THE GARDEN.

Calendar off Operations, April 23rd.

[By Houtus.J

iffortus is willing to answer any queries. .Cor- Sraondents must give their full names and ad presses, though not for, publication.] ~ , ; ,-,

To Correspondents.

omrRABB (E.J.B".' "Valley Rpad). r You' can KS transplant the plants this winter when rtwwWe gone to rest. Towards the end of nrtt month trench and hiprhlv manure a fresh {"J letting it lie so as to sweeten for about ♦«n months, then' transfer all your plants to ftonewbed. Plantabout 3 feet apart, in rows. BhuharbUkea deep, rich, moist soil, and will Ste any Quantity of water while in active- Sowth. Young plants with good treatment Soald & ye ycra s°°a cr °Ps next season. .„ PABAG us, Rose Cuttings, etc. (E.G., Helensville).—U) Anytime in tiie last month 3 winter and ; flrst month in spring is a good 'time for planting asparagus, i -.arly next' Kit_ trench and manure the ground, letting S Qii« 'tillu July or August. Obtain mb - year - old plants, and be careful rt_t. their roots are not long exposed to the atmosphere. Tho meredryin'g of roots hvexposure is very injurious Plant in rows lUnches apart. (2): Young plants tare to be Whtflined in most of the Auckland, nurseries. Kntserymen usually pack, so that they will irrivßiin your hands in good condition. (3) The autumn is the best cmc for. taking off Jt_t_So£*P ses- W]len taten off they should together ta sharp sandy soil," Slept shaded and moist till the-first wet ".Mtheiyiffhen they canbe planted farther auart, still in sandy soil/ But j-ou. would do better to procure a plant, as it will flower'tho firstseason, and cuttings, even when success ful will take two years. (4) Your rose bushes will.transplant with safety duringl June, »!uly, and.Aumist. July: is the best. «i yoiiean sow seea of sweet-briar during the early spring, but 1 would not' advise you to have anything to do with it, as. in most placesit becomes a terrible nuisance. (6) I baveiiever seen annuals grown here in pots forilwering in the early spring, but should jancf that most of the hardy ones would do if sewn during the next mon;h. Hardy annual* if sown now in the open border, would stand the winter and flower early. Cahelu^s; Shrubs; Fruit Trees, e'tc.ih Light BushslSettler).— I am afraid froni your description that the above would not succeed to your satisfaction.' Fruit trees as a rule will notddtnrach where the bush is dense, as they Ike ib get "Plenty'of light and air., If' yon iranted to do away with the bush after the trees were established, it-ivould be all right;, butassuch isnot the object it would be better torjfou to plant the fruit trees and ahrubsout in the open;' Camellias especially like plenty ofrooni. Asyour-obieet-is-to-increase the beauties of the bush, plant some climbers, ferns, etft, tliego will suit the place admirably. goSWt OP FoEESTRY (Experimental).—l Can not, tell i-ou anything about what they are growing"or testing at, the Forestry School at Whangarei; You must recollect it is only about.!; 9 ;months ' since operations were started,vand ; not much .could be expected in' that!time. I believe it is, or was, the intention ■ tateSt'-'large variety of plants,. &c.,,as to their nsuitability.to our Auckland climate and 50i15..,.1 quite agree with you that every' three or, six months a short bulletin should he issued of how the different plants • under test "are doing. The information would be re (leivied with pleasure bj*all interested in these matters. The head of the department is at present compiling a book on economic plants. When that is published, it will give all inforr. : ma.ionexpeoted.; ■ • -'" - .*",'

Kitchen Garden.

The'^regent .dry weather cannot be ex- pectetl fo last, much longer. All draining, hrachmg, or "digging of vacant .pieces of ground should tnerefore.be done as;soon as possible..'"Soil'labouredin dry weather, will bear better .crops than thatwhi h is done in wet feather). especially; those inclining to clay. "Where vacant pieces. of ground are not wanted for crop, sow down; with green 'feed.-.ylaht out small patches of cabbage and cauliflower. '.'' Continue watering till moist yeather sets in. Earth up the early pbateo.''crops. Sow mustard cress and radish'^ for succession. .Prick out another. patch of lettuce ; . continue tying up the Je&yes. of.. the . advance crop for tecling.' Tomatoes : It is not worth while allowing any more flowers to set. Keep pinching back-all-shoots;; and thin out foliage so that the sun's rays may properly ripen the fruit already set. Give plenty of water.; tie and earth up as it adr ranees in growth, taking care that the earth doesnot get into the centre, of the plant. Sow prickly spinage for winter use. Keep -inning the,earlier-sown crops, using, the tiimu'ngl.'-Pumpkins, piemelons, etc., as they ; ripen, gather and store in a dry • place for winter use. Sow turnips and car rots. Of the former sow frequently, so that yon may be able to get asuccession in good, orderfor the table. Have all the debris of vegetables,' and weeds placed, in, the rot heap, jgive plenty of salt and lime so as to I—U the';'lary«ee of insects. Many of the garderi'pests lay their eggs in the debris, and if proper steps are not taken to have thea kuled, it is worse than useless to use . Birch debris as manure, and you only help to acreage their numbers in tho garden. It would Abetter to burn it. / i-i Flower Garden. -Kowt'is the best time of the year1 for _a__igj > ne w • flower gardens, making, •alterations, or enlarging old ones.' Large lumbers of people defer this work till too late in the season, saying that the ground 'is too hard and dry. * They wait till wet weather,, .as they think it can be done cheaper.'': Now, the above is a great mis take, for the. improvements as a rule can always he done for far less money while the '"■oil is"-'in' a dry state. Certainly it •s a little harder to break up, but that is ; counterbalanced by the less trouble in; conveying 'it from one place to another, besides, the harm that is done to soil by -OTing itwhile.it is wet. All improve ments g_onld therefore be taken .in hand Jow and finished, as far as possible before me winter .sets in. Gladiolus bulbs lift, dry and store past.as they become ripe. My flowering spring bulbs,.and tubers : Continue planting out; give each a little* good, new soil or ,compost. Dahlias, Chrysanthemums, bouvardias, .and other autumn flowering plants will [require. t° be watered pretty often now so as to cause them toproduceplentyof good flowers.. Add a little liquid manure occasionally.; wntinue ike striking of ciEfctin'gs.of .all the, redding plahts. Preparations must ; be for renewirig the lawns next month. J«ye the soil, to be used, for top-dressing, turned. - A&'the same time -add nones and ™etothe.__ipasitis.tu_ned: :',■[■' ; -,' .... Greenhouse -~.,, ,-i ■::, Shading nifiglrt altogether be.dispensed with for thifi season. , Bulbs and tubers going to jest -should he watered wery sparingly; Watertherestof-Ahepotiplants1 ery - Bpar_i'gly ; ,jespecially , the-cactus t_ibe, taking an exception of epipbyllums, as ™ey should soon, ibe showing signs "'flowering. Make preparations to have ■** , winter flowering moved from ,lleir summer quarters, outside into the .°nse. Repot snch as may req_ire.it. ••• __ 'Jr^e of others, takecoff-vboutan inch of ™ surface, soil inside the pot, and mulch s™* some .rich .compost. - Keep .jinsectsj ; never allow then to saake any head- • J&* Still keepup a.free *circulataon of . ■-[ . ,"',,,"■ 'Notes.. , ,;;.; ,hy '• ■ > in.-■ nitrogen or mannres ■' f reiyammoniacal should never be applied j n^ym orchards. '..., ;■■: ..'--'■ : that the female Codliii motij' W • tl^ en(i:Of the third litter, have let aotL 111 a° orchai' cl '■** many"-as ;l 16,000 a^.^sh. piles, heaps of dried grass; :old, ol(j l^> green vegetation, dead'trees, and mJ tvn "ipa are prolific;,breeding places for Otchari- e'wseetipests which-trpiibie; vu«raists and vineyardists. ' ■'*'•-*' ' L oo f -

AUSTRALIAN STAGE NOTES.

i:-.-n : I• •■ i-.'.- Melbourne,.; April 4. Hawtry's • farcical comedy, " The 'Pick-' pocket,", -was produced at Her Majesty's Opera House last Saturday by Brough and Boucicault. The piece went splendidly. The matinee performance, tendered to the widow .of the late William Hoskins came off on Saturday in the Princess Theatre, and was attended by a vast audience. The Princess;is the only house doing real genuine business; ,and " Harbour Lights " has now entered upon its fourth week. Bland Holt appears at the Royal on Easter Saturday in "A Run of Luck." On the 9th of April, Miss Alice Norton and i H. C. Sydney, said to have come from the principal English theatre, will appear at: the Alexandra Theatre, supported by a full and efficient company. They play at popular Pri°es. . Clifton. Sydney, April 4. Theatrical business here is^ very slow at the majority of our .theatres. We believe that Fred Hiscocks is collecting a now com pany (a variety) with the intention of occupying the Academy of Music at no dis tant date. George Darrell is still confined to Dr. Tarrant's private hospital, where lie is slowly. recovering from the attack of typhoid fever . which prostrated him. Several, weeks since it was fully expected that George Darrell would have sufficiently recovered to fulfill his Easter engagement at Sandhurst, but' there ■ seems little pros pect of his being able to do so. .Arthur Redwood is also an inmate of Dr.. Tar rant's .Hospital. Home, and we regret to say that this popular ' comedian had a serious relapsel last Friday, evening. The Italian Opera Company have entered oivtheir, fifth week at the Royal. Their latest production is " BelisarßV' heai-d. for the first time in this, city, although,pro-, dueled upwards of fifty years ago at Venice. James Pain's next display of fireworks takes place at the Prince Alfred ' Park, on Saturday night, to be followed on Easter Monday.. .->This is the beginning of series No. 2.. There.are to be ten displays in all. ■ 'M> *>_w< ri;iv'_ -.'. '• W.A;R. '

CHEWING, TOBACCO.

The .Habit' Pecreseing in the United ManuJjVctukeks, of tobacco say that the habit iof chewing is rapidly becoming as obsolete as that of snuff - taking among workingnien.\." " You will,,find some of the iolder men of .wealth and refinement Who chew nowadays," said a large dealer, "but they acquired the habit years ago, when it was pot thought vulgar or disreputable to chew.' • Some of the older judges chew, and there were members of the Supreme Court of the United States who were not easy on the bench unless they had a quid. A very few clergymen use : 'tobacc6 in : their way, and not a few of the old lawyers and other professional' men of years. . But in the younger generation of cultivated men of good manners there are very.'few, cohv paratively,' now to be found who chew/ The young men 6f to-day rarely acquire the habit, and predict that within the next few years users of the weed in this form will be only those who belong to the less cultivated, society.; It is now regarded very bad.form to chewj though thirty yeai-s ago it was n'otl No ; chewing is going the way of snuff-taking. Many of our most prominent public nien have fought : hard to overcome 1 this habit. In Chicago - and St. Louis chewing is re garded as vulgar by persons who make any pretensions to social standing, and many of the devices employed by men to overcome the habit are amusing. At the late trial of Maxwell in St. Louis, the ( three prosecuting officers were noticed constantly chewing during the trial, and one said: " Yes;; we are chewing spruce gum, and we are doing it to break the habit of chewing tobacco, and if yovi will notice on the street you will see three men out of five {I mean, of course, those who are not working inen)'vigorously working their jaws. They are chewing gum, for there seems to be a, tacit agreement among gentlemen here to quit chewing tobacco." Many men nOM r carry. a, strip of slippery elm in their pocket, and when they feel the old craving ccime over them, then they bite off a bit and chew it. A. down town drug gist said that he.sold a great deal of licorice root to men who were trying to break the tobacco habit. —"New York Sun." .. : ;

Scotch Universities.

Each of the Scottish Universities comprises four " Faculties "—Arts,. Medicine, Divin ity and Law. Edinburgh still maintains her old reputation as one of the best medi cal schools in the United Kingdom ;'and the law lectures, are believed to be also exceptionally good at Edinburgh. ; ,Only those students who are intended ifor the ministry of the Church of Scotland attend the divinity .classes at any of the four universities, '. the dissenting Presbyterian bodies having divinity halls of their dw_. Divinity students always attend four years at the.." art", . classes,. unless they pass a , preliminary examination, and. so escape, the first year.. Medical and law students, as a rule, spend only two years at Latin,, Greek and logic before they proceed to their special studies, i It must be understood that " a year." means, -at a . Sootch Universifcy.a " session " of barely six months; from the beginning ..of- November till the end of April. There are, it is true, short '' summer sessions," but these exist only for medical students. This arrange ment of the year is necessary on account of the poverty of a large number of the students.: And 'an incidental benefit of considerable importance arises' from what .seems at first sight a very bad ar rangement, of j the! academical year. The work*of a Scotch University professor is, while it lasts, exceedingly arduous; and while :some of the chairs at Edinburgh and Glasgow are supposed to be worth £2,000 or £3,000 a year, many of them are but poorly endowed, i To be absolutely master of one's' own time for six months of the year .is a great boon, and constitutes an attrac tion which; helps the northern universities to fill their chairs with exceptionally able , men.—"National Review." ''■ ■ ':'-','';" ".',';

Remember This.

:; If you are sick Hop Bitters will surely aid .Nature in making -.you well when all else fails. . W/ou are costive or dyspeptic,; or are sufler anftfrom. any other of the numerous diseases of rt_e stomach or bowels, it is your own fault if you remain ill, for Hop Bitters is a sovereign resaedFinalls_eh«ompla_uts..; ■ i . * -: if you are nervous use Hop Bitters. ; : , I lr you have rough, pimply, or sallow skin, bad breathy pains and aches, and feel miserable generally. Hop., Bitters will give you fair skin,' - rlSl. } 00' i':and sweetest breath and health..; , -hat poor, bedridden, invalid, wife, sister, mother, or, daughter be made the picture, ■ p£Health, by.American- Co/s Hop Bitters, cost-' ■ m¥£s\*&?' -W^lyouletthemsufter? - ansaort; they cure all diseases of the etomach, bowels, blood,-'liver, nerves/kidneys, Bright's ; ?__fSS2«^B°WP c *aid^* a^cale thly will..' igfiS 9WVOI help. Druggists and chemists k.eep

TABLE TALK.

<■- (From Oub London Correspondi-ist.)' THE GOSSIP c CLUBS AND JLART AND "A. TARTAR "—SERVANT «TRT Bkauties-The Naw Craze -Thk Fitter Ludlow"-Fanny Lkslik in. Jack in ?fm Box Arnold as the Padrone - Dkath op Fuslix Pryor Athena's ■DEBUT-α Sen^ , sational Afternoon at N kwjcakkkt-Jfow w°?Smf Hotfns! ° N £J0 ' 000 0M T * B KINO In one of the recerit memoirs of Lord Shaftesbury a story appears which aptly illustrates the crass fatuity and conceit of : Government officials. Some years ago when the Fenian scare was at its: heighth a costermonger whom the philanthropic peer had helped called upon him and related certain particulars of a'qonversationhe had overheard in a public-house between three Irishmen. It. bore. reference 19 a coming, explosion at one of the metropolitan prisons, the eostermonger couldn't say which ; still he rightly, thought something - might be done to prevent loss of life if the police were alarmed.. The fellow demurred, how ever, to' his own name being revealed to anyone else. If it came out, he said, his life- would be forfeited: ' Lord Shaftesbury pledged himself to secrecy on the point and then vrent straight to Whitehall and told bhe Home Secretary the story. Will hVbe' believed that the permanent officials vised that no investigation should be entered on unless Lord Shaftesbury's in-' f ormant would disclose his identity ? They \ pronounced the whole business a hoax, and advised the Home Secretary to look o'rf : U in that light. Ho decided to do so. . ord Shaftesbury retired in a hopeless moc '. and three days later the famous Clerkonv. <. 11 ex- : plosion took place. Jovial John Corletfc, of the '' Sporting Times," has—you may have seen—had,.to apologise to a fair chorus girl at the Av t e,nu'e Theatre for describing her in. that journal as a "tart." Numerous more or less., appropriate epigrams have in consequence resulted, as for instance :— * ' ' • Poor old Corlett his wit to whet ,■-■•-. ■ : Forgot what he was artor, 1 ~ As when he callod that girl a " tort" _.....; He should hare said a Tartar. Are'we going to have a servant, girl "craze?" It looks horribly like it. Only the other day Sir Ccichton Browne told the National Health Society that they " could see more true loveliness la a morn ing's walk engaged in cleaning down door-. steps than in fashionable drawing-rooms," and now the erstwhile aesthetic Oscar Wilde pronounces "the factory girl, with her shawl over her head,", as infinitely more " subtle and precious" than the " high heeled, tight-waisted damosel.". Perhaps so ; still, I fancy our Susans and pur Janes >will have to change a good bit before the masher of the period sees anything either subtle or precious in them. A, certain odious class of men can't walk upstairs behind a smart servant girl without trying to kiss or to tickle lier. Thank however, very few of us are built that way. * The temptation has always seemed to me a most diffibult one to under stand, for about even the prettiest of house-, maids there hangs a suspicion of slops and washing-up the reverse of acromatic. . "The Bitter Cry of Bankrupt Bulgravia " is the title of a brochure describing the sor rows of a professional beauty who was highly favoured by an exalted personage till, one frolicsome evening, she poured an ice cream down his neck. As a revelation of "how the rich livej'this volume is most in structive. The " Rupert of Div6ree," as the Duke of Marlborough is styled {in contradistinction to his brother Lord Randolph, the v Rupert of Debate"), has started on his tour of the world. He may be away two years. St. Valentine's Day is practically a thing of the past, save as regards the sending of floral valentines. These were this year made of all shapes ; shoulder-knots of lilies; orchids, and lilies and.camellias predomina ting. An immense number are made on the Riviera and sent over by parcel post. Orchids'are the " chic " thing to wear now adays as buttonholes. .-'...,- A subscriber to Mudie's lately wanted to borrow Rider Haggard's last work. ■ All available copies were out at the moment, but a few days later he received the follow ing post card :—" She has come in, and will be kept for you, till to-morrow evening, but no longer.". Unfortunately, the poor fellow's wife saw the card'first, and, form ing her own conclusions, kept it from him. He had an awful time of it till the lady, in a rage, produced what she called the " proof of his perfidy !" And the worst of it was he never got She after all. ; The run of luck against the bank at Monte Carlo continues unexampled. A young Englishman, who started play at roulette with a five-franc piece, converted iti into nearly £1,000 one afternoon last week. Many large winners are reported, especially amongst the Russians. , . The publication of young Lady Brooke's portrait (apparently without rhyme or reason) in '' Pump Court" for February has excited considerable amusement. It was ex-, pected, I ■ suppose, that certain legal pro ceedings in which she may be concerned; would have come to a head ere the templars' monthly appeared. Lady Brooke was Mise Maynard, the heiress, before she married Lord Brooke. She is an exceedingly pretty and highly accomplished woman. The! late Mrs Henry Wood is the only contemporary novelist in the,first rank whose stories have never .been published in a cheap form. Most of them still sell well at six shillings.' I told you last week thet over 140,000 copies of the. well-known green: edition of "East Lynne",had.;been; dis* posed of by Bentley. I should have'said over 150,000. The pirated : American<!sale must he at least as large. .Nextto "East Lynne," " The Channings " is Mrs Wood's most popular work. It appeals equally to growing and grown-up readers, and has for years been in constant demand. The scene is laid in the cathedral city of Worcester, where the author lived tillshe married. [ , Mrs Wood was unquestionably lucky in her generation. There are plenty of authors nowadays who write quite as good novels as. ''Dine Hollow," "Oswald Cray,"; &c, &c., without by any manner of nieah setting the Thames on fire. Perhaps Mrs Wood's most genuine.success of late years was, the ; first series of stories published Hinder the 7wm.de plume of "Johnny Ludlow." They fell off after; a year or so, but the idea and its execution were' alike excellent to begin with.;.; ' ■ . ■'■■-'-! '-•■ '' ; - ; ' " :; : . -■"7 .:. "East '.Lynne" the play was even a greater .success than "East Lynne "■ the novel. There : are upwards of "a dozen adaptations in existence; and it has .been: performed in every civilised language/ even. Hindostanee. None of. the adaptors— not, even the famous actress who travelled Svith' the play, for six years—paid Mre Wood/a stiver,. ; 'Tis reckoned tha't'had she.rieceived £1 for each representation, a fortune of dyer £50,000. would have , been' realised. To' this" day in the United States or the colonies

' " East' Lyhne " Continues a safe." draw," and will Often attract a good audience ; where all else fails. ' ' ' '. .; Mrs-Henry Wood leaves two complete novelet-one of them, "Lady Grace," now running in the '' Argosy." Her son, Charles W. Wood, will succeed to the man agement of the magazine. ■'■" Fanny Leslie, a clever, sprightly girl belonging to the same school.as Minnie Palmer, has just opened the Strand Theatre with' " Jack in-the-Box," which was specially written for her by Gc-orge R. Sims, and obtained great popularity in the provinces. The piece is threeJparts melo drama and one part music hall. The :" sensation " scene shows us a country fair, and --affords opportunity for the hornpipe and step-dancing the gallery loves. The , fair Fanny,,as a pert little London gamin who is everybody's good genius, not only assumes countless disguises, but dances, sings, whistles, and turns Catherine Wheels with unflagging vivacity,' never omitting to be on the spot at the right moment to balk the villain or to rescue persecuted virtue. Young Arnold, who (as Tony, the Teutonic 'hero of " My Sweetheart "■)• for many years '' spooned " the ' buxom Minnie Palmer nightly, enacts the part of a rascally Italian -padrone in " Jack in the Box " with great effect. When Mr John -R; Rodgers quarrelled with Arnold, the latter was believed to be but a;"one part" man. He now shows by his performance of the padrone he is anything but that, so what at first seemed a misfortune has turned out luckily. :

Everybody is talking of the fracas at the Gaiety Theatre last Thursday,; between a notable—not to say notorious—peer of sporting and theatrical tastes, and the son of a brand new earl. The cause was " a lady friend" of the; former, to whom thelatterhad been lacking in respect. Before' the com batants could be separated considerable ex ecution had been dono. One of them, in fact, got" a lovely black eye."' ' The death of Mr -Felix Pryor recalls a .sensational afternoon at'Nuwiharket during the " Hastings era." This was at the First Spring Meeting of 1807, when the young Lord Hastings put down a cool twenty thousand pounds on Athena, who had never before ruthI'm public, and was therefore quite'green for the Maiden Plate. The scene in" the ring before this' race will never be forgotten by those 'who witnessed it. It had got about that the, Daneberry filly was a certainty,' and bar a:,colt called Lord Palmerstorie nqthing else was backed in earnest, though there were twenty runners. Lord Hastings's commission was executed at an average of evens (i.e. he laid £20,008 on Athena beat , ing the 19 others), but so great was the furore, that much longer odds were at last betted on the favourite:' Turning to Ruff's Guide for 1807, I find tho starting prices re tained 2 to 1 on Athena, 6 to 1 against Lord Palmerstone, and 25 to 1 any other. Fordhain rodq, for the Marquis, and Athena,, won. ,in a cantor by three , lengths,, : The ring "squirmed" over their losses, as ; they always do, but plucked up a.bit when it transpired that the reckless Marquis, regardless of the severe race already, in his young filly, had engaged to match her for £1,000 a side only two hours later against Mr Felix Pryor's famous, flyer, .Grimston. It seemed sheer madness, and the bookmakers naturally fielded strongly for Pryor's colt. As for the Marquis, he put down his .winnings like a man, laying 10,000 to 8,000, 5,000 to 4,000, and 600 to 400 on Athena. Again Fordham rode, but this,time 'twas no exercise gallop. Fortunately, Athena proved a veritable.; flyer,. and after a desperate race just got home -by ,half-a-length. .Thus in a single afternoon Lord Hastings cleared the ring of close on £40jQOO, People who talk of the " poor young Marquis's heavyiosses " sometimes forget these little incidents, which were tolerably numerous in 1866-7. "Women and cards, not horses, ruined Hastings," says the Duke of Beau fort, and he, of all men, should know.

The Aged and Their Habits

Very Old People Generally Ter n,., perate In Their modes of Life. To most people there is something peculiarly fascinating in the description of the habits and constitutions of persons who have lived to extreme old age ; even if the reader is not posesssed by a secret hope that he may rival them in. vitality, his imagination is stimulated by the'history of men and -women who were born in the ; last quarter of the eighteenth century, living on to witness the achievements, to sorrows, and in their own persons to afford matter for the scientific speculations of the last quarter of the nineteenth century. The series of fifty-two cases of reputed centenarians, got together by theCollectivelnvestigation Committee, has been analysed by Professor Humphrey, of Cambridge, who is able to state positively that in eleven cases, two males and nine females, the evidence left no doubt that these old people were really centenarians. In the large majority of the cases the evidence was not conclusive, :but there can at least be no doubt that all had attained to a very great age. Swift, in his "Voyage to Laputa," has, given, a de scription of extreme old age so appalling, and yet so nearly_ in accordance with every-day experience, that it is. pleas ing to find Prof. Humphrey champion ing our common humanity and de scribing centenarians who -, were cheerful,. retained their faculties and their interest in relatives and old friends, and even showed a marked liking for making new acquaint ances. The centenariant generally: comes, from a long-lived family, and is a person of. active habits, both of body and mind, a good sleeper, endowed with a good appetite and a tranquil, cheerful disposition. One Centenarian collier had'always drunk as , much as he could, and expressed hisdnten tion of continuing this habit, but all the others were stated either (to haye I 'been , moderate or very moderate in their indul gence of: this taste or to havo been total ab stainers. The majority, c , -so, did not take tobacco in any. form, but one chewec? the drug, and seven, of whom four were women, smoked a great deal. Perhaps the most interesting fact which has come out of the analysis, of these classes is that, though centenarians, as a. rule, have not suffered much, from illness during their long lives, yet a considerable number of in stances were met'with' where even severe illness had been recovered 1 from at an adv .vanced age. Indeed, some of these old people seem to take a new lease of life, as the saying is, after: passing fourscore years, aad are not only able to re sist fresh attacks of acute disease, but even apparently to throw off. some _of the effects of chronic maladies from which they had been previously sufferjn.gr. It [» interesting: to note 'that' Women ; sire in a decided majority hi ; Prof; Humphrey's list; after making every allowance for their com parative immunity from accident, exposure and anxiety, 'and their greater temperance in eating and drinking; there still appears; to: be reason to believe chat woman possesses agreater inherent -vitality' than man. ' 'in conclusion, we may "' be .allowed .to express .the hope.that Prof: Humphrey may live' to swell the list and improve the male percentage.

How I Didn't learn to Skate.

] Recently! invested in a pair of skates— real Acmes. I have abstained! from pur chasing skates all my life before, because I had always lived in the firm belief that the moment I did so a thaw was certain to set in. ,1 now wish to gpodness it had, but it didn't. , They to! 1 me it was quite an easy matter to skate, and I believe them. All I had to do was to permit the inner, edges of the skates to grip the ice, push myself along, and preserve my balance. Yes, skating is easy, I sincerely believe, when once that little trifling preliminary- difficulty about preserving one's balance has been over come. I wasn't altogether unprepared for what might possibly happen, for they told me I might reasonably expect a tumble or two ; but I wasn't a big chap, they said, and hadn't far to fall, and they neglected alto gether to mention the fun there was to be extracted from the simple act of getting on your feet again. • My skates were kindly fastened on. by one of my friendly advisers, and, supported on the arms of two of them, I was led down gently upon the ice. It was "clean ice," and a "splendid skating surface," so they told me, and there is no reason to doubb the latter piece of information; but I have cause to suspect that it was foully and -maliciously-swept and greased for that occasion. With a gentle application, of force from behind, my fronds pushed me out from my moorings, and with a sensation akin to that which seagulls must enjoy, I felt as if I was etherealised and was skimming through the air. The feeling was exquisite, it was delicious, it was heavenly, it was- whack ! It was my head, the back of it, that pro nounced the last word; and when the galaxy of stars that spurted before my eyes were .quenched, I found ray, friends all well and happy round about me, and apparently in the enjoyment of some rather good joke, though T could not swear to that, as I didn't see exactly where the joke came in. try as I might.. ~ ~.,.- ■ '.They wanted to help me up,, but I declined their preferred aid. They called upon me to rise, but I objected. ;They: insisted on lifting me up, but—yes;: Ido believe I did, I swore—and I bade them go to pot and enjoy themselves elsewhere,; and—they did. , ... . My hat somehow refused to fit on my head-T-seemed as if something prevented it' behind. I never thought that frost conld have contracted the dimensions of a hat before, but there was the fact and how the dickens else could I account for if ? - I knew I was considered tolerably good looking, but I think position as well had something to do with it. I mutt have posed '• in a particularly graceful attitude upon the ice, for a number of young ladies I distinctly observed became attractive towards me; and hovered round me in graceful sweeps : and curves, smiling and ogling at me askance. .- ■ I resolved upon rising up and posing as gracefully standing as I had done in a sitting attitude, and so—but something; would not let me ! The more I tried to geb up, the more I didn't succeed. Was there ever anything like this ? My feet flew out from me the minute I drew them up, as if my body were a cannon, and I had shot my legs away. I succeeded once in raising myself into the shape of a capital A, with my coat-tails hanging gracefully over my head, and my hat about twenty yards away from me, when I 'opened out suddenly like a hinge, and my knees and nose struck up an immediate ac quaintance with the ice. A policeman, seeing my struggles, raised me up on my feet without saying a word, left me, and then I was completely isolated —no pun intended here, mind you—look ing clown upon my hat, with as little ability to reach it as if I had been up in a balloon and my tile had tumbled over the car. I promised a young juvenile sliding past, and at the same time raising a wind that almost upset me ; a penny if he would lift it up for me. He did so. I raised my hand to jam my hat upon, my head, and down I went flop with the effort. To eecure his penny the juvenile helped me to rise again, and the putting of my hand into my trousers pockets for the well-earned coin was again sufficient to cause me to sit down too sud denly for comfort, and with a thud that cracked the ice. .<-,'. Things were getting serious. I saw chap intently observing me with a sardonic smile upon his lip, and a book and pencil in his hand. I knew he was an artist, and as I did not relish the idea of furnishing studies for a series of illustrations in some comic paper, I resolved upon making tracks across the pond with the aid of my hired juvenile. Making'tracks; that's a very expressive phrase when applied to the method in which I ploughed my way . aexoss. " Well, old boy," said one of my friends, pirouetting round me on one skate, and evidently in the height of enjoyment, " how goes it ? You don't mean to funk already, surely ?' Don't crawl along the edge, but strike out for thejniddle of the pond like a man, and you'll learn in no time." " Don't funk " 'settled the business for me. If there is one thing I detest in this world more than another it's the bare idea of being taken for a milksop. , "All right," I replied, cheerily, and I struck out. The consequence was that I did actually, without exaggeration, go along in a bee-line for a couple of yards or so, and then, in the most unaccountable man ner, I suddenly found myself turning a very sharp corner, describing a circle that quickly narrowed to a point, when--I began dizzily to, revolve .:pon my axis, then my axis suddenly ;desc .'.led me, there were a few rapid scrapes v.rton the ice with; my skates to recover ny lost equilibrium, a few wild clutches at nothing more substan tial than the atmosphere, and then—stars ! fireworks !. red arid blue lights ! and — oblivion !! When I awoke I found myself here in bed, and by the time the splints are off my leg I am cheered with the assurance that there won't be any ice. I have a pair of skates for sale now at half-price—or less. --From "Humorous Readings — Maistly Scotch."'- ~ i i

Thefirst triple expansion engine used in the Royal Nay v has been tried at the, Nore on board the H. M. S. Wasp, one of the- new type of gunboats-;. With a displacement of: 670 tons in sea trim, and the engines, run ning 185 revolutions, giving out. a mean of: 1,050 horse-pbwery the ."W asp steamed for. four hours continuously under force draught at the rate of 1325 knots. The coal con sumption was very remarkable, the rate per horse-power per. hour being 2-07. In other - •'-•■■'■ -1' v- '! '~AA "team 318 knote ia woras, the vessel co_.„ _-„'..' *^ twenty-four hours ,pn twenty-one tons of, fueLv Under her natural draught trial of four iours, the revolutions of the engines = were 155, the mean horse-power given out being 700, the vessel's ,mean speed being :11 '57-knots, while the.results in consumption were 1:6 per-horse-power'per hour, which, means: that the vessel coiild steam* 277 knots m twenty-four hours oh'twelve tons of coah Ihe same rate of speed ten years ago would have entailed double the cost in fuel and double the weight of engines.

THE; AUCKLAND. EVENING; STAR,; SATU^AX,!;APEIL/ n, ,1887

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