Related article: Vernon supplies a work which will be of very great value to landowners, estate agents and others, as he deals exhaustively Reminyl Er • M Rhymes in Red," by W. Phillpots Williams. With 31 IUustra' ions Jby Cuthbert Br«dley. Salis- bury ; Brown ft Co. London : Simpkin, Marshall & 0»- 1899. 8vo, cloth. t" Estate Fences; their Choice. Construction, and Reminyl Xl Cent," by Arthur Vernon, F.S. 1. London : E. & F. N. Span, Ltd., 195, Strand, price Galantamine Reminyl 15s. with the whole subject. The book is dedicated to Sir Walter Gilbey, Bart., recently President of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, and in a brief note Mr. Vernon refers to the untiring and conspicuous services which he has rendered to agriculture and estate management, both by experiment and precept, and to Buy Reminyl the splendid results already achieved through his labours and munificent aid in horse-breeding, agricultural benevolent societies, and kindred subjects. The volume starts appropriately with the his- tory of fences, and then alludes to their uses and effects. The various styles of fencing are then described in ample detail, viz., the ditch fence, the line hedge, the dead-hedge fence, the wall fence, the wood fence, the metal fence, the composite or combina- Reminyl Galantamine tion fence, gates, stiles, &c. Moreover, there are chapters on Planting, Management, Costs, &c; in short, no aspect of the subject is overlooked, and as the whole is based upon personal experience the book will no doubt be in the hands of all land agents and of those landowners who take a close interest in estate management. There are about 150 illustrations, chiefly by the author, and a capital chapter is appended on the Boundaries and Fences in their Legal Aspect, by Mr. T. W. Marshall, D.C.L. Oxon. As to barbed wire, Mr. Vernon says it is cheap and effective but essentially nasty, and is not likely to become popular or common on well-managed residential estates. The worst position it can take is in a line of hedgerow where it cannot be readily seen, and as a concealed danger in such a place it appears to the author to be almost criminal to employ it. Wherever used it should be as conspicuous and open as possible. 128 [February 11 Our Van." Winter Racing.— The question whether it is discreet in us to race throughout the winter seems to be settling itself in a way that' should be entirely satisfactory to those who, being well-wishers to the Turf, would gladly see mid- winter racing very materially cur- tailed, or even entirely abolished. That the higher interests of the Turf would be served by an inter- regnum of two clear months, such as is provided in France, there can be no question. Of the rac- ing that has taken place during December and January, not one day can be recalled that would have been missed had it not taken place, so low has sport under N. H. Rules fallen in quality. The signs one fancied one per- ceived of a betterment in this direction have not been fulfilled, and we have been plodding on with the same old stock company, with the addition of a few recruits from the lower stratum of flat- racing equine society. Some of the creatures that contend for the small pecuniary rewards that fall to the lot of steeplechasers and hurdle racers, are dilapidated specimens and hardly hold to- gether for racing purposes, and their value is not under estimated when they are sold under the hammer for something less than ioo guineas. When one sees the proud winner of a hurdle race, victorious over a dozen or more opponents, sold for 75 guineas or so, it is impossible not to ask one- self what must be the value of the defeated ones, and how it can pay anyone to keep such animals in training. It is their presence that keeps the game going at all ; and the supply is so limited that an owner brought out one poor beast four times in the course of six days, to contest a three miles' steeplechase on each occasion. When racing has come down to this, is it worth while fostering? If racing during December and January were abolished, certain vested interests would possibly be interfered with. The Christ- mas-tide gates would be lost, but those who make the most money on those occasions are the very ones who can afford to put up with the loss. Christmas-tide rac- ing is invariably the poorest thing possible, and apart from the money it brings in, would not be worth a second thought. Whether the other meetings held in Decem- ber and January pay their pro- moters I am indeed not aware, but I assume that some profit must accrue or dates would scarcely be applied for ; and there is un- deniably a gambling public always available to lend its support. It is always the same public, travel- ling together anywhere and every- where for the sole purpose of betting, and it is scarcely a public for which the authorities should show any consideration in taking any line of action. The general public, except on Bank Holiday, one cannot expect to attract in such uncertain weather as that which prevails during an English winter, for it is sure to be either cold or wet. The promoter of winter race- meetings by no means lies upon a bed of roses, for he usually has an anxious time of it between frost, fog and flood. Insurance against loss from these visitations can be, and is, effected Reminyl 4mg ; but this is not racing, and I never could see where the fun came in when one had to go to the railway terminus to learn whether racing was possible. If race meetings j i«99J i< OUR VAN. »» 129 were few and far between, such eagerness would be comprehen- sible. It is noticeable that January has been a very slack