THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA, AND DICTIONARY OF RURAL AFFAIRS. By Cuthbert W. Johnson, Esq. Parts IV. and V. London: Longman and Co.

As each succeeding number of this admirable work reaches us, the more matter we find to instruct and interest. Those who apply to it for information on any branch of rural economy, will not consult it in vain, and the reader who desires amusement, has an ample fund provided for him. We make the following extracts as proofs of the truth of this assertion :

"GATES. Good gates are no less essential to the respectable appearance of an estate, than they are necessary for the convenience of an occupier. There are few outgoings that cost so much, and are so little thought of, as the repairing and renewing gates upon enclosed stock farms. These considerations induced us to seek information to enable us to point out defects in the common construction of farm gates, and to give a better plan. The usual defects are,

"1st. Not sufficient height, so that horses and large cattle, when pushing against the gate, break it, however strong it is, as the back thereof comes in contact with that part of the chest of a horse where the collar goes, and without inconvenience he leans his weight against the opposing bar, which, if a few inches higher, presses against his neck and windpipe, and he makes no impression upon it.

"2nd. They are generally hinge-bound, so that, in attempting to lift up the head, which is often required to be done, the ledges and braces are either pulled from the back head or broken therein; the person lifting the head having a nine-feet leverage, which enables him to do this mischief.

"3rd. The places of contact between the brace and the uprights and the ledges are broad, and it being impossible to keep those places of contact dry, the parts become prematurely decayed.

"We have lately inspected gates made and used many years by Mr. A. Biddell, on extensive farms near Ipswich, which obviate these defects, and are found in the end cheaper than any other gates, although rather expensive in the first cost. Instead of braces, suspending irons are used to prevent the gates from dropping at the head. These irons are shown in the annexed plan :

they are made in one piece, go on both sides of the gate, are riveted through the back and ledges with thick lead or zinc collars between the iron and the wood; clasp round the back head to form the upper hanging iron without being welded into a close eye, by which the gate would be confined, and at the lower ledge turn up to form one of the pairs of iron uprights. The second

pair of uprights are also riveted through the ledges with thick small lead collars to prevent the iron from injuring the wood; and with a thin piece of zinc, for the same reason, between the iron and the back of the gates. The whole of the irons and rivets weigh thirty-one pounds for a gate. A gate made with sawn young fir-trees, and having the advantage of such irons, will last a great many years. If cut out of good timber, three-inch planks nine feet long, there is not an inch of stuff wasted. The eye for the hook in the lower iron is made oblong, to give the gate room to rise. The only fastening used are chains, eighteen inches long, from near the top of the post to a hook near the middle of the fore head, which takes the whole weight of that end of the gate, and allows of its giving a little way outward.

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HARVEST MOUSE (Mus messorius). The smallest of British quadrupeds is supposed to be the harvest mouse, hitherto found only in Hampshire, and which is so diminutive, that two of them put into a scale just weighed down one copper halfpenny. One of the nests of these little animals was procured by Mr. White. It was most artificially platted, and composed of wheat blades, and perfectly round, about the size of a cricket ball. It was so compact and well filled, that it would roll across a table without being discomposed, though it contained eight young ones. This wonderful cradle was found in a wheat

field suspended in the head of a thistle."

And now, the reader placing within his reach a bottle of strong aromatic vinegar, and another of such liqueur as he most particularly affects, will proceed with our last sample:

"The care which is taken in France, by the government, to husband every particle of organic manure, is well worthy of the consideration of the public authorities in England, for nowhere is there a greater waste of the richest fertilising matters than from the large cities and towns of England; a great and public loss, to which Dr. Granoitte, in his report to the Thames Improvement Company, thus alludes: In no part of France, Wurtemberg, Bavaria, Bohemia, Prussia, Saxony, the Confederated States of Germany, Holland, and Belgium, is there a city in which, as in London, the general mass of filth, of every description, created by a vast population, is first allowed to enter the river which may happen to traverse that city, and is then returned, diluted with the water of that river, to the houses of the inhabitants, to be used either for domestic or culinary purposes: although, by avoiding the latter disgusting alternative, foreign cities are less free from unpleasant smells than London is. In this respect it may be truly said, that foreigners smell the filth of their cities, but do not swallow it; whereas the Londoner swallows it, but seldom smells it.

"In no large city of that part of Europe which I have recently visited, possessing a river, is any portion of the contents of closets and cesspools suffered to find its way or to be emptied into it, except at Amsterdam, Antwerp, Brussels, Stuttgard, and Leipzig; and even there, only in a partial manner. In Paris the Seine is contaminated by one large drain only, conveying the urine from the large reservoirs of nightsoil at Montfaucon, and by two smaller ones proceeding from cesspools. To convey generally, or to empty, even partially, any such matter into the river, is a practice against which the laws have provided by heavy fines and incarceration; and such is the present feeling of all the governments on that subject, even in the great cities I have just enumerated as exceptions, that the authorities are seriously engaged in devising plans for preventing, in future, every possible infraction of those laws; not because it is desirable to preserve pure the water of such rivers (since no domestic use is made of it), but on account of the loss of a material, deemed most valuable, which such infractions must necessarily entail.

"In Paris, extensive improvements in regard to drainage are now in progress, at the conclusion of which, that capital will have subterraneous drains and sewers in as complete a state as those of London, and something better. More than two-fifths of that city are now so drained. When this

great undertaking was in agitation, it was suggested that all the latrines, public as well as private, should, as in London, communicate, by proper drains, with the great sewers, which are intended to be emptied into the Seine. As the project of supplying pure water, direct to the houses, is simultaneously to be carried into effect, and as the water for that purpose is to be derived from other sources than the river, there could have been no objection, on that score, to the adoption of so general and so complete a drainage. But when scientific men, agriculturists, and political economists were consulted, it was agreed that by adopting the London system the city would lose a revenue of nearly 800,000 francs, and agriculture the means of producing four times as much. The government, therefore, came to the resolution of not suffering any portion of the contents of the latrines to enter the common sewers; but, alive to the great importance of saving them, enacted a police regulation strictly enjoining that every house should have its cesspool (whether new or old, and within a given time) made water-tight, in order that none of those contents should be wasted. In consequence of this regulation, all cesspools must be emptied once in four years.'

THE HISTORY OF BRITISH FOREST TREES. By P. J. Selby, Esq. Parts IV. V. and VI. London: Van Voorst, Paternoster Row.

We need not repeat ourselves in noticing these parts of Mr. Selby's clever treatise. The first portion received, as it merited, our commendation, and that now before us equally claims our praise. We regret our limits do not permit us to borrow more largely from the store of good matter wherewith it abounds, than the subjoined passage, quoted as a specimen of the author's style :

"As an ornamental tree in landscape gardening, the Birch is one of the most beautiful we possess, exhibiting a grace and elegance in its form and foliage that, if equalled, is not surpassed by any other of our indigenous trees, being, as Coleridge expresses it,

'most beautiful

Of forest-trees, the Lady of the Woods.'

Its introduction, however, into lawns and ornamental grounds, ought to be regulated by the situation and circumstances of the place, for we agree with Loudon, that there are certain associations connected with this, and indeed with many other indigenous trees, where such happen to be the prevailing growth of the country, that are unfavourable to their use in artificial, or, as he terms it, gardenesque' scenery: thus, it would be inconsistent and contrary to sound principles of taste, or rather, we should say, to the associations attached to this tree in its native habitats, to plant it upon lawns in the Highlands of Scotland, or in any districts where it is indigenous or the prevalent tree; though, as he observes, 'in the neighbourhood of London, and many other parts of England, it may justly be admitted, even on lawns, as one of the most elegant of our ornamental trees.

"In the romantic scenery of Scotland, the Weeping Birch forms one of its most beautiful and bewitching features; oft have we admired its graceful form in the well-known pass of Killecrankie, on the shores of Loch Awe, the banks of the Spey, the Dee, and various other well-remembered scenes, and oft have we, when thus enjoying our escape from our lowland home, been reminded of that passage in the Isle of Palms,' where

COURSING REGISTER.

The returns are confined to the running at Public Meetings.

First Ties: Bewcastle Bet beat Fly, Jock beat Lady Seymour, Meg beat Wisp, Cribb beat Lottery.

Second Ties: Bewcastle Bet beat Jock, Cribb beat Meg.

Deciding Course: Bewcastle Bet and Cribb, both belonging to the same party, received the Stakes without a contest.

The DRUMLANRIG STAKES, for dogs under 18 months.

Ties: Rewcastle beat The Barrister, Fly beat Muckledale.

Deciding Course: Mr. Hodgson's r. d. Rewcastle beat Fly, and won the Stakes.

The DOUGLAS STAKES for the eight beaten dogs in the first class for the Queensbury Stakes.

Ties: Bang the Beggar beat Lord Bacon, Water Witch beat Barnaby Rudge.

Deciding Course: Mr. Benson's Bang the Beggar beat Mr. Blaymire's Water Witch, and won the Stakes.

MR. CHEW'S MEETING AT FLEETWOOD-ON-WYRE, OCT. 27, 28, and 29.

Stewards: Messrs. Chew, Craven, Hunt, Robinson, Massey, and Dickenson.

Mr. Chew's b. b. Mouse

Judge: Mr. M'George.

The GREAT FLEETWOOD STAKES, value £120.

Mr. Wood's f. and w. d. Doctor

Mr. Clark's f. d. Traveller

Mr. Ardern's b. b. Maiden Queen

Mr. Ashton's r. d. Little John

Mr. S. Williams's b. and w. d. F. Bank.

beat

Mr. Coupe's bd. and w. b. Pounce.

Sir H. Fleetwood's bk. and w. d. Bloomsbury.
Mr. Houghton's bd. b. Gipsy.

Mr. Hunt's b. and w. b. Delight.

Mr. Ball's b. d. Earwig.

Mr. Robinson's be. and w. b. Nora.

Mr. Hutchinson's cr. c. d. Major.

Sir H. Fleetwood's be. d. Saddler.

Mr. Fisher's bd. d. Violet.

Mr. Williams's f. and w. d. Priam.
Mr. Ogden's r. d. Touchstone.

Mr. Ball's f. d. Edmonton.

First Ties: Traveller beat Doctor, Maiden Queen beat Little John, F. Bank beat Mouse, Harriett beat Bell, Dart beat Spanker, Carmelite beat Tyrant.

Second Ties: Traveller beat Maiden Queen, Harriett beat F. Bank, Carmelite beat Dart.

Third Ties: Harriett beat Traveller, Carmelite ran a bye.

Deciding Course: Mr. Hunt's Harriett beat Mr. Hey's Carmelite, and won the Stakes.

First Ties Honest beat Young Traveller, Lancet beat Fly, Holdfast beat Castle Acre, Smug gler beat Charlie.

Second Ties: Honest beat Lancet, Holdfast beat Smuggler.

Deciding Course: Mr. Hunt's Holdfast beat Mr. Hunt's Honest, and won the Stakes.

The WYRE STAKES, value £32.

Mr. Clark's r. b. Catherina

Mr. Wood's b. and w. b. Venus

Mr. Hunt's b. b. Handover

Mr. Garnett's bd. and w. d. Highflyer

Mr. Fisher's be. d. Flash

Mr. Williams's r. d. Charlie

Mr. Clark's bd. d. Scotchman

Mr. Hunt's be. b. Bee's-wing

beat Mr. Ardern's w. d. Topper.

Sir H. Fleetwood's bd. d. Spring.
Mr. Ditchfield's b. and w. d. Defence.
Mr. Robinson's r. and w. d. Don John.
Mr. Hutchinson's r. and w. d. Grasper.
Mr. Coupe's w. b. Carnar.

Mr. Kenney's b. b. Rapid.

Mr. Wood's f. and w. b. Fly.

First Ties: Venus beat Catherina, Highflyer beat Handover, Flask beat Charlie, Bee's-wing beat Scotchman.

Second Ties: Highflyer beat Venus, Flask beat Bee's-wing.

Deciding Course: Mr. Garnett's Highflyer beat Mr. Fisher's Flash, and won the Stakes.

First Ties: Spanker beat Maximus, Handover beat Tyrant, Fly beat Gipsy, F. Bank beat Rapid.

Second Ties Spanker beat Fly, F. Bank beat Handover.

Deciding Course: Mr. Clark's F. Bank beat Sir H. Fleetwood's Spanker, and won the Stakes.

First Ties: Canute beat Bell, Defence beat Doctor, Touchstone beat Traveller, Busy beat Harriett (dr.)

Second Ties: Touchstone beat Canute, Busy beat Defence.

Deciding Course: Mr. Hunt's Busy beat Mr. Ogden's Touchstone, and won the Stakes.

Ties: Maiden Queen beat Dart, Venus beat Talleyrand.

Deciding Course: Mr. Wood's Venus beat Mr. Wood's Dart, and won the Stakes.

Deciding Course: Mr. Wood's Dart beat Mr. Ardern's Maiden Queen, and won the Stakes.