The Sun.
London, England, 1858-09-06 00:00:00

Shard

Do. .

the portraits are those of Madame RiAori and Miss
Geraldine Jewsbury, with brief and respectful
memoirs of their lives. The remainder of the prose
contents is full of elevation and intellectual superi-
ority. We fear, however, from its high character,
it will only address itself to a very select circle.
We trust it will receive the encouragement it merits
from all lovers of art and artistic literature.

Hughes's _Reading _Lessons: Fourth Book. Longman.
The value of these practical compendiums of
knowledge having been readily acknowled.ged by
a large class of instructors, the editor does not
consider any further introduction necessary to this
fourth volume than the assurance that no pains
have been spared to render it equal to its prede-
cessors. Various branches of knowledge are treated
of under different heads by different writers ; thus
among others we have scientific biography, animal
physiology, natural history, astronomy, arts and
manufactures, fine arts, navigation, &c., all
separately discussed and explained by authors of
name and knowledge. The combination of the
various departments of instruction in one book
renders it especially attractive to the youthful
scholar ; and many a student who has escaped the
dominion of the teacher may find something to
learn, as well as much to interest him in these well
selected "Reading Lessons."

The journal of the Royal_ Agricultural Society of

England. No. XLI. John Murray.
This valuable compendium of agricultural infor-
mation is published twice in the year. It contains
articles on various subjects connected with farming
in all its branches, and among them several which
have obtained the distinction of prizes. Among
those thus conspicuous we may mention a plain and
sensibly written essay on the potato, its culture,
production, and disease, by Jeffery Lang, M.D.,
which avoids the elaborate and complex stTle
which theoretical agriculturists, like other scientific
men, are so apt to indulge in. The essay in ques-
tion is clear and comprehensible, and arrives at a
definite practical conclusion. In support of his
method of treating this vegetable, he tells us that
last year and the year before he grew rather more
than 70 bags of potatoes in each year (of 7 seven
each) and that in the two years he had not a
sackful of diseased potatoes. He, therefore, trusts
that others will be induced to make the same
experiments. The conclusions he has drawn from
his observations are summoned up as follows :
" That the disease is of a funrid nature, increased
in virulency, by atmospheric causes. That all
manures are injurious, saving only lime and salt.
That the earliest potatoes in ripening should be
exclusively grown. That earthing up repeatedly
with fine earth is the only effectual preventive to
the ravages of the disease." Another paper on a
subject of much importance to the farmer is
discussed by J. L. Lawes, F.R.S., in his " Obs erva-
tions on the recently-introduced Manufactured
Foods for Agricultural Stock." He arrives at the
conclusion that the advantage of these foods is not
commensurate with the expense. There are a
variety of other papers on topics of interest and
advantage to the farmer, and the work is one well
calculated to be of service both to the theoretical
and practical agriculturist.