THE GARDEN.

(By Hortus).

Calendar of Operations, February 16.

JHoßTtra is willing to answer any queries. Cor reapondente must give their full names and addresses, though not for publication j

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Gf^?ISLUBJF«I).-When the lowers have all faded, out off the flower stalk; then let the h»ft? Hlpe?, PerfPctly. When ripe lift your Dulbs, dry thorn m the sun for about a woek then store past for planting in the spring. If you wish to grow some flowers for late winter *nd. early spring flowering, after lifting dry £w° " ™.f °r 4,out tooo weeks, then trans wilFrUl?6. 7 J"U,£° on **$*■ This treatment Don 1? ? fIVI? 6 <luaUty of the flowers. oSfv flnwat f ?rßt-clasa bulb 3in this manner, uniy flower them once a year moalfhni-^y plant »■ attaokoa by the dowiToffg;i«AJt<Vt is out o£ flower- take ifc v^r °JLelll3> wash il carefully with to ™»,S. «,Boap> BP"nß° the leaves, but so as Stalk A »™ TVicel at the base °* th° ?»? iif small brush must be used. Even ts rn WwLnOt.°,ntir? y kiU Pest It wm re 2^hfil c ai)ove operation must bo re peated. I know of no certain cure.

Kitchen Garden.

Continue the digging, trenching, and manuring of all vacant oieces of ground. Specially prepare a large break for planting out the young strawberry runners next month. The ground should be trenched two spits, and receive a heavy dose of manure, recollecting that this gronnd will not be broken up for two years. Trench flown old strawberry beds that have fruited two seasons. Give particular attention to the pinching and tieing of tomatoes. The Iruit should be beginning to ripen. If the toliage is too thick, thin it out so that the sun will get at the fruit to ripen it. Give - plenty of liquid manure. Cucumbers and pumpkins pinch and water. Melons—Thin out superfluous shoots. Fruit which is swelling lift off the ground ; place some thing underneath so that they may be lifted clear of the foliage, thus getting more sun -to ripen them. Don't give them any water. Earth all advancing crops. Plant a few more cabbage and cauliflower. Oelery —Prepare trenches for planting k- v ate cro P- Earth UP those which are growing. Give copious water ings with liquid manure. Clear away all decayed vegetables ; haul them to the rot heap; give it plenty of lime and salt so as to kill animal and vegetable life. J_.eop weeds down. Flower Garden. Continue giving plenty of water to the beds, mixing a little liquid manure with it. Ltieck those that are growing too fast. Carnations, picotees, and pinks should now be layered. Puta little sandy soil round each plant in the form of a mound, and layer them in this. Dahlias—pinch, tie, and give heavy drenchings with liquid manure. To grow good flowers the plantsmustbe liberally ted. Early planted gladiolas lift, dry in the sun for a few weeks, then re-plant; these will give flowers during the winter and early spring. Late plants stake and tieup; givewateroccasionally. Cockscombs, balsams, and other heavy feeding annuals, ■will also require frequent waterings. The budding of roses should be attended to at once. Make in some cool shady part of the garden a propagating bed for striking cut tings of the different bedding plants next month ; also form an idea of what will be wanted for next season. The bedding plants now being m flower, it is easy to see what changes and improvements can be made next season. ■ Tho cuttings ought to be taken off next month. Greenhouse. Cineraria.—This is a very handsome flowering plant, and, like the calceolaria flowers-in great profusion, showing also great diversity in the marking of its flowers. It is easily raised from seed sown in Janu ary or February in soil of three parts loam, two parts leaf-mould, and one part sand Cover the seed slightly with fine soil, lightly pressing the surface after sowing. When the seedlings are large enough to handle, prick out into pans in similar soil. When more advanced pot into two and a-half or three-Inch pots. When well established in theso pots .shift, them into six or seven-inch ones, giving them plenty of air and water, and keeping them near the glass. When tho flower-stems appear water occasionally with liquid manure. While growing they arc subject to the attacks of the green fly, which must bo killed by fumigating with tobacco. Parks and Public Gardens of Paris. The budget of tho Paris municipality contains provisions for tho maintenance of tho parks and public gardens of that city, the annual cost being less than £9,000, this being exclusive of the wages paid to the park-keepers. The areas of the principal of these parks and gardens areas follows:—The Bois do Boulenge, I,BSO acres; the Bois Vin cennes, I,79oacres; the Buttcs Chamont, 56 acres ; the Place dv Trocadero, 51 acres ; the Pare Montsoures, 42 acres; tho Champs Elyade, from the Place de la Concorde, to tho Kond Point, 40.J acres ; the Avenue dv Bois de Boulogne, 20 j acres ; the Parce Manccaux, 19 acres ; and twenty two small squares formed since 1552, 2GJ acres. Besides the above £9,000, there are over one hundred park-keepers' wages to be paid.

Japan Grass.—Tho Auckland Domain Board last winter received a few- plants of grass from Sir George Grey, the seed of which that gentleman imported from Japan. The plants wore grown in the Domain Gardens. The grass is a strong-growing one. It obtained a height of about three feet, was very prolific in making seed. From present indications, this grass should prove a valuablo addition to the foddor grasses already introduced into Now Zea land. The Domain Board have <>iven in structions to distribute the seed in band, therefore country settlers can receive a small package by sending a stamped en velopo with their address to \V. Goldio, Rangei-, Auckland Domain. The seed should bo sown in tho garden in April, and the produco in soed husbanded till sufficient quantity can bo obtained to sow on a more extensive scale. Anyono receiving this grass socd should give early intimation of its success or otherwise.

Renewing Old Lawns.—Lawns that are begining to get out of order can easily be renewed without going to the oxpense of re digging or ro-sowing Anyone with a lawn in this state should simply got a few cart loads of good turfy soil ; placo it in a heap, mixing up with the heap a good deal of un slaked limo and rough bones. The lime will soon slake in the heap, and the heat it will generate will soon cause the grass and fibre to decay and rot, sweetening the soil, bring in™ it into n fine state for top-dressing. The soil for this purpose should be procured now, and by May—the proper time for top dressing—it will be in a splendid state. Get plenty of it. The lawn should be dressed with a layer of from a quarter to half-an-inch in depth. Good soil from the kitchen garden will answer the purpose if treated as above, sending the turfy soil into the kitchen garden to replace that taken away, thus improving both departments of the garden. Orchard. —All those who are thinking of either extending their present or making new orchards during the ensuing winter should now bo getting the soil put into good condition lor planting. Formerly, tho idea prevailed that all that was needed was simply to dig a hole, plant the tree,

and of course in due time the tree ought to produce fruit. The above ideas are begin ring to get exploded. The better the soil or the orchard is worked, the better and earlier will be the produce from the trees. Drainage should be the first consideration. No fruit trees can thrive unless all cold, wet, sour moisture is taken out. The sub sV>il drains ought at least to be three feet leep for an orchard (for reasons, see Brett's " Colonists' Guide "). Next, after draining, the digging or ploughing of the surface soil. If the orchard is small, have it ;renched to a depth of two spits, retaining ;he original soil on the surface. If the orchard be large, sub-flowering must be re sorted to, going as deep as possible. Have :he necessary work carried on now, so as to jet the soil in a nice sweet state before the planting season comes on. Codlin Moth.—From nearly every direction I am receiving intimations that the above moth is making its appearance. Again I would warn orehardists that this is one of the worst insects which can infest the orchard, and they mustmake every en deavour to keep it down, or in a few years it will be almost impossible to grow apples. The insect is often carried about from one orchard to another by the packing cases in which the fruit is carried to market. In fact, in some districts of America, these cases have been the means of introducing it from infected districts. Great care must be taken to ascertain where the cases come from.

Forming New Gardens.—The autumn is the best season of the year for making alterations ki old places, or laying out designs of new gardens. A great number of gentlemen delay these operations till the winter, under the mistaken idea that it is the best season. Now, I will try and give reasons that make the autumn preferable. Say, for instance, it is lawns, terraces, walks, &c, which are to be made or altered : these all require to be laid down to what I will call a series of levels. Now, to do this, there must be a certain amount of cutting or excavating of some portions of the ground, and a corres ponding filling-up of other portions in order to obtain the desired formations (of coarse, some situations may be entirely level ; I will deal farther on with these places). During the autumn, the -weather and soil are usually in a very dry state. When the soil is in this condition, it is in the best state for working or handling. First: It is cheaper to handle than when wet. The men have not to use so much exertion to wheel or transport the excavated soil from one portion of the grounds to another. The soil in itself is lighter dry than when wet. Also, the run for the barrow, when the soil is dry, is firm and hard, consequently more can be carried at each journey. Some times, when in a wet state, I have seen the barrow men not able to take more than half a barrow-load at each journey, thus taking more time to perform the work. Secondly : All soils for garden purposes, if possible, should be moved when in a dry state ; they get sweetened and pul verised during the process, thus coming into batter condition for vegetation to grow on them ; whereas, if the alterations are carried out while the soils are wet, instead of getting sweetened and pulverised, they become more clammy and wet, in some cases more like mortar than good friable soil suited for healthy root action. The above is the case more especially with all stiff, retentive soils, if dealt with while wet, sometimes taking two or three years, with skill and money, to bring them back into a good state for cultivation. Thirdly : When alterations or new gardens are to be made, the owner wants to have the grass sown, the trees and shrubs planted at the season when they will have the most chances of success. The best season for sowing down grass seed is in April; therefore all surface soils ought to be settled down to their proper levels before this, so as to get the grass sown at the proper time. I have seen this opei-ation deferred till spring. The result was that in an early dry spring the young grass got parched up, causing a re-sowing the following autumn. Every thing points in the direction of hurrying all new work during dry weather. In my next I will try and give a few ideas to guide amateurs.

A New Russian Sect.

A monk in Russia bearing the [celestial name of Seraphin, in the province of Pikoff, lately founded a new sect, %vhich, in honour of its founder, was called Seraphinoffeki. Its object appears to have been as much for the gain of lucre to its founder as for the salvation of the souls of his followers. One of the rules of this sect was that every member of it, male or female, should sacri fice his or her hair as a symbol of obedience to the superior- Now, such a preliminary is a trying test even to men, but where the fair sex is concerned it must be the very deuce, and we do not suppose that the women of Pikoff are very different from those elsewhere, Notwithstanding this hard condition, Father Seraphin got num bers of adherents, especially among the more fanatic of the gentler sex of the neigh bouring villages. Now comes tho worst of the story : The unregenerate among the kinsfolk of the shorn ones Bent complaints to the head of the police at St. Petersburgh and it w as discovered that Father Seraphin had been making the best of both worlds by selling the hair of his female converts to his brother, a fashionable hair-dresser in the Russian capital. Tho founder of " Seraphin offski" lias been arrested and is now in prison, no doubt meditating upon the short life of his promising sect and cursinsr his foolishness in meddling with womenfolk's coma..

Mow Nihilists are Treated in Russian Fortresses.

London, December 2S.—Another harrowing tale of suifering comes from tlio Russian prisons. The victim is one Netzhojefl", a nihilist who was sentenced in 1572 to twenty years' penal servitude in the mines of Siberia. It transpires now that he was never deported to Siberia, but has served eleven years of his imprisonment in a fort ress built on one of the marshy islands in the river Neva, near St. Petersburg. He hag succeeded in getting a letter smuggled from the fortress and published in the Will of the People. The letter fully confirms the reve lations of cruelty and inhumanity which have recently been made by prisoneos in the fortresses of St. Peter and St. Paul and Troubletskai Bastion, and some terrible details of suffering are given in addition. The dungeons in which the prisoners are cofined are below the water-level in the ad ioining river and are bitterly cold and damp in winter, while in summer malarial scurvy is frightfully prevalent. A new horror has now been added to these gloomy vaults, as the men and women conned there are kept within their cells and the equally cheerless corridors- from one year's end to another, Outdoor exercise, which was formerly allowed for one hour in the twenty-four, having been entirely suspended since the assassination of the late Czar. The prison officials practice the most shameless extortions on prisoners as long as their money lasts and prisoners without money are fed on horse-flesh and chained in on outer range of cells, where, between their (battles with water and rats, they soon perish.

FOR THE LADIES.

Advice to Brides. Love is blind, but love is not deaf. So

don t snore.

Do not be in a hurry to buy all the new fabrics you see. A richly dressed woman runs the risk of being mistaken for a ser-

vant girl,

Do not threaten to go home to your mother oftener than five times a week. As you don't go he may eventually begin to doubt your sincerity. Do not get angry when your husband first asks you to darn his stockings. Smile sweetly and suggest that it would be cheaper to buy new ones.

Have a house with a furnace in and keep both it and the range going over night. That will improve your chances for happi ness 600 per cent.

Your husband's wardrobe will frequently require repairs in the way of buttons. Al ways leave the needle, thread and button bag where he can get them. If your husband complains that you can not cook as his mother does, comfort him with the reflection that you probably will by the time you are as old as she is.

Many women make a. practice of protest ing against the word " obey " in the mar riage service after the marriage has taken place. This is a mistake. Do not protest against it. Quietly ignore it.

If you told him you loved the odour of tobacco while he was courting you. do not begin to speak of smoking as " a horrid disgusting, beastly habit" right after you are married. Wait at least a week.

If you need a pair of new shoes say nothing about them, but get the money for some thing else, and then while he is away slip out and select the shoes yourself. Even a pair of sevens look small to a man so long as he does not know the number.

If you have a pet dog always keep him around, and then when your husband relaxes his attentions fly to the dog for comfort, hugging and kissing him right before your husband. If he gets mad and kicks the dog, it will be a sure sign that he still loves you.

Remember that getting married is no reason why you should shut yourself up in the house. Accept all invitations just the same as before, and have a good time. When he comes home and finds both you and the fire out, ho will realise how cheerless life would be without you. In the course of a month your husband will probably ask why you never go near the piano any more. All men do. An effective reply is to hunt up an old book of exercise, and practise three hours every evening for a week while he is at home. He will attend to his own affairs after that. —" Philadelphia Call."

English Girls.

English girls have a better chance of exercising their muscles now than ever they had before, and the prudent friends of physical education will take care to keep a healthy movement from sliding into the region of fads. Twenty years ago the back-bending pastime of croquet sufficed to the needs of matchmaking mammas and of their daughters anxious to disport them selves in the open at a minimum expense of bodily exertion. Nowadays young -women of the upper and middle classes go in for real exercise. They walk, drive, ride, row and bandy the ball across the net all the fine weather long, from dawn to twilight, and some of them fish and shoot as well. On warm afternoons the upper reaches of the Thames show girl " fours " pulling together in good form, and many a young English lady goes straight to hounds and is up with the best of the hunt at the finish. All this is as it should be—a result of domestic enterprise and pluck—and probably no better result would be effected if the sports of the field formed an item in the curriculum of fashionable finishing schools for the daughters of well -to- do families. Girls ought to exercise their limbs as well as boys, and may easily do so without fuss or unnecessary publicity in that direction. The Englishman abroad is almost as often as not accompanied by his wife, his sisters, or his daughters, not to mention his "cousins and his aunts," .and that those ladies do not hesitate to take plenty of pedestrian exercise is attested by the condition of their shoes and boots standing sentinel outside the bedroom doors of countless Continental hotels. If Mrs Fenwick Miller, who says that there are "many hardships in the lives of iwomen which girls should have strength developed to encounter," pleads in behalf of the ladies of China or of the United States of America —the latter of whom are credited with using the cars whenever the3 r desire to cross a road—she might have depended upon our sympathy and applause. It will seem, however, to the great majority of the public, that her flaccid, bilious, venerated English girls are mere creatures of the imagination. They are not among those to be found during the autumn at the seaside, walking briskly along the sands after the morning dip, with their long hair stream ing behind them, like so many ruddy mer maids.—"London Telegraph."

English and American Fashion Notes.

English Fashion Notes. Trains are fuller. Trains are not long. Gloves are very long. Mask veils are much worn. Few trained dresses are worn. High coiffures are again in favour. Sleeves remain very tight below the elbow. Small half-face veils are either red or black. Dotted face veils are in high fashionable favour. Gentlemen's driving gloves have very large gantlets. Jewels are much in favour for the hair at evening parties and balls. Figured velvets are much worn, but are never so elegant as plain ones. Tan-coloured Suede gloves divide favour with white and black gloves for evening wear. Children's dresses are all made loose about the waist, in the late revived English styles. Short dresses are much in vogue for even ing wear, even when the wearers do not dance.

Velvet drosses will be worn ad nauseam at Uinstmas dinners and New Year's Day receptions. Gauzy stuffs, tulles, crepes and silk and Indian muslins are in demand for balls and tancy party dresses. Tulle, spotted or sprigged with silver, comes among other gauzy tinsel decorated stuffs for evening wear.

Madame Rattazzi's daughter Roma is a wonderful beauty She is the god-daughter of ex-Queen Isabella.

Mr Cross s« Life ot George Eliot" will be published next year, He has recovered nearly all her letters, which were all written with aa much care as rf intended for publi cation. r

*v^ R tt! 1 P verett ' of Salt 1-ake City, says that the Utah women who signed the neti tion to Congress protesting against any fur ther legislation upon polygamy did sn under coercion.

Mrs Burnett, author of " Through One Administration," ia at present enquired upon another play. "I am very lazy*' iho

says, " and although I've don 6an immense amount of work—l have written ten books, including the earlier seriala—l have accom plished it only with the greatest effort. I don't like to work, and I'm very lazy. Of course I work methodically. I go to my room, which is on the third floor, every morning immediately after breakfast, and stay there until luncheon. I stay, but I can't always write. Sometimes I spend the entire time walking up and down, tossing a ball, a habit I have, as lam obliged to use my hands when thinking." The Marquis of Lome and the Princess Louise carried home a rare collection of Canadian birda, having about 120 varieties. The case belonging particularly to the Princess is filled with small birda of bril liant plumage. Among the most charming luncheon parties given in New York, saya "Bazaar," are those of a lady who cooks her simple but elegant meal in a tiny stove that stands on a dinner plate in a hall room, has no ser vant to wait, and -washes the dishes herself when the guests are gone.

England's Prospective King.

Prince Albert Viotob, eldest son of " Wales," does not possess the traits of character which make hisparentsso popular, but resembles rather hia grandmother in "pernickety." The other day Albert Victor went home from Cambridge to London. He was unattended, and he bought a single ticket and took his seat like an ordinary traveller. He was at first the only passenger in that compartment. But when the train stopped at Royston two other gentlemen got in, and one of them re mained there until the train reached London, while the other, having a cold, and finding the window open, sought a seat in another compartment. Neither of themhad any idea that their fellow-traveller was the Prince, and they were both gentlemen of irreproachable presence. But when his Royal Highness reached King's Cross station he complained to the authorities of the "intrusion," of strangers into "his car riage," and the station-master at Royston was severely censured in consequence, although neither he nor the Cambridge master, nor indeed anyone connected with the train, knew that the Prince was a pas senger. The youngster—for he is only 19 years of age—should pay a visit to this country, and in a few months his sensitive ness about princely exclusiveness would un doubtedly be materially diminished. A few days' acquaintanceship with the cow boys might eradicate it altogether and make him a wiser and better man.

STAR SATURDAY SUPPLEMENT, FEBRUARY 16, 1884.

6



rPESTIMONIALS to " T. RETT'S pOLONISTS' fIUIDE JJ RETT'S V,OLONISTS' IjUIDE AND pYCLOP-ffiDIA OF TTSEFUL of Useful knowledge » nowledge, BEINO A COMPENDIUM OF INFORMATION BY PRACTICAL COLONISTS UPON FARMING, HORTICULTURE, AND ALL SUBJECTS OF INTEREST TO NEW ZEALAND SETTLERS, Edited by Thomson W. Leys The publisher has much pleasure in acknow ledging receipt of the following testimonials from well-known agriculturalists and other practical colonists on the value of the above work :— The following letter is from Mr James Wal lace, Hillside, Papatoitoi. As one of the most practical and successful settlers in the Auckland district, his opinion is of great value. .l' 81?*-. have looked forward with a con siderable degree of interest to the publication of Brett s Colonists' Guide, and can now say that it has far exceeded my expectations. Hardly a day passes without my finding some thing in its pages both interesting and instruc tive. It is a book that should be in every settlers house in the colony. Tho portion devoted to farming is full of reliable informa tion, and I have no hesitation in saying that it is the most comprehensive and useful guide for a New Zealand colonist ever published." Sir George Grey, K.C.B.—" My dear air,—l have kept in constant use for upwards of two months the copy of Brett's Colonists' Guide and Cyclopjedia of Useful Know ledge, which you were good enough to send inn. I nave tested it in many ways upon a great variety of useful subjects, and am satisfied that it is by far the best work of the kind I have ever seen. I feel that its merits and usefulness in re lation .to all practical subjects, on which a settler s comfort and success depend, render it a necessary appendage to every home in New Zea land. — Faithfully yours, G. Grey. — Kawau. January 7th, 1884." • _^- R, Jomf Wallace, of Both well Park, Waiuku (formerly of Flat Bush), who is one of our earliest settlers, and has been for many years closely connected with every effort to pro mote the agricultural interests of tho Auckland district, writes as follows:— " Dear Sir,—l havo much jjeasure in adding my mite in warm commendation of Brett's Colonists' Guide. It is a book that should be, not only in every farmer's library, but should also be on every colonist's book-shelf, no matter in what line of colonial industry he or she may be engaged. There is information for all. In looking back over a perod of 41 years'of hard colo nial work how much valuable time and money mighthavobeen sav»d if attho beginning such a fund of information had been availablo to guide us as is now within the reach of all in tho shape of Brett's Guide. Colonists, who desire to be worthy of tho name, should not, from its ele gant appearance or tho quality of tho material, make it a drawing - room book, to be looked at and admired as one. would a picture or a curio; they should have it on tho mantle-shelf, the sofa, or the corner of the table; in fact, anywhere so that the eye of Father, Mother, Johnny, and Jenny and even the helps, may have a chance of look ing at it daring spare minutes in the heat of summer or the inclemency of winter. Mr Brett has shown pluck in bringing out such a book, has been exceedingly fortunate in the selection of his contributors, and I sincerely hope it will prove a financial success." Mr George Holdship, Managing Director of the Auckland Timber Company, and a practical colonist of long experience, writes :— "Sir, —I hare looked over your Settlers' Guide, and consider it one of tho most useful and valuable books for the New Zealand settler ever published. The information is so varied, and the advice so practical. A single paragraph will often be found worth more than the cost of the book. Mr T. W. Hickbon. Estate Agent, Auck land, has contributed tho following :— "I have much pleasure In stating that, having carefully examined into Brktt's Colonists^ Guide, I havo no hesitation in saying I consider It good value for the price asked for it. In fact, worth ten and twenty times the money to almost anf one engaged in rural Industries."



From a Pukekohe Settler. Pukekohe, December 1,1883. ''Dear Sir,—l have recently been presented! w^?i f"rJ} d ?, f nllne wi.h a °°P> °f your valuable work, Ihe Colon ists' Guide. It contains well KSSfPf j*rt!?lcs ouneariy every subject of interest to the settler, except religion, with t doe.? f not l meddle. Those articles are ShKS^J written by practical men, and contain li _J e2?1V )f much ? x Perionce in a compact and readable form. Thus we have descriptions o£ the best breeds of Horses, Cattle, Sheep. Poultry otc, etc., for this part of the world ; and thereis alsoa well-made digest of such laws of New Zeo and as are of special interest to tho ordinary settler; indeed, the book is a real Vade Mecura, and should be m tho possession of every settler m the Colony. — Yours respectfully, W. H. "•Dear Sib,—Having subscribed for Brett's Colonists' Guide. I beg to say that lam "rf pleased with it. The.amount of practical infor mation contained in it is invaluable, and I con sider it the best 20s worth yet offered to the Now Zealand Public. No settler or business man should be without it. I think public opinion will say that you have conferred a boon on the colony by your spirited offort. Thanking you personally, and wishing the publication WooV n' aCee3a' am' Sir' yoUra truls-' NoAH Consul Grikftn writes as follows with re ference to this work. As a gentleman of exten sive literary acquirements, and acquainted with the valuable library of practical works for which wo are Indebted to tho United States hi* opinion Is noteworthy :— "The book is tho most valuable work of the kind published in the Colonies. I have road ovory chapter in it with attention and pleasure The extent, variety, and accuracy of its infor^ mation aru extraonlin.iry. It is what it claim. ThSS'n? g??l°Wdin of Universal KnoVlS^ The insight that it gives into the most approved ™e«lo?B° f,a?«culturc. the management of live stock, the dairy-in fact everything pertaining to farming operations-rom.nend it to ever^onl interested in the prosperity of the colony The fad-men? d A _VlSs'.' d.. mOSt «e-_b_ttHto _n! judgment. All his ideas are eminently broad and practical. The arrangement of the subleet matter is .simply admirable I am csneciallv Pleased with the articles on vinery, flax f _u t and hop cnlture. The abstract of the local Government and land laws of this colony is the most succinct and intelligible that has come under my observation, whilst tho urintim" siperb?' and Ulu3trat'<^ oithewft



SUMMARY OF CONTENTS : The "COLONISTS' GUIDE AND CYCLO PEDIA OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE " con tains 830 pages, and is profusely illustrated with engravings, comprises sections on :— THE FARM, by Thomas Allen : Direction for Bush and Fern Land; Growth of vari. ous Cereal and Root Crops; Management of Cattle, Sheep, and Horses, with Cure of their Diseases, etc., etc. This section, which rontams 217 closely printed pages, with many diagrams and illustrations, including specimens of the best pure-bred horses.sheep ajnd cattle, together with selections from the Stud and Pedigree Stock Company's thoroughbred stock, comprises the carefully collated experience of some of the most successful Auckland and Canterbury Farmers. HORTICULTURE, by W. Goldie: In this section, which covers 106 pages, with numer ous illustrations, special attention is paid to the managementof Fruit Trees, with such simple directions and diagrams for Pruning, Grafting, Budding, etc., that any settler! without .previous knowledge or skill, can manage his orchard profitably. POULTRY, by Thomas Allen: This section comprising 41 pages, gives specimens of tho best varieties of Poultry, with directions for their Management, Designs of Fowl-houses Treatment of Diseases, etc. USEFUL MECHANICAL CONTRIVANCES 34 Pages: Under this heading have been classed a variety of contrivances, which will be found useful to the settler; hints and helps for the bush; cheese presses, carts fences, gates, measuring and splitting tim ber, measuring garments, erecting walls and banKs, windmills, &c, &c. PRESERVING AND STORING, E0 Pages- Includes the best methods of storing, drying, bottling, canning, and preserving fruit; the most approved modes of curing bacon and hams, with design for smoke-house; instruc tions for pickling, sauces, vinegar-making &c. Sec. mS5S_:| AIND AGRICULTURAL ENE MIES, BVCAPT. Bkoun: In this section, Captain Broun, the well-known New Zea land entomologist, supplies the results of years of observation upon native and im ported insects, useful and injurious, with illustrations of the same, and directions for destroying garden and orchard pests. SCIENTIFIC BEE CULTURE, by J. Hop kins This interesting department lias been fnlly and skilfully treated by Mr Hop kins, of Matamata, whose works on the subject are well known throughout New Zealand. WINE-GROWING AND MANUFACTURE, Practical Arboriculture, Tobacco Culture' Hop Growing; and Silkworm Rearing, with Cultivation of Olives, Tea, &c., aro each exhaustively treated. THE FAMILY DOCTOR, by Dr. Knight and MK.-J. A. Pond, of Auckland, comprises Treatises on both Allopathic and Homoeo pathic systems, compiled with special regard to Country Settlers. To it is appended a MAORI PHARMACOPOEIA, giving tho medicinal properties of Now Zealand Bush Trees and Plants. COTTAGE COOKERY AND FOODS, covering 120 pages, is a complete Treatise on Cookery, according to tho best methods, and com prises some thousands of easy receipts for tasty dishes, without the flummery of ordi nary Cookery Books. HOUSEHOLD HINTS, extend the information in the Cookery Books, with many usefu. directions on.Household Management. COTTAGES FOR SETTLERS: Four designs of Useful Cottages, with plans and detailed Estimates, aro given, so that the settler can simply copy the specification and send to tho mill and procure the complete material for the erection of his house. ALES, WINES AND SYRUPS, PAINTING, TANNING, SOAP-MAKING, and HINTS FOR PROSPECTORS, form separate sec tions, containing a large amount of Valuable Information. LEGAL MEMORANDA, prepared by Mr Thomas Cotter, Auckland City Solicitor, giving a digest of all tho laws which it is imperative for a S2ttler to know, including Fencing Act, Scab in Sheep Act, Timber Floatage, Roads, etc., etc. The above recapitulation only enumerates tho General Heads indicating the scope of the work. It Is the largest Book ever published in Austral asia, is Handsomely Bound in Cloth, and published at an exceedingly [Low Price, for a Cyclopaedia of this description — namely, TWENTY SHILLINGS (20s). Henry Brett, wyndham - street, ~'.' PUBLISHES.