Sketcher.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 415, 28 April 1904, Page 7

Sketcher.

THE UNRULY TONGUE,

SI3XKHE National Association for the Zfejrrtg Suppression of Bad Language fjgk? received a warm letter from the

King last year, endorsing its policy and wishing all snco.eßß.to its work; bat we never hear anything of this body. The vicar of a church at Barrow, England, took' the most practical steps one has heard of. He promised, 'lf any man in this parish is fined for punching the head of any one who publicly indulges in blasphemous or obscene language, he will always have his fine paid for him. There is still' in. existence a ra+her stringent Act of Parliament which fixes a tariff, for swears. The common laborer, soldier or .seaman, who made, use of bad language was to be fined Is per oath anyone under the degree of gentleman 2d; above that degree, 5a 5 whilst magistrates failing to convict were to forfeit £5, and constables for failure in their duty to prosecute, 40a- Were the law enforced, the work of the Bankruptcy Court would show a wonderful increase. Th swearing habit seems to have descended from the upper to the lower class. The late Lord Shaftesbury. Upon coming into his title, was informed by one of his Bißters, ' You must learn to swear. Your father always did, and gained great respect by it in the county. Lord Melbourne, who, by a strange chance, came to be political mentor of the first La:ly in Europe, was given to very vigorous expressions, and we all know the story of the Archbishop who said to him, 'lt will Bave time if we agree beforehand iha everybody and thing is damned.'

When that sweating: Act was passed, its promoters believed that the language common among the people had something to do with the troubles through which the nation was passing. How the mighty ones mußt have trembled I It is related that Archbishop Howley swore like a trooper. Bat it is too bad. The explanation is this: The Duke of Cumberland, whose mouth must have been a furnace, went in quest of 4he Primate to get his assistance about a certain bill which he disliked. He returned to the House of Lords saying, 'lt's all right, my lords, I've seen the Archbishop, and he says he'll see the promoters to - before he'll vote for the ——bill,' As a matter of fact, all the adjectives had been supplied quite in the ordinary run of conversation by the Duke. In much the same way a was-fathered upon Cardinal Oullen by Father Healy and a, conspirator. The latter. told an ingenuous listener that he had implored the Cardinal to revoke his 'edict against fast dancing:,' and that the Cardinal had replied,g I'll see you d—d first.' 'Could a man of so exalted a station as the Cardinal say <-uch a thing?'- the stranger asked. 'Well/ said Healy, gravely, 'drunk or sober I never heard him say such a thing.' v - It is awkward'to be accused of that of which one is not guilty, but some men are so constituted 'that they insist upon cognisance of that of which they are not proud. Thus Lord Orford, when a Bible Society asked him to become its pre* sident: ' I have long been addicted to the gaming table. I have lately taken to the turf. I fear I frequently blaspheme. But I have never distributed religious tracts. All this was , known to .'. your society, notwithstanding which you think me fit to be your president God forgive your hypocrisy.'

GARDENS IN QUEEB PL4.CE9. Take an -old umbrella and open it. Well soak the fabric with water, and sprinkle over it mustard and cresß seed. Pat the umbrella aay where—on a coping, flat roof, or in any position where it can get plenty of sun—and water it well two or three times daily. In a week or two a crop of excellent ' small salad' may be Cut; ," ' .■■;■!..''

The garden on the roof of Southwark Police Court was brought istp prominence last Bumm'r, but thdre is one in an even mere remarkable position within astone'sthrow. This has been made oh a stone lfflge of the Thames Embankment on the West side of Blackfriars Bridge; It is the work of the men cf the fire-float which is stationed there, and every atom of soil has had to be carted, basketful by basketfal, to the spot. It caa only be reached -from dry land by means of a ladder, so that* its position is utrqne. It is vary taetefally laid out, and carefully tended. pne.. would hardly expect to find a 'gardtsn on a fishiag-smack, yet' such a thing is in existence. The smack is one of the 'JExju' fleet, and the' garden' is lucked away by the bowsprit and wiadlass. It is pots and small boxes, and consists chiefly- of scarlet geraniums. The skipper of the smack admits that it gives him ..a* good deal of trouble, as a sudden .squall or a dip wipes away all traces of Horticulture at once, and the flowers have •to be. "renewed occasionally. ; Canal Boats, which work under;:more favourable conditions than fishing-smacks, are frequently improved by small gardeaß, usually in boxes, on their cramped cabin roofs, and when carefully tended they give the curiously shaped craft a verj picturesque appearance. are a feature of several of the South Wales coal-mines, It is true the crops are generally limited to mushrooms, but they are, none the less, gardens. The earth is taken down in b»gs by the miners, mixed with manure fromthe pit .ponies' stables, and a mushroom-bed formed, into which broken bricks of spawn are put. As the level temperature is favourable to mush-room culture, it is'not loßg before good results are obtained, This system of underground gardening has prevailed for some time in Paris, for most of the •champignons,' or button mushrooms, used in that country, as well as a good many-of the ordinary kind, are grown in the disused subterranean stonequarries on the left bank of the Seine.

It is natural to expert to see gardens at ft flower-show, bat hardly a greenhouse containing a collection of plants Whioh, house and all, could be picked up and carted away; in an ordinary hat-box. Yet istich an exhibit was one of the features of the Boyal Horticultural Sooiety Exhibition inthe Temple Gardens last May: It was the latest, thing in miniature gardana, and consisted of a collection of about a dozen sorts of cacti in tiny pots on tisy shelves, end staged in a proportionately tiny greenhouse. The whole exhibit was very little more than a cubic foot in size.

Folks whose acquaintance with rail fraystation's is chiefly confined to the termini ■ and suburban establishments of our great towns would be inclined to ridicule tbem as sites for gardens, yet there are many charming gardens in railwa; .stations.: Kingsoote, on the L B, - and S.C R„ is one of these, the fences being smothered with Li France and Madame Limbard roses, while many, dozens of bright flowering plants twarm in the station building itself. On some lines of railway prizes are offered by the directors for the best 7 garden station,' and there are some notable examples of them on the L and N.Wiißidland, and G. W. Bailwaya,. - The fashionable freak gardening, in the shape of Japanese fern-balla, birds, and. elephants, whioh have just been introduced, are beaten hollow in sapidity of production, by - ths«>com'moa A. barrel op this commodity may be plucked in Woicesterehiie to»day;—Sßg. S»P«i -