THE GARDEN.

Calender of Operations, May 11th.

[By Hortus.]

"' ,• any queries. ,Cor- rive their full names and ad fegffor^licatioi,]

To Correspondents.

i „ X /Ooerv).— You should have P flnmtho seed bed and pl.-vntcd.mit positrons. Give V%» to '"Swl dual of woll-rolted manure. 3 »» n^ iX early flowering. Take "&A<f^ ico^t ■ shiES. as they are rather YoUl ' hyacinths [: ; WW° U Sd also be planted now. Pre-1 ll€lby»y stirring it. and adding ' ■•K'tb»* , »itvotr well-rotted manure, for .'feS^ sarc B^' feeders. If Sii close heavy nature, add a good ''*s? coars&sand while mixing in the. ' umateer).—l quite agree with you i Miri® 5 .ininen is one of the best border ■'■ft & flewcrings Now is the best l' : -5 tt !»Sr of »!ir Auckland nurseries, la i■VPSTflMnld bo planted out at oncejn * Plant so as to leave the pnrm jest peepinc; above the sur j: WffZ greatly assist your too old : h* >i toirimr.-fcway the aurlace soil 1m- Smm „oufld the plants and placing a 1 '■«# Lttof well-rotted cow manure in its 1 ■'j>*wt injure the roots while doing so. Mm iftttd be showing strong growth now. I -ss«?°f„, v _ohe of them showing a large leaves covering over a foot of I #*f nA showing about two dozen flowers f, ¥« a nnierflower with mc for about lire %W y iV o a little liquid manure occasion- I" *L TJI ViKEBiRStVine).—a) Pot plants ''''"- jKrs will not do any injury to the where (the danger lies is in €'*£nto breeding insects which are vary ■ /!' tn the wines, and unless you make t« thoroughly keep insects ifrtWnkitwonld be better not to grow 4\»'.rinery. (2) Wait Ml the end SffiSh before you transplant your promises to bo an early one of tho late cold, wet, •ftSsweather. „ 0 /rB (-Anemones do well m a large around Auckland The WK° suite them best is a light one, a* JSked, and having in it a fair amount « 1 lia-TO a number of plants now IlWit, .tall feliage. but it is not too late Ifiain aicollection. In the nurseries IMsTtfaSle to obtain them in pots ; if fSH iwi sure to have them growing out tfrders, and they will transplant with

Fruit.

vgtieexception of a very few apples dpears, fruifc will now all be harvested, fruit -should all be put in the fcuilding set apart for '4it" % The fruit should all be laid out tyst space will allow: it will then j'aaly'examined with the view of re- fruit, and any that are once he seen and removed All the different varieties should efept neatly labelled. The room should pKroiralously etean and airy; this iPreomsite. is especially necessary till tl>s sweating which feysoocnisdiiring the first 5 two or three gaiter lousing, Any -extra line speci als that it: ii desired to keep for a long KfMioid,-. when perfectly dry, be ntpoedop separately in tissue paper, and air-tig&t boxes or iarw.'- '•'" Dwarf-NasturtiuiKß. Eaabove hardy little annual, if sown h'^germinate in a week or jso, and in mon tli3 will give an abundance of pi! colours if mixed seed is used. The femiefeonly occupy about .eighteen pin diameter, and grow' abosi a foot lid*. 'Last winter I had them in lb all &'winter and early spring, kMs>ltsown from plants grown < season. This season foey'lW firing up in [ thousands, and all T do ; An digging and manuring the borders bto lift a small patch of soed &gs and transplant to another place, dig ging dara.what is not wanted. It is ' better to procure a fresh lot of seed from the seedsmas- eTery spring, as I find that the quality and variety deteriorates after tefoginjjiesairie situation more than one KisoiL-■ .Where a really good variety is ob tained it can.be easily kept up to the mark ffldincreased.from cuttings. , These do not ieteriotatea much, and will make more proiciorafog; plants than those raised from seed. •■'■ The best time to sow seed is during the autumn and early spring. Eralasting Flowers. ItisEtmejears since I first grew ever ting lowers 1 , and never to greater satis iaction than- durino-. the late summer, '•tough the weather t£en was much.against groiring aay kind of' flowers in the open «*r. heh»;H) hot and dry. The kind "t Ihare been most successful with is jttrysro. mixed. They commenced *emg'wi4'me early in December, gave 1 supply- all the summer '*, and-are still giving a good m I sowed the seeds in pots the fta-partoUast August, in a cold «A kept them there till the plant M attained a, height of about 3 inches; ia b!mM them out in the open, where lie'ia'splendid show. During S'they were watered once a ratter; plants, and with good Mm surpass . them. The iihsingleand double; colours, bright golden hedging, and maroon. The i-not-only look well in the Jhufcikeep for months in vases ■out/while in a dry state and mm properly. They will "more while drying. Every M cut flowers for decorating dumber of these plants every «ng Tennis Lawns. I tennis lawns get cut up by hdat'the same time the soil I : To keeD them in good % to year, it is necessary to mmry autumn. The best them is to get the grass cut H about lcwt. of fine bonce. Iloads.of the very best and Reading it regularly over the §11% it W eil £ n about the m : Give a good sprinkling iake oyer again, and sow grass »?,thenrollheavily. The above Was early this month as pos set the work done before the grains of winter set in, al3o ffiSuch' better chance to be m next year. Lawns that »ed to.get into a very bad myh the bad parts properly !*rf.laid on these before the Where the grass has , oßfc hy last season's play it M impossible to get grass year's play. It pd*out early in the season. »pest way is to turf, then »ss lawns are properly at- M ••autumn, it is impossible to gJ? m good order during the

lOT?iN' tf every one would use fSmMffite* freely there would CTV& snd5 nd misery in the world, |MS :flnaiiiK this out, whole I *^B_t.t.^\ at atrifiing cost by its use.

ATHLETIC NOTES.

(By Actjeon.)

FIXTURES.

.FOOTBALL Senior Cup. May 21.—Auckland v. Gordon; Grafton v Albeit; Ponsonby v. North Shore. •May 2S.—Wai'temata, v. North Shore; Auck land, v. Albert; Gordon v Ponsonby. Junior Cup. May 2L-Auckland 2nd v. Gordon-2nd: Grafton 2nd V. United ; Ponsonby 2nd v. Noifch Shore 2nd. May 28.—Waitemata 2nd v. North Shore 2nd; Auckland 2nd .v. United; <3ord<._ 2nd v. Pocseiiby 2nd. AOUATICS. May %..— New South Wales v. Viet-cia. Eight oar race on the Parramat»a May 2-I.—Yacht Ea.ce of the Auckland Yacht Club. May 30, 1887. — Hanlan v. Gauda«r. United States. July, 1887.- Hanlan v. Teenier. United States. Nov. -26.— Beach v. Hanlan for tfio Champion ship of the world on the Paramata.

ATHLETICS.

May 21—Five-mile Bicycle llace Irom One_u_ga

FOOTBALL.

THb Wellington Rugby U_ion has adop ted .very sbringenb rules for tlie prevention of prdfessioiiolism. The rules are too long to.quote, bub they are worded in such a manner as to leave no possible loophole for the abuse of the game creeping in if they are enforced.

I have nob beard of any move being made by the local Union in the direction of changing the rules in respect to scoring. As .ill bhe Southern Unions have adopted the new way, it is about time Anckland did likewise.

' I _aye to acknowledge the receipt of the: "Annual" of the Ponsonby Foobball Club for , tlae.-season 18S7. It is a very neab and handy i libfele book, containing a greab deal of use ful .information for player.. Ib is published at the small charge of sixpense. The book contains a short historical sketch of -he Clhb' sinco it was established in 1875. " Hints and advice to players" will be found useful to all players, and I can com mend all the suggestions given to Auckland footballers and advise them to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digesb ihe same. Some of the rules are well worbh quoting. '' Avoid kicking a .rolling ball." " Never run in frojatof your own goal." -v Go at your man when '.tackling fast and straight, and collar low, making sure of bhe ball." " Oh passing, don't wait bo be tackled ere ; you -.chuck, and never pass in yo»r own 20." '""Never heel out in your own 25." There is one piece of advice given which, if all bhe.clubs in Auckland would follow, it would'do much to render the game quieber, friendlier, and in bhe long run more in teresting:—" Accept the .decisions 'of the umpire and referee. Keep your tempers, and always pky to win. Do not play for yourselves individually, but for your side. When there is .a dispute the team should draw back and leb bhe captain sebtle with the captain of the opposing team." The " Annual" also furnishes a list of members of the Club, the programme for the. present, season, of the English Rugby Union and tlie revised rules ot the game. Frank Twiname arrived here on Mon day and, as was anticipated, has joined the Grafton F.C. ATHLETICS. &C. The Auckland correspondent of the "New Zealand Referee" was a lump off in his report of bhe recent road race from One hunga by bhe cyclists. The winner's time was ° nothing near- 26 minutes, and the scratch man's time, instead of being 3_ minutes slower than bhat of the first man, was over a minute faster. The bicycle race from Onehunga that was to have been run to-day has been postponed until next Saturday. C. J. Roberts, the light-weighb amateur champion boxer of England, is now on his way to the colonies. The Carrington Grounds (Sydney) Second Grand Handicap has received 276 entries. Mick Monnock has enbered, and has received a very fair handicap, haying 2 yards off McGarrigal, who beat him in the last Electric Handicap. i Sammy Goodman and Walsh are both braining hard for bheir race, which is to come off very soon. The first-named has hired a hall, where he walks on the boards three days a week. Alex. Scobb has him in hand. Hughes has charge of Walsh, and is giving him plenby of hard work. A very interesting and exciting contest may be an ticipated. ' The Sydney correspondent of the London " Sportsman " wrote Home a very highly coloured account of a scuffle in which Barnes, one of the English eleven, had his hand hurt. In this account Percy McDon nell was accused of acting in a very, objec tionable manner, and of being the one who caused all the row. On bhe appearance of bhe accoHnb in the " Sportsman," bhe well known cricketer, Dr. E. M. Grace, senb bhe following letter to that paper :-" To the editor.of the ' Sportsman.'—Sir,—J have only just seen'your paper of Friday lasb, wibh bhe accounb of ' How Barnes injured his hand.' I should be glad if you will insert in the next issue of the ' Sportsman bhat I know Mr Percy McDonnell intimately, and I am sure as I am writing this at the presenb momenb'thab he did not say whab your correspondent.imputes bo him, neither did he assault Barnes, unless !m self-de fence Mr Percy McDonnell is a 'jenlleman, and no genbleman would have done whab it is said he did.-I am, yours -faithfully, Ed ward Mills Grace. Thornbury, March 14th.

A WOMAN OF PLUCK.

Enduring a Painful Surgical Opera-

tion Without Anesthetics.

A case of extraordinary pluck upon the part of a woman occurred ab bhe Jefferson Medical College recenbly. The lady ap plied to have a tumor .emoved from her arm The physicians decided to have bhe operation performed in the presence of the studenbs, and when bhe hour for the. clinic arrived the lady was invitecl into the amphitheatre. The doctors'told, her bhab bhey would have bo administer ether, as the operation would prove so very pain ful. She refused to allow this to be done, and then the physicians tried to ..induce her to take a glass of brandy, .which she likewise refused. They next offered her a glass of wine, but the lady simply waved ib away, saying bhat she would be able bo undergo bhe operation. , The doctors cousulted for a momenb and decided to bake bhe woman ab her word and go ahead. They bared her arm to the shoulder, laid her on her side and then buried the knife in the flesh, cut. a big gash over six inches in lengbh, pulled bhe bleeding pieces apart, removed bhe' tumor, scraped bho bone and bhen sewed bhe parts together. During all this time bhe patient never moved. Nob a cry escaped her, and as she gribted her teebh her face became as whibe as a sheeb. The physicians and students looked on with amazement at bhe plucky woman, and marvelled how she could endure the berrible suffering without a whimper. After the operation' was con cluded Dr. Brinton, turning to the 600 students, said : "There isnotamanamong you who could have sbood bhis operation as heroically as bhis woman."

TERRIBLE CHOLERA PLAGUE IN SOUTH AMERICA.

Dtfi-tg Men Burled,

The " Pall Mall Gazette" publishes the following letter from Las Penas, in the province-of Cordova, in the Argentine Re public : —

I'll just give you a small sketch of the "microbe ' that is fast thinning us out; he-flp—cholera. In Hosavio it has nearly disappeared, but .in Canada de Gourez, where, yuo will remember, I used to be. the Italians especially aro having a line time of it. They dio in heaps, and are chudked into an immense pit or are buried by *beir relations under a mound of earth i» the middle of a wheat field. Their gos-ds and chattels are then thrown in a heap and burned—that is to say, what tbe soMiers don't pocket. In Mentions, and Tticuman, two places that used to be thickly-populated cities, the scourge has been so terrible that few have returned to tell the tale. Some days in the centre of the latter place as many as 250 died a day, to say nothing of the outskirts of Che town. In Monte Video they <lo not wait for the ]>eople to die, butt cart them oil as soon as they ge4 sick. 'The papers say thab the dead carts pass through the streets with dead and dying all mixed up. The scenes in the hospitals are, or rather have beeu, some thing too terrible to describe. A regi ment of artillery (which means te say in this country the scum of the earth, such as assassins and cattle-stealers condemned to the ranks for life or for a term .of years) has been nearly cleai-ed out in Hi® Cuarto. Tbe band of music, I hear, has completely been blotted out. I cannot describe to you tbe terror that has prevailed here. Several of my accpiaintences are gone, poer fellows —one died in three hours 1 Some cases have occurred where the subject '.has nearly dropped down dead in the street. The authorities have fought pluckily against this fearful pestilence. A brtiiher of a friend of mine was assassinated a few days ago in Tueuman by an infuriated mob, who in the panic believed that the fiLtered water was sent to poison them. 1 was hi Kosario a few days ago, taking down McKenzie, who has been seriously ill, and 'happened to hear the story from this poor beggar's own lips. McKenzie is ki Rosario, waiting to recover his health to go home.

We aro passing through an awful crisis. Tbe drought here is so terrible that a glass of water is being sold for five cents—about 2_d. The cattle are charging the fences madly, and I daren't even keep tltem back. One of-tho streams bhab crosses-tlie Es tancia, and also provides tho water of nearly 1,000 people, has dried up. What with the drought, cholera, and bhe fearful hailstorm, in which we lost about 1,000 cattle, you can imagine bhe state we aro in. The drought up io c pa.sent is said to have saved us heref om cholera, so perhaps we ought to be th kful. The heat is past all descrip tion. Imagine, the horses and cattle in Mendo_a have also died of cholera. They have barred the passes to Chili, and so every one is out of work there, and unable to sell

a thing.

AN ATTACK ON, PASTEUR'S WORK.

C-arged with Spreading Hydrophobia.

Londos. March 27.—The French book sellers here advertise a new book which will interest all of' the America;* admirers of Pasteur and his theory of hydrophobia. The book is entitled "M. Pasteur eb la Rage." The aubhor, Dr. Lubard, edibor of the " Journal de Medicine de Paris," has from the very first contested the efficacy of M. Pasteur's method for preventing hydro phobia. In his preface Dr Lubard goes further than he had done before, and during bhe first year of the application of M. Pasteur's method, it was inoffensive and in effectual, but now in ibs intensified form ib has become dangerous He bhen proceeds as follows : " During bhe last two months of 18S6 the mortality among bhose who followed M. Pasbeur's breabmenb became really disquieting. Eleven individuals died after presenting unusual symptoms, which resembled in a strange manner hydrophobia. A searching inquiry into these eleven cases of death made it impossible to keep silent any longer. Professor Peber mounted the tribune of the Academy of Medicine and did not hesitate, to declare that the new method of M. Pas teur was dangerous. Hydrophobia was not being cured at the Laboratory of the- Ecole Normale ; ib was being given."• Whab Dr. Lutard believes he has proved in his book is thab bhe mebhod proposed by M. Pasbeur as a breabmenb againsb hydro-

phobia is either ineffectual or dangerous. The volume is of 438 pages, and is through out written in a tone of hostility towards M. Pasteur. At the end of Dr. Lutard's book he contests all of.the statistics which have been given in proof of the excellence of M. Pasteur's method. Taking bhe year 1886, be gives the names and addresses and all bhe particulars concerning bhe deaths of bwenby bwo persons who died of hydrophobia af ber being treated against that disease by M. Pasteur. Adding to these seventeen other deaths from hydrophobia of persons who did nob apply bo M.Pasteur for breabmenb, shows bhab bhirby-nine people in all died of bliat disease m France during 1880. He adds bhab bhe annual average of those-deaths in France being, according bo Fardieu and Bronardel, 30 ; therefore in bhe year* 1886, during which M.Pasteur's method has been applied, there have been ni*e deaths; more than during bhe preceding years.1

The Islanders of Tristan D'Acunha

The - islanders of. Trisan d'Acunha, al bhough isolated in the South Atlantic, have received the distinction of having a Blue book devoted to them and' their concerns. According to tbe labesb report bhero are now on tbe island nineteen families, comprising ninety-seven souls—namely :'- Aged men, 3 ; aged women, 5 ; men bwenby years of ago and over, __■.. boys from fourbeen bo bwenby years of.age, 9 -married women 3 ; widows (wibh large families), 16 ;. girls over four teen years of age, 20 ; children under four been years of age, 30 of both sexes ; botal, 97. Some time since bhey sustained a dis asbrous loss, bhe whale boabin which fifbeen of bheir men pub bo sea bo intercepb a pass ing vessel being'losb and every ono being drowned. Reduced in number in bins way, bhey have been pub bo great straits. A plague of rats has also invaded the island, and done great desbrucbion to the potato crop The- vermin landed from a ship wrecked vessel,: which came ashore on the coast. The . Government has con sidered the question of conveying the islanders to the Cape or Australia, bub in bhe meantime they have contented themselves wibh insbrucbing a ship of war to pay an annual visit tt the island. The islanders have a rule after the Pepubhcan fashion, bub they regard bhemselves as under bhe English Grown. PeberW. Green : who was shipwrecked on bhe island aboub nfby years ago, is ab bhe head of bhe coin i munity.

PUBLICLY SHOT.

Tlie Fate of Three Brotal Murdorers 1m

Cuba,

Advices from Santiago, Cuba, of March 26th say: Three fiends in 'human form were shot this afternoon on the outskirts of the city, at the place made famous by the shooting of the crew of the Virginue. The men were two mulatoes, Juan Jique and Juan Goemor, and an Indian, Juan Cocaras. Tkey surprised tho driver of a train of cocoa laden pack-mules andhisassistant,amerebxd, cub them down with matchetes (long, sword like knives), tied them to trees and prac tised shocking and revolting cruelties (American-Indian fashion) on their victims until they were dead. They then sold the cocoa for liiS dollars, and burned the mules loose. They wero captured and sentenced to be shot.

The ease was stubbornly fought, getting finally to the Queen, who refused pardon. Lasb night Goenier made a public confes sion, acknowledging that he had killed ten men, thab be was ready to die, and that his mother had seven lnone sons liko him who would avenge his deafch. The 'i_n_dc_-ons proclivity in his family is hereditary. The father was one of Cuba's most notorious murderers.

The prisoners were taken out by the mili tary and placed kneeling, with their faces to the slaughter-house wall. Several thou sand people surrounded the military line and looked on. Goenier, the leader, spoke up and said : " My mother haa seven sons, and I am the most cowardly of all, for al lowing my self to be killed before so many people. Sir priest, give nic a drink of rifn." He got bis drink. At the first volley from tbo firing party of twenty-four all Sell, shot through the head and body. Goenier rolled over as if in pain, and two More bullets were put into hi»i. The Indian still showed little life as a soldier coolly stepped to the front and deliberately lire<3 a bullet through his head. A cart then came in for the bodies and all was over.

A New Telephone.

Remarkable Invention of a

Physician

Be. Cokxemos Herb,whose inventive talent as an electrician has been stimulated by residence in America, recently mode some successful experiments between Paris and Brsssels, 200 miles, with an apparatus called a "micro telephone push-button." The experiments were made under the auspices of tlie French Minister of Posbs and Telegraphs, and were so successful that orders have been given for tbe intro duction of the apparatus into all adminis trative departments as soon as possible. From late French and English journals his description of the invention is taken : As its name indicates, it bas the form of an ordinary electric push-button. The button is then withdrawn, and is seen to be .at tached to a long electric wire. At the same time an extremely sensitive telephone plate is exjxised.

For communication in tbe same house or sbreeb bhe operator places the upper; part of the telephone plate near himself, but not against the ear, and converses freely with the person at the other end of the lino, using only the ordinary tones of the voice and walking about the room if he chooses. Over long distances ib is necessary to bo near the apparatus, but not so close as is necessary with the ordinary telephone. The apparatus is made about the same as the ordinary push-button and can be fitted to the electric wire of an ordinary ringing apparatus.

Railway companies propose to introduce it ns means of communicabioa between com partments of carriages. Hotels aro utilising them, and they have been put into some private houses so thab calls ab bhe front door can be answered by those within without opening the door. In the experi ments between Paris and Brussels the King of the Belgians and President Grevy con versed freely, and when they were done the Queen of the Belgians listened to a re hearsal at Paris, the opera music reaching her liko strains from a music box.

Is Consumption Curable?

The scourge of the human race, more deadly than war or pestilence, is the dread disease ordinarily called consumption or phthisis. It is estimated that not less than 3,000,000 people die each year from this disease, and no condition of race or situa tion affords an exemption from its ravages. For years the resources of science have been taxed to their utmost to find a cure for this deadly disease, but in vain. All kinds of treatment have been tried and all schools of medicine and therapeutics have grappled wibh bhe problem, bub bheir efforts have been fruitless. There is an insidious character to consumption which has hereto fore batlled human skill and defied all efforts to cure. Every little while some quack or pseudo-scientist- announces a certain remedy for consumption, but all the vaunted cures have proved inefficacious to do more bhan de lay the ravages of the disease and prolong the life of the victim.

It is a peculiarity common to all consump tives that they are never aware of their real condition, but are constantly believingthem selves better. Every improvement m their feelings they regard as a certain harbinger of recovery, and every accession of strength or appetite, no matter how brief or evanes cent, is hailed as a sure indication that they arc now really better. . , ■ ~ But in spite of hope and .assurance of recovery, there has been no hope- The percentage of recoveries in cases of real phbhisis fs so small as bo be scarcely notice able. Year after year and century after century bhe awful disease has lingered, counting its victims not by scores or by hun dreds, but by millions. Changes of diet, of climate, of elevation are of benefit, if made early enough, but if delayed until the disease has gained firm hold, are all in vain. Now, however, comes a French discovery in medical science, highly recommended by the College of Science in Paris and used in France wibh surprisingly successful results. It consists, in bhe main, in injections of carbolic-acid gas, prepared By a process not yet made public. Some recenb experi ments in bhe Philadelphia Hospital go bo indicate-.,the possibilty of a true reiredy having been found. The gas was administered to patients suffering from the last stages of consumption, and they ab once commenced bo show signs of improvement The night • sweats ceased as if by magic, bhe constant pains from which they were suffering vanished, and functions of bhe body became regular and natural and their appetites' returned., To bring about bhese effects upon patients in the last stages of consumption is little less bhan super natural, as it is not alone the ordinary -waste of the disease wibh which bhe physician lias ito contend, but as well bhe exhaustion i caiUS e.l by night sweats,loss of appetite and disordered digestive functions. It is boo soon to assume that the new process will be universally efficacious, but there is reason to hope thab ib may ; and if ib shall be bhab bhis remedy is effective 'and that consumption is curable, its' dis coverer will rank wibh Jenner and Harvey, __•' S.F. Chronicle."

A NAVAL FARCE.

Tinkering a Rotten Old SMp for

Jubilee Week,

The Admiralty authorities seem to be in corrigible. Some time ag« it was an nonnced.thab bhe Northumberland, which had been lying up for two or three years, and might as well have been condemned at bhe beginning, was bo be brought forward for another commission. The estimate for, necessary work was $250,000. Now, however, it is announced that only §160,000 is to be spent on her. If these is any meaning in bhis, it means bhab this lat terly obsolete ship is nob even to be pub into a heceWiuy state of efficiency,, nor a«bivo service, bub is to be just tinkered enough to make a show on paper and pass muster for a few months among bhe phantom ships of the Channel squadron. For any practical result bhe §100,000 might as well have been sunk in Plymoubh Sound.

Great indignation is expressed in the English press ab the ignoblcand continuous failures made by the constructing engineers of the British Navy. It is now acknow ledged that the Ajax and Agamemnon, two colossal vessels that were built at a cost of £1,250,000, are useless for sea-going purposes, owing bo defective propellers and steering apparatus'. Then it is affirmed that bhe belted cruisers, known as bhe Admiral class, of which Bcnbow is the first representative, cannot carry their full complomcnb and heavy armamenb without danger of sinking. These vessels each cost on an average some three millions and a half dollars, to the dis gust of tbo suffering taxpayers. An extra vote of ten millions was wasted lasb year in torpedo boabs and torpedoes thab are of bub poor utility exceptuuderthemostfavour able circumstances, as recent experiment have shown. Labouchere in "Truth" is very sarcastic as to bow the navy of Old England is kept ready for war, as bhe following statement -will show: " The Admiralty, two months since, has been stirring up the dockyard authorities in order to have all our available ships ready to go to sea, at a moment's notice. After two months' preliminary warning ib was thought thab the time had come for testing whether the dockyard authorities wore up to the mark. So yesterday they telegraphed down from Whitehall two corvtjbtes sent to sea at twenty-four hours' notice Back came the answer: ' Can't do it. Calliope's screw defective. Cannot pub to sea for a week.' Pleasant bhis : bub oh, how bypical!"

THE OPIUM HABIT.

Cause of tho Death of a Journalist

and his Wife.

Francis Gkiiiiv Faikciiild, a clergyman and journalist, author of works on spiritual ism and a veterinary surgeon, died at 5s Tew York on April 4 from the effects of the opium habit. His wife, Josephine, daughter of Judge Griswold, of the United States District Court, and sister-in-law to Breb Harte, died from the same oause in the boarding-house at Sbuyvesanb-street on the Friday previous, and her body was sent to the Morgue. Ho did not know of her death, and then- relatives were not aware of ib until her body had been sent to the potters' field for burial.

Fairchild was educated at a private scliool in Massachusetts, at the Gettysburg University and at the Lutheran Theological Seminary. Before ho was of age he was placed in charge of the Lutheran Church ab Waterloo, N.Y. After a year or two of preaching he came to New York to assist N. P. W file s in the editorial management of the "Home Journal." Later be was a writer for the " News " and correspondent for the "Herald." He was in Mexico at the time of Maximillian's execution, and wrote an account of it as an eye-witness. After his return to New York ho was a space writer for several newspapers. He also wrote poems and short stories for tko magazines, investigated spiritualism and studied medicine and scientific subjects. Failing to acquire means as a writer, he became a veterinary surgeon, only to give up his practice in disgust after a short trial.

Several years ago ho became addicted bo bhe use of morphine, and his wife, a beau tiful, well-educated woman, fell into the same habit. They had no children and lived in a boarding-house, avoiding wealthy and influential friends. Recently Fair child wrote chiefly for fehe " Sunday Mer cury " and Albany "Argus." His brother gave him money frequently, and tried in. vain to induce him to quit the use of mor phine. For more than a year Fairchild and wife boarded ab 27 Sbuyvesanb sbreeb. During March they paid nothing for their board. All the money they could get was spent for morphine. On Wednesday Fair cnild wenb to his brother's" office, in the "Tribune" building, and asked for more money. He looked so much like a tramp thab his brobher boughb him /some new clobhing. As he said he did nob care to go where his wife was, his brother took hii ■ to the Southern boarding-house.

FASHIONS FOR LADIES.

Jewellory Falling into Disfavour Ex

Copt for Ball Costumes.

Jewellkkv is almosb entirely dispensed with in ladies' dress, excepting at balls. A slender bracelet or' two pairs of solitaire pearls set as earrings, or bwo small gems mounted for the samo use, are alone ad missible, The high military collar, now so generally adopted, effectually prevents bhe wearing of a brooch, and bhe disappearance of lace bows and jabots, has done away with tbo once universal lace-pin. Neck laces and collaivs of beads to match the passcmenberie of the dress are a good deal worn. A curious idea for ornamentation of a ball toilet' is to have a rivierre in diamonds disposed among the ornaments, the corsage either arranged in curves over the bust, or in loops over one shoulder, where they are secured with a bow of ribbon. Ornaments composed of diamonds set on black velvet are far more fashionable than are diamond necklaces, and are to be worn encircling the throab. An exceed ingly prebby dress was worn in Paris a few weeks ago, composed of a white satin front, which is covered with apron drapery in gold lace, held down ab bhe lefb sido by a clusber of pale yellow osbricb feabhers, wibh a band of bhe same for bhe border of bhe skirb fronb. The whibe sabin corsage is cub i low in bhe neck and is made double breasbed, being closed down on bhe left side wibh bhree gold clasps. Small revers of pale-yellow satin are seb ab bhe opening of bhe Corsage.. Anobher evening dress was of pale silver grey s-abin and bulle, bhe back of bhe short skirb being covered wibh superposed wiclbhs of tulle ; ab eibher side of the skirt is placed a " panel, embroidered wibh floss silks and silver thread in patterns of pale pink roses and silver ribbons ; the satin corsage is cut low, wibh short sleeves. It is embroidered' up one side with a garland of roses; draperies of bulle shade bhe shoulders, and bhe skirb fronb is formed of plain sabin, laid in bhree large plaibs, over which floab pale pink sabin ribbons.

THE -AUCICLANI) EVENING .STAE, SATURDAY, MAY- ,14., 1887.

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