The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1851-07-22 00:00:00

have seen one common custom among gardeners, which is,
to go out for fruit an hour before it is to be served at
'table; and this they think very meritorious, because it
will be fresh. I have seen also a contrary practice, which
I shall explain, together with its reasons; but first, in
order to show its real use, this fact must be inserted.
Two gentlemen, relations and neighbours, who had the
same soil, and the same kind -of trees, and those, to all
appearance, managed in the very same manner, found a
vast difference always in the fruit ; it was so great, that
their company never failed to perceive it as well as them-
selves ; and when it came at last to be explained, the
whole cause was, that the gardener of him whose fruit
was worst, gathered it just before it was wanted, and the
other much earlier. This seems to contradict reason,
freshness being esteemed the great article in the nicety of
fruit ; but it is only a seeming contradiction. Let any
one examine the state of plants in general in summer,
and he will find it thus : as the great heat of the day
comes on, their leaves begin to flag, and they droop more
and more till the cool of the evening. The reason is, the
great evaporation of their juices by the sun's heat : they
grow flaccid from toward noon till near sunset, then the
heat is over, and the dews refresh them : they continue
recruiting and recovering during the whole night, and
they are firm and lively in the morning. The case is the
same in fruits, only it is not so easily perceived. At noon
they are exhausted and flattened, and they are heated to
the heart : all this renders them dead, and unpleasing.
They begin to recruit towards the evening, as the leaves ;
and in the same manner are in the full perfection at early
morning. One hour after sunrise is the time for gather-
ing them : this was the secret of the successful gardener,
and this every one Should practise. Let him take some
fruit-baskets of open work, cover them with large leaves,
and at seven in the morning go out to gather his fruit.
When he has carefully chosen what is ripe, and laid it
handsomely in the basket, let it be placed in a cool, but
not damp room, till it is wanted.—Old Magazine.
THE NIGHT BLOWING CEREUS.—There is in the
gardens of Earl Paulett, Hinton Park, a magnificent
specimen of the Cactus Grandiflora, commonly called the
Night-blowing Cereus. the flower of which is said to be
as grand and beautiful as any in the whole vegetable king-
dom. It is very rare to see more than three or four
flowers of this plant in bloom at the same time, but the
one now noticed presented sixteen at the same hour of
the night; and what was most extraordinary, six others
had bloomed in full splendour from the same plant two
nixhts before. In July, last year, twenty-two had
bloomed in the same night, though they were not so fine
and large as those of this year. They began to open in
the evening about seven oclock, were in perfection about
ten to eleven, and faded away about sunrise, only continu-
ing in full-blown beauty about six hours. The calyx,
when fully expanded, is a foot in diameter, of a splendid
yellow within, and a dark brown without ; the petals are
many and of a pure white ; and the great number of re-
curved stamina, surrounding the style in the centre of
the flower, make a grand and magnificent appearance.

GENERAL NEWS OF THE WEEK.

RIOTING IN GREENOCK.-1A serious riot took place. in
Greenock, on Monday night, between the Roman Catho-
lics and Protestants. Several persons were severely hurt,
and windows were destroyed.—Scotsman.
ACCIDENT BY FIRE IN A RAILWAY CARRIAGE.—On
Manday, when the mail train from Exeter had arrived
about a mile and a half from the Bristol station it was
discovered that one of the second class carriages had
caught fire. The greatest consternation prevailed, but
fortunately the train was stopped in sufficient time to
prevent any serious consequence. The accident arose
from the breakers of an iron wheel tier, caueing so unusual
a friction as to ignite the woodwork.
DREADFUL CASE OF INSANITY.—On Sunday last, a
cottager, named James Bycrost, residing on the Swines-
head-road, was seized with fearful symptoms of this
disease ; be inflicted much injury on parties who attempted
to control him, until Mr. Pilmore was sent for, who con-
veyed him to Boston, whence he will doubtless be taken
to the Asylum. He has been for some time a " local
preacher," and religious fanaticism is believed to be the
cause of his mental wreck.—Lincoln Chronicle.
DARING ROBBERY AT THE MARQUESS OF CHOLMON-
DELEY'S.—On Friday morning information was received
by the metroplitan police, that two thieves, disguised as
butchers, had made their way into the residence of the
Marquess of Cholmondeley, 17, Carlton-house-terrace,
under the pretence of calling for orders. They were met
in the lower passage by some of the servants ; their dress,
however, and their having baskets with meat, disarmed
suspicion, and they were not detained. The true charac-
ter was soon afterwards discovered—a large quantity of
silver plate, value upwards of £lOO, being found missing.
SINGULAR ACCIDENT.—On Tuesday morning as James
Parfitt, one of the porters in the goods department of the
Great Western Railway Company, at Paddington, was
passing along the platform, on his ordinary duty, a small
cask suddenly exploded, the head of which came in con-
tact with the poor fellow's chin, and tossed him some
eight or ten feet into the air, when he fell upon the ground
about three feet lower than the platform. Upon inquiry,
we find the contents of the cask to have been yeast.which
had been sent up the line. The motion of the train pro-
bably brought it to so high a state of fermentation as to
cause the explosion. The poor feilow died in about a
quarter of an hour. _

EXTRAORDINARY TNSTANCE OF CONJUGAL AFFECTION.
--A short time since Mr. Gregg, an extensive and highly
respectable tradesman, residing in High-street,Marybone,
burst a blood-vessel, and from that period his health de-
clined until last week, when such fatal symptoms betrayed
themselves that his medical attendant felt bound to inform
Mrs. Gregg of her husband's imminent danger. The sad
intelligence so affected her that she gave herself up to ex-
cessive grief, refusing not only consolation, but even food.
On Sunda, Mr. Gregg died, and the following day saw
his faithful wife stretched alongside his body a lifeless
corpse—Mrs. Gregg having expired that morning, after a
night of the most intense mental agony, produced by grief
for her husband's death.
AWFULLY SUDDEN DEATH.—A few days since the Rev.
Mr. Barker, Rector of Medbourn. wishing to give his
choir an opportunity of hearing the organ in Harborough
Church, and of practising singing, went by the evening
train to Harborough, accompanied by about fourteen of
his parishioners, among whom was John Eddings, a
gardener, about 7,1 years of age. Mr. Dixon, the organist,
met them about half-way and Mr. Barker commenced
introducing them to him, and had mentioned Edding's
name, observing at the same time, " You're no singer,
I believe," to which he answered, " I shall be the looker-
on to-night," when he immediately fell to the ground,
and died almost instantly. He had never had a day's ill-
ness in his life.

HARWICH.—The committee of enquiry into the recent
Harwich election, came to a resolution that the mayor,
the returning officer for the borough, had acted illegally
in closing the poll before the hour of four o'clock, and
also that there had been such obstruction which prevented
a voter named White from recording his vete, and that
therefore, in the opinion of the committee, the election
was null and void, and Mr. Crawford, the sitting member,
not duly elected. The borough will have, therefore, the
benefit of a third election almost within the same number
of months. The Essex Standard says :—Neither Mr.
Prinsep nor Mr. Crawford intend, we hear, coming for-
ward again, so that the field is left open for new candi-
dates ; and at present we are not aware of any gentlemen
being actually upon the ground. W. W. Hawkins, Esq.,
has been spoken of in the Conservative interest, but we
believe he declines the honour.
APPREHENSIONS, CONVICTIONS, &C., IN MANCHES-
TER, IN 1851.—During the last year, (according to Capt.
Willis's annual report), 4,578 persons were taken into
custody by the police, in the borough of Manchester.
Dividing
.the offences for which the apprehensions were
made into the usual classes, the number of prisoners in
each will be as follows :-Ist, offences against the person,
716 ; 2d, offences against property, committed with vio-
lence, 188; 3d, do. without violence • 1,499, 4th, mali-
cious offences against property, 143; sth, forgery and
offences against the currency, 48 ; 6th, other offences not
included in the above classes, 1,979. Of the total number
(4,578) 3,280 were males, and 1,298 females. The prisoners
were disposed of as follows :—Discharged by the magis-
trates, 1,780 ; summarily convicted, or held to bail, 2058 ;
committed for trial, 740; sentenced and punished, 593 ;
sentenced to plead when called upon, 1 ; acquitted, 105 ;
bills not found, 17 ; not prosecuted, 7 ' not yet tried, 15 ;
imprisoned, having been found insane, 2.
CARDINAL WISEMAN.—The missing " Cardinal" ham
turned up. " His Eminence" not being, it seems, quite
prepared as yet to relinquish his archbishopric and his
residence in Golden-square, has returned with intelligible
speed from his unintelligible excursion. Whether he had
the benefit of any medical treatment in the establishment
at which, *is we are informed by a correspondent, he took
up his abode at Caen, we are unable to say ; but we think
it far from unlikely that a few sedative powders might
have contributed towards the result of bringing the run-
away Cardinal to reason, and convincing him that if he
would govern English counties, he must begin by con-
forming to the orders of the British legislature. The
cautious manner in which he carried himself during his
examination before the committee, on the law of mort-
main, on TI lir day, as one walking between red-hot
ploughshares, seems to indicate that, in spite of the con-
tempt which he affects for British acts of parliament, he
has a certain salutary fear of their practical effects. After
all, this miles gloriosus of the Roman church did not
exhibit before the committee, in honour of his faith, half
as much pluck as Alderman Salomons displayed before
the whole house for the glorification of his unbelief.—
John Bull.

WOTTON-UNDER-EDGE—SUSPECTED INCENDIARISM,
AND ATTEMPT TO BURN AN AGED WOMAN IN HER BED.
—Shortly after twelve o'clock on Tuesday night, two
houses at Sinwelh in this town, were totally destroyed by
fire. The only inmate of the house in which the fire oc-
curred was a female named Jordan, eighty years of age.
For some years past. this poor woman has been driven, by
the cruel and heartless treatment of her husband, Samuel
Jordan, to provide herself with a separate residence. and
during that period her upright demeanour has procured
for her the approbation and assistance of many patties,
which good feeling, to all appearance, has excited the bitter
enmity of him who should have been her supporter
and protector. Jordan and his son Edward, on Sunday
night last, forcibly entered the house of the wife
and mother, and dragged her out of her bed, and
took the same away claiming it as their property.
On proceedings being taken against the husband and son,
for the outrage, they were compelled to return the bed,
and only a few hours bad elapsed ere the house of the
wife and mother was found enveloped in flames, and the
poor woman but scarcely escaped with her life. An in-
vestigation has resulted in the committal to Gloucester
gaol of the son, Edward Jordan, on the capital charge.
and his father, Samuel Jordan, is among the nmerous
witnesses for the protecntion.,