The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-09 00:00:00

BREAD.

The prices of wheaten bread in the metropolis are from
6}d to 7d, of household do., 5d to 6d per 411:I-loaf.

HIDES AND SKINS.

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Market hides, 561 b to 641 b, 21d to 31c1 ; 641 b to 721 b, 3d
to 3:td ; 721 b to 801 b, 3d to 3id ; Rib to 881 b, 3id to 3/d ;
881 b to 961 b, 311:1 to 4d ; 961 b to 1041 b, 4d to 4/d; 1041 b to
1121 b, —d to —d. Horse hides, Os Od to lOs Gd ; calf skins,
light, 2s Od to 33 Od ; full, 7s N to Os Od ; polled sheep, lOs
Od to 12s 6d ; half-breds, 8s Gd to lOs ed ; Downs, 6s 6d to
8s 3d; lambs, Os Od to Os Od; sheadings, Os Od to Os Od.

A MAN SHOT.—We regret to record a fatal ace i
dent at a pigeon shooting at Preston, on Tuesday,
near Brighton, A considerable number of persons had
congregated, and, as usual, there were a great prang
who
are termed outseouts, not immediately engaged in theatch.
After the shooting had been going on some time a yoluit7
man, o 2 the name of Oakes, one of the outscouts, seeing a
dog about to pick up a bird, struck at the animal with the
butt of his gun, holding the muzzle in his hand, when the
gun exploded owing to the jar, and the contents of the
loaded barrel lodged in his chest, and ho died from tho
effect of the accident in about ten minutes. We understand
that deceased was either a marine-store dealer or kept a
coal. shed at they back of the Grand Parade, He was a single
men.—East Sussex News,

M. Coulvier-Gravier, like Marshal Vaillant does
not appear to have any faith in the present
sy stem of predicting storms by simultaneous obser-
vations of the barometer at different stations, a
system organised in England by Admiral Fitz-
roy, and now adopted in the Paris Observaiory.
In a note recently published, he says :—lt is
imagined by observing barometrical altitudes at a
multitude of stations, gales and hurricanes may be
avoided ; all this being founded on a theory which
becomes more than hypothetical when it is con-
sidered that these terrible meteors occur as well
whe❑ the barometer rises as well as with those from
the south. This was the case, for instance, in the tem-
pests of Oct. 5, 1852, and of May 16, 1853. More,
over, to understand all the defects of the system, we
need only cast a glance at an article of the Journal du
Ilavre, inserted in the Moni.four of the 21st D2c.,
and in an article of the 22d of the same month,
showing the extraordinary number of casualties en
the coasts of France which occurred during a decade
of that month when the system was in full opera-
tion. According to this same system, must not the
storm break oat somewhel e, in order to be able to
warn the neighbouring localities or countries ? "What
will then become of the services the country has
a right to expect when the tempest comes upon
us directly from the sea, and we are deprived of
electric communication to announce its approach ?
And, lastly, what service does it render to a ship
at sea, which, being deprived of telegraphic come
munications, and therefore of warnings, might per-
haps, in less than 48 hours, had she received a warn-
ing, or by observations on board, have escaped the
danger."—We confess we do not see the force of
most of these arguments. That the system is im-
perfect, and cannot perform all that might be
desirable, but might also be impossible, we all
know; but it is not the less a step in the right
direction, and certainly better than nothing.