The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1878-01-26
February Magazines.

The most notable feature about the February
Harpers is its elaborate treatment of art sub
jects. Helen s. Conant gives very pleasing
sketch of the great artist, j. NJ w. Turner,
with score of cngravings from his most re-
markable paintings, including the "Slave
viously been made. Another art paper of equal
interest is A Painter on Painters, in which our
most celebrated landscape painter, Geo. Inness,
is made to talk pretty freely of painters in
general and picture buyers.
AS is usual in Harper's, there is considera-
bic proportion of space given to subjects of
general literary and historical interest. Mr..
o. NJ. Spencer tells the story Of the Fieschi
conspiracy, illustrating the troubled state of
Italy in tho 10th century. Some unusually
bold and excellent cngravings add to the in
terest of this thrilling chapter of GenOese his
tory. NJ. ID. Conway contributes an interest
ing illustrated paper on that curious custom
| Of Dunmow in Essex-thc giving of fitch
of bacon to the happest of married couples
after years matrimonial experience Mr.
Conway gives an entertaining report of the
revival of this custom in 1877.
In the opening article w. II. Rideing gives
picturesque description of Life Along the
Jersey Shore, with numerous characteristic il,
! lustrations. Away out here we can hardly
realize that within few hours ride of the
tccming millions of the two largest cities on
the continent there should still be such tempt
ing sport for the angler. Says the writer:
! Few other parts of the coast are as populous
with food fishes as New Jersey Nineteen diff
| ierent species are caught in abundance, and
not less than one million dollars worth is sold
annually, the principal markets being New
York and Philadelphia The tautog or black
| fish, weighing from one and half TO -four
pounds, is taken with bait in large numbers
both in summer and winter; the porgee
weighing from onequartcr to two pounds, is
taken with bait in July and August; tn,
lshecp'shead, weighing from two to twelve
pounds, is taken by hand and net from June
to October; the weak fish, weighing from one
half To two pounds, is taken by hand and net
J and about fifty thousand mackcrel u day ar,
caught during June and July. The other va
IrictieS that are more or less common includ,
the drumfsh, the Lafayette fish $50 called from
the fact that ii first appeared on the coast dur
ing the revisit to America of the French mar
qus), the blue fish, the sword-fish, the Goldfish
/, the haddock, the winter founder, the oblonl
founder, the salmon, the anchovy, the smelt
the fall shad, the herring, and the menhader
or moss-bunkcr.
Other excellent papers are, The Turkisl
Wars with the lloSpitalcrs, and \ Glimpse "A
Some of Our Charities
) Two new serials commence with this mum
ber-Maccod of Dare, by the great Englisl
novelist, William Black; and The Return o
the Native, by Thomas Hardy. There ar
also two excellent shorter storicS-Punishe,
Enough and Nobody's Business-by Mrs. Lat
inner and II. f. Scuddcr respectively.
The Editorial Departments-literary, histori
cal, scientific and humorous-arc, rs usual
well sustained.