as a labourer, he often finds, to his cost, that the farmer has sometimes less clear gain than the man who works for him. We do not, however, deny that there are many exceptions to this rule, and many instances of very suc cessful industry in the occupiers of small portions of farming land. In truth, industry, and prudence, and good management, will succeed under almost any conditions. The plan of our correspondent does, however, provide against risk, by the insurance of the cow;-and the risk and constant outgoings are much less on pasture than arable land. We therefore think the plan of "Alfred" well worthy the consideration of those who may have the means of bringing it into effect.

V.

COTTAGE GARDENING.

SIR,

THE following account of the management of a cottage field and garden will, I dare say, be interesting to many of your readers:

The land, which is not much more than an acre, was leased many years ago to a collier, near Shrewsbury, who has six children; one part of it is laid out in a garden, the rest, consisting of sixty-four poles, is devoted to wheat and potatoes; and as these two crops are raised in a way that is very unusual, I will now describe it.

The management of the ground is in great measure left to the wife; the husband doing little more than_assisting in the digging after his hours of labour. The sixty-four poles are divided into two nearly equal parts, one of which is sown with wheat, and the other planted with potatoes, in alternate crops. The ground is dug for potatoes in the months of March and April, about nine inches deep. The potatoes are planted in rows about twelve or fourteen inches apart, and the sets in the rows about four or five inches apart. Of course this takes a long time generally ten days. Dung is laid in at the bottom of each row. When the potatoes come above ground, the weeds are destroyed by the hoe, and the earth laid upon both sides of the shoots; and this is repeated from time to time as the season may require. Hand-weeding is also used when needful. In October,

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COTTAGE GARDENING.

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when the potatoes are ripe, the good woman takes off all the stalks or haulm of the potatoes, which by the help of her pig is made into manure. She then goes over the whole with a rake, clearing away the weeds, and before taking up the potatoes, she sows her wheat, being careful not to sow more ground than she can clear of potatoes in the course of the day. They are taken up with a three-pronged fork, and in doing this the wheat-seed is covered deep. The ground is left quite rough, the winter frost mellows the earth, and by its falling down, much strength is given to the wheat plants in the spring. She uses no dung for the wheat; but her crops have been of late years always good-better than the general average of the county, and raised with little or no expense.

Her manure is produced by her pig, who has the straw of the wheat as well as the potato stalks for litter. She also collects all that she can from her house, from the scrapings of the roads, &c. It is made into a heap, and turned, before it is put into the ground for potatoes.

This plan of alternate wheat and potato crops, the good woman has practised for thirteen years with great success; but it is only during the last six years that she has got rid of the ploughing and harrowing. For this she used formerly to depend upon the assistance of the neighbouring farmers: and as they could not find time for her work till their own was done, her land was seldom ploughed in proper time or season. Now she is independent; the planting of the potatoes, and the mode of taking them up, being sufficient to prepare the land for wheat, which she generally sows herself about the middle of October; and, as I have said before, with very good

success.

Hoping that this account may prove acceptable to some of your readers,

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,

A well-wisher to the Cottager's Garden. We fancy that we have read an account like this, in the reports of the Society for Bettering the Condition of the Poor, and that it is in one of our early numbers, to which (being from home) we have not now the means of referring.-ED.

ROYAL HUMANE SOCIETY FOR THE RECOVERY OF PERSONS APPARENTLY DROWNED OR DEAD.

THE most approved method of treatment may be had gratis by subscribers, on application to the secretary. Twenty-four persons were saved from drowning during the last bathing season, by the Society's men, at the Serpentine, and perfectly restored at the new receiving house, in Hyde Park. And at the last monthly meeting of the Committee, several persons were rewarded for rescuing individuals from drowning in the other parts of the metropolis during the last month'.

1 Patron and Patroness-The KING and QUEEN. President-The Duke of NORTHUMBERLAND, K.G.

SELECTIONS FROM DIFFERENT AUTHORS.

LET no man think it too much to require at the hands of men, at one and the self-same instant, both to attend their calling and their prayer. For the mind of man is a very agile and nimble substance, and it is a wonderful thing to see how many things it will, at one moment, apply itself unto without any confusion, or hindrance. Look but upon the musician: while he is in his practice, he tunes his voice, fingers his instrument, reads his ditty, (the words,) makes the note, observes time; all these things at one and the same instant, without any distraction or impediment: thus should men do in case of devotion; and in the common acts of our vocation let prayer bear a part.-Hales, of Eton.

Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." (Heb. xii. 14.) To be holy is to be separate from sin, to hate the works of the world, the flesh, and the devil, to take pleasure in keeping God's commandments, to do things as He would have us do them, to live habitually as in the sight of the world to come. Why cannot we be saved without possessing such a frame or temper of mind? I answer as follows: that, even supposing a man of unholy life once suffered to enter heaven, he would not be happy there, so that it would be no mercy to permit him to enter. Heaven is not like this world. If a man without holiness (supposing it possible) were admitted into

1836.] SELECTIONS FROM DIFFERENT AUTHORS.

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heaven, doubtless he would sustain a great disappointment. Before, indeed, he fancies that he would be happy there, but when he arrived there, he would find no discourse but that which he (perhaps) ridiculed on earth. He will see that God whom he could not bring himself to think of on earth. Ah! he could not bear the face of the living God. The Holy God would be no object of joy to him. None but the holy can look upon the Holy One; without holiness no man can endure to see the Lord.-(Newman's Sermons.)

Whatever may be our state in this world, whatever be our blessings or our trials, we are, as Christians, in a course of spiritual training, we are, as disciples of Jesus, under the guidance of His Spirit, perhaps to be made perfect through suffering, perhaps to triumph through thankfulness, perhaps to go to rest after having been the instruments of bringing many souls to glory, perhaps to remain unnoticed and desolate, yet by the cheerfulness of patient submission to put on more and more the mind which was in Christ Jesus. Many and different are the ways in which we may be called upon to do the will of God, yet, in all, it is one and the self-same Spirit who helpeth our infirmities, and who will never leave us nor forsake us. And what do we gather from all this? Simply thus much-whatever be our faith, whatever be our hope, still if we are not seconding, as it were, the gracious purposes of God to our souls-if we are not making progress in this our spiritual training, we are less than the least in the kingdom of heaven. For here must ever lie the practical part of religion. If a man slanders his neighbour, or cherishes malice, or turns a deaf ear to his poorer brother, or encourages high thoughts of himself, he may, perhaps, believe the truths of the Gospel, he may think he has a good hope through grace, but he cannot so far blind himself as to fancy that he is advancing in the school of Christ. He cannot, for instance, compare his thoughts and doings with the description of Christian charity, as it is given in the 13th chapter of St. Paul's first Epistle to the Corinthians, without feeling that he is not going on to perfection,—that he is resisting the Holy Ghost, and quenching the Spirit of grace.-Bramston.

EXTRACTS FROM THE PUBLIC NEWSPAPERS, &c.

It is stated, that nine out of ten of the American vessels frequenting the port of Liverpool sail without ardent spirits on board, and the crews are perfectly satisfied with the change. Coffee is the substitute provided.

CAUTION.-A little girl was lately scalded to death, by drinking hot tea out of the spout of a tea-pot, whilst her mother's eye happened to be turned another way.-Globe.

The Allotment System has been subjected to a trial in our own neighbourhood. About twelve months since, a piece of land in Charlcombe parish was taken by Mr. Lowder, of this city, and let to 56 persons, occupying a quarter of an acre each. Notwithstanding the tenants were neither gardeners nor country labourers, but consisted of masons, shoe-makers, and mechanics, living in Bath; and notwithstanding the land was poor and highly rented, being so near a city, the occupiers have, with the aid of a subscription to purchase manure for them at the outset, received one crop, and greatly improved the condition of the land. The first year has been, of course, one of great difficulty; the land was rough and heavy, and required much labour, and many of the tenants had been long out of employment. The result of the first year has been as good a crop of potatoes as could have been expected-about 80 sacks per acre. The land is now brought into fair tillage, and, in the course of a year or two, will no doubt be wrought into a high state of cultivation.-Bath Gazette.

The General Annual Meeting of the Hants Agricultural Society was holden in a field near St. Cross, on Wednesday, July 1. The prizes were adjudged as follows:

The President's premium of 20 guineas for letting the greatest quantity of land in small allotments to agricultural labourers-Rev. C. E. Lefroy, Ewshot House.

To three labourers who have supported their families without parochial relief-1st. Wm. Croucher, 5 sovs. ; 2nd. Thos. Jackson, 3 sovs.; 3rd. Wm. Hooper, 2 sovs.

To the shepherd who reared the greatest number of lambs-John Rose, shepherd to Sir Thomas Baring, Bart. 5l.-Salisbury Herald.

A servant girl was burned to death, last week, at Hulme, Lancashire, through mending her stockings in bed, and dropping asleep. Two of her master's children, who slept with her, narrowly escaped destruction.

The same.

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

We have received the communications of T. E. B.; L. S. R.; G. P.; A Friend to Temperance Societies; E. A.; M. A. B.; A Layman; A. H. S.; F. M. K.; J. C.

The number of articles sent to us on the subject of the New Poor Law, makes it difficult for us to select. Mr. Wickham's little work, called "The Old and New Poor Law," and Mr. Leslie's "Letter to the Industrious Classes," give some most useful statements :-and we trust that the poor will find that the alteration will, in the end, be much to their advantage,though there will at first be some cases of hardship, which ought to be treated with great tenderness.