The Sun.
London, England, 1864-10-12 00:00:00

Her Majesty's Ship Bulldog.

The Secretary of the Admiralty presents his com-
pliments to the Editor of 2he Sun, and requests
insertion of the following paragraph :--
“With reference to the reported loss of her Majesty's
ship Bulldog, letters have been received from Vice-Admiral
Sir James Hope, dated at Halifax, the 20th of September,
in which he states that her Majesty's ship Galatea arrived
there on the 27th, having left Bermuda on the 24th, and
reported that the Bulldog had sailed from Bermuda for
Jamaica on the 14th of September. There appears to be
no truth in the report of the Bulldog having been lost be-
tween Bermuda and Halifax."
Admiralty, Oct. 11, 1864.

SERIOUS ACCIDENT TO A GENTLEMAN AT NEW -
MARKET.—On Monday afternoon, as Mr Francis Beard, of
Mortlake, was riding a highly-spirited horse on the road,
wi,hin a mile of Newmarket Race Course, in passing a
farmer's spring cart, a gig bore down upon him with great
velooity, so closely as to cause the step of the vehicle to
cut his right leg through his trousers and boot, and pierce
the right flank of the horse, which made him rear and fall
beck upon the unfortunate gentleman. He was taken up
in a state of insensibility, but although Buffeting from a
fractured arm and other serious injuries, fatal consequences
were not apprehended. Tho animal, a very valuable one,
will be rendered useless. "
MURDEROUS ASSAULT ON A POLICE CONSTABLE.
—At the City Police Court, yesterday, two brothers,
named Charles and Thomas Stansfield, were called upon to
answer charges preferred against them by Police Con-
stable William Wilkinson, of the C division. The police-
man, who appeared with his head bandaged, said that at
half-past eleven o'clock on Monday night he board screams
in Ashton Old-road Ardwick, and upon going to the
spot saw Charles Stansfield ill•using his wife, who
wanted to give him into custody. Witness told them
they must settle the dispute between themselves. With
some difficulty he got them to leave the street, and went
on. He had not proceeded far when Charles Stansfield
returned and beat his wife as before. He separated
them, and as Charles S:aneficld refused to go away, wit-
ness took him into custody. He was rescued by his
brother Thomas, and making his escape went into the
shop of his father, who is a butcher. Witness took Thoe.
Stansfield into custody, to take him to the police
station for rescuing the other prisoner. Charles then
came out armed with: a butcher's cleaver, with which he
struck witness deliberately four times, on the head, arm,
and shoulder. The cleaver was produced ; it had a large
heavy steel blade, and was a most formidable weapon.
The certificate of Mr T. N. Deane, the police surgeon,
stated that the policeman was suffering from a severe incised
wound over the left temple, dividing the artery and indent-
ing the bone, and being two and a half inches in length.
The prisoners were committed for triat at the assizes.

HEAVY PENALTIES AGAINST A PAWNBROKER.
—At Dudley, on Monday, Mr Thomas Kendrick,
pawnbroker, was charged with having issued 50 pawn-
tickets which did not contain upon them the information
required by the Pawnbrokers' Act, as to the position of
the person pawning, or the number of the entry in the
pawn-book, Some weeks ago, Mr Kendrick pleaded
guilty to seven charges of a like nature, made against him
by Mr Wootton, auctioneer, of West Bromwich, and was
fined £5 and costs in each case. Subsequently, twelve
informations were laid against him by Mr Rowley,
auctioneer, of Britrley-hill and Stourbridge ; but that gen-
tleman, when the cases ware called on, intimated that he
would decline to give evidence, as the defendant had made
a very fair and proper arrangement with him. The over-
seers of the parish, therefore, took the matter up on publio
grounds, and obtained leave to issue fifty summonses
against Mr Kendrick. After hearing evidence, the Bench
inflicted a fine of L 5 and costs in each of twenty-three
cases (the whole amount of the fines to go to the overseers
of the parish), or in default three months' hard labour.

MEADOWS IN MOUNTAINOUS DISTRICTS.-
Among the means devised for averting the ecourge
of inundations, the replanting of woods on the naked
declivities of mountains held a prominent place. The
Administration of Woods and Forests in France took up
the matter seriously, and, under the able direction of M.
Vicaire, the work of replanting the mountainous districts
of the south-east, south-west, end centre has for the
last few years been rapidly progressing. But this would
still be insufficient to arrest the evil without the aid of grass,
which, covering the steep slopes with a compact and tena-
cious turf, prevents the earth from being washed away by
heavy rains. Moreover, owing to the great resistance
offered by grass to the downward progress of water, a great
deal of it has time to be absorbed by the soil, and, when
this is practised on a large scale, it has a material effect in
diminishing the volume of water and rendering therefore
the overflowing of rivers less frequent—not to mention the
advantage resulting from the retention of all the fertil-
ising princilles of the muddy water which runs over
the grass. The meadows thus formed afford nourish-
ment to an immense number of cattle, whereby good
manure is obtained for the adjacent fields. This theory
is the result of much attention paid to the subjtct
by 111. Bargne, a landed proprietor possessing a farm at
the very sources of the torrents which descend from the
mountains of the Lc zere, and who has himself carried out
the plan ho recommends to others. His farm has lately
been visited by M. Herve-Mangon et the request of the
Societe d'Encouragement, and been highly approved of by
that eminent rural engineer. In order to form the sloping
meadows in question, M. Bargno first smooths out all the
irregularities of the declivities, and, before sowing, cuts a
number of trenches across, very slightly inclined, so as to
retain the water as long as possible. He next bars the
ravines with piled of stones, whereby the water, instead of
running down, necessarily flows into the trenches. This
prevents it frown scooping out the earth as before, grass
begins to grew, and the water then filters slowly through
. it, and thus a barren soil becomes fertile in a very short
time,