clear cold water for half an hour, wring it well, and hang to dry. [We shall be happy to hear from any of our readers who may successfully adopt the mode suggested above. -EDIT.] THE LORD MAYOR AND THE BAKERS. The Lord Mayor is closing his career with what his Lordship thinks a popular measure,” namely, conciliating and backing the bakers against a projected Bread Company, declaring that such a company must be looked upon as " a combination destructive of the freedom, and in opposition to the first principles of trade," with a long string of fustian about monopolies, national interest, lending his sanction, &c. &c. &c. Now, all this might do, if given at Mr. Waithman's table, over a bottle of good old port, surrounded by a few rich bakers, and fronted (if possible) by Sir Wm. Curtis; but in the judgmentseat of the city it was out of place to assert that "there was as much roguery in other trades as in that of the bakers," and to directly state that "all Maton's pamphlet contains is false," was any thing but a "popular measure. "Fuir competition," too, was lugged into his Lordship's " speech." Now, what obstruction could the Bread Company throw in the way of fair competition? Would it prevent the baker from still selling his bread, provided he sold it as cheap, and made it as good and as wholesome as the Company? Now, we say it would have the effect of bringing down the prices of bread, which, in spite of his Lordship, philanthropy, and national feeling, would be a national benefit; this we believe no one will dispute. "What is to become of the bakers and their families?" forsooth, said his Lordship. Why, let them turn honest. The oldest records of the world prove to us, that this class of men have been rogues in grain, and all nations have narrowly watched them. Our laws are not sufficiently strong against them; and although we do not approve of the principle of monopoly, we do think that in this case there ought to be an exception, because this monopoly ५ will prove a general good; and we wish them success, although in opposition to the feelings of our worthy Lord Mayor; and every one who would rather pay five-pence than nine-pence for their loaf will join us in the wish. DUST. Dust is a valuable article: the old proverb says, "A bushel of March dust is worth a king's ransom." "Down with the dust," is an expressive saying; it implies the laying down a large sum of money. "Tip the blunt" may do for a short stage-coach fare, or a tavern reckoning; but, "Down with the dust,” implies a marriage portion, the settling a large wager, or the payment of some important sum of money. Dust will blind the eye; gold-dust, judiciously applied, hath a marvellous effect in preventing vision; it sometimes prevents a sheriff's officer seeing a debtor, á gaoler his prisoner, a revenue officer prohibited goods; but it is neither March dust nor gold-dust of which I write-it is real dust and ashes. A few years ago, at Battle-bridge, where the junction of Gray's-Inn-lane Road, and the New Road forms an obtuse angle, a dust-hill raised its dirty crest, towering high above the surrounding houses; its base covering above an acre of ground, with a carriage road-way up the cindery mount, like the representation of the Tower of Babel; here scores of men and women were employed, separating the breeze and other materials of which the heap was composed; the buying price of the dust-merchant was one shilling a load, the selling price eighteen pence, taking the commodity as it rose. Hundreds of pigs rooted out a rich living on the black hill, and the proprietor enjoyed a handsome revenue from his dusty traffic. At length circumstances led to a sale, and this dust-hill, divided into lots, produced by auction upwards of five thousand pounds. On this spot now stands a handsome new chapel, and a school-house. HOW TO ARRIVE AT PERFECTION.. Regularly read the sporting Sunday newspaper-visit the fancy houses blow your steamer every night at a lush-crib-associate with its frequenters-wear a poodle upper Benjamin, mother-of-pearl buttons, a lily, shallow, and a bird's-eye wipe-chaff at the Fives Court, and be present at the mills-carefully mix up all the slang phrases in your ordinary conversation-call a shilling a Bob, a coachman a Jarvie, your father or uncle a rum old cove; and if you find yourself at a loss, take half-a-dozen lessons from any Paddington stagecoachman: you cannot fail becoming A PERFECT BLACKGUARD. носк. Hock derives its name from Hockheim, a small town near Mentz, in Germany; it only contains eight acres of vineyard, and grows about 32,000 vine-plants, worth as many ducats. Twelve large casks of wine annually, worth about 150l. each, is the whole of its veritable produce to supply all the civilized world. There is more hock drank in the taverns of London alone, than is made at Hockheim during the year. USES OF SALT IN MANUFACTURES AND AGRICULTURE. Important advantages will be derived from salt when procurable without duty, which ceases on the 5th of January next. The following are some of the purposes to which salt may be applied: from the common salt are made, sal ammoniac, oxymuriate of lime (used in bleach ing), muriatic acid (used in dyeing), crystallized soda, barilla, corrosive sublimate, and patent yellow. Salt is largely employed in the manufacture of every description of glass; Glauber's salt is made from what remains in the still after the distillation of muriatic acid; Epsom salt is produced from salt, or the evaporation of sea water; magnesia is made from salt brine, or sea water; salt is much used in the fisheries, also by butchers, morocco dressers, and skinners; farmers use great quantities in making butter and cheese, and for steeping wheat, to prevent smut; in glazing earthenware much salt is consumed, and it is likewise employed by iron founders, in metallic cements, and in rendering bar iron malleable. In horticulture, salt is highly useful: it prevents the depredations of insects on fruit-trees; and if a small trench be dug at a short distance from an appletree, and a few pounds of salt placed therein, the rains will gradually convey it to the roots, and the most desirable effects will be produced. ELIGIBLE SITUATIONS FOR Under this head we shall occasionally notice places in London where particular trades or professions may be successfully established; but we beg to remark, that we can alone state it as our opinion, and only intend to draw the attention of our readers to the place, it being of course more within their province finally to judge of the accuracy of our sugges tions. We shall at all times be happy to learn that our remarks have been serviceable, and to receive hints upon the subject from the inhabitants of London and its extensive environs. To Barbers. In any leading thoroughfare about St. Mary Axe, Bishopsgate-within, Houndsditch, Leadenhall-street, Fenchurch-street, Gracechurch-street, the vicinity, a sober barber might Lombard-street, Lime-street, and open a shop to advantage; it is true there are several tonsors in this neighbourhood; some charge half-a-crown for shaving and dressing, others remind one of Joe Miller's story of shaving for God's sake. ALDGATE PUMP. To the Editor of The Economist. MR EDITOR-A Mr. Thurnell, who is represented as an upholsterer and cabinet-maker in Leadenhallstreet, appeared at Lambeth-street, to charge a female servant with robbery, a few days ago. Pray, Sir, is this Mr. Thurnell the manager or agent of the quondam Cabinetmaker's Society in this neighbour hood? or is this Mr. Thurnell like the Irish drummer, who, when a certain regiment was called out by the commander-in-chief, presented himself, saying, "Please your honour, I'm the thirty-fifth"? A CONSTANT READER. ANNALS OF GULLING No. XXIII. Is it to be believed, that, notwithstanding the outcry formerly raised ,against the infamous practice of adulterating teas-the prosecutionsthe chemical examinations-the "Genuine Tea Companies," and the flaming resolutions of philanthropists and humbugs, the adulteration still exists? On this point we are now scratching up all the information we can, and by next Saturday we hope to give our readers a taste of the London tea. The New River Company, that supplies the city of London with such a plentiful scarcity of water, is also in hand. LOBSTER GULLING. Coming home from the theatre through Fleet-street, how pleasant is it to seize upon a nice freshly-boiled lobster at one of those shops there, which display such a profusion of shell-fish! How pleasant to take it home-stir your fire-listen to the kettle singing, while your maid lays the cloth; but oh! Ye salt water Gods! Just as all is ready, save the lobster, you find it half rotten! This will be often the case, unless you are a right good judge. The best way is to make the shopkeeper split the lobster bad, he must change it. We were before you take it home; if it be served this trick last week, after a dish of Der Freischütz,, a strong anticipation of a rich lobster, and a glass of editorial punch, which, with a biscuit, and a few muttering curses on the lobster-man, were our supper. REFLECTIONS, MAXIMS, &c. 73. When I hear persons gravely affirm that they have made up their minds to forego this or that improper enjoyment, I often think in myself that it would be quite as prudent if they could also make up their bodies as well. Falstaff would have been as abstemious at the banquet as a hermit, and as firm in the battle as a hero, if he could but have gained over the consent of his belly, in the one case, and of his legs in the other. He that strives for the mastery, must join a well-disciplined body to a well-regulated mind; for with mind and body, as with man and wife, it often happens that the stronger vessel is ruled by the weaker, although in moral, as in domestic economy, matters are best conducted where neither parties are unreasonable, and where both are agreed. 74. Although the majority of the inhabitants of London will stop to gaze at the merest trifles, will be amused by the heaviest efforts of dulness, and will believe the grossest absurdities, though they are the dupes of all that is designing abroad, or contemptible at home; yet, by residing in this wonderful metropolis, let not the wisest man presume to think he shall not add to his wisdom, nor the most experienced man to his experience. 75. Much may be done in those little shreds and patches of time, which every day produces, and which most men throw away, but which nevertheless will make at the end of it, no small deduction from the little life of man. Cicero has termed them intercisiva tempora, and the ancients were not ignorant of their value; nay, it was not unusual with them either to compose or to dictate, while under the operation of rubbing after the bath. 76. If there be a pleasure on earth which angels cannot enjoy, and which they might almost envy man the possession of, it is the power of relieving distress. If there be a pain which devils might pity man for enduring, it is the death-bed reflection that we have possessed the power of doing good, but that we have abused and perverted it to purposes of ill. 77. He that from small beginnings has deservedly raised himself to the highest stations, may not always find that full satisfaction in the possession of his object that he anticipated in the pursuit of it. But although the individual may be disappointed, the community are benefitted; first, by his exertions, and, secondly, by his example; for, it has been well observed, that the public are served, not by what the lord mayor feels, who rides in his coach, but by what the apprentice-boy feels who looks at him. for 78. All great cities abound with little men, whose object it is to be the stars of the dinner-table, and grand purveyors of all the stray jokes of the 'town; so long as these turnspits confine themselves to fetch and carry their masters, they succeed tolerably well; but the moment they set up for originality, and commence manufacturers instead of retailers, they are ruined. Like the hind wheel of the carriage, which is in constant pursuit of the fore one, without ever overtaking it, so these become the doubles of a Selwyn or a Sheridan, but without ever coming up to them. They are constantly near wit, without being witty, as his valet is always near a great man, without being great. GARDENING, HORTICULTURE, &c. PLANTING TREES. He who plants trees upon his paternal estate, repays a debt to his posterity which he owes to his ancestors. A gentleman, whose lands were more extensive than fertile, used to plant 1,000 trees, on the birth of every daughter, upon his waste grounds, which were, on an average, worth one pound each on her coming of age thus enabling him to give her a fortune of 1,000, without any extraordinary economy on his part, the regular thinning of the trees, at proper seasons, with barking, &c. paying off all the current expenses, besides yield ing him a small rent for the land. In the year 1758, ninety-two fir trees were planted upon a piece of ground, about three-quarters of an acre in extent. The land was waste and poor; no extra expense was incurred, and no further attention was paid to the young trees. In 1813, they were cut down, and yielded ninety tons of timber, then worth 4. per ton, giving a round sum of 360, which was equal to a rent of 6l. 10s. during the intervening 55 years. Can a more convincing proof be given of the facility with which a man may save a fortune for his grandchildren? It is, indeed, long to look forward; but who is there that does not look so forward? Who is there that does not extend his family hope much beyond that period? In Yorkshire, very recently, 5,000 oaks were cut down, which yielded the sum of 100,000l.; and, as recently, in Somersetshire, the timber of an estate of 2,000 acres, was refused to an offer of 50,000l. Even in Scotland, a piece of ground, not worth 30s. per acre for agricultural purposes, was planted with sycamores, and at the end of sixty years the trees fetched such a sum as paid 14. per acre per annum during that long period. There are ways, however, of making land, apparently fit for nothing else but planting, yield even an immediate profit, by a very simple process; for it has been ascertained, that a pound of turnip-seed sown (after harvest) upon an acre of light, sandy, and even gravelly land, which had been worn out by overploughing, and ploughed in after two months growth, leaves, roots, &c. had as fertilizing an effect as could have been produced by 25 loads of manure upon that quantity of land. The practice, we believe, has not been uncommon in some parts of Surrey. EARLY TURNIPS FOR SOILING.` Mr. Curwen, for the purpose of supplying the deficiency of green food during the latter part of August, September, &c. one year sowed the yellow, white, and green turnips, during the first two weeks in May, and his crop was without exception not only the best in his own neighbourhood, but was not surpassed in any part either in the North of England or of Scotland. The great advantage derived from this system is, that those who soil are not under the necessity of cutting their clover crops a second time, which not only very much deteriorates the soil, but in some instances, as was the case frequently this season, hardly repays the expense of cutting. AGRICULTURE OF THE NETHERLANDS. This Flanders has long been considered as the most productive and best cultivated country in Europe. The stranger is surprised to see the uniformly fine crops which the land produces. In England he will meet with many fields which rival or excel the most productive farms of the Netherlands, but there a field with an inferior crop is rarely or never seen. The mildew is almost unknown in the Netherlands. partly arises from the care which the Flemish farmer takes in selecting the best corn for seed; some farmers carefully pick out the best ears, whilst others strike an entire sheaf against a piece of wood, and take only the igrains which first drop out. The seed is changed almost every second year. Another cause of the superiority of the Flemish crops is manuring the clover with peat ashes. In Flanders about sixteen bushels of Dutch ashes are sown upon each acre of clover, and the consequence is, that two great crops are always procured, and pasturage afterwards, while the crop of wheat which follows never fails. It is a maxim with the Flemish farmers, that if the land be fairly manured every ninth year, fallows are perfectly unnecessary. The usual produce of wheat is twelve or thirteen for one, and never less than six or seven. COOKERY. TO ROAST WILD FOWL. The flavour is best preserved without stuffing. Put pepper, salt, and a piece of butter, into each. Wild fowl require much less dress- / ing than tame: they should be served of a fine colour, and well frothed up. A rich brown gravy should be sent in the dish: and when the breast is cut into slices, before taking off the bone, a squeeze of lemon, with pepper and salt, is a great improvement to the flavour. To take off the fishy taste which wild fowl sometimes have, put an onion, salt, and hot water into the dripping-pan, and baste them for the first ten minutes with this; then take away the pan, and baste constantly with butter. WILD DUCKS, TEAL, WIDGEON, DUNBIRDS, &c. Should be taken up with the gravy in. Baste them with butter; and sprinkle a little salt before they are taken up; put a good gravy upon them, and serve with shallot-sauce, in a boat. WOODCOCKS, SNIPES, AND QUAILS, Keep good several days. Roast them |