or pparatus for the work, nor will they freeze single sheep on their Auckland premises >r another year to come. There is indeed ist a soupam. of truth in that smart saying r a Dunedin paper the other day, that -ere are not sufficient sheep in the whole of .uckland province to supply fiddle-strings 9 the Orchestral Society. So the Company re Wisely changing their plans, and are alking of embracing in their operations be manufacture of acids and manures, and he making and preserving of ice for the lydhey market. I have no shares in the loncern; but I suppose the manures and jeids will save it from becoming a complete •frost," so that the happy shareholders nay calculate on a harvest of dividends, freezing works are to go upatWaitara, md by and by we shall have similar works >_the_oresho_ereclamat.onhere. Fortheen jouragement of the shareholders, I quote the tallowing from a poster displayed in Leeds lately, to show the esteem in which New Zealand frozen mutton is held in England :— NEW ZEALAND 'MU_TON! -.00FROZEN SHEEP- Ip grand condition. I_" The Finest Sample ever seen in this Country. Being tor superior to English in every respect, both in appearance, tenderness, flavour, and Uaaiallnesa of bone. There is no meat in the world to equal it at the present time, as It is used—i all the leading London hospitals, and pronounced by Sir W. Gull (our great physi cian) to be "THE _I_mT MEAT EATEN." It is alto used in the Royal Household, and by all the crowned heads of Europe. '",.' Ni.—PRICES, fiD to 8n PER PODND. The company have shops throughout England. Ireland, Scotland, and Wales at the present time, Nora the Address :— A_7 ■' LEEDS BRIDGE. There, now! Let Aucklanders at once start the cultivation of the gentle sheep (revenom a nos moutons, so to speak), cheered by the thought that their labours Will bring joy to the inmates of the " load ing London hospitals," and gladden to the =„cart *of that great physician, Sir Wm. Gull, not to mention the Royal Household, .with " the crowned heads of Europe" , thrown in 1 If things are below the freez ing point at present, lean see that "there's a good time coining, boya, though we can not fix the date."

Colonial meanness is in danger of be coming proverbial. The latest instance is -applied hy a suburb of Auckland, which prides itself on being better than its neigh bours. The choir of the Wesleyan Church gave a sacred concert the other day, the object of which was to raise funds where with to purchase books for use in the Church service. An excellent programme of choice solos and anthems was performed In AI church-choir style, before an audience of 350 i" souls" I was going to say, but I am not so sure that the appellation is correct), who were drawn together by the tempting announcement — "Admission free." A large proportion of them, how ever, had quite overlooked another line in the programme, which notified that a "collection would be taken, "to which it is • hoped friends will liberally contribute." | The collection was duly taken (no " sacred" I concert, after that model one in the Opera House a few months ago is complete with out that ceremony), and it was found that it realised the sum of £7 16s. An analysis §B the "plate" showed that about 100 persons had contributed nothing, eighteen had given a penny each, sixty-six had given what a local parson calls " beggarly threepenny hits;" eighty-four gave six pences, and eighty-five gave the orthodox "colonial rob6rt," the balance being : made up of four florins and two half-crowns. .Unlike the Freethinkers, no Wesleyan was I daring enough to drop a tin-tack or breeches .button into the, collection plate, but the trust reposed in their liberality was as much misplaced as was the confidence in '•the generosity of the public" in. the case ■ of the other sacred concert to which I have : referred. It is no defence to say that oflolleetipns are a nuisance (which nobody denies), and that they should be abolished ; (which nobody expects to see in a hurry). If the collection were' objected to, it was "jftn easy matter to k3ep .out of its reach, but it beats me to conceive j how people can be so mean as to rush to a . " free show,", enjoy it to the utmost, and "then coolly button up their pockets when a j free-will offering is asked. Christian—or perhaps I should say Wesleyan—ethics do ■ not seem in this respect to be much superior to the Rationalistic; arid at future sacred Concerts, I fancy that choir will be con . strained to announce—"Friends are re * quested to contribute voluntarily at the ratp of a-hilling a head," and, like their Rationalistic friends, shut the doors upon .__ who do not bleed freely.

A certain scribbler of " current calami tie, "in another, place must just now, I fancy, be reposing on abed of thistles—(l 'need scarcely pause to remark that thistles I arid donkeys are ind&solubly linked in popu ; lar phrase). His last week's drivel about i Mr Milner Stephen has,' I hear, led the last- I,' named gentleman to remark that he is a . Jbarrister, and'knows something of the law of -libel. There are storms brewing, when the . Healer is sunk in the Barrister—when the J maH-C supersedes the beneficent function— J when prajdnA gives place to preying. He is a terrible fellow, this Healer, when- he is "aroused; thoughhisarmisstrongtosave, it is also strong to smite, and more than one j luckless newspaper scribe who has tried to Eft smart at his expense has been made to -smart 6r to eat the leek of humble apology. '.Things being dull here just^now, and the '•«' miraculous cures " not. having power to : o_r us from our lethargy, it would be a I 'welcome interlude if Mr Milner Stephen 1 Were to give- an exhibition of his forensic 'abilities in the R.M. Court, so that we Imight be able! to judge of him in his dual -capacity, _nd settle w_ether he most excels I at dispensing red flannel or at " raiaing the I wool" "of an antagonist.

* One of the leading chemlete in Auckland was rather flabbergasted a few day* ago by a young manenfering his shop ana asking -■ tor a supply of phenol without any carbolic acid in' it. The chemist, however, proved equal to the occasion, and, astonished the tv would-be customer by inquiring if he "'generally drank his eau de vie without. Many brandy in it, or ordered his cook to pre |r pare the.morning chocolate without any i cocoa in it, or if he was in the habit of wearing his legless stockings without any ' feet to them? These, questions were "a surpriser," and the customer, feelings may be imagined when the chemist enlightened him by stating that "phenol"and " carbolic acid" were simply the French and JSngltsh-j names for the same a'rtiole. . : . \ ..-..; -.. -

A correspondent sends me the following story of the esrly days of the colony:—More I than forty y««:s ago, and before Her 1 Majesty's Customs were in full swing, whalers in numbers visited the Bay of . Islands, and it was cußtwa&ry for the captain of one vessel to invite the others to a spread mon shore, and to wind up,wW> what was ? .called "a spree." Brandy, rup; &n<l all spirits being haH-a-crown a' bottle, a grand |§«ttWJi_ie could he indulged in economically,! Woll, one Captain A. on a certain occasion . invited the others, and told them the blow out would take place at HOstP.'s, a well known inhabitant. Some of the invited de ! murred, as they bad experienced a taste of i Host P.'s sharp practices; hut Captain Ay '■■'. said if P. took nim in he would " only hive § one more to get over," meaning, of course, 1 he-Evil One. The day arrived, the dinner , was served at so mucn per head, and thje grog to bo charged in accordance with the f, above tariff. The number of bottles of h grog consumed upon such a festive'occasion I- trai i appall jap, and when the guests reeled

off to bed* tho "floor of the* room was well covered with brokon glass. Early next, morning Host P, rose betimes, and with his native assistants commenced to clear up tho wreck of the night boforo, and in order to make room, tho tables had to be turned up or over, one on the top of the other. As this was being done, Host P. saw a number of chalk marks like tallies on and under the edge of the table Captain A. sat at. Like a flash of light it struck his mind what they wero, and ho counted them. Ho im mediately wont into his bar, and coming back, he added about a dozen more chalk marks to those on the table, and after clear ing up the room the tables were sot for breakfast. A hearty breakfast partaken of, the reckoning was called for by Captain A., who was ready for business, more especially as he had been well chaffed by tho others. The account of course stood: "So many dinners for so much." There could be no demur to this, as they all knew liow many sat down to dinner. But when the enor mous quantity of grog stared the captain in the face he began to talk sea lingo—" He'd be this" and "He'd be that if they had had all that grog." Host P. calmly re plied that they had, for ho tallied each each bottle as it was called for. "Ha! ha !" says Captain A., '-'you beggar, but I did the same, and now we shall see what you are made of." Whereupon he desired one of his guests to lay hold of the other end of the table and turn it up, -when, finding his tally agreed with the bill, he was for a time struck dumb. But his better nature get ting the ascendant, he advanced to Host P. with his hand extended for a.hearty grasp, exclaiming, "Look here, P., these beggars wanted to persuade me you are not honest, but I have proved you are so, for my tally and your account agree. Bring in another bottle of grog all round—and one for your self." - -

" That girl in the box has been crammed with knowledge under our educational system, and yet there she is !" said an old fogey on Tuesday last in tho Police Court. The fair prisoner's name was Mary—a name which has been enshrined in British poetry by a score of poets. Mary was tall, well developed, and prepossessing, as those un saved reporters say for whose spiritual wel fare Mrs Hampson has been fervently pray ing with closed eyes at Sandhurst. The old fogey said further—"Nature has been bountiful to the Auckland girls, but they are not domesticated." These opinions might have proceeded from a heart en crusted with worldlincsa, and without a just sense of the'importance of higher education for girls. Mary, however, Btood there in the prisoner's box, a living illustra tion of at least a partial truth, and when officially presented by Alfred James to the presiding Magistrate, and asked, " Were you drunk ?" the fair young girl under twenty, replied, "Certainly I was." The answer was given hastily, and without a blush. The fine was pronounced, but Mary having no money, looked eagerly round the Court for her mamma. But mamma was not visible among that- gaping, morbid crowd of auditors—tho " great unwashed," as Edmund Burke would say. " Whero's mamma." lowlier spoke the disappointed girl, gaily attired in a blue dress and a Lady Hamilton straw hat upon her head wreathed with cornflowers. • "Drunk,"! reiterated, "and so fair and under twenty !" and yet, so it was. The girl had been to a dance—she was dancing mad liko other Auckland young girls, and she had drunk of brandy and lemonade until she fell and was picked up—not by her partner at the dance—but by Constable Mac, who pillowed her aching, bewildered head, in a stone cell. A few months ago, and Mary was a promising Sunday-school scholar, but she had broken away from religious restraint, and the Band of Hope; had been to the dance, had tasted the insidious beverage and fallen in High-street. The generous constable pitied the girl, and pleaded " her first offence, Your Worship, and would have paid the fine, but had left his purse at home. This is a true story, one of those unnoticed episodes in city life, which carries its own moral.

" Hugh Conway " hit the popular taste with his "Called Back." The sale has been enormous; a hundred and seventy-one thousand copies, and probably more, having been already disposed of. Mr Fargus has sprung into fame at a bound. Publishers are eager to secure his services, and his en gagements for startling stories will keep his pen busy for a long time to come. It will be well if his imagination prove equal to the claims now being made upon it. If he can write to order, and maintain the level he has reached, he is a cleverer man than even the widely-read "Called Back" shows him to be. That work is a sensa tional story of an extreme type; but two at least of the incidents are original, or at any rate out of the common. It is hardly safe to be oracular on the question of originality in these days; but certain it is that parts of "Called Back" are fresh and strange enough to bo attractive. To describe the portions in question -would be to discount the interest of the story; let everyone who loves to have his hair raised by a startling narra tive invest a shilling and read for himself. I give this advertisement to booksellers free; all I ask in return is their gratitude. To ladies who take up " Called Back " I would say, begin your reading by daylight j don't wait till tho evening is half over, much less till the hour has grown late. I The first two chapters tell of a mysterious murder, com mitted under the strangest circumstances, in thesmallhoursof an August morning. There fore if you want to eleep peacefully, shut the book and cease to think of it, before tea-time. Let tho good man become absorbed in it after the gas is lighted at his peril; he has as his excuse a character for courage and nonchalance to keep up.

As I have said, the interest of "Called Back" lies in novelty combined with sensationalism. Another thing has served to make it popular with certain classesof readers—its adroit introduction of a psychological problem, which niay have some foundation in actual fact, or' it may be an invention of the* author's. At all events, the incident is cleverly managed, being-essential to the working out of the story, and forming no insignificant portion of the sensational element. Add to the qualities just enumerated the business-like directness and vigour with which the story is told. One is carried on ' straight to the conclusion, without diverging into digres sions first on one side and then on the other. There is no padding, and hence no reason for skipping. Also, of thought in the higher sense there is absolutely none. If the reader wants that, he must go else where. Hero is a feast of surprises and amazements; nothing more, nothing lees. The "author's next book will of course be eagerly inquired for, but it is almost boutfd to disappoint. His bolt, it may safely be predicted, is shot. He has already reached his.highest niche on the pinnacle of fame. It is loot often given to one man to. write two books both of which the public demand a hundred and seventy odd thousand.

H Auckland possesses a Boccaccio, then there should be no lack of material out of which to construct a local Decameron, albeit a long way after the Italian archetype. I shrink with natural delicacy from entrance into such a field of literary gossip, and even if it were would not the suscep tibilities of roy high-toned readers be terribly shocked at such an, excursion? These remarks, of course, are simply by way of preamble, and the pith is this: As: a recognised critic of current events whoj makes a good many pot-shots and generally hits his mark, people have got into the habit of invoking my aid* of selecting me 1 as the repository of numerous secrets, and, in short, of looking up to me as guide,, philosophor, and friend. Amongst my clientele of the past week was oae who,had: found in the public street a scrap of a highly , suggestive letter, and at his desire I give it to t_e,world as a proof of the desperate wickedness of the human heart. It is less I than half the front page of an unbacked letter, but even in its brevity it speaks un utterable things. ThuS runs the missive : —" Parnell, March 17th, 1884.-^-My own . Darling Sweetheart,.— Will, you please; except this email pesenfc ef ties which 1 have made to-day f These are only—"and.here it breaks off. Of course there is nothing wrong in' this except the orthography. In tone it is very ; Platonic, highly prpper :;apd tenderly: affeotionate, but the awful revelation is contained-in the,: left hand upper corner of the btllet'doux, where-. in over a line of letter kisses x x x xx xx x, is recorded this injunction ■-. Don't let your,1 nasty little wife see; this." The fat is how in the fire, and a cap has been thrown into the air wfej^h many may 'fit upon the head, and wear. , Afaonspdict has gone; wrong,, a I Parnell belle posses-^s jn somebody else's spouse a "darling sweetheart," and .a I"little wife" has the effrontewy to be "_laafcp!.,."over.the affair.; .People who aa-; gage m clandestine amours should, at any . rate, beomorb'aareful of i their correspon ! dence. Some goodowill ,be effected by the firing of this truly random shot _£ itputs On end to a compromising tendre and reminds a forgetful citizen of his marital obligations. go vsota ft be i ' AA ■'■ •■■"',; -^-t -■.' - -.— -* - - '■ : . -1--._ -■ L;

SPORTING.

PRINCIPAL RACING FIXTURES.

New Zealand.

Onefmnga R.C. Spring November 22 Takapuna J.C. Spring Nov. 29 Wellington J.C. Spring No v. 27 Wellington R.C. SpsiDg Nov. 28, 29 Dunedin J.C. Spring Nov. 29, Dec. 1 Cambridge Spring Meeting Decembers Thames J.C. Summer December 26 and 27 Auckland Summer Meeting. .Dec. 20, Jon. 1 and 2 Canterbury J.C. Summor Jan. 1 Hawko's Bay J.C. Meeting Dec. 26

Dates of Nominations, Entries and Accep tances.

Nominations Cambridge Spring Meet ing .. Nov. 20 Acceptances and General Entries Taka puna Spring Meeting .. .. .. Nov. 21 Nominations Thames Summer Meeting Nov. 22

To Correspondents.

L.M.—Trenton was scratched for all his C.J.C. engagements on Wednesday, the sth of November, at 2.30 p.m. Waoeb.—No winner of the Maribyrnong Plate has ever won the V.R.C. Derby, and only one of them, Ncllio, has ever won the A.J.C. Derby. Subscriber (Russell).—The highest winning sire in the season 1881-2 was Panic, with 30 winners of Gl races, amounting to -8,417. In 1882-3 Yattendon was first, with 23 winners of S3 races; total, £7,569; and last season St. Albans heads the list, with 22 winners of 48 rnoe. of £8,260. In each of tho three seasons, Maribyrnong was second with £5,523, £6,021, and £7,613 respectively.

NOTES BY HIPPONA.

The New Zealand Cup, which was decided on Tuesday last, drew together the largest and most select field that has been saddled up in this Colony for some years past. Owing to the miserable state of the course, however, the race was a very hollow onei for the particulars to hand inform ua that Vanguard won hard held by three lengths from Leonora, the other place-getter, Ike, being ten lengths away. The victory of the Hon. W. Robinson's representative is extremely palatable to-me, for it will be remembered that I predicted his success in my notes last weok. Looking over Van guard's past performances, I find that as a two-year-old he ran second to Siesta in the Canterbury Welcome Stakes, won by Siesta ; second in the Dunedin Champagne Stakes, won by that mare's then stable companion, Nonsense; third in the Canterbury Champagne Stakes, won by Nonsonse, with Iris second; second in the Canterbury Nursery Handicap, won by Siesta j and won the Timaru Winter Oats Handicap. At three years, with 7st in the saddle, he got third in the C.J.C. Handicap, won by Welcome Jack (6at 4lb), Bundoora (7st 41b). being second, and the two miloa were got over in 3min. 34sec. In the Canterbury Cup, w.f.a., won by Sir Modred, he was third, his stable comjianion Cheviot occupy ing second place, and at the Christchurch Summer he failed to get a situation in tho Cup. Last season Vanguard made his first appearance in the Wellington Cup.for which he was reckoned a "moral," but he went down before The Poet and Nermanby, and in the Dunedin Cup a few weeks later, was unplaced. He got second in the D.J.C. Handicap, and won both the Forbury and Great Autumn Handicaps, beating a field of 14 in the last-named event, while at the Timaru Autumn he secured the Flying Handicap, and ran unplaoed in the big race on the second day. At Ceraldino this season, ho secured both tho Handioap and Cup. Vanguard's tabulated pedigree reads as follows:—

Although the Grip Lodge stable had it all their own way in tho New Zealand Cup, the Derby "pot" failed to come off, their great gun Liverpool going down before Black Rose, who is owned by Mr H. Redwood, the " father of the New Zealand turf." The winner was got by Ariteros from Red Rose, so that the N.Z. Stud Com pany will be in great glee over the result. Had the second horse Fusilier, however, been successful, it would have been received with -. much more favour here, as Mr Butler's colt first saw the light of day in Mr W. Walters's paddocks at Papa kura, and was got by Musket from that game old mare Yatterina. Old Sylvia dropped a filly foal to Musket early on Tuesday morning last. For the Stud Company's sake, it is a great pity the result- ot her union with the son of Toxophalito is not- a colt, for so far not one of Sylvia's fillies have shown form at the racing game. When the news of Trenton's withdrawal from all of his C.J.C. engagements reached here, there were many unkind' remarks made, but from particulars to hand this week, it would seem they were uncalled for. The Christchurch scribes state that from the knee down to the fetlock the son of Musket's leg has swollen to a'great size, and it is with difficulty he.moves-abont in his box. -, .'■■■

During the week, 500 to 12 was accepted about Badames and Sunray for the Auck land Cup and Steeplechase, and 500 to 12 Badames and King. Both wagers were taken by the stable. The fancy wager of 100 to 1 has also been taken about the two Alarics for the same events.

Mr G. Clifford's Stoneyhurst, the winner of the Christchurch Welcome Stakes, is a full brother to Water King, being got by King of Clubs from Watersprite. He is bred very similarly to Darebm, being by a son of The Peer's full sister from a maro by Traducer out of Lurline's half sister, while Darebin is by The Peer from Lurline. Water-sprite (the dam of Stoneyhurst) is a full sister to Natatrir.

Leeds, who is by Doncastor out of the New Zealand Stud Company's matron, Steppe, won the Portland Plate at the Don caster Meeting, He carried the good impost of Sat 4lb, and beat a field of eight. • , " Ada Mantua" has forwarded me a printed list containing the names and ad dresses of holders of starters and winners of the £81 prizes in his Melbourne Cup con sultation. It can be inspected at any time by those interested. Mat _ was one of the heroes of the hour on the first day of CI J.C. Meeting, the erst while New Zealand champion provingthat lie has a little of his old form left in him. He secured both the Riccarton Welter and Free Handicaps, so that Mr Pilbrow did not secure a bad bargain when he bought him in May-last for £41.

A number of thoroughbreds were put under the hammer the day before the Mel bourne Cup was run. The Terrara year lings brought 3,630 guineas', or an average of 180 guineas. , The highest-priced lots were for .he brother to Navigator, bought by the Hon. J. White for 800 guineas. Of Mr Branch's lot. Silver King was sold to Mr J. Wilson, sen., for 500 guineas; Off Colour to Mr J; Wilson, jun., for 1,000 guineas; and Second King to Mr A. Yuille for 50 guineas. - . ■ • ' No less than 20,613 coupons were for warded to the ..Melbourne Sportsman" essaying to tip the winners of the Caul field .Gup y.R.C. Derby,' and Melbourne Cup; but npt o'npflf them proved successful. Outpf the largp number sent in, only 110 contained the name of Blirj£ Bonny, £tid not a single coupon contained the name gf Rufus for the Derby in conjunction with theCaulfiold Cup wfnnai?. * Ojie.-Ijalf gi the 110 who pinned their faith on the Tasißan ian mare selected the favourite, Bargo, for the Derby, and with him wore several Cup favourites, '. •_■ ■ ;

The ,"Field";alludes to an innovation that has grown to too great lengths of late years—the plan of having an assistant to the starfer at the post with a long whip to use to frighten or to strike the horses. In some few' e_Be_— ypry few—good may be done (remarks our contemporary); but, generally speaking, and with all irritable rfnd nervous horses, the contrary is the case, ai^d the sooner; such an assistant is suppressed, the I better ownersioihorseß will like it. V ._A,. .A"'"'' I '-'^'"A'1 v "'"*:;'- ,'■•■":';--: -'-:"■ ■■■■..:

Just as tho flag wont down for tho V.R.C. Derby, something hit against Barge heavily, and nearly brought him down, but Hales recovered the colt quickly, and ho got off in the centre of tho crowd. Bnrgo _ dofeati.. thus referred to by "Nemo":— The result caused great astonishment, not in so much that Bargo was beaten, but that his downfall "was brought about by Rufus and David, two colts that could not gallop as fast as you could kick your hat in the race for tho Caulficld Guineas. When the excitement had somewhat cooled down one had to listen to the usual wearisome' excuses : " It was tho knock that Bargo received before the start which put him out of it." "It was all Hales'a fault—ho made his run too soon." "Bargo was short of work, and ought never have been so steady a favourite," &c. Let such remarks pass, racing mon are used to them, and take them at their value. The real fact of the matter is that Hales rode him as well as anyone living could do, and the colt was simply beaten on his merits, and because he was not good enough for either Rufus or David. No one is to blame for it, and no man in his senses could have hackod Rufus, or held the belief that he was even danger ous, after the wretched figure he cut at CaulfieU, when he was genuinely backed for a ton of money by the stable, and was never in it from start to finish. lam in a position to know that no two persons wore moro completely staggered by his victory than his owner and his trainer, for tho colt, who had been doing wonders in his work be fore Caulfield, had gone very badly since, and was only started for the-" blue ribbon " on tho off chanco, upon the principle that there is always a forlorn hopo in racing. The Christchurch Middle Park Stud Com pany have purchased Mr Delamain's mares, Flattery (full sister to Welcome Jack) and Folle Ferine, by Golden Grape out of Belle of the Islo, dam of Templeton. The Hon. W. Robinson has named tho chestnut filly by Ca_ogan—Malice, Charity. It ia atated that Captain Webster's injury is only likely to bo of a temporary charac ter. .

Lo Grand is not permanently injured,and Mr Donald Wallace has hopes of getting him round in sufficient time for the autumn campaign. The woights for the Auckland Cup and Stoeplechaso may bo expected to appear about the end of next week.

An Adelaide auctioneer is stated to have won close on five figures by Newstead's win In the Maribyrnong Plate. His owner has refused £'2000 for the colt.

The Speed of Express Trains is England.

Comparing the express services of 1871 and 18S3, it appears that tho increase of express trains during that period has been 157, or 62.8, throughout the English and Scotch lines, tho numbers being 250 per day in 1871 and 407 in 18S3. The averago journey speed has increased from 37 3 5 to 41 3-5 miles per hour, the running averago from 40 4-10 to _t 1-3 miles, and tho total ex press mileage from 23,672 to 42,693, a daily increase of 19,021 miles, or SO per cent. . The London and North-western stands at the head of tho list as regards express mile age, with 10,405 daily miles, but it is not the Bame position as regards running avor age, all tho great companies, indoed, having increased in this respect by more than the average amount, with this one exception. The Great Northern stands first in the run ning average increase, being 42 miles per hour in IS7I and 46 J in 1883, boing an in crease of 4'i miles per hour. Tho total ox press mileago on- this system has risen from 3,520 to 0,780, or 92 por cent. Tho Groat Northern, however, shows tho greatest number of express journeys on each mile, though in the niattor of long runs it, of course, cannot compete with the London and North-western, for it is comparatively a short lino, and has no long runs extending liko those from Chester to Holyhead or Pre ston to Carlisle.

The Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincoln shire shows the largest increase of all tho lines in tho number of district expresses, having risen from 11 in 1871 to 49 in 1883— an increase of 38. As to its average journey speed also, that has mounted from 36 miles to 43—an increase of seven per hour; and in this matter it is surpassed by only one system-viz-.theGlasgowandSouth-western, which increased by 7 11-12 miles. The running average of the Manchester and Sheffield has of course increased from 38 4-7 miles to 44 3-5, or 6 per cent,, and its total express mileage from 594 to 2,318, or the enormous number of 1,724, or 290 per cent.

The Midland Company ranks third in the number of its expresses, of which there are 06, but eocond as regards express mile age, being 3,175 in 1871 and 8,500 in 1884 —an increase of 5.685 miles, or 147 per cent. Its average journey speed is now 41 3-5 miles—an increase of 4 1-10 per hour since 1871 ; and its running averago is 45 miles— an increase of 4 1-10. The Midland system shows a very largo augumontation in the number of its daily long runs, these having been 20 in 1871 with a mileage of 1,135, while now there are 84, with a mileage of 4,377. With respect to the total mileage, the Great Eastern .has made mora rapid pro gress than any other line, having jumped from tho bottom in 1871, when it was 161 miloa, to the fourth-place in 1883, with 3,040 miles—an increase per cent, of 1,788. This is owing largely to the extension of the system in Doncaster. The number of district expresses has risen from three to thirty-four, its average journey speed from 37 9-10 to 41, running average from 38 8-10 to 43.1. As representing the west of England, tho Great Western, though it still stands fifth in the order of total express mileage, has actually reduced its number of district expresses from twenty-eight to eighteen, and therefore, of course, its total express mileage, which now stands at 2,600 daily miles.' Its average journey speed has risen from 38 to 42 miles, and its running average from 414-5 t0461. For the southern lines tno changes are nothing like so great. The Chatham and Dover has increased its district expresses from 6 to 9, the Brighton from 12 to 13, while the South eastern has reduced them from 15 to 12, and the South-western from 7 to 3. In speed the latter company shows best of all the lines south of London, having risen from 40 miles to44J, the Chatham and Dover following suit from 41 _ to 43J, the South eastern troin 40J to 41j, and the Brighton from 41J to only 41 2-23. This very small increase is doubtless due to the crowded state of the line between _ondon and Croy don, which would render a very high speed inadmis-iblo.—From tho "Journal of the Statistical Society."

Jumbo and Others.

"He knows nothing besides eating 700 pounds of hay, 2h bushels 'of oats, 70 pounds of Graham bread, a bushel of carrots or turnips, and drinking three barrels of water each day," said the trainer. " He dooß that as regular as clockwork; in two instalments, and bogs the rest of the time from every ono who comes near him. Ho never goes off his feet, not even when he sleeps, and he never lost his temper while we had him, except once, when something had angered him. That was in winter quarters at Bridgeport, but I soon got him quiet by putting an additional iron clasp on his tusks." . "But how can you handle such a colossus?" asked the reporter, glancing np at the 14 feet in height which represented the 24,000 pounds of elephantine matter. ■ "We drive four stakes in a square, and fasten ropes with pulleys to each leg. Then we. pull the legs apart until his Majesty's belly touches the ground. In that position we throw him, and loavo him fastened down until ho begins to beg off. After that he is treated with kindness until another dose cf palley becomes necessary. But, as I say, Jumbo is a very pleasant fellow, and well behaved."

. " I presume the elephants soon learn to know their keepers," suggested the re porter. "Thatthey do, but not every elephant is kind. They grow wicked as they grow old, especially the bulls. Wo are more or less in danger all the time, but we be come attached to them, as a man will to a horse. They all have a special hobby or liking. For instance, Hebe, one of the members of the herd, some years ago de veloped a great liking for a camel. When ever the latter lay down Hebe would stand pyar.him, put-her tj.__.k around his peck, blow on him, and express her love in BhrUl trumpetings of delight. ''Gypsy, another of the herd, took to the children, and when Frank Melville, the bare-back rider, travelled with 'us, Gypsy showed a remarkable fondness for his little son. The animal recognised the ohild eveiy time it came into the tent, and was almost frantic if the boy didn't come up and fondle his trunk."—From the "Chicago Herald.'

FIELD SPOUTS AND AQUATICS.

(I) _ ACT__ON.)

CRICKET FIXTURES.

November 15—Gordon Ist v. Warehouses; Qpt'don 2nd v. West End 3rd ; Alpha Ist v. United Ist; West End Ist v. Auokland; Auck land 2nd v. West Hnd 2nd (continued), United v. Alpha, Our Boys v. Newton, 1 Zingari v. National.

Novemhor 22—Gordon Ist v. United Ist, Gor don 2nd v. United 2nd, Alpha Ist v. Auckland 2nd, West, End Ist v. Auckland lit (continued), Auckland 2nd v. West End 2nd, Our Boys V. Ncwtou (continued), I Zingari v. West Hnd. November 29 — Alpha Ist v. Auckland 2nd, United Ist v. Goroon Ist (continued), West End 2nd v. Gordon 2nd, West End Ist, v. Auokland iHt, (continued), I Zingari v. Warehousemen, Newton v. Otahuhu.

December B-Newton v. Auokland 2nd, Auck land Ist v. United, West End Ist v. Otahuhu (in the Domain), I Zingari v. True Blues. Gordon v. Vagabonds. Alpha v. Tuakau (at Tuakau), Our Boys v. Natrona'.

December 13-Newton v. West End 2nd, West End Ist v. Olahuhu (continued). Parnoll v. I Zingarl, Gordon v. Vagabonds. Alpha v.. Ware housemen, Auckland United v. Auckland (continued), Alpha Ist v. United Warehouse men. Our Hoys v. National (continued), Auck land 2nd v. United Second.

December 20—Auckland 2nd v. Warehouse men, West End v. Our Bojs, Auckland v. United (continued), Alpha v. Gordon 2od, Gordon v. Otahuhu (Domain). Newton v. West End.

Shaw's English Eleven,

Novombor 0, 7, 8, v. Fifteen of Kensington Association, AdolaMe.

November 14, 15, 17, 18, v. Victoria, at Mel bourne.

November 21, 22, 21,25, v. New South Wales, at Sydnov,

November 20, 27, v. Hawkcsbury distriot, at Windsor.

November 28, 29, v. County Cumberland, at I'urramatta.

December 1, 2, 3, v. Clurenco River district, at Grafton.

December 12.13,15. 16, v. Australian Eleven, at Adelaide (probably). December 23. 24, v. Sandhurst. December 20. 27, V. Ballarat. January 1. 2, 3, 5, v. Combined Australian Eleven, at Melbourne. January 9.10, v. Wollongong. January 12.13, v. Candelo distriot January 18 to 22, v. Narrabrl and tho North. . January, 23, 21. 20. 27. v. New South Walos, at Sydney.

AQUATIC FIXTURES.

November 21—North Shore Trial Fours. January I—Lyttelton Regatta. January 3—Hearn v. Harrington, at Rlvorton, for £200 and Championship of New Zealand. January 29—Auckland Animal Regatta. Fobruary 7—Haulan v. Clifford, £500 a-Blde. February 28—Clifford v. Beach, £500 a-side March 28—Hanlun v. Beach, £500 a-slde and championship of tho world, on the Paramatta River. April 18-Clifford v. Honlon (if tho former Is victorious in his match with Beach). CUffbrd v. Teenier, £500 a-side.

CYCLING FIXTURES.

Auckland Bicycle Club Runs. November 15—From top of Upper Queen-street to North Shore, via Northcote and Lake (2 o'clock boat).

November 22—From top of Upper Queen stroot to Papatoitol. Novcmbor 29—From top of Upper Queen street to Ihuoinata.

To Correspondents.

Par-jell.—Wagers always go with the stakes. unless otherwise stipulated.

Secretaries should forward any items of id toiost for this column early in the week, in order to securo insertion.

Manukau Rowing Club includes ovor 30 members, and is in a flourishing condition.

New York has 500 cyclists, Philadelphia 900, and Boston more than both tho other citios combined.

Onehunga Rowing Club numbers about 20 members, and, liko tho Manukau, is likoly to bo heard of favourably very shortly.

It is ostimatod that there are 15,000 wheelmen in Amoriea, which also ranks next to Britain in the number of bicyclo manufactures.

At tho Wlmu Regatta Ponsonby won two races, Waitomata two, and Manukau one. Bailoy, who won the sculler*' ruco.bolongs to tho Waitomata Club, so probably thoir ro cord should be 3 wins.

It is expected that thero will be fully ten entries for the VVhaleboot Race at the Auckland Regatta. Thames iB exported to contribute two crows, and others will pro bably come from the South.

At Birmingham, W.-G. George racod Snook 1,500 yards, and tried to beat the letter's previous record. George won by 20 yards, in 3min. 45sec, or just C 4-5 sec. worse than S-Ook's previous performance, which was done in 3min, 38 l-ssec.

Hearn (says the "Canterbury Times ") is getting iuto condition for his race with Harrington at Riverton, and by. the tune tho struggle comes off, ho will bo as fit as possible. Tho general opinion here is that lie should not have met his opponent away from homo.

Jem Mace says ho will go to America shortly, and challenge John L. Sullivan to box four rounds. We oxpoct it will all end in say. Mace says ho has picked out a gem of tho first water during his stay in Eng land, in tho shape of a young giant, who is to knock the starß and stripes off every one in America.

Dan J. Canary, the champion triok bicyclist of America, can ride on one wheel without backbone or handle bar. Canary is also credited with causing his machine to mako a complete somersault whilo he re gains the saddle without touching tho floor. He also stands upright on his bicycle saddle with arms folded, and, guiding the machino with ono foot, makes the circuit of tho largest hall.

The repeated victories of tho new whalo boats built by Bailey at the Whau Regatta say a great deal for the builder. There is no doubt that theso boats are a great deal faster than any of tho other craft, and it is evident that if future races are to bo fair trials of rowing, as well as trials of boats, some of the clubs will havo to increase their properties by .the addition of whale-, boats considerably faster than those now in their possession.

Manukau lost the wbaleboat race for maidens by the bow oar missing a stroke just when victory was considered certain. The Manukau and Waitomata crews had pulled almost abreast over a three mile course, and when two boats' lengths from the finish it was impossible to say which was ahead or going to win until the un fortunate accident occurred. This, of course, was to the advantage of Waitomata. They were not slow to make good uso of it. and succeeded in getting ahead of their de termined opponents just as the Rotoma hana's fog-horn sounded indicating that the race had concluded. ,

There are three features of the Australian play which stand out prominently, Bays " Truth " :—Spofforth's bowling, Bonnor's hitting, and Blackham'e wicket-keeping. If we claim that Sherwin, and perhaps Pilling, are the equal of Blackham behind tho sticks, we must cheerfully admit that we have not—and, what is more, never have had—so deadly a fast bowler as Spoffor th, or so mighty a, slcgger a\Bpnnor, with whom even Thornton in his belt days could not have compared for an instant. In the matter of general batting, however, we more than hold our own, for, good as Murdoch is, he does not equal several of our cracks. McDonnell, however, deservos special mention as a splendid specimen of a" very valuable and rather rave type of bats man.

North Shore Rowing Club trial fours will take placo on Saturday, the 22nd inßt., for a set of trophies presented by the Hon. Treasurer of the Club. The following are the crews :—W. Greenwood, R. Yon Stun ner, A. Logan, A. Buchanan, T. Sibb in( cox.); J, Sims, J. James, R. Logan, Ci James, — Spraggon (cox.); T. O'Connor, G. Niccol, C. Lake, W. Swinnerton, F. Brown (cox.); F. Duder, J. Webster, J. Patter-, son, W. Robinson, H. Williams (cox.); W. Wynyard, S. McGechie, E. Burgess, J. M. Sibbin, S. Somer_eld(cox.)j A. Burgess, G. Wynyard, T. Sullivan, T.Slinn, K. Roid (cox.) For the above contest the two racing gigs will be used, and a race will take place in the practice gigs between the following crews : — Kieitchmar, Dyer,. McKellar, James,. Beoston, Nulsford, Brown, and Laurence.

I was very favourably impressed with the beautiful sheet of. water on the Whau River during the regatta1 held on Monday, and am of opinion that as the place be comes better known, so will rowing races gradually bo transferred from the "harbour to that much more quiet and 'suitable locality at the Whau —or Avondale to please everybody. At high water there is an almost faultless straightaway course of two miles, and a splendid course of three miles with a turn, and room for half-a dozen or more boats, such as racing whale boats. The Rowing Association could not do better than hold their periodical regattas there, the water, owing to the situation of the river, being invariably smooth enough for the most frail rowing skiff. The only thing which requires look ing after is that the time choson should be q. Saturday afternoon, when the tide will be full, so that there jnay bp no fear of deep* water steamers with passengers beipg stuck in the mud. ."An Old Salt" contributes the following amongst other items to the "Canterbury Times" of November Ist: —Yach_ihgr in Wellington during the coming season will be livelier than it has ever been before, and

yachtsmen are looking forward to stirring times. All the cracks have been under going a regular overhaul. I notico that our big boat, the Zariffa, has been properly looked after during the winter months, and I hope to see her first in most of the races she will be engaged in. Last year it was very doubtful which was our best boat, the honours being very equally divided between the Thetis, Isca, and Zariffa. The little Comma, built in England, proved a regular terror in light Weather, but was nowhere if there waa any sea on. I hoar slio has been sold to some gontloman in Sydney, but sincerely hope this is not the case. Mr Butler has had a "small boat built in Auck land to h's order, the Maria. I think this little craft will turn out very well, as she appears to be going beautifully. All tho boats are not yet in the water, but next week, I think, will see tho whole of our fliers launched.

When I prophesied last weok that Albeit White would be pushed very hard by Ernest Bailey for first place in the scullers' race on Monday last, the idea was generally ridiculed, and many went bo far as to back tho former at odds of 3to 1. That my in formation was good waa abundantly proved by the result-an easy victory for Bailey, Who won by over two lengths, and could without doubt have made the distance much greater. White rowed in a new boat lately imported by T. Farquhar. Sho was built by Swaddle and Winship, and ia a very pretty boat. Bailey rowed in a boat which his opponent formerly owned and discarded about three years ago. Some refuao to be lieve that White did his best, but having viewed the race from start to finish, I firmly believe that another match between tho two scullers would bring about a very similar result. White, it may bo remem bered, has met and been beaten by both Hearn of Wellington, and Messenger of Australia, and he has in the past boon re ferred to as the " Champion of Auckland." It appears that this honour should now pass to the shoulders of anothnr, to a young sculler about 19 years of ago, who, if he goes on as he has begun, will, no doubt, bo heard more of later on.

THE GARDEN.

Calendar of Operations, November 15.

[By Hortus.]

[Hortus is willing to answer any queries. Cor respondents mast give their full names and addresses, though not for publication.!

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Roses (R.A.)-About the best time to lift and transplant roao. is in Julv-the time you lifted thorn. It is also a good tlmo to take off cut tings. Only a few of tho roses strike freely from cuttings. The best to übo is the nia notto and orimson multlilora. Bud the other varieties upon thoso. Cowdung is tho best manure. Thoro must bo some thing the matter with your soil when you do not succeed; If cold or wet, drain and give Slenty of manure The soils best adapted for 10 culture of tho rose arc deep rich retonlive and well drained. Tubrr Rosks.—Tbcso liko a deep rich light 8011, and they ought to be lifted and trans planted every season. When coming into flower, wator with weak liquid manure Tulips.—These also liko a rich, light, deep soil. Lift every season whenever tho bulbs have ripened off. Lkaf Mould,—Tho only method of forming tho above is to collect the loaves and keep them till thoy rot. When these cannot bo procured in sumcient quantity a good substitute is stable or cow manure, rotted to tho coneis tonoy of soil. Worms (M.A., Parncll).-In some soils thoso are very troublesome. At night-fall dust with hot lime or soot. This will have tho -fleet of both killing tho worms and also tho Kings. Another good method Is to put a spadeful of Umo in a tub of water, and thoroughly satur ate Die soil wiih it. Wheroyou find tho worms troublesome, they will como to tho surface and die. Coleds Culture (A.M., Auckland).—Colons are about tho easiest of all plants to grow. >N hat Ihey require bo as to grow them well is any amount of h<-at, sun, and light. When giowinx obundanco of wator, pitting soils, i;<-.od rich loam or peat, leaf mould, sand, and well-rotted manure. Cuttings will now .trlko liko weeds If placed in any soil.- To grow bushy plants constantly pinch back tho shoot?. Chicory (-'armor).- Chicory growß woll hero. It has to bo put throu.h a procoss of drying and grinding before beir g used. I think )ou had better apply for inforinatloD to one of the coir'uo mauulaoturcrJ. They will be able to give you all the Information you require I can tell you that it will grow a good crop, and I don't soe why, If you had the drying and arindingaccoinmodatlon, It should not pay. Manufacturer- will surely givo as food a prioo for local grown as for imported, n Canterbury there is one grower making a splendid thing out of it.

Horticultural Show.

Next Friday and Saturday tho annua' Spring Show is to be held in tho Drill-shed in Auckland. If tho weather holds fino till theu, this promises to be tho finest ilower show ever held in Auckland. I have never seen such an interest takon in the Show both by tho profestional, amateur, and cottage •gardeners. Each ono in his special department Ib doing his utmost so as to bring forward and stage fruit, flowers, and vegetables that will not only bej a credit to the growers, but will also show what our fine climate can produce if only a little attention be given to tho cultivating of the soil. In some of the classes a keen competition is expected. Formerly, it useu to bo said that the people of Auckland did not appreciate flower shows, but we hope that the general public at this exhibition will come forward and show by their patronage that they can appreciate one where only brat-class articles ure staged. For the last six months tho Committee of the Society have, wrought hard to make the exhibition a success as far as exhibits are concerned.

Bolls for Gardens.

For'all gardens a deep rich soil is eesen ' Hal,' .and to obtain this, trenching and drainage of all gardens should be the first consideration if good shrubs, flowers, and vegetables are wanted. Somo have naturally good soil from the first start. - These need only drain, trench, and moderately manure every season, and good crops are sure to result. Some, again," have their lot cast where the soil is of a stiff, retentive character — the worst of all soite to bring into a state for oasy cultiva tion ; but when once they are brought into good order, they are the best and most lasting. I would deal with those soils in the following manner : Ist. Drain well. 2nd. Trench to a depth of two spits deep, always keeping the top soil on the surface. After doing a few trenches, I would build a small stack of wood with some good kindling matter in the centre. Then take as much clay ont of the bottom of tho trench as will cover up the wood. Kindle the wood, let it burn till the wood has got a fair hold, then add more clay, always- confining the flames, adding more clay as the flames ourst through the heap. As you proceed with the trench ing make a good few of these heaps —the more the better. After the trenching is completed let the heaps thoroughly cool, then spread the burnt clay all over tho sur face. Next, have lots of well-rotted stable manure, sand, coal ashes, or lime rubbish spread over the surfaco and dug in. If plenty of the nbove materials have been used, even thestiffestand most awkward soils to work can be brought into fair order the first season. It is only a question of timo and manuring so as to make them as rich and fertile as could be wished. Sandy or porous soils, on the other hand, want tho reverse treatment. These should have plenty of stiff retentive clay or rich loamy soil spread over them and wrought into them. Tho best mauutes for them is cow manure, and in the summer liquid manures. Tho above will soon make them more retentive and better able to carry good crops during the summer months. When arranging the making of new gardens, how often do we hear the exclamation —"Too much expense I " Well, certainly, good work is pretty expensive at first, but it always pays in the long run. I have seen some people struggle along for a few years with stiff soil, and not able to do much with it. In the winter it is like dough, and in the summer, when turned up, like large boulders when it gets dry. Soils in the above state, it is almost impossible to get satisfactory crops from. Some cultivators soon get disgusted with them, and give up in despair, and instead of having a pleasant and profitable garden around the house, it is rather al lowed to get like a ; all manner of rank noxious weeds are allowed to run rampant where, with a little labour, money, and pains, flowers, shrubs, and vegetables would take their place; increasing the number of home attractions and pleasures, also Creating a healthy, pleasant, and pro fitable occupation for the inmates of the house. .':„.

A Mammoth Strawberry. The reporter of the "Times" yesterday inspected what is probably the largest strawberry ever raised in California. It was grown on the place of M. Welsh, Super intendent of the Southern California Pack ing Company, and measures seven and a-half 'inches in oircumference.; The plant on which this extraordinary berry grew was planted last' February, and is of the Sharp less variety. Besides this remarkable specimen' alluded to, there are seventy three more large berries on the samo plant, and' at' least »twenty blossoms.—"Loe Angeles Times." ':'■

VegotaT-i&j ___ Frtfltu

Some of tho vegetables and fruits that we eat have been in use for centuries, even prior to the Christian era. Lettuce has been used for thousands of years. Herodotus says it was served on royal tables centuries before the Christian era, and one of tho noblest families of Rome de rived its name from this plant. Radishes were known and grown by the Greeks, and were offered at Apollo's shrine, wrought in precious metals. Tiberius had parsnips brought from tho Rhine for his table. Beets were in high repute centuries ago, and it is recorded that the ladies of Queen Elizabeth'a court adorned their hair with the feathery plumes of this vegetable. At the same time peas were very rare, and wore imported from 1 Holland as a great delicacy. Fruits were in greatreputeinancionttimes. Currants were cultivated in European gardens, and were called Corinthian grapes. Tho damson plum comes from Damascus, and tho cherrj from Cerasus, a city of Pontus. The quince was a holy fruit dedicated to the goddess of love, and was called the Sydonian apple. The apple and fig are frequently mentioned in Holy Writ. The fig was undoubtedly the most known and highly esteemed ancient fruit.

Flowers and Insects.

In order-that the seeds of any plant should bo fertilised, it is necessary that the pollen from tho anthers of the stamens should fall on tho pistils, and more seeds arc set and the seeds themselves grow into stronger plants when the pollen from one flower is carried by some moans to the pistil ofanotherflower. Insectethatllitfromfiower to ilower in search of honoy rub against the stamens and get dusted with the pollen ; then, as they visit another ilower some of tho pollen is Men dopositod on the pistil, and so it comes about that cross-fertilisa tion ia produced. Suppose a bco to visit a primrose of the long-stylod form,1 and to thrust its proboscis down the tube (in this form the stamens are half-way down the tube), he will dust his proboscis at a point which, when he visits a short-styled plant, will como just opposite the pistil, and can hardly fail to deposit some of the pollen on the stigma. And this time, the stamens being at the top of tho tube, his proboscis will be dusted at a point which, when, be visits a long-styled ilower, will come just opposite the pistil in this case. And so pollen is carried from a short-styled flower to a long styled, and vice versa. There are_ many devices whereby croBS-fertilisation is ren dered Hfcely to take place. Any little peculiarity in a flower which tends to render cross-fertilisation likely, and so to enable the plant to hand down stronger constitutions, as it were, to its descendants, becomes intensified in the course of generations.

Fernery,

There is no part of the world so remark able as New Zealand for the number and diversity of the varieties of its native ferns, varying as they do from the giant tree-fern of tho forest (sometimes fifty to sixty feet in height) to the tiny little hymoriophlyllum varieties, found almost everywhere. The great essential for the growth of ferns is a moist atmosphere with plenty of shade. What a charming eight rewards thoso who pay a visit to some of the creeks a few miles in the country, and, in scrambling up the watercourses, como upon the graceful ferns growing in their wild beauty and in such profusion. Tall tree-ferns, some with their stems covered with moss and lico podes, others again claspod in the graceful folds of some of tho climbing varieties twining around their stems; and the ground a splendid carpet of russet and green shades lent by the foliago of tho other varieties. I recollect being in ono of those creeks in Pukekohe district after a hard day's tramp through the bush. Just at the out skirts of a puriri bush there was a water fall of about twenty feet, falling into a basin about twenty feet wide. Around tho basin there was a little plateau thickly studded with tree-ferns from twenty to thirty feet high, their stems all covered with moss and climbing ferns, their grace ful foliage drooping over the cool clear water in tho basin, and the ground literally one mass of verdure composed of tho smaller growing varieties of ferns. The elopes on each sido of the creek were also covered with tree-ferns, crowned on the ridges with puriri, rates, and mixed bush, the whole forming one of the prettiest pictures of natural scenery which it has been my lot to boo. There was a delicious coolness of the atmosphere, for such was the configuration of the place that the sun could novor get a peep at the ground. Hence it was a de lightful sensation after a hard day's travel and turmoil to stand on the plateau and sco the water rushing over tho fall into the basin, and tho fine spray which arose there from causing a dolicious moist coolness to pervade tho atmosphere I have seen many a spot around Auckland which, with a. litt'e trouble, could be made in somo de gree to resemble the oxquisito scene of which I have attempted a faint description. There are many protty little nooks and corners in some of our permanent streams which could be so ornamented by ferns, palms, etc., as greatly to enhance tho natural beauties of such Bcones. In such places all natural features ought to remain if possible, and if an artificial fall can be made, so much tho better. * Then introduce tree-ferns, palms, und other varieties of troes which will harmonise with the spot. All New Zealand ferns are easily removed if not too largo. Take them up in the autumn, and pot or put them in boxes, keeping them under cover in the bush house for one year to got them established. The second season plant them out in such places as described, giving them some good soil, aad thoy- will succeed admirably. Thq, approach to a place like the above ought to be by a winding path made secluded by planting fast-growing plants and' trees. Into such places many other varieties from the nursery could be introduced, and then you would have the advantage of having a good collection of ferns. All native ferns are easily grown in pots placed in a shady part of the greenhouse. When potting give plenty Of drainage ; soil, a good turfy loam, with a little charcoal and sand added; Do" not over-pot, and give plenty of water while plants are growing." .

A half-bushel of lijne and eight pounds of powdered sulphur. make a whitewash for trees and outbuildings to kill insects. Put some on hen roosts. - ,

Taking the Black Veil.

Sisieb Mary Fidelis, says a St. Louis des patch, took the black veil at tho Visitation Convent, and bade farewell to the world for ever. Archbishop Ryan conducted the services. Sister Fidelis was Miss Lulu Taylor, a leading society belle three years ago, and daughter of George R. Taylor, who died in 1880, leaving nearly 51,000,000, mostof it bequeathed to his numorous family of children. Miss Lulu's sharo was §70,000. She attended tho Visitation Convont, con ducted by the sisters of St. Francis de Sales, and soon determined to join the Order. She deeded property valued at §50,000 to two unmarried sisters, about §14,000 to a brother, and §6,000 she took with her to the convent. There was a con dition in the deed that if she changed her mindand returned to tho world, theproperty should revert to her. She took her novi tiate vows last April, and, after remaining in the convent a few weeks, returned to the world, claimed the property, and donated it to the convont. Her brother and sister, to whom she had deedod the property, pro fessed a willingness to give it up if she. re mained out of the convent, but would otherwise hold to it. They claimed that undue influence had boen used to in duce lior to take the property, from her family and give it to the convents Suits were begun, and then Miss Lulu was offered §25,0.0 to compromise, but she re fused. Finally, to avoid public notoriety, the entire property was returned to Miss Lulu, and she returned to tho convent to carry out the original intention of becoming one of the sisters.

The Beautiful Women of Capri.

The Capri women are almost invariably handsome and healthy looking. I Q the course of half an hour's walk you will dis tinguish in the women and girls you meet pure specimens of Phoenician, Roman, Sara cen, Spanish and Greek types, Burvivors of the successive conquerors of the island. But what strikes one mostis the statuesque gracefulness of these girls in all their move ments. However mean her occupation, whether it be carrying building stone or climbing a ladder with a pail of mortar on her head, the Capriote girl will always be graceful, and the lines of her body in motion will always call up reminisconces of Greek art. - •

Wise FoLiY.-''For ten years my wife was conflned. to her bed with such a complication of ailments that no doctor could tell what was tho matter or cure her, and I used up a small for tune in humbug stuff. Six months ago I saw an American flag with Hop Bitters on it, and I thought 1 would be a fool once more. I tried it, but my folly proved to bo wisdom. Two Dottles icured her, she is now as well and strong as any man's wife, arid it cost mo only two dollars."— H W„ Detroit, Mich, Bea4, ' ,Ta

GOSSIP FROM STAGE AND STUDIO.

(By Euterpe.)

Chocvers and Kennedy are performing in Liverpool.

Signor de Vivo is manager of the Pappen heim Opera Company in 'Frisco.

" At the Molbourno Bijou Miss de Grey's company has opened in " Moths," a drama tic version of Ouida's novel of that name.

The Woodroffe Glass-blowers are having a very successful time in Western Aus tralia.

After doing splendid business for five months in Sydney, Hiscocks's Federal Min strels have returned to Melbourne.

Miss Carry Nelson is still wandering about the by-places of the colony, being last heard of in the extreme north of the South Island.

Walter Reynolds is on the way to 'Frisco from New York. He has with him a number of English and continental pieces which he intends ta adapt.

Mr John Morley is stated to be engaged upon a life of John Stuart Mill foi his series of English Men of Letters, and for the same series Sir James FitzJames Stephen has undertaken to prepare a volume on Carlyle.

Two new plays by Robert Buchanan, author, poet, and dramatist, are to be pro duced in New York this season, and the writer is likely to cross the Atlantic to superintend their presentation.

Madame Sara Bernhardt did the sleep walking scene as Lady Macbeth in her bare feet, without a suggestion of sandal or other foot-gear. The effect was realistic, but scarcely pleasant to look upon.

Lawrence Barrett, the American actor, who will shortly visit Australia, will revisit London in the, season of 1885-86, and play in the Lyceum Theatre under Irving s management.

Miss Georgie Smithson, the variety ac tress, has come down from Arrowtown and joined her husband, Mr Holloway, who is engaged as clown with Chiarini's Circus in Christchurch. Her arm has been success fully set.

A season of old English comedy has been inaugurated at the Melbourne Theatre Royal by a Company which includes the veteran Hoskins, Mr Greville, and Mrs Chippendale. The character of the acting is said to be fairly mediocre,

Nothing like realism! A theatrical manager proposes to produce " Hamlet" with a real brook for the fair Ophelia to drown herself in. The next thing we may expect will be a rival manager introducing a real ghost.

Messrs John L. Hall and Allan Hamilton, latoof the MarieLanyon Dramatio Company, have takon a fifteen years' lease of a piece oi land in Central George-street, Lauceston, for the purpose of erecting an Academy of Music thereupon.

The Girola Yacht Party have been per forming in tho country towns of Wellington. Mr Miliis is the mainstay of the party, and without him it would be speedily wrecked. Miss Tottie Verne's "skipping rope dance " is said to be a clever performance.

What a Sydney paper terms "the dreary, maudlin, and sickly sensationalism of 'The Wages of Sin,'" has been withdrawn from theTheatreßoyalof thatcity, and Halliday's adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel, " Notre Dame," put on instead.

Handel's " Israel in Egypt" is to be per formed in the Choral Hall on Tuesday, under the conductorship of Mr J. Knox. The soloists are: Soprano, Mies Stevenson j con tralto, Miss Corbett; tenor, Dr. Cobbett; basses, Messrs Osborne and Taylor. The choruses will bo trying.

Miss Emily Faitbfull, during her recent visit to the United States, arranged with the Fowler and Wells Company to become tho American publishers of her new book, entitled, "Three Visits to America." The work is in the press, and will appear simul taneously in New York and London.

In a notice of the revival at Drury Lane Theatre of Messrs Pettitt and Harris* popular drama, "The Worlds the "Pull Mall" speaks of Mr Harry Jackson's per formaneo of tho part of the comic Jew in that piece as inimitable. Harry Jackßon, as many old Auckland playgoers will re member, had his training on the colonial stage, and was well-known in this city.

Tbo latest theatrical novelty in New York is the performance of " Othello " by a genuine black and tan negro company. They are said to play the tragedy very creditably. But Desdemona with thick lips, woolly hair, no whites to her eyes, a flat bulbous nose, and her ankles planted in the centre of her spacious feet, is unthink able.

A writer in the London -" Pictorial World," referring to the factthat Mr George Darrell has been elected a member of the Savage Club, says that though still a young man, be has written and pro duced more successful dramas than all the other colonial authors together, and that the experiment of introducing a purely colonial drama by a recognised colonial dramatist-the./?) _< experiment of the kind—is not unworthy of comment and en couragement.

Mrs G. B. Lewis's season in Christ church is now well advanced. Accord ing to "Pasquin," in the "Otago Wit ness,'' the ladies of Mrs Lewis's Com pany) excepting of course the bright and particular, star, do not invite much notice, and their weakness was pain fully apparent in a very peculiar comedy drama entitled "Clouds." This piece shows in every line the magic touch of the amateur playwright. There are.plenty of characters, but nearly one half of them do nothing, and their, presence upon the stage at all needs explanation. '

.Williamson, Gamer, and Musgrove's Opera Bouffe Company; have opened a new season in the Princess Theatre, Mel bourne, with " Les Cloches do Corneville," Miss Emma Chambers, a new arrival, in the role of Serpoletto, , This lady made a very favourable- impression by her vivacious manner,- clever acting, and agreeable vocalisation. : Miss Nellie Stewart ap peared as Germaine, and Mr Brennir as the Marquis of Corneville. Mr Wood field's Grenicheux is criticised for his throaty production of voice, while Mr Kelly still earns kudos for his Gaspard.

Sims and Pottitt's "In the Ranks" is being played in the Melbourne Opera House to capital business. The " Leader " says :—" It is tame, although sensational, thin, although the passions in their in tensest mood, are worked upon, and unin teresting because common-place and plati tudinal. That it should be vulgar is but natural." Th. same paper, in expressing pleasure at seeing to the front Mrs Wood ridge (who willbo remembered in Auckland) remarks : —" A finer old woman, or one pro fessionally and privately more worthy of respect there is not on the colonial stage."

The Sydney branch of the Fraternity of Mutual Imps recently gave a first-class variety "social" in the Sydney Opera House, before a crowded "house " of mem bers and privileged friends. Mr Chas. Harding, who was one of the performers sang the " Death of Nelson." The Fra ternity of Mutual Imps is a unique associa tion of Press and Stage, consisting as it does of press-writers and members of the theatrical and musical professions. It was founded.by. Mr H. F. Towle in Christ church several years ago, and the idea found such favour that Dunedin, Melbourne, and Sydney Boon followed suit, and there is talk now of a branch being opened in Auckland.

The principal change in Pollard's Juv eniles (now in Dunedin) is that the juveniles on this occasion are, with one exception, girls, and not boys; and secondly, that several of them are (ivoiving the paradox) not juveniles at all. The management s6em, in fact, to have shifted from their old_ ground, and how put forward casts in which the chorus parts are taken by child ren, and the principal parts by young ladies verging upon womanhood ;' or, in other words, the Pollard children of years gone by, the Misses Maud and May Pollard, being no longer children, are disappointing in their singing, while Miss de Lome (an Auck londgirl)is said to have a most promising soprano.

The Dunning Opera Company finished their New Zealand tour in Invercargill, where they did the biggest five nights'' business they had in the colony, "Rip" being played on the fourth night to nearly £400. On the morning of the fire Dunning a"d George Dean turned out at 4 o'clock, and, in their pants and nightshirts, got out the wardrobe, which was uninsured.! jSihce then the Company have played a fortnight to bad business in Hobart. When the mail left Melbourne it was reported that tbey were to open in Adelaide on the 15th met. George Dean has left the Com ply to_ fulfil a short engagement with J. S. Smith (husband of Frances Simerison) in the Hobart E rinbition buildiog. It is a kind of promenade concert for which there have a'so been • ngaged Herr Scholt's band Butchelder's Minstrelß, and Colonel Ike Austin, tho famons sharp-shooter, etc They were to open On Monday Uwt.

THE DALSTON MURDER.

Conviction of the Criminal,

Extraordinary Chain of Circumstantial

Evidence.

(FROM OUR LONDON CORRESPONDENT.)

Amono tales dealing with the romance of

crime there has rarely occurred a story

which approaches in striking incident the

murder of Police-Constable Cole at Dalston

nearly two years ago, and the discovery of his assassin, Thos. Orrock, who was on Saturday last convicted and sentenced to be

hanged. The strange history reads more like a romance by Gaborian, or Wilkie Collins, or Miss Anna Katherine Green, than a circumstantial relation of plain facts. I wrote you something about the case when the accused was brought before the magis.

trates and (jommitted for trial; but at that time it had not developed its strangest and most remarkable features. Thos. Orrbcfc, the hero of the Dalston murder, was one of the worst kind of criminals that can be imagined. By day he followed a legitimate trade, and acted as if he were a citizen of v'rtue and piety ; but at night-time he transformed himself into something worse than a dangerous wild beast, determined to prey on society at large, and ready to use his teeth if molested. He was that perilous, sort of housebreaker who, like the notorious Peace, knows how to live decently and re-

spectably when not engaged in his felonipua enterprises. He was even an attendant at: a chapel, the very place of worship which ' he afterwords laid a plan to rob. Worse than all, we have it on oath from a witness who was Orrock's companion that this ac-

complished scoundrel actually attended the funeral of the policeman he had ruthlessly shot down, and within a few weeks of the' crime married a lady who had also been a ! member of the congregation choir of the, chapel.Could human hypocrisy and effrontery go further? It is a just nemesis that this' oht-: rageous criminal should be betrayed into ! the hands of justice by his own comrades. The "Daily Telegraph," summarising the incidents of the trial, says:—"The lat_eof 5 time which has intervened between the Ist day of December, 1882, when the Dalston crime was perpetrated, and the arrest of the murderer is in itself a remarkable fact. But. the way in which the links of evidence haye1' been Blowly yet surely pieced together, until at last the prisoner, who probably was ex--, peering to hear no more of the affair, became!' involved in the terrible web of circum-;-

stantial testimony which has now Closed around him, is the most thrillingly interest- , : ing of all the facts connected with the ease; Police Constable Cole—the tale needs telling once again—on the night of the fatal Friday '•''.' was on duty in Ashwin-street, Dalston, when, .' he saw a mail trying to break into the wih-' .•-,'' dowof a Baptist chapel. The' policeman ' '.f managed to seize him, but the burglar was armed with a revolver, which he used with fatal effect. One bullet was caught in the- '~ constable's truncheon, another penetrated '' to his brain ; and, while the scoundrel who 1. '"'.' shot him down was making his escape from' ■'". the. scene of his crime, the brave defender J of property and order was being carried to !'," the German Hespital, where he died shortly 7, after his admission. George Cole, the mur-, , dered constable, was only tnenty-seyen '*". years of age, and ho left behind him a "'; young wifo. It is not, happily, often thato /_ a Court of Justice is horrified and thrilled , . by such a scene of frantic grief for a dead '■" ** husband as was exhibited in the course of ''7. the magisterial investigation by this poor .. . woman. Armed burglars are not creatures who aro over-su6ceptible to sentimental in- . Huenceß, but it is well that even they Bhould know what the misery is which they are A ready to inflict, and for which no human "A, penalty can possibly afford a fitting retribu-. tion.. The constable,~who had so bravely done his simple duty, was dead, and there for almost two years—the matter rested, as .." ' farad the public knew. However, at thescono. .". ;of the murder there had been picked up certain incriminating articles—a low. felt ":■ hat, a cabinetmaker's chisel, another cold chisel, and a small wedge made ef wood.''', Various people had' noticed the man who. )' . committed the murder. Mr Shepherd and- '7 a girl named Elizabeth Bucknell, who both". ' gave evidence at the trial, saw the struggle., ; actually going on between the policeman '"' and the robber. The former declared that the man wore a wideawake hat) and the ' latter said he had light trousers and a long' '** dark overcoat, and both agreed that he was ', a good deal shorter than the policeman, '~." Mr Bucknell, who also caught sight of him J runnir.g away, testified to the^ same facts. A policeman had observed a young man so T* dressed loitering near the chapel, and those were all the clues which the' police had to' work upon in order to discover the assassin. A couple of chisels, an old hat, and a des cription of personal appearance by three ! " people who admitted that they would not :. be able to identify the criminal if they saw. ' him — such -Here the detectives' ra\y '. materials. That they succeeded in' dis-' covering the murderer of Policeman Cole, 'A as they unquestionably have done, reflects tho greatest credit on the patience and cleverness with which they have prosecuted '.' their task; and the public will cordially .' endorse the commendations of the Bench on' the conduct of those efficient officers, In spector Glass and Sergeant Cobb. -They "' were aided, no doubt; by a fortuitous, cir. ■ cumstance. Some six or seven-months after ,;i the murder the prisoner Orrock, who until f ' then had been following the trade of a *-' cabinetmaker, was committed to prison on- v a charge of burglary. While he was "ixi'7 h gaol the suspicions the police wete aroused with regard to him. Upon the '■' ' chisel which had been found close to'thif"'" chapel a name had been rudely scratched^ which looked like "rock," with sonic :"'" marks before it. The man Orrock was a cabinetmaker, arid one-of the chisels found J was an instrument such as is used in that * trade. It was then ■ remembered that a young man of the name of Miles ha i offerea to fun for a doctor on the fatal night,;arid it was foiyid that Miles was a friend of ' Orrock. Following up these clues, the " police were not long in ascertaining that '' Miles and another young man named Evans '. werebothincoihpanywithOrrockduringthe same portion of the evening, and they were 'A ' called upon to give an account of their own arid their companion's movements. Finally; - ' it appears that they became frightened for v- '" their own safety, or possibly they may have acted as they did uriderafeeling of remorse. At any rate, they made a clean breast in '*''■' court of all they knew about the criniej •;" proving, beyond a shadow of doubt, if thjair " -"' story were true, that none other than: *.' Orrock was the murderer of George Colo. The jury have believed their evidence, given - as it was with some reluctance; and even without it the weight Of circumstantial .A testimony against the condemned man left little doubt that he was the culprit, .'f In'fact, .the case was at an end when-' the disclosures of the two men, Miles and Evans, had been made, and had notbeeri '''. materially shaken in cross-examination.'1"'" A The latter detailed the whole story of his ill-fated connection with the prisoner; both* ; he and Miles knew that he had a revolver in his possession, and they also we're aware 61' 'A the mysterious midnight business "upon '" ' which Orroc _ was now and then engaged. ■'. "The prisoner," said Evans, "told me he ' was going round the chapol that night, but he did not tell me what he was going to do.":, ','',. Further on ho admitted that Orrock stated to him his intention of breaking into the' '■ chapel, and "nicking" the plate. After V,' tho crime had been committed these two '',' men could not -have had the slightest doubt who the real murderer of Constable ' '' Cole was. They testify to the r.ipid manner '"" ' in which Orjock got rid of the coat he had '"''■ ' been wearing; how he told them that he had broken the pistol to pieces and thrown.. it into a canal; and how they afterwards. " entered into an oath not to divulge their ' '-' guilty knowledge of the crime. Ttis'lamei- '*-":' table to find these young men displaying / :: such an utter absence of moral feeling as to ''''..'" condone a'murder for the sake of good com- '' radeship; but it isonlyfairtothem tosaythat: '""' the reward offered for the detection of the criminal wastho great reason whichdetern d them from divulging his name. Although not actually implicated in the crime, thoy were undoubtedly accessories after the fact,' " § and were liable to be punished as such. . '; The only defence possible under these cir-1 cumstances was to throw doubt on the stoiy ,:' of the two chief witnesses, and deny that it "•'-'• was Orrock who fired the shot. UrifirV tunately for tho prisoner, the corroboratici was ample; their tale of how the revolvi \ ' wa. bought, how it was tested, how lie-". . chisel was taken to a Mrs Preston to be' IT' ground, and low she was in the habit-'<f 'V, scratching the names of her customers en i their implements, were all confirmed, in tie - latter instance by Mrs Preston's own ',; evidence. It is obvious that a good deal : of importance attached to the name oh tho ''■":':; Chisel. If Mrs Preston could have said with out any doubt tha. she had written "Or rock " on the blade the case against the prisoner would hardly have needed the Bomewhat tainted evidence of Orrock's two companions. ' However, the guilt of'the ' condemned man does not heed further proof.., m It is open and palpable, add no murdereir ever better deserved his doom than this :':' cold-U oded hypocrite.

THE AUCKLAND EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1884.

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