Mr. Bancroft's four supplementary volumes will bring his history from the close of the Revolution down to the present time. The first volume is said to be nearly ready.

Meissonier's Great Painting.—We see it announced that Mr. A. T. Stewart has bought the famous "Cuirassiers," though the price paid seems in question; the Academy places it at 30,000 francs, while The Independent says he has bought it at a price which largely exceeds that at which any modern picture has ever been sold. This costly canvas is only five feet broad, and the price paid the artist is stated at three hundred thousand francs. To this sum must be added ten per cent. duty on importation and about fifteen per cent. for dif ference of exchange, making the picture cost in New York full $76,000. This is about two-thirds the price paid by the French Government for that famous painting by Murillo called the "Immaculate Conception of the Virgin." The picture of which Mr. Stewart has become the owner at so great an outlay has an interesting history, from the many attempts made to purchase it of the artist. It represents an incident in the military career of the Napoleon I, who stands upon a hillock, while a regiment of Cuirassiers give him the salute as they rush past into the thick of a battle. Mr. Stewart may be congratulated upon not only having the greatest painting of one of the greatest French artists, but on having paid the highest price that was ever paid for any single work of art by a contemporary painter.

Mr. Probasco, of Cincinnati, was one of the collectors who were anxious to purchase the above painting. He bid one hundred and fifty thousand francs for it before it was finished.

The Yale Art School. The course of study at the Yale Art School will extend over three years, and will be arranged about as follows: First year-Drawing-from the flat, from the antique, from the living model. Perspective

descriptive geometry, shadows and linear perspective, applications and examples. Lectures-the elements of form, principles of proportion. Second year: Drawing-technical discipline, studies from the living model. Anatomy-the bones and articulations of the skeleton, the muscles and movements of the body, the anatomy of external forms. Painting-technical discipline, studies from casts and still life. Third year: Painting-technical practice, studies from the living model. Composition-studies in color and chiaroscuro, design. Lectures-on the history, theory and prac tice of art.

Lord Houghton's Visit.-Lord Houghton had his final reception and banquet at the Union League Club on Tuesday, November 23d, and left in the steamer on the next day for England. No British author has ever received so many marks of distinguished consideration in this conntry as were shown to Lord Houghton. He was, indeed, the first British poet who visited these shores since Tom Moore came here on a visit, nearly seventy years ago. He made a very graceful speech at the Union League Club, in which he "advised Americans to cultivate the English language, to cherish their own authors and not try to diminish them by criticizing their faults in the light of the great writers in Europe, but to be glad that they were found among ourselves."

Joseph Felix Bracguemond.-In a letter to The Academy, M. Ph. Burty gives the following account of a French artist hitherto unknown on this continent, but The Independent tells us he is engaged in manufacturing some immense pieces of porcelain for our Centennial Exposition, and hence Americans will be interested in making his acquaintance; his porcelain expected "to make a great sensation" in consequence of their "style and ornamentation."

"He is a big, sturdy fellow of 42, born in Paris, in the year 1832, in the house of a colorman, who then made a business of letting out English water-colors by Bonington, Harding, Prout, and the two Fieldings. When still very young, he took lessons of the painter Joseph Guichard, who was an undisciplined pupil of Ingres. His drawing, his coloring, and his tastes all incline to the romantic and the admiration he professes for Ingres borders on fanaticism. But Bracquemond is the son of poor parents, he is a selfeducated and self-made man, and has always been the equal or the superior of the men with whon he came to associate. He certainly owes his greatest strength to his popular descent. From his youth up, his lively imagination led him to try every kind of process, every mode of artistic expression; and he mastered them all with readiness. His technical knowledge of the engraver's, the potter's, and the lithographer's art is such as no son of a bourgeois could ever have acquired. He is gifted with critical taste of the most remarkable kind. He used to dictate to journalists-then young, but now well known in the literary world-criticisms on the salons that were both liberal and judicious. On devoting himself to pottery he executed for a porcelain dealer a series of designs in Japanese style which immediately earned a European success, as they were imitated even in England. He had appreciated the masterly quality of these flowers, fish, and insect designs, alike as pieces of decorative outline and as

examples, by their juxtaposition, of large masses of delicate and brilliant tints of perfect decorative colors. For the last few years he has been director at Point-du-Jour, between Sèvres and Paris, of a porcelain manufactory, the seat of which is Limoges and which belongs to M. Aviland, an intelligent, rich American." The M. Aviland who has the credit of employing so great an artist as the overseer of his porcelain works is of the well-known firm of Haviland & Co., of New York, formerly of John street and at present of Barclay

street.

It is said that authentic documents have been discovered, establishing as certain that a fine marble group of the Madonna and Child," which has long existed in the Church of Notre Dame at Bruges, was purchased for that church, of Michael Angelo himself, by a wealthy Fleming. But M. Louis Viardot, a veteran of French letters and of artistic criticism, has addressed a letter to the Chronique des Arts, in which he gives some reasons for hesitating still to accept this conclusion about the "Madonna" of Bruges.

A bronze statue, eight and a half feet in height, has recently been erected in Cohoes, New York, in honor of the late Thomas Garner, the famous calico manufacturer, who was the projector of the Harmony Cotton Mills in that town.

Every-Day Science.-When boils make their appearance, take a teaspoonful of soda in a glass of milk every morning and evening.

To renovate oil cloths, dissolve two and half pounds paraffine, and one gallon oil of turpentine by the aid of a gentle heal, and apply with a sponge or piece of flannel, while warm. Let it remain on the oil cloth twenty-four hours, then polish with flannel. This solution not only renovates but preserves the cloth. The same preparation may also be used on painted floors. When rubbed with flannel, it will have a beautiful gloss, equal to varnish.

To cleanse articles from tar, rosin or any compounds of a resinous character, the use of flaxseed meal, moistened with water, is recommended.

SUPERIOR ADHESIVE MUCILAGE.-The Journal de Pharmacie states that if, to a strong solution of gum arabic, measuring eight and one-third fluid ounces, a solution of thirty grains of sulphate of aluminum dissolved in two-thirds of an ounce of water be added, a very strong mucilage is formed, capable of fastening wood together, or of mending porcelain or glass.

Shingle roofs can be made doubly durable by giving them a coat of thin oil before they get wet.

TO MAKE LIGHT WOOD RESEMBLE WALNUT.-Take asphaltum varnish one part, turpentine three or four parts, linseed oil one part, and Venetian red ground fine in oil to

suit.

A non-drying cement of great tenacity, useful in fastening plates of glass so as to exclude air, but admitting of their being easily separated, is formed by adding freshly slaked lime to double its weight of India rubber, and heating to about 400° Fah., when the rubber will be converted into a glutinous mass.

TEN CENTS' WORTH OF SQUEAK.-It is related that a certain church deacon, having bought a pair of new boots that didn't squeak, to advertise their newness sent them to his shoemaker with a ten-cent stamp and the request that he should insert "ten cents worth of squeak." But most persons prefer to dispense with the squeak, and such can rely upon the following: To stop new boots squeaking, drive a peg in the middle of the sole.

To extract the silver from old watch cases and similar articles which contain alloys, dissolve in nitric acid and precipitate the chloride of silver with a solution of common salt. The silver is reduced to a pure state by mixing the chande with an equal weight of bicarbonate of soda and smelting in a common sand crucible.

To bleach glue, soak it in moderately strong acetic acid for two days, drain, place on a sieve, and wash well with cold water. Dry on a warm plate.

TO PRESERVE CELLAR TIMBERS.-It is said that dry rot in cellar timbers can be prevented by coating the wood with whitewash to which has been added enough copperas to give the mixture a pale yellow hue.

WATER LILIES.-It is said that water lilies may be raised about one's house by the following method: Sink in the ground the half of an old cask, and cover the bottom with peat and swamp mud, and then fill with water. Dig the lily roots early in the spring, and place them in the earth at the bottom of the tub. A gentleman who has tried the experiment has a number of lilies in bloom.

A piece of wood cut from a tree is a good conductor; let it be heated add dried, it becomes an insulator; let it be baked to charcoal, it becomes a good conductor again; burn it to ashes, and it becomes an insulator once more.

Rats and Mice.-In a late number of Nature, Mr. G. J. Romanes gives an account of some simple experiments he made to prove that rats and mice feed by means of their tails when the desired substance is not otherwise accessible—as, for instance, when it is contained in a narrow-mouthed jar. He filled some preserve jars with soft jelly to within three inches of the top, covered the bottles with bladder, and set them in the way of the rats. Next morning a small hole, just large enough to admit a rat's tail, was found to have been gnawed through the bladder, and the surface of the jelly was lowered to an extent agreeing with the length of a rat's tail, showing that the animal had repeatedly dropped its tail into the bottle, and withdrawn it to lick off the jelly which adhered. But, to be doubly sure, the experimenter next fitted a circular piece of moistened paper to the surface of the jelly and stood the bottle in a damp place, free from rats, until a good crop of mould had gathered, when the bottle, with its contents thus arranged, was again put in the way of the rats. The hole was gnawed in the bladder as before, and the surface of the mouldy paper showed distinctly the tracery of the tail-end of the animals, who had thus evidently been sweeping about in the vain endeavor to make some jelly stick.

At a recent meeting of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences a walnut was exhibited from Mr. Heidekoper, of Meadville, Pennsylvania, which had all the appearances of being a hybrid between the butternut and black walnut. The fruit was of the ovoid form of the butternut, but had the smooth surface of the black walnut, being entirely devoid of viscidity. The walnut seems to make natural hybrids with some facility, as there are instances on record of hybrids between the English walnut and the black or American species. It is perhaps a wonder that when plants hybridize so readily, the forms do not multiply, and break down the characters that define the species. But if Mr. Naudin's views are correct-that hybrids return in a few generations to the form of their female parents-we find a beautiful provision for guarding against any ill or permanent effects from these hybrid accidents. At the same meeting a hybrid fruit was exhibited between two species of Pyrus-P. sinensis and P. communis-the common garden pear.

It is said that Professor James Orton, of Vassar College, prchoses at an early day to make an exploration of the Madeira and Beni Rivers, which are branches of the Amazon, with a view of opening to sciecce that portion of South America which is watered by these rivers.

Preserving Fungi.—Mr. J. H. Martin says that a good method for the preservation of fungi is to place them in a solution of one part of calcic chloride (chloride of lime) and ten parts of hydric oxide (water). This will change the phosphates in the fungus into phosphate of lime, after which they will be found to keep well.

Belting. To guard belting against being gnawed by rats, anoint it with castor oil.

Antique Bronze.-The repeated applications, to copper or brass, of alternate washes of dilute acetic acid and exposure to the fumes of ammonia will give a very antiquelooking green bronze; but a quick mode of producing a similar appearance is often desirable. To this end the arti cles may be immersed in a solution of one part perchloride of iron in two parts water. The tone assumed darkens with the length of immersion. Or the articles may be boiled in a strong solution of nitrate of copper. Or, they may be immersed in a solution of two ounces nitrate of iron and two ounces hyposulphite of soda in one pint water. Washing, drying, and burnishing complete the process.

To Cut a Bottle in Two.-The following is one way to cut a bottle in two: Turn the bottle as evenly as possibly over a low gaslight flame for about ten minutes. Then dip steadily in water; and the sudden cooling will cause a regular crack to encircle the side at the heated place, allowing the portions to be easily separated.

The Soda Lakes of Wyoming Territory.-Professor Pontez, Geologist to the Union Pacific Railroad, reports as follows on an interesting deposit of carbonate of soda in Wyoming Territory:

"The carbonate of soda deposit is, by nearest road for wagon, sixty-five miles from Rawlins Station, nearly due north. There are two lakes. The upper and larger one covers about 200 acres; the water has an average depth of three feet and a specific gravity of 1.097; it therefore contains nearly one pound of soda to ten of water. The soda is nearly all carbonate. The second lake is situated about two miles east of the large lake, on a somewhat lower level. It is bowl-shaped, and covers rather more than three and one half acres. During the greater portion of the year, it is a concrete mass of crystals of carbonate of soda, mixed with a small quantity of dust blown from the adjacent plain. I excavated to the depth of six feet, but did not reach the bottom of the deposit. Its entire depth can only be ascertained by boring. It is a reservoir or pocket which receives its increase from the periodic influx from the larger lake. The water, having no outlet, evaporates during the summer, and by autumn becomes a compact mass.

"The quality of the carbonate is fully equal to the imported article used throughout the country. Its minimum

or bottom price has been $45 per ton, up to $67, its present price. Estimating the quantity by the specific gravity of the water, its depth and area, the large lake covering 200 acres will yield on evaporation 78,000 tons, which, at the market value, would realize, at $45 per ton $4,510,000. Besides the cost of freight, the expense of preparing the article for market would be four dollars per ton, for evaporating.

"The small lake already crystallized, and estimated only to the depth of six feet, and an area of 155,000 feet, contains 30,660 tons, which, at $45 per ton, would realize $1,379,700, with no drawback except freight and commission.

Parlor Magic.—The following beautiful experiment în instantaneous crystallization is given by Péligot in La Nature: Dissolve 150 parts, by weight, of hyposulphite of soda in 15 parts boiling water, and gently pour it into a tall test glass so as to half fill it, keeping the solution warm by placing the glass in hot water. Dissolve 100 parts, by weight, sodic acetate in 15 parts hot water, and carefully pour it into the same glass; the latter will form an overlying layer on the surface of the former, and will not mix with it. When cool, there will be two supersaturated solutions. If a crystal of sodic hyposulphite be attached to a thread and carefully passed into the glass, it will traverse the acetate solution without disturbing it, but, on reaching the hyposulphite solution, will cause the latter to crystallize instantaneously in large rhomboidal prisms with oblique terminal faces. When the lower solution is completely crystallized, a crystal of sodic acetate, similarly lowered into the upper solution, will cause it to crystallize in oblique rhombic prisms. The appearance of the two different kinds of crystals will not fail to astonish those not acquainted with this class of experiments.

About Bitters.-The Board of Health of the city of Boston, Massachusetts, not long ago appointed Professor W. R. Nichols, a celebrated chemist of that city to examine into the various concoctions enormously advertised and sold to an unsuspecting public under the mild name of "bitters." Mr. Nichols is continuing his investigations, and up to the present time has elicited enough to warrant a wholesale condemnation, certainly, of the most popular of these disguised drinks. He says that, out of twenty samples, only one did not contain alcohol, and that had the least sale.

Lard.—In preparing lard for the market, it should first be cut into pieces about the size of a walnut, and these should be allowed to stand in water for half an hour. Then work the material with the hands in five or six successive portions of water. Next pour off the water, melt the lard in a water-bath, and strain through fine linen. In the first straining it will be impossible to get rid of all the water, so that, after cooling and draining, it will be necessary to remelt the lard, and finally to filter it through paper in a warm closet.