Notes On Literature, Science, And Art.

lor the sweet sacrifice of praise and prayev , And earthly use grew from a work divine ; So the pure life that breathes celestial air And points to Heaven , for man Avill also shine , A star of comfort ' mid the Avaves of care . " " An Autumn Day at Fountains' Abbey " is also well worth quoting : — " 'A perfect day ! ' we cried , ' A perfect day !' round fanFountains walks d

As - ' Avinding we stray' , Where yellowing leaves and mouldering arches made The valley rich Avith beautiful decay . The world-famed jeAvel of those ruins grey Was grandly set in gold and crimson shade ; The sylvan glories dazzle as they fade ; The crumbling Abbey smiles itself away . ' Alas I' I murmur'd , ' that this earth of ours To Avasting Time should its perfection owe ,

And the brief splendour of autumnal bowers : ' But down Faith ' s vista , then I caught the gloAV Of fairer landscapes , more enduring toAvers , And deeper , truer joys than mortals knoAv . " These few specimens of our author ' s Muse will shoAV that the Lyrics , Sylvan ami Sacred , contain much of AA'hat I may term Masonic teaching ; and I must say that the Sonnet to Mrs . Charles Tennyson Turner is one of the most graceful compliments I ever

read . Mr . Wilton , I see , is the author of Wood Notes and Church Bells , Avhich I do not remember to have ever seen , but if equal to the Ai'ork before me , he deserves to hold high rank among my brother bards of Yorkshire . I purpose haA'ing another glance at Mr . Wilton ' s pleasant poetry in a future number . Since the introduction of the potato , by Sir Walter Ralei gh , from Virginia into England and Ireland , in the clays of Shakspere , its use has become so common among

rich and poor that a failure in the crop is a national calamity ; and never Avere old Cobbett's attacks so totally thrown away as on the use of this valuable vegetable . Not that potatoes are noAV made the basis of " delicate conserves and restorative SAveetmeats , " or that it is deemed necessary to correct any flatulent effects of theirs by eating thera " sopped in Avine , " or ( " to give them the greater grace in eating " ) that " they should be boiled with prunes , " as good old Gerarde , the father of English botany , recommends . Experience , the best of teachers , has demonstrated that what was a new luxury to Gerarde may be made into a cheap article of necessary food , for daily use , to accompany

every savory dish that can be sent to the table , Avhether " fish , flesh , or fowl . " But to store them for use in Avinter , and to be able to come at them in frosty Aveather , has ahvays been a matter for consideration . A Avriter in a recent number of the American Agriculturalist says : — "In cold Ai'eather , when the temperature can be regidated , potatoes keep Avell enough , but in warm cellars , or during warm spells , I find it difficult to prevent their starting , and Ave have to rub off the sprouts . I sa \ v at Dr . Hexamer ' s , a feAV

weeks ago , a contrivance Avhich it seems strange has never been described and figured by the agricultural papers . The doctor takes any old boards or strips , and with them makes little bottomless bins about two and a half feet to three feet square and tAvo feet high—at any rate , large enough to hold five bushels Avith tolerable accuracy . The corner pieces project an inch beloAv the loAvermost stri p , and fall short the same amount at the top . Three of these bins constitute a set ; two of them are alike , but the one to

go on the bottom has a bottom to it , and a cheaply made side door on one side . When the potatoes are harvested these bins are filled , the bottom one first of course ; then another is set upon the top and filled , and so on . Thus fifteen bushels are held in a very compact space , and yet the air passes freel y through them . These sets of bins are placed side by side , with the sliding-doors accessible . Now when the potatoes need stirring—which they do once in a feAV weeks , and oftener towards spring—all that it is necessary to do is to raise the door , and take a bushel-basketful out from the bottom and to put it upon the top . Thus every potato in the Avhole bin is turned , and its relations to air and moisture more or less varied—at least , enough to stop or greatly