The Sun.
London, England, 1847-04-05 00:00:00

AtATtIVirNG FIRES.

This morning, between tee he and one o'clock. tire,
nearly attended with fatal consequences, broke out at 42,
Chapel street, Islington, in the occupancy of Mr. J.
Crosswell, general denier. The flames otioinated from
some unknown cause, in the back parlour, and were
first discovered by the proprietor, who, hearing a sudden
noise in the lower part of the house at the moment he
was going to bed, went to ascertain the cause,
when, to
his astonishment, he found the flames ascending the
staircase with such vie;ence that the inmates, in order to
effect a retreat, were obliged to get out of the windows.
The engines of the various stations quickly attended,
and there being an abundant supply of water, the fire-
men worked incessantly until a little after one o'clock,
when they got the flames extinguished. By that. period
thh fire had either burned or damaged the whole of the
stock in trade, furniture, &c., in the lower portion of
the house. The loss, as far as Mr. Cresswell is con-
cerned, will fall upon the Sun Fire-office, lent the
lodgers, unfcrtu lately, were uninsured.
Yesterday mornirg, betwet n five and six, considerable
alarm was created in Wellington-street North, Serand,
by the sudden owl-Teak of r. tire on the premises be-
longing to Mr. J. Pitt, hatter and tohneconiz,t. The dis-
covery was made by a p•ilice-constable of the I' division,
ttl
itisr t(aut githt
escapeils tere,l:ll.ln %gtvhasesi'isr'f,td,i'eseif,•,titc, 'at :noi 1:; from the shop frone An
tT(l.ltours:, ut a rew minutes
of Life from
Fire arrivA, followed by numerous engines of the Lon-
don liii.,2,ade, We,t of EnOned, and County dikes.
Plenty of water hi iz-g procured, the flames were extin-
guiseed, but not until the abet' of the 'tuck of hats was
chonag, d by fire and smoke, and the partition, the
fl and fixtures on one site of the shop partially
burned. The origin of this, as well as the two previous
tires, is wrepped in mrstery. Mr. Pitt was insured for
stock in trade in the Pl'maix, and the building was in-
sured in the County (.flier.
About half-past one o'clock the same morning a fire,
which had it not been so opportunely discovered, would
have been attended with very disastrous consequences,
broke out upon the premises known as the Temperance
Hall, in Milton-street, Cripplegate. It was caused from
the overheating of the copper flue, which set the bond
timber in the back kitchen in flames, The engines and
firemen from Whitecross-street station quickly attended,
and they succeeded in getting the fire extinguished be-
fore any considerable damage was done.
About half an hour later a tire was discovered burn-
ing on the premises situate at 52, Rosamond-street,
Clerkenwell, in the occupation of Mr. J. D. Cole,
butcher. The engines attended very early, but owing
to the exertions of the inmates and police the flames
were soon subdued, but not before considerable damage
was done. Mr. Cole was not insured. The origin of the
fire could not be ascertained.
Last night, shortly before eight o'clock, an alarming
fire broke out upon the extensive premises occupied by
Mr. Simpson, a fancy bread and bisjuit baker, situate at
the western corner of Bend-street, and abutting Picca-
dilly. The fire was first discovered by a person passing,
who, seeing a light in the lower part of the premises,
alarmed the inmates, amongst whom were Mr. Simpson
and his family and servants, when it was discovered that
the lower part of the premises was on fire; they had
scarcely time to escape before the whole broke out into
a blase. Messengers were dispatched to the various
engine stations, and several engines speedily arrived. A
plentiful supply of water being at hand, the engines
were put in action, and in the space of an hour suc-
ceeded in so far mastering the fire as to allay all appre-
hension of further danger, but not until the whole of
the premises, which are very extensive, were gutted, and
the stock in trade, together with the furhiture, com-
pletely destroyed. The premises adjoining No. 45,
Bond-street, occupied by Messrs. Judd and Son, boot
and shoemakers, and No. 58, Piccadilly, occupied by
Mr. Alabaster, straw bonnet maker, as also their stock
in trade and furniture, were seriously injured by water
and hasty removal, it being found necessary to carry the
hose through each of the houses to get at the rear of
the fire. It is understood that Mr. Simpson is not in-
sured, but it is believed that the premises are.

FATAL ACCIDENT.--011 Saturday Mr. T. Wakley,
M.P., held an inquest at the Fountain, King-street,
Seven Dials, on the body of Benjamin Braithwaite
Cummings, aged 51, a fireman belonging to the London
Fire Engine Establishment. The deceased, on Wednes-
day evening last, was engaged extinguishing a fire that
had broken out in the kitchen chimney of the house
numbered 2, Little Denmark-street, St. Giles's, when the
top round of the ladder on which he was standing, in
the gutter plate of the roof, gave way, and the deceased
fell into the back yard, a distance of forty-one feet. A
medical gentleman was immediately sent tor, but before
he had time to arrive the unfortunate man had ceased to
exist. It was satisfactorily proved that the deceased
was a remarkably sober man, and that the ladder was
not one connected with the fire companies, but belonged
to the house in which the fire commenced. He had
placed it against the chimney himself, not knowing that
it was in an unsafe condition. The Coroner inquired if
the brigade had not the means of extinguishing a,
chimney on fire without getting up a ladder. He thought
the draught of the chimney might be stopped up, and
the fire thereby extinguished without exposing the men
to any danger. Mr. Paul Girrard, the engineer of Crown-street station, said that he had been a fireman
fur fourteen years, and the only effectual way of getting
a fire in a chimney subdued was by pouring buckets of
water and rubbish down. The foreman of the jury said
that the deceased had been a fireman upwards of a
quarter of a century, and he had left a wine and eight
children ; he hoped. therefore, that the coroner would
use his influence in gating some proviice for the
family from the establi,hmcnt to which deceased had
be!onged. The Coroner—l have no influence with any
one belonging to the establishment ; I don't know one
of them. If I saw their names I might know them ;
but I think in eases of this description that the cons-
ri:E:Sthgeefloierielimllayn porritliededtilstfr.lret,tlsiaei d
ntha'tst
ialeicvaesse.
wohulird..
be laid before the committee, and he had no doubt that
something handsome would be done for the family. The
jury returned a verdict of " Accidental death."
MALT, HOPS, ,AND BREWERS.—The usual annual
accounts relative to malt, hops, and brewers, have'bees
laid before Parliament, on the motion of Mr. Alderman
flumphery, M.P. It appears, imprimis, that the gross
total number of acres of land in Great Britain under the
n
t
hoof ps
which
:16h0,05.81373-2e
nrw
etlrhBea4t6i n
colafumdeo
du
leld tht oe
collection of Canterbury.
Rochester,
scul,l9ti4vBa.t7io-nl6tohts.
6,790 in that of Hereford, and 12,023 in Sussex. The
gross total duty on hops of the year 1846 amounted to
443,6571. The quantity of British hops exported from
Great Britain to various foreign countries in 1846 was
448,4971 b. The quantity of foreign hops exported was
577 cwt., and the quantity imported 3,283 cwt., almost
exclusively from the United States of America. The
total number of pounds weight of hops charged with duty
in the several collections of the United Kingdom in 1846
amounted to 50,704,025. We now turn to malt :—Tbe
total quantity of malt made in 1846 amounted to
4,987,350 quarters, of which 3,630,394 quarters were
used by brewers and victuallers, and 446,117 quarters by
retailers. The quantity of malt made in the quarter
ended the sth of January, 1847, amounted to 953,850
quarters. The number of licensed brewers and vic-
tuallers in England was, last year, 2,213 and 58,377
respectively ; 34,067 persons were licensed to sell beer
to be drunk on the premises, and 3,625 to sell beer not
to be drunk on the premises. The number of victuallers
who brewed their own beer was 26,013 ; the quantity of
malt consumed by each class was as follows, viz. :—By
brewers, 18,648,421 bushels, by victuallers, 7,864,781
bushels ; by persons licensed to sell beer to be drunk
on the premises, 3,162,132 bushels ; and by persons
licensed to sell beer not to be drunk on the premises,
406,802 bushels.

SURPLUS GAME.—We are glad to be informed that
his Grace the Duke of Devonshire has ordered the sur-
plus game atChatsworth and neighbourhood to be killed,
and that that is now being done. Mr. Arkwright is
etastkaitnel t hLe e
ts aomt
hee
rlaudable
sesoeus
sr s
eexupon
ohf i agate: bpyanr
sh inr
es
the same judicious and desirable plan. Excessive game-
preserving
premiumt ef
veryor
poaching.nursery
GAMBLING ,IN PARDL—The Constitutionnel relates
ipnr eostehrevir
nwgorhdas s,
a the following instance of the viceissitudes of the game of
Lansquenet. A few evenings ago two young men sat
down to play, and commenced with the moderate stakes
of 5f., which being won, was at the next deal doubled,
and fell to the same party. In this way the game went
on, doubling the stakes till it amounted to 168,840 f.,
which again tell to the unVorm fortunate player, who
wished his opronent to stop, and take his revenge an-
other night, when the luck might turn in his Favour.
The loser, however, was desperate, and insisted upon
going on. The winner, after much hesitation, consented,
but on condition that it should be the last deal, and that
the winner should give 10,000 f. out of 327,680 E, the
stakes then amounted to, for the benefit of the poor.
t
The cards were then dealt, and this time fortune favoured
desperate player, and he saved all his former losses,
except the stipulated 10,0001'.
ranceso Carboni, the Senior Diplomatist at the Court
in
We have to record the demise of his Excellency
Fof Sweden, who died at Stockholm at the close of last
month in
his 87th year. The deceased was Charge
dA res of the Duke of Lucca, and fulfilled that office
thirty years at Stockholm. Ho was also Consul-General
for Naples, Sicily, Rome, and Sardinia. His Excellency
efoorrpsFodripeilgn
omaAtiffgauierts,atßteanrdoend Von
e
funeral
T he dayof t the
fore yest
ithhere,SwaenddishthAeliennistitreer
was leaving Havre, a deceased.boeartd,aiyn'wjust
ha
us
et
rhee
fiCv ae e
fin s shteerammeenr,
fortunatelycapsized, andthey
captain
0 f thseu
epeaecci wereeetd iimmediately
nmaslealdvitianhtgreol
yw
then loweredinwthootl
eh eaosfbeoatah. i
‘e
ma:n_h
de
Galignani of Saturday.
SYMPTOMS OF AGE.—The Old Bridge of Dumfries,
after standing GOO years, has begun to give way. Last
week a lad tumbled through a hole in it into the river.
The Dumfries Courier gives the following particulars
respecting this venerable fabric :—" The Old Bridge of
Dumfries, erected at an early period of the 13th century,
consisted originally of 13 arches, with a guard-gate in
the centre ; and, in our opinion, is the oldest structure
of its size in Scotland, if not Great Britain—keeping
out of view Roman single arches, specimens of which
are still extant. The kindred antiquity at Stirling, we
suppose, comes nearest to it ; an old Forth fabric of un-
known date, but which figures in 1571 as the scene of
the public execution of Hamilton, Bishop of St. Andrew's
In its youth it had only four arches, with flanking
towers, and a gate in the middle. Two silver keys be-
longing, each seven inches in length, are preserved in
the Town-house, and were last presented to the Duke o
Cumberland iu 1746. The year before . the south arch
was destroyed by General Blackeney, to prevent rein-
forcements joining the standard of Prince Charlie. But
a few months thereafter, when Cumberland *hazed the
Jacobites, the fallen arch had to be supplied with wooden
legs and boards, to enable him to pass over--so curious,
sometimes, is the fortune of war."

THE POTATO.
The Royal Dublin Society have published a letter
rom Mr. James Swan, of the Cottage, Donegal,
the purport of which is to show that the Potato
Disease may be stopped by Dr. Foster's electrical
apparatus. Mr. Swan says that he enclosed within
the contrivance twelve ridges without manure ; that
he at the same tizoe planted twelve other ridges with
the usual quantity of mixed manure. In the end of
November he found the potatoes within the enclo-

sure " sound, mealy, large' without the least ap-
pearance of rot," while of the twelve ridges beyond
the electrified space nine were totally destroyed, and
three had only a few small round tubers. This he

thinks a demonstration that the electrical apparatus
aforesaid prevented the rot! On this side of the
Irlh Channel men would have interpreted the expe-
riment differently, and would hare referred the

preservation of the crop on the one hand to the
absence of manure, and its destruction on the
other to the action of manure. We had hoped
that the conclusive experiments of Professor Solly
and others would have dispelled the delusion
which the electro-cultivators had indulged in. But
it seems just as hard to remove error as to establish
truth, and therefore we may perhaps return to that
subject when we have a little space. In the mean-
while, Mr. James Swan must be hung up. by the side
of Alfred Smee. Another paper, also circulated by
the Royal Dublin Society, relates
.to the condition of
some seedling potatoes raised in 1846, by Mr.
Goringer of Rippoldsau. This writer says that the
greater part of his own seedling potatoes had ac-
quired the size of a hen's egg, that others raised by
Mr. Ottmann, of Strasburg, weighed from 5 to 7
ounces each, and that they were all sound, although
from one-third to one-half the potatoes planted in the
usual way in Baden, Wirtemburg, Bavaria, Switzer-
land, and the Tyrol were destroyed by the prevailing
disease. We hope that further experience may show
that means really exist of insuring seedling potatoes
from
disease, although no one in this country has yet
discovered it. The exact circumstances under which

the potato seedlings of Messrs. Goringer and Ottman
were preserved, would therefore be an interesting,
and perhaps a valuable piece of information. For,
while we would employ every means within
our reach to deter poor persons from continuing
the cultivation of a crop the loss of which neither
they nor the ccuntry can afford, we would as strenu-
ously advise those who can bear the loss, to try on a
moderate scale all rational experiments which seem to
premise its restoration. This is a sufficient answer
to those who imagine that we have a personal anti-
pathy to the potato. On the contrary,we have always
acknowledged its great value, when it is not cultivated
to a greater extent than in England ; we ad mitthat
its eTtivalent cannot at present be found; and we
will even add, that we regard the processes employed
by chemists for determining its nutritive value (see
" Journal of Agriculture" for March, 1847, p. 639)
as being, in some respects, unsatisfactory. We sub-
mit that the course we have taken in this matter has
been exactly that which prudence dictated; that we
were bound to the public, which we serve, to tell
them the exact truth, as far as we knew it; that we
were bound to expose the dangerous follies of those
who would have misled the public, and that, above all
things, it has been necessary to dispel the fatal delu-
sion ,/f those writers who, ignorant of facts, or unable
to interpret Owen, have endeavoured to make the world
believe that they each possess a knowledge of the
cause of this disease, and, therefore, can cure it. We
cannot too often repeat that the cause is unknown ;
that at the best we hare only plausible conjecture;
and that, grantiag the most plausible of all conjec-
tures to offer a solution of the mystery, it only leaves
us exactly as much in the dark as before, when we
look to the application of a remedy. The most plau-
sible conjecture is that of atmospheric miasm, which
we find that Mr. Milne, a great authority upon all
that relates to subterranean disturbances and earth-
quakes, has ably advocated, as will be seen in another
column. But granting that some unknown dele-
terious matter has found its way into our atmosphere,
what can be reasonably inferred, except that such an
unknown force cannot be dealt with by any known
agency, and that if we are wholly in the dark as to
any of its attributes except it is impracticable to
any opinion as to the extent to which it may here-
after desolate our fields, or the length of its duration.
It may become more concentrated, or more diffused,
it may last for years, or it may suddenly disappear.
Who can tell ? And in this state of things are we to
be told that the poor man shall be fed with hope ?
that he shall be again persuaded by enthusiasts to
risk the little comfort which his land may bring him
in the dreary months of winter, when fuel is dear and
wages scarce, upon their idle hopes and expectations?
Such a course would be monstrous. It would be
joining the Nil desperandum of the stout-hearted with
the Nil evilandum of the fatalist. We never have
been, and never shall become parties to so suicidal
a course. 'We conceive that our time has been better
occupied with pointing out how the difficulty of re-
cropping the lost potato land can now be met. For
this purpose we may invite attention to some of the
recommendations of a committee of the Royal and
Central Agricultural Society of France, specially ap-
pointed to consider this point. The committee con-
sisted of Messrs. Paten, Boussingault, Moll, Royer,
and Vilmorin, the latter acting as reporter. They ad-
mit that nothing is known of the nature and first cause
of the potato disease • they, therefore, conceive that
there is always a Chance that it may disappear o!
itself, either gradually or instantaneously; and con-
sequently they recommend the cultivation to be perse
vered in. 'The main point, however, of their report is
to suggest other esculents in the meanwhile. It is
needless to advert to the corn crops, which they advo
cate, or to such other plants as are in common culti-
vation among ourselves, or to those which can only be
grown profitably in the warm districts of France. It
will he sufficient to extract such as are comparative])
little known here, and will suit our climate. Fore-
most among these is buckwheat, which, although
inferior to corn crops, has, nevertheless, great value.
and the good quality of thriving upon inferior land o
various kinds. It may also be sown very late, and
its seed bears but a low price. The small early
turnips thrive beneath its shade, so that if a swat
quantity of their seed is scattered over the land some
days after the buckwheat is up, end in wet weather,
there is the chance of a supplemental crop as useful
for man as for animals. Millets are spoken of under
the names of true millet (Panicum miliaceum),Panick
(Setaria italioe), and Moha (Setaria germanica). The
committee observe, as to these grains, that although
of very la/wiser value in ordinary times, they may.
nevertheless, be advantageously employed in the pre-
sent difficulty of recropping potato land. Their grain,
whether boiled or prepared as cakes, is wholesome
and nourishing; it is in constant use in the Landes
as well as in many of the southern countries of
Europe, and is Germany. They are more advan-
tageous than buckwheat, considering the low price of
their seed, a few pints being enough for an acre, it
sown in drills, which is the proper way. They
should be sown in the climate of Paris, from the

beginning to the end of May ; the true millet may he
even put off ti l the middle of June, it being much
earlier than the others. They require a deep
strongish soil in good tilth. The Aloha, however.
although it brings the heaviest return on such land.
has au advantage over others in succeeding very well
on inferior land, whether sandy or chalky, and of re-
sisting dryness in an extraordinary manner. Its
grain is smaller than that of the true millet, but the
straw is much better than that of the other sorts.
As a green crop the Moha is spoken of as one of the
best plants for the agriculture of the north. Peas
and Haricots are of course much recommended,
and the committee advise that they, especially"
the former, should be sown in drills much
wider apart than usual, not only on account of the
high price of the seed, but because a better plant is
so obtained. Cabbages of various kinds are strongly
recommended, especially because it is possible, by
sowing varieties of different degrees of earliness, to
cover the land from June or July to the end of win-
ter. The early York and bullock's heart should be
sown immediately, to be followed by the great cattle
cabbages. The small size of the former should not
be regarded as an objection to their use. because they
can be set so much the closer, and besides, they do
not want such good land as the great winter cabbages.
The preservation of the latter, for winter USE', in the
manner of sourkrout is recommended. Gourds of
various kinds follow especially those
called by
fear that the
the French Giraurno; and Courg ex. But we
it
are net
y w
so ell suited to English or
t
cotagers
have the advantaas prv
ge of giv%nzch. They, however,
corner; and to judge froth the-lea in any waste
geeertogsPuantity exposed
of the north of
for sale in mid-winter in the markets
reopi.a. As to the
France, they must be found a useful'c
Jerusalem artichoke, which in the
committee " is not valued anything likeP :ooamoufchth:
it deserves," they cannot too often repeat " that it is
without an equal for hardihood and vigour, that the
hardest frosts never touch its roots, that it is literally
the mother of manure (Creatur (1' engra.s), seeing that
in any ordinary soil, whether sandy or calcareous, it
gives nearly as great a weight without manure as can
be had from the potato when best manured, and
finally that it is of as great value both for its roots, its
leaves, and its sterns." The committee are convinced
that it it an excellent plant, and "essentially one of
progress." Our readers will judge for themselves
how tar these recommendations of the French com-
mittee are likely to suit their wants.—Gardeners'
Chronicle.

TILE iinaurNG SEASON.—A good many coopers are
now busily engaged in making preparation for the coming
season, and DA a large number have gone south, and
others Juke employed at other work, we should not be
surprised although there were found a scarcity of hands
at the forthcoming fishing. A large number of Nor-
wegian vessels hay. 2 already arrived, with cargoes of
billet-wood, a: the various stations. Prices are conii•
derably under those generally paid at this early period
Of the session....-John o'Groat Journal.