THE GARDEN.

(By HoßTtrs).

Calendar of Operations, January 26.

fHoni'iTß is willing to answer any queries. Cor respondents must k'ive their full names und undresses, though not for publication.]

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

W'.m.nots (H.N., Epsom).—Walnuts for picklins must be plucked while screen, before the shell begins to get hard; after the shell becomes hard they would bo of no use for pickling. For rcceipe for iJickliiiK 1 would advise you to consult Brett's Colonist's Guide and Cyclopae dia of Useful Knowledge, in which the direc tions for all kinds, of preserving are very full and clear.

Hkdgk Plant (C.TC.II.)—I do not know of any plant which would make a fowl-proof fence. What I would consider the best live fence to plant for shelter would be Luciun SiovitluH, or African box. Plant these in line, nine inches atiurt, and at every six foot place one plant of Elatrnus Japnnica. These, with prood jnaniisemeut. would make a wood fence. If wanted fowl-proof put a breadth of wire netting aloiw ihe foot of the fence, and allow the plants to cover it. Yon can obtain the plants named at any of the Auckland nurso /•ies.

Kitchen Garden.

Whenever any piece of ground becomes vacant, have it dug or trenched at once, putting in plenty of rough litter in the state of manure. Only dig or trench roughly, leaving the sods as large as possible : this will admit of free action of the air, which v ill soon pulverise and breakup the soil, giv ing a good, pweet soil for early autumn erop j'iii.;. It will then only require forking to bring it into a good state for sowing. "Old strawberry beds as directed last week. Beds which have only been planted one year, if the fruit is all gone, give the plants a thorough overhaul, cleaning away weed?, &c. Thin in between each row ; spread a good qaantity of well-rotted manure : for!-: in the same, taking: care not to injure many of the roots of the plants. Leave one or two rows untouched, so that they may produce runners to extend the plantation in the autumn. Keep the hoe constantly stirring the soil. Cucumbers, melon?, pumpkins, etc., will require fre quent attention to pinching back and regulating the growth. Earth up growing era-)?. Oive water in quantities to such as ir.ay require it. Keep this department neat and clean. Flower Garden. To keep up the supply of flowers consider able quantities of water must now be used. While watering never give it in small amounts : this does more harm than good ; it only induces the small rootlets to come up to the surface, where they get scorched with the sun ifter the effect of the water is gone. While watering always give heavy drenclungs, so that the water may penetrate some distance into the soil, which will induce the roots to go downwards. Beds which have been mulched will not require to be watered go frequently as the beds that are uiimulehed. Pick oft" the blooms as soon as the dowers have passed their best. Con tinuethe pegging andpinchingback, also the staking of the different plants. Grass keep cut short, and if water is available give heavy drenchings in the afternoons, when the greatest heat from the sun has gone. Koll afterwards. It 13 possible to Keep lawns green und fresh all the season if plenty of water can be obtained. Walks— hoe, rake, and roll. Greenhouse. — Attend to last week's directions. FISH Mam-re.—When fish manure is pure and dry it is rich in phosphate and nitrogen, containing from 6 to S per cent, of the former and sto 7 of the latter. If Spread on land in a crude state the phos phate is not immediately available, because being in the bones it is not soluble until they decompose. Fruit Fabmixg in Excland.—Planting arable land with fruit trees to any consider able extent has always been discouraged in England. Of course, fruits of various kinds are raised, but principally in gardens or on land not adapted to grain or root crops, be cause these were considered of far more im ;portance than fruit. For this and other reasons that might be named, large orchards are almost unknown injGreat Britain. In the past few years, however, it appears that the owners of large farms or estates have com menced to encourage the planting of large Orchards as a means of profitably employ ing arable land that was in want of tenants, and this, too, without raising a storm of opjxxsition as it would have done a few years ago. We noto one instance as re ported in an English contemporary, of the planting of 500 acres of ' fruit on the farm of Lord Ludeley, in Glou cestershire, and if the experiment is a suc cess, he proposes to extend the orchard con siderably. He bus already planted over 42,000 plum trees and 18,000 apples ; also, 340,000 black currants and gooseberries. It is no wonder that the English press look upon this a.-an innovation, but, one likely to be repeated on other large estates. The Codling Moth. A few weeks ago I drew the attention of my readers to what at that time was only the presumed appearance of the above de structive insect in Auckland. Today I was asked to accompany Mr Lawry, of Park lioad, Auckland, up to his orchard to see one of the apple trees which he told mo was infected by this pest. The tree was covered with fruit, and nearly every apple ■V.S3 infected by the moth. The insects we're in the grub state, and had, in most Cases, penetrated into the core of the fruit. A few had already dropped oft'the tree; othevs were beiiuningtoget that pale yellow Colour which tells that the insect had already cut into (lie vital part of the fruit. All those apples will fall off the tree before they reach maturity. I have now an apple 0:; the table containing a grub, which ] will shortly describe, so that any person whose apples are falling O' r tuo trees may see for them selves whether the grub is present or not. The apple, when plucked, was of a slightly pale colour, and when opened there were several galleries in the fruit cut by the in-bet. On opening up the core of the apSle the insect was found. It was about three-eight!,.- ot an inch long, of a dirty white colour with a yellow tinge ; the head v?a^ black, and a black band on the neck. The.'above should be sufficient to indicate its here. Now for the measures to suppress or keep it in reasonable boifhds, which must em/age the attention of every (jrchardist. This is one of the most destruc tive insects which infest fruit trees, and means must bo taken to stamp it out, or good-bye to all chances of good crops of a certain class of fruit. The moth has been aciirso to orchards wherever it has made fc 1-appearance., I would therefore enjoin the'growers of fruit to take stops to prevent tbi?spreadof the insect.. A comprehensive desViption of r'cWpdios is given in " Brett's Colonist's Guide." 1, Vine (continued from last week.) On elevated, or what wo might call irro gutar situations, I baveoften seen the leaves of the precedingseason's growth, at the ex tremity of their, shoots, still green when the spring wa.i causing, the sap to swell out for,,.another- Kuason's , grewth. In these cases the canes could never be ripeuod off sufficiently well to produce fruit. The wood, not having ripened, could not have

'ormed the juices so essential Tor the pro duction of good fruit. The vine is one of those plants which require a considerable dry heat when ripening so as to bring their ruit to perfection. Then again, in winter t will stand a great amount of cold, even lard frost, during the period of rest. Those climates which have a dry warm autumn and a moderately cold winter are generally ;ood wino countries. Now, in the neigh bourhood of Auckland, the fruit is just beginning to ripen when sur long humid autumn sets in. The humidity is not caused by rains, but by the copious evaporation on the sea, which causes our atmosphere to have that humidity which it usually possesses, even in our warmest weather. This humidity keeps the vine in a continual state of activity; the vine seems to have the power of obtaining food for fresh growth, and being regulated by atmospheric influences more than most other trees. Just one more illustration to show how easily vines are affected by atmospheric influence. With vines planted under glass when forced so as to bring their fruit earlier into the market, it is not, as a rule, that the roots are forced (though in the best forcing-houses in Britain they have appliances for forcing the borders also.) It is simply the atmosphere in the house. This atmosphere cannot have much action on the roots grown out in the open borders. Still, when the temperature of the house is raised, the vines commence to start into active life, their buds bursting forth, flowering and forming fruit before there is any proper root action. All the activity is therefore caused by the heated state of ihe air in the house. When houses are put to this test I have always noticed that at every joint the cane sends out a mass of thick, fibrous roots, sometimes six inches long. Those are root* in the air which the vine has pushed out so as to imbibe nutriment from the atmosphere till the season is sufficiently advanced to furnish supplies in the proper manner— from the roots. But let us return to open air. The moist humid air in the autumn usually brings another curse to the vine, and that is the mildew. Last season I had a vine showing a tine lot of promising bunches. They continued swelling ail right till near the end of January last season ; then we had the rains and moisture which we usually receive at this period. Within a week from that time the foliage and fruit were covered with mildew. It was then good-bye to all prospect of a crop. Not one bunch was cut ripe. New Zealand is not alone in this fungoid growth spoiling the vine crop. I will here give a copious extract on this subject from an ex perienced grower in North Jersey, America, and the means he takes to protect the vines from its influences: —As a safeguard against mildew, an awning of cotton cloth is completely efficient and is cheaper than a roof of boards. I have thus covered one hundred yards of trellis with common sheeting three-quarters of a yard wide. The vines are trained to a single wire, above which the posts project twelve inches. Six inches below the top of the posts, laths twenty-seven inches long are nailed traversely to the line of trellis. Along the ends of these are stretched No. 16 galvanized wire, and also along the top of the posts. The sheeting is stretched over this support and secured to the wires with common pins. It ia put on in April and removed in September—has served for three years and will last one more. By treating the cloth with a waterproofing solution of alum and sugar of lead it might be preserved yet longer. The cost of this strip of covering was §6.50, or thirteen cents per vine. Their yield of grapes for this season (the only respectably sound fruit in a vineyard of 3,000 Concords) was twenty pounds per vine. Under this awning fruit and foliage have been invariably exempt from disease ; those clusters only rotting and those leaves only mildewed which happen to project beyond the edge of the shelter. Twenty-seven inches is hardly wide enough ; a yard wide would be better.

{To b<> Continued).

A Curious Boarder.

"Atlas" says in the "World" —"Some years ago there frequently appeared in the London daily papers an advertisement to the effect that a lady would give £2,000 a year to be taken as boarder into a family of high position, but it was distinctly to be borne in mind that the establishment was to be one already existing, and not to be formed with the view of getting her £2,000 a year. The history of this was that a widow lady, very well connected, agreeable, but somewhat eccentric, who had found keeping house a great trouble (her housemaid on one occasion made her an apple-pie bed), resolved to be free of house keeping cares. She was at first taken at £1,000 a year into the family of a gentleman who wanted to make some improvements to his place, and could not otherwise afford them, but who, when he recouped himself, no longer cared to keep a parlour boarder. Her next home was with a baronet of very ancient family but embarrassed estate, and having a large and splendid place to main tain. With his family the arrangement answered perfectly to both parties, and thero she remained until her death. Her experi ence suggests whether such arrangements might not be more often carried out with advantage in these days of impecunious landowners. Of course, few could pay such rates as the lady alluded to, but many, I believe, could and would pay what would make a con siderable aid to household expenses. In a large country house the presence of an additional person need not necessarily entail anything more than meet ing at meal-times, and in the evening. Of course a lady living in the house under such conditions as those I have described would have herown maid and her own sitting room, where she Mould probably pass much of her time : but instead of solitary meals and lonely evenings, she would (md herselt in a pleasant family circle. Many, I am sure, would think £400 a year cheap to pay for such advantages ; and this sum would, after all expenses were paid, send a son to college.

The Influence of Kind Words.

WiiKXEVKii you can conscientiously en courage anyone, do so. You would not leave those plants in your window boxes without water or refuse to open the shutters that the sunlight might fall upon them, but you leave some human flower to suffer from want of appreciation or tho sunlight of en couragement. There are v few hardy souls than can .struggle on stony soil, shrubs that can wait for the dew and the sunbeams, vines that will climb without kindly training— but only a few. Utter the kind word when you can ; give tho helping? praise when you see that it is deserved. Tho thought that "no one knows and no one cares" blights many a bud of promise. Whether it be tho young artist at his easel, the workman at his bench, the boy at his mathematical problems, or the little girl at her piano, give what praiso you can, for many a one has fallen by the way for the want of that word of encouragement which would have " stablished their feet."

THE ARMY, NAVY, AND VOLUNTEERS.

[By Maktixi-Hexbi.]

Fon the information of those of the readers

who have served in the respective regi ments during tho Taranaki and Waikato

campaigns in this province, I have much Measure in placing before them, as per ate Home advices, the changes which have taken place in the line or foot regiments, and also the stations and names of the present commanding officers. It will be seen that soveral of the regiments have changed their territorial names. For in stance, tho 40th, which was called the 2nd Somersetshire Regt., is now the Ist Bat., linked with the S2nd Regt. as the 2nd Bat., and titled the Prince of Wales'fl Volunteors (South Lancashire Regts.) The former battalion is commanded by Lieut- Col. R. C. Brook (who went Home from Auckland as Lieut, in IS(>Y>). Head quarters, Peshawur ; depot at Wamngton, The Second Bat. S2nd, is commanded by Lieut-Col. E. S. Lock. Head-quarters at Devonport; depot, Warrington. • The 12th Regt. (Suffolk as known formerly) —Ist Bat., commanded by Lieut-Col. H. P. Pearson. Head-quarters, Fyzabad ; depot lit Bury St. Edmunds. 2nd Bat,, Lieut- Col. W. C. O'Shnugnessy. Head-quarters, (Sahvny : depot, Bury St. Edmunds. The" 14th Regt., which was enlled the Buckinghamshire, is now named Prince of Wale?'? Own (West Yorkshire)—Lieut-Col. T. B. Cosby commands the Ist Bat., and Lieut-Col. E. W. Saunders 2nd Bat. Ist Bat.; is stationed at Castlobar; depot, York. 2nd Bat. at Sealkote : depot at York. The ISth Royal Irish still retains the old name. Ist Bat. is stationed at Kuldunah : depot, Clonmell. Lieut-Col. 11. Shaw, V.C. (Victoria Cross), commands. 2nd Bat. is commanded by Lieut-Col. R. \V. E. Day.son. Head-quarters are stationed at Aldershot, and depot at Clonmel. 43rd Regt., the Monmouthshire Light Infantry, is now named the Oxfordshire Light Infantry, and the 52nd is linked as 2nd Bat. The former is stationed at Bangalore, Col. 11. A. Brett, P.S.C. (Past Staff College), commanding ; dopOt at Oxford. 2nd Bat. .32nd ; head-quarters at Limerick : depot, Oxford. Col. T. M. Bailie commands. The 50th Regt, Ist. Bat. (Queen's Own), Royal \Vest Kent i* stationed at Cyprus ; depot at .Maidstone ; Commanding Officer, vacant. The 97th, as the 2nd Bat., which was formerly styled the Earl of Ulster's Regt., is linked with the 50th. Head quarters at Dublin ; de(x»t, Maidstone ; Col. C. H. Browne being Commanding Officer. The 57th and 77th Regts. are formed into Ist and 2nd Bats., and named ths Duke of Cambridge's Own Middlesex Regts. Ist. Bat., 57th, headquarters at Guernsey ; depot at Hounslow ; Commanding Officer, Lieut-Col. J. R. K. Tredennick. 2nd Bat. is commanded by Col. H. M. L. Colquhoun ; head-quarters at Burmah ; depot at Houn slow. The 65th, Ist Bat., and 84th, 2nd Bat. : The former is commanded by Lieut-Col W. Byam: head-quarters at Aden ; depot, Pontofract. The latter is commanded by Lieut.Col. J. M. T. Simpson; Regt. stationed at Aldershot; depot stationed at Pontefract. Tho 6Sth and lOCfch are formed into 2 Bats., and named the Durham Light Infantry Regts. Lieut-Col. Tucker com mands the former. Head-quarters are stationed at Meerut ; depot, Sunderland. The 2nd Bat. 100 th is stationed at Gibraltar: depot at Sunderland. Lieut.Col. G. C. Girardot commands. The 70th is linked with the 31st Regt., and named the East Surrey Kegts. The 31nt is the Ist Bat., which is stationed at Aldershot; dupdt at Kingston ;in command of Lieut-Col. G. Bayley. Tho 70th, as the 2nd Bat., is in command of Col. W. H. Ralston. Head-quarters are stationed at Dinapore, and the depot at Kingston. Last, but not least, the Old Black Cuffs, 58th Rutland Regt., is now 2nd Bat. to the 48th Regt., both Battalions being known in future as the Northamptonshire Regt. ; the 48th or Ist Bat. is stationed at the Cunagh of Kildare ; commanded by Col. F. C. Trent ; depot at Northampton. The 58th or 2nd Bat. is under the command of Col. W. D. Bond. Head-quarters are stationed at Natal; depot at Northampton. It will thus be observed that from tho Ist Royal Regiment of the line to the 109 th all are formed into Battalions, viz., Ist and 2nd, as if constituted one corps. As bearing on the question of what is a suitable colour for uniform for Volunteers, it may be interesting to the local corps here to know that out of 55 Volunteer Corps in Great Britain 33 are clad in scarlet, 17 in green, and "> in grey. British military graves all over the world seom to be neglected. In the \Vaikat«, Taranaki, and Tauranga tho same want of care and respect for the dead is shown as is done at Home. Writing on the subject of military graves, the "Army and Navy" of November3says : —"lt would be impossible in any country hut this !" said a vieuo; grorfnard at the Senior, on reading tho ap peal of General Codrington to the public to assist the Committee to put tho graves of the British dead in tho Crimea in to a decent stato of repair. "It would be utterly impossible!" Only £400 is needed to arrange the cemetery and pro vide water, <S.c, for its proper ordering, and this great nation, with jits accu mulated millions rolled up from all the corners of the world where her soldiers and sailors have protected her Interest and honour, permits an appeal to be made to the pockets of her officers to preserve in a distant land tho resting-places of those who fell in her cause in the field, or perished from neglect in the miserable winter of ]554 ! Shame ! Surely the Duke of Cambridge should have influence enough, if no one else has, to impress on the Government of the Queen tho necessity of imitating the French and the Russians, and of treating the cemeteries in the Crimea as national monuments. If they do not, General Codrington's Com mittee will do their duty ; but there are great and wealthy people whose- grandeur and fortunes dep nd on the past sacrifices and present devotion of the services, who might be expected to undertake the charge. The Russian Navy estimates, which for the current year amount to 30,558.454 roubles (£.">,ooo,ooo),are to be increased for the coining budget year t039,151,799 roubles £0,360,000), the addition being almost exclu sively set aside for the construction of new ships. At Krupp's famous ordnance factory there are 8,500 men employed in the cast steel works. Tho works contain 298 steam boilers, engines with an indicated horse power of 110,000, and 77 steam hammers from 2ewt to 50 tons each. Three hun dred pieces of ordnance are produced every month, and 1,800 metric tons of coal are used daily. The works have 40 miles of railway, 24 locomotives, and 700 railway trucks. The fire brigade has eight firo engines and accessories. 5,300 miners are employed in getting coal and iron in the various mines belonging to the firm.

On General Sherman's retirement from

s command, General Sheridan will be come Commander-in-Chief of the United States army. General Hancock will suc ceed General Sheridan in the command of tho Division of Missouri, at Chicago, and General Pope is to succeed General Hancock at New York.

Prince William of Prussia is soon to take command of a battalion in the German army, and thus, after serving in the cavalry and artillery, to return to the main body of the army—the infantry—there, like all Prussion Crown Princes to continue his military career. He will probably not be raised to the rank of colonel till next year, Even princes of the blood are not promoted so fast in tho Prussian army as in others. Even in their case no step is claimed until tho requisite know ledge has been acquired. Prince William is in his twenty-hfth year, and is now major. Princes of the Royal family of Prussia overleap the rank of liout.-colonel.

The Mayor of Cardiff (Mr R. Bird), in presenting prizes to the Glamorgan Rifles on November 14, said there were at present 4,000,000 men forming the standing armies of Europe, and they were a eonrco of very great expense, amounting to £160,000,000 every year. They spent about £25,000,000 every year upon their own army; during the past ton years they had expended £267,000,000 and during the century i' 414,215,642. More than three-quarters of all the money raised in Europe for all purposes had been devoted to the prosecu tion of and the preparation for war. But herein lay, in his opinion, the justification for the existence of the Volunteer Force, for he believed that that rendered unneces sary, to a very large extent, the main tenance of alarge standing army. At the recent trial at Buckau, near Madgeburg, the 50-ton gun completely shattered the chilled-iron turret plate, over three feet thick. Germany has adopted tho system of spheroidal iron turrets, and several of these have been set up along the Bavarian and Russian frontiers. Italy also erected two fort* on tho same system at Spezzia. It was believed tliat the sides of these defences were proof against the heaviest ordnance, but the trial at Buckau has demonstrated the fallacy of the idea, as also the wisdom of the English authori ties in declining to entertain the proposal of Mr Gruson that the War Office should pur chase a complete fort. The Inspector- General of Fortifications recommendod some years ago that one of Mr Gruson's plates should be tried, and the Admiralty also offered to purchase one plate for the same purpose, but Mr Gruson positively declined to entertain the proposal, stating that he would suppy a fort complete or nothing. A Captain in a distinguished regiment had just returned from leave, and was talk ing about some company matters with his colour-sergeant. Missing a name from tho roll, he asked, " What has become of Sergeant ?" The colour-sorgeant at once replied, " Sergeant has gone to hell, sir !" The Captain's face showed hi 3 astonishment and anger at what seemed a most impertinent answer, so tho colour sergeant added, " Yes, sir, he went to hell last week." This astounding piece of news was soon explained away, for the colour sergeant,)of unfortunately misplaced aspira tions, only meant that tie other sergeant had been transferred to L Company. Thi3 occurred more when companies were desig nated by numbers, in most regiments, but not in all. Though education has made won derful progress since, it might occur now. The "Standard" says:—"Tho recruit ing for the army still causes uneasiness, tho majority of regiments being under strength of establishment. The weekly waste is, in many instances, in oxce«s of the number of men recruited. A scheme, consequently, will shortly bo carried out, in which the Post-offices in the United Kingdom will be nominally recruiting offices. The Post master will appoint on application men belonging to the army reserve or militia, or a civilian as "bringer3 of recruits;" having been so appointed, their duty will be to seek persons desirous "of becoming soldiers, and upon such recruits being ap proved, the " bringers " will be entitled to a sum of five shillings in each case. It is thought at head-quarter that many who are willing to join the army, but do not know the way to goabout it, will thus bo assisted and the army once more augmented to its required strength." Accurate Shooting. The following letters, under the above dead, have recently appeared in the " Field " : —Sir, —ln y»ur issue of July 2S, a correspondent favoured us with a descrip tion of some shooting, which, for accuracy, must seem almost incredible to practical men. " Old Jake '" tells us that in shooting From the shoulder at a postage stamp 200 yards distant, he, with his Winchester rifle, placed two shots within about an inch of tho stamp, and the third right into it. Now, there may or may not be a limit to the accuracy of a rifle ; but we know there is a limit to the power of the human eye. My quarter of a cen tury's study and practice with the rifle leads me to unhesitatingly affirm that no ordinary eye can even see a postage stamp 200 yards distant over the sights of a rifle. Hitting an object that cannot be se6n becomes a mere matter of chance, and therefore has nothing whatever to do with tho truo skill of a marksman. Even if so small an object as a postage stamp could be distinctly seen at 200 yards, the feat would still [be remarkable if fired clear from tho shoulder, as a movement of the muzzle from the true line of aim to tho extent of a hundreth part of an inch would, at that distance, throw the shot moro than two inches from the object aimed at, or two and a-lialf times tho size of a postage stamp. The optical difficulties of rifle shooting may be appreciated when it is understood that tho apparent size of a bull's cyo 5 feet in dia meter, over the Bights of a rifle, is, at 1,000 yards, no larger than a grain of mustard seed. Those who cannot imitate the feat of " Old .Tak" " need not on that account be in the least disconcerted as to the accuracy of their rifles. —H. P. Miller,

Good Scores.

On the 14th September, ;»t Sutton range, St. Helen's, the following good score was made by Corporal Clare, 21st L.X.V., in shooting in the third round of the Snider Tournament. Any military position. Weather fine ; light good ; wind moderate from front :— 200 500 COO Tl. 1515155 .. 32 .. 5445415 ..31 .. 5555534 .. 32 .. 95 out of a possible 105. On tho 21st inst., at Altcar, in shooting his lirst-class official firing, the following extraordinary good score was made by Corporal Taylor (G.M.), of the 21st L.X.V., with the Snider ride, military position :— 700 800 TI. 22332-14344 .. 31 .. 3343313123 .. 32 .. 03 Making a total of 63 out of a possible 80. Weather, fair ; light, dull ; windmoderate from left front. He made 65 in third-class, aad 55 in second ; total aggregate, 183 points. Some scores have been made in New Zealand equal to the above. At the Ot«go Kiflo Association meeting, held in December last. Volunteer Johnston, of tho Clutha Rifles, in firing for the Ladies' Shield, made 95 out of a possible 104 ; Vol. McCarthy, of the Dunedin City Guards, the same match, making 94. The ranges fired at woro 200, 500, and 600 yards.

GOSSIP FROM STAGE AND STUDIO.

[By Edtebpjj.]

Hkkhv Irvixg's scenery is insured for L 25.000.

Mr Fred. Marshall is on his way out to Australia by the s.s John Elder.

Tho Juno Company are playing in tho " The New Magdalen," in Victoria. Anew theatre is in course of erection in Now York, to seat an audience of 5,000 per sons.

Signor Verdi is now fulfilling an engage ment! in Sydney with tho Montague-Turner Company.

After playing Hamlet at Cork, Barry Sul livan was escorted to his hotel by a torch light procession. Lotta, the American burlesque actress, was to open at the Opora Comique, London, early in December.

The " Youth " and "The Lights o Lon don " Company have left Dunedin, and are now at Christchurch.

A single bouquet presented to Nilsson on the opening night of tho Metropolitan Theatre, New York, cost L2O.

Mdme. Nilseon took with her to America 29 boxes of gorgeous costumes designed by Worth and other French artiste.

Mr Stevenson's statue to tho memory of the poet Robert Tannahill was unveiled re cently in Abbey Churchyard, Paisley.

Heir Joseph Joachim, tho eminent violinist and Wilhelmj's rival, has arranged to pay a professional visit to America next

Wondmffe, the glass-blower who visited New Zealand a year or two ago, is now in Calcutta under engagement to Mr Joubert, of tho Exhibition.

Wallack's entire Company from New York, with the addition of Miss Minnie Conway and Mr and Mrs Herbert Kelsey, Mill visit Australia in May.

Mr Stanford is writing a now opera for the Carl liosa Company to be called "The Pilgrims." It is .said to he a bright, spark ling comio opera.

Messrs Dark and St.infield's pantomime— "Mother Goose"—had v successful run of 10 nights in Wellington. It has since been produced in Christehurch.

When Sothern played Dundreary in Paris, during the ISO" Exposition, Irving played the part of Abel* Mureott, the drunkard, and Raymond was the Asa Trenchnrd.

Mr James Payn's "Literary Recollec tions " wai to have been commenced in the December number of the " Cornhill Maga zine." The first subject will be-Mary Rus eol Mitford.

In India, whither so many of our Austra lian and New Zealand stars find their way, theatrical performance." commence at 9 ""clock, and are not expected to terminate before midnight.

Dr. Schliemann, who is staying fn the Isle of Wight, will bring out his new work on Troy oarly next month. The English is to appear simultaneously with the German and American editions.

In Sydney the pantomime " Jack and the Beanstalk " holds the boards at the Theatre Royal. Misa Nellie Stewart makes a be witching boy ; Mi«<s Liddiard is Marjory Daw : and Mies Minnie Hope an attractive Man in tbo Moon.

Signor Arigo Boito, composer of "Mefisto tilo,* has resolved to touch no new work at all until ho has completed and produced the opera ho is now writing. Ho fays :" It will occupy 1110 another year of assiduous labour at the very least."

Mrs Langtry has abandoned her contem plated Aiistraliiin tour. If it is true that Mr Morris Greenwell had arranged to pay her a salary of something like LSOO [>er week, it IB not unlikely that he was glad to cry off the bargain.

A Miss Myra Mnrbron, late of Nelson, New Zealand, is devoting herself to music in London. She has composed a ballad, which has met with some success, and has also written a comic opera, which is pro mised an early production.

Mr 11. H. Bancroft, tho California!] book seller and historian, has gone to Mexico and Central America for the purpose of study ing ancient documents and antiquities. Ho ie accompanied by three assistants, and will carry on his historical labours without intermission.

The Mendelssohn Scholarship will again be competed for this year. It was founded in 18-18 by Jenny Lind and the gentleman who i- now Sir 'Julius Benedict. Its first scholar in ISSG was Sir Arthur Sullivan. The scholarship is now LSO per annum, and its holder is allowed to study abroad.

Mr Salinger has been successful in re covering the custody of his son and daughter from Pollard, but not the other children he was instructed to nee after. The Calcutta Magistrate said that if the other parents were anxious to recover their children they would have to come from Australia them selves to do so.

The new volume of the " Encylopredia Britannica" has been publishou. It is stated that 10,000 copies were sold in the United Kingdom alouo, that 30,000 copies. find their, way to America, and several thousands to the colonies and dependencies. As man}- as 00,(XK) copies of tho last volume were printed.

The marriago between Miss Fortcscuo, sometime of the Savoy Theatre, and Lord Oarmoylc, Earl Cairns's oldest son, which was to have taken place this month, is (says the "European Mail") "off," and a heavy cheque lias been drawn or is pro mised in order to prevent the difficulties that have arisen being discussed in the law court".

Attention is at last boinc drawn to the absurd manner in which letter-writing is lone on tho stage, viz., by a person sitting lown and rapidly drawing half a dozen more or less wavy lines across the paper. The absurdity i« more pronounced when the otter is read aloud, and found to contain what would fill about three closely-written pages.

A curious sight at, tho Molbonrne Theatre Royal is tho great number of Chinamen who come to see " Aladdin." There are always aorac dozen or fourteen in of an evening. They oven invade tho dress circle, and will watch the whole performance, standing, with a patience worthy of a nobler cause. The scenery of "' Aladdin " being all Chinese, may have sonic special interest for them, but what must they think of the jokes ?

New Zealand is Roon to be favoured with a visit from Miss Augusta Dargon, who in tends giving a series of dramatic readings in tlio principal towns during the early part of the present year. Sho is niece of Sir William Dargon, well-known in connection with tho first Dublin Industrial Exhibition, and is also an accomplished actress, but since her marriage with Dr. I'iercy, of Mel bourne, sho has not appeared upon the stage. The Lyceum Company's scenery and pro perties sent to America were measured up at 110 tons, not including the scenery for "Much Ado" (in which the celebrated cathedral scene is extonsivo) or "The Mer^ chant of Venice." Tho Company tocfc everything—even their own vind and rain, thunder and snow, "twelvo reams of snow " having been packed up. The Lyceum thunder is usually done with a strotched sheepskin and small cannon balls, but in "The Cup," where it was necessary for the thunder to be very loud, a trough was laid I around tho roof of the theatre and heavy I balls rolled along it.

STAR SATURDAY SUPPLEMENT, JANUARY 2G. 1884

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