Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1855-06-14

| from the consumer enor nous prices, after get.
ti,g the produce Ia thsig own hands. In Bos
ton and Bal imore, these matters are said to
be nearly a. bad Here the case 10 different,
insOmuch Is country people are permitted to
| sell In and around our markets, and consumers
may thus buy directly Of them If they will
As high as prices are in Washington, their
presence in our marke's keeps down prices In
a great measure, in proportion to tho supplies
though, as general thing, the lack of neat
ness in the manner in which they display their
produce for sale Tin comparison with the care.
to this end taken by the hucksters) induces
thousands to prefer buying from the rsgula,
dealers, though at somewhat advanced prices.
1t strikes US that the very best remedy fol-
existing high prices in the Washington mar.
kets, will be the speedy preparation of every
posi- BILE convenience, at nominal charges for
their use, for those who sell:produce grown by
thsmselves. If the city will thus encourage
them to be neat, systematic and comfortable
in their stanis, ten to one they will speedily
profit by the hint, as they cannot fail to make
money through taking advantage of it. We
are not believers in the jus ice of the CRY of
"fores,aling" which has been raised against
the licensed dealers in provisions in this city
because there are always in our markets
those-the country people-whose presence
enables all persons to buy their supplies for
family use directly from first hands, if they
prefer so to do.
international Exchanges. - Preparations
arc now being made at the Smithsonian In
stitution for the annual distribution of Amer.
lean publications to tho various societies and
Libraries in Europe and Asia with which 1t is
in correspondence. II takes charge of any
works which may BIO sent by authors or socie
ties for these foreign institutions, and sends
them with its own publications, which forms
the basis Of the greatest system of information
al exchange now carried on, being more ex.
tensive and regular than Mr.. Vattemare's,
with which it has no connection The British,
German, and other Governments, admit all the
Smithsonian packages free of duty and with
oat examination, and they are taken charge
Of by efficient agents il London, Paris, Lsip.
sic, and elsewhere, and reach their dssti1a
ton without delay. Authors Of scientific
works have often desired a ready means of
placing their contributions to science in the
hands Of European Swans and learned socie-
tics, and the Smithsonian Institution has now
perfected system which aocomplishes all
that could be desired in this way, free Of ex-
p:nse to the sender. The Patent Office, Ma.
tiOnal Observatory, Coast Survey, ard other
departments, make use Of this means 10 send
their reports abroad, and are receiving annu-
ally large and valuable donations in return
This is feature in the Smithsonian plan of
operations not generally known, but one
which We think will commend itself to the an
prevail Of all who are interested in tie honor
and reputation of our country abroad. 1t
could not be carried Oh, however, were it not
foE the regular publication of TIE Smi hsonian
Contributions to knowledge, which form the
nucleus around which all other articles sent
are collected.
The European News.-Ths news from the
seat of war that reached Washington yester-
day forenoon, has created much excitement in
political circles-foreign and domestic-in
this city, giving rise to all conceivable specu-
lations with reference to the future Of the
war, and, in great measure, changing the
expectations Of persons among us whD have
steadily kept the run" of the events of the
contest. The stock of the allies has of course
risen hundred per centum, yet many in Wash
ington, amsng whom we may class most of the
long heads, doubt the truth of much of the
phase which the steamers advices Pot on the
events il tells of. This hesitancy in crediting
the alleged extent of the advantages gain I'd
by the allies, their importance &c, arises frcm
the fact that up to this time the first accounts
Of tho nominal advantages of the allies have al.
ways proved to have been enormously exsg-
gerated. 1t is evident to JIG that it will re-
qtire the official report FROM st. Petersburg to
satisfy those around as that matters in and
about tho Crimea have taken the turn which
these accounts say they have taken, the Rus.
sian accounts up to this time having Invariably
proved far more correct than those Of their
FOES
Cultivation Of tho Sugar Cane in the
East.-The following interesting paper was
recently addressed to the officer in charge of
the agric ultural branch of the Patent Office,
by the Hon. j. Balisticr, who, it will be recol-
lected, has spent many years in the East as
United States Consul at Singapore, and as q
diplomatic agent of this Government in other
far distant quarters of the globe:
WASHINGTON, May H. 1855.
Sir: My attention was arrested some time
ago by Newspaper paragraph, stating that
one of our national ships had been sent to the
island of Penang, in the straits Of Malacca,
a the instance of some Southern sugar plant
els, to procure supply Of sugar canes to be
used as seed for their use Subsequently, the
same public channel gave notice of the ar
riVa! Of the ship with the desirable supply of
canes; and, finally, more recently, while in
conversation With Won | learoe6 tho. h>