as to the duration of the agitation, they all answer, half a minute, more or less.

"It was to be dreaded that the phenomenon would not cease with the first shock. Two motions were afterwards felt distinctly, but of a more feeble kind. A great part of the population passed the night following in the squares and streets, overpowered with the sad news which was constantly brought in from neighboring places.

"The disasters the city of Pisa has suffered are slight in comparison with what they might have been. No one perished. The roof of the Church of St. Michael is ruined, but without injury to any person. If it had happened the next day at the same hour, there would have been many lives lost. A cross fell from the dome. The Campo Santo suffered some slight injury. The Campani le (Leaning Tower) is unhurt. It remains to be discovered by examination whether its inclination has become greater. Finally, there is not a building in Pisa which has not been more or less damaged and cracked."

Letters from Leghorn and Florence describe the earthquake to have been still more terrible in those cities and the surrounding country. At Volterra a State prison was thrown down, burying several prisoners under its ruins. Some of the accounts from Florence say that from thirty to forty persons had perished in that neighborhood, and more than a hundred were wounded.

Curious Statistics of Paris. Some curious facts are stated with respect to the statistics of the press in Paris. Journalism is carried to a very great extent in that city. The number of newspapers is considerable, and the average circulation is much greater than that of London journals. They are issued at a much lower price, and are much more extensively read. The annual subscription to the principal daily papers is only 40 francs, about $7. There are more than 300 reading rooms, or "Cabinets de Lecture," established in Paris, in which all the journals of Paris, all the periodicals of the day, the popular romances and pamphlets, and other works of interest are provided; the admission to these is about three cents per day. The number of journals in Paris is about for. ty, of which nearly half are published

daily, and dedicated to politics and general intelligence.

The lecture-rooms, in many of which discourses are delivered gratuitously, form another great attraction. Of these, the lectures on astronomy, by the celebrated Arago, and those on mechanical philosophy, by the Baron Charles Dupin, are the most celebrated, and are attended by audiences of six or seven hundred persons of both sexes and all ages from the the youth of sixteen upwards.

There are about twenty-four theatres within the barriers of Paris permanently open, most of them every night, including Sunday. Several of these are directly supported by the state, and are, of course, in some degree subject to government control. The police regulations in these theatres are excellent, and in the audience part of a Paris theatre there is, in fact, nothing to offend the eye or the ear of the most fastidious moralist. There are more than twenty libraries in Paris open to the public daily, without any restriction whatever. The facilities for using these libraries are only equalled by the accommodations furnished to readers of every description. The number of readers is immense. The means of improvement in the fine arts afforded to the people of Paris are also worthy of all commendation. It is calculated that not less than 50,000 of the lower orders at Paris enjoy themselves on every festival day in making a promenade of the magnificent collection of Versailles, or of the museum of the Louvre. Those who, in London, it is to be feared would be found at the gin-shop, are here found familiarising their eye with the productions of the most celebrated painters, or wandering among the antiquities of Italy, Greece, and Egypt.-London Paper.

Public Parks in Manchester.-The opening of three public parks at Manchester is an affair of some importance to that vast and increasing seat of manufactures. The health of the people hitherto has been shamefully neglected; and as dense populations have grown up with the rapid increase of trade, the poor have been crowded into alleys, courts and lanes, where the houses often may be seen so close on each side, that a common handbarrow could not without difficulty be wheeled down the place. Fevers of the worst description are found there.

The Honey Bee and Peaches.

The Bee questionis now likely to become as celebrated as the strawberry discussion now raging among the horticulturists. In both of them it would seem as if extended knowledge and accurate observation were enough to settle the question. But so many men draw conclusions so hastily, and upon ill-digested information, that it is not, after all, wonderful that they differ so essentially.

In investigating this matter, the first question which naturally arises is, has the bee ever been known to injure peaches before this year, and if so, under what circumstances?

I have at different times spent half an hour or so, under a peach tree, while this discussion has been going on, and have watched the operations of the bees attentively. I have seen great numbers of them upon the fruit, both sound and unsound, though upon the latter alone have they remained; have seen them drawing forth the sweet juices, where decay was just beginning, or where punctures had been previously made by some other insect, but have never seen them attack a perfectly sound peach, nor do I believe that they do.

The injury to the peaches is of two kinds, and this is obvious enough. In the one case the fruit becomes rotten, the decay begins at a central spot and spreads rapidly, and the progress is the same, whether upon the tree, or in the house. This rotten spot is never attacked by the bees, but begins and proceeds independently of them; they love sweeter founts than this. Specimens may be found entirely rotten, and covered with mould, but with not a puncture in them. All this is in consequence of the unfavorable season, and would have happened had there been no bees in this vicinity. In other instances the peach has been punctured by a large beetle, nearly an inch in length, and in others by the insect commonly known as the ear bug, which may be found in nearly all damp places, and which is uncommonly abundant this season; these eat the smooth round holes spoken of by one of your correspondents, and in them they may be often found, and by their instrumentality the fruit is fully exposed to the bees.

Every one having a favourite tree has undoubtedly felt of the fruit upon the lower branches, to ascertain if it was ripe; where pressure has thus been made, of course decay will first begin; but this is different, certainly in its first stages, from the decay caused by the season; the peach has not that dry and peculiarly mouldy appearance. Here it is remarkably juicy, the skin becomes thin, in some cases is punctured by insects, in others is ruptured by the progress of the decay, and the bee avails himself of the labors of others, or of the operations of nature.

Two or three days since, I noticed half a dozen bees busily engaged upon a peach; it was in part consumed, was in immediate contact with another, which was under it, and

had undoubtedly imparted to it some of the peculiar flavor, so attractive to them. Upon removing the diseased peach, the bees flew off, but soon returned and alighted upon the sound one, ran about it and over it, never stopping but at the point of contact; and here they ran out their proboscis, moving it about, apparently for the purpose of sucking, just as it would if a drop of honey had been rubbed on the spot. But it was its proboscis alone that was used, which of course was unable to puncture the rough coat of the peach, and it was employed for the purpose of gathering the juices which might have run from the injured fruit. In a short time they all flew away, for nothing remained for them to gather, and not the slightest puncture could there be seen. I examined it with the greatest carefulness, and the peach was just as sound in one place as in another. I did not expect to find the peach punctured, for the bee used nothing but his proboscis, and any one acquainted with the anatomy of the bee, knows that with this instrument he could have effected nothing. But I will warrant that many of his enemies who imagine him to be the cause of the destruction of their fruit, would have claimed this as proof positive in their favor; as evidence not to be doubted.

Upon examining this peach to day, I find that it has begun to rot and mould where it was in contact with the one that I removed; there is no puncture in it, or bees about it, and in a day or two, it will probably be entirely decayed. This shows the necessity of preventing the contact of fruit, for if one becomes diseased, the remainder are pretty sure to follow. A friend of mine ripened scarcely one of his Washington plums that were in contact, the decay spread from one to the other, and nearly all were lost. Why," said he, "it is more than they are all worth, to pick off the rotten ones." But there is a far greater injury than that of the fruit; the tree itself is affected, and must become feeble from the circulation of so much diseased sap in it; and I have noticed that the branches on which rotten peaches have remained, have become withered, turn brown, and perish. Certainly, it is evident enough, that the tree must become diseased; by all means, pluck off the rotten fruit.

The mandibles of the bee, which are armed with fine teeth, are the only instruments with which the rough skin of the peach can be punctured. The proboscis which he uses in extracting honey, and which I imagine has deceived so many, is of course, out of the question. Flowers with horned nectaries, as the Columbine, are much visited by the bee; but the bottom of the corolla being so small, few insects are able to reach the nectaries through it, and hence you will find a small opening just over them, made from the outside. Now these punctures are not made by the bee, no one ever pretended that they were; but having been made by some insect, the bees use the riches laid open to them.-Hart. Cour.

The forest leaves now tell anew
Another season's gone,

The grape puts on the purple hue,
And yellow is the corn;

The Summer, like a dream, has fled,
And Autumn now appears:

So seems each season sooner sped,
As multiply our years.

Thus, while I write, the evening shade
Reminds me day is done;

The twilight scenes that round me fade,
Are sinking one by one;

Though Katydid in gladness sings,
As speeds away the year,
It to my heart a sadness brings,
Whose tribute is a tear.

[Norwich Courier.

A PATRIARCH.-There is a man residing in Howard county, Missouri, one of Harmer's old soldiers, who has twenty-two children, seventy grand children, and twenty-nine great grand children-making a total of one hun dren and twenty-one children, grand chilnren and great grand children. Six of the old man's own children are yet single.

RUMORED MUTINY IN THE CALIFORNIA EXPEDITION. Just as we go to press, says last Evening's Express, a rumor reaches us that the Thomas H. Perkins, the ship on which Col. Stevenson was, put into Norfolk in consequence of a mutiny on board.—Tribune.

LARGE PEACHES.-The editor of the St. Louis Republican says, he has received a box of peaches raised in that neighbor. hood, eight of which weighed six pounds.

REISSUE OF VOL. I.—A New Stereotype Edition of this Magazine.-The first quarterly part of Vol. I. will soon be ready—for 37 1-2 cents, or 4 copies for $1. Orders should be

sent soon.

THE AMERICAN PENNY MAGAZINE AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER, With numerous Engravings. Edited by Theodore Dwight.

Is published weekly, at the office of the New York Express, No. 112 Broadway, at 3 cents a number, (16 pages large octavo,) or, to subscribers receiving it by mail, and paying in advance, $1 a year. 6 sets for $5. Postmasters are authorized to reinit money, and are requested to act as agents.

Enclose a One Dollar Bill, without payment of pos tage, and the work will be sent for the year.

The information contained in this work is worth more than silver."-N. Y. Observer.

"It should be in every family in the country."N. Y. Baptist Recorder.

Our readers, though they may have heard many descriptions of this fine city will probably feel that no words could have given them so lively and impressive ideas of its magnificence as the picture

we

here present to them. Such an assemblage of fine buildings it is difficult to find elsewhere, so advantageously situated as to be seen at one view, from a proper distance, and with so appropriate and pleasing a fore-ground as is afforded by the river, the quays and bridge, enlivened by the vessels and the passengers who give animation to the whole scene.

Petersburgh is remarkable for its history: we might rather say wonderful; and every one acquainted with the biography of its founder, must associate with its name the traits of his uncommon character. Of all improvers he was one of the most successful, though one of the most unaccountable. It is very difficult to understand why while bent on the civilisation of his subjects, he neglected the improvement of his own rude manners, bad morals and half-savage disposition. It is true that his education had been bad, and the state of society around him in early life both unpolished and vicious. Those who have described him, also, were men accustomed to a much higher grade of manners, and may have somewhat exaggerated his failings. True it is, however, that we find difficulty in understanding how a man of such a temper and such habits could have formed or prosecuted his enlightened and magnificent plans, and still more how he could have carried them through with the utmost success. No other monarch of modern days has accomplished as much, if we take into view the permanency and the results of his improvements.

We copy the following description of St. Petersburgh from Carr's Northern Summer, written about forty years ago.

"Her sky was cloudless, the Neva of a brilliant blue, clear, and nearly as broad

as the Thames at Westminster bridge. It flowed majestically along, bearing on its bosom the most picturesque vessels and splendid pleasure-barges. As we travelled several miles up and down this glorious river, adorned with stupendous embankments of granite, we beheld it lined with palaces, stately buildings and gardens; whilst at a distance arose green cupolas, and the lofty spires of Greek churches, covered with ducat-gold, and glittering in the sun. Immediately before us extended the magnificent railing of the Summer-Garden, with its columns. and vases of granite: a matchless work of imperial taste and splendor.

"In the capacious streets of this mar vellous city, we passed through crowds of carriages, drawn by four horses at length, and a variety of rich equipages, and of people from all parts of the world, in their various and motley costume. The Cossacks have a curious appearance upon their little shabby horses, which have the reputation, however, of being remarkably fleet and hardy. Their riders hold their spears, which are from fifteen to eighteen feet long, vertically resting upon their stirrups.

"At the Governor's we were questioned by the officer upon duty, as to our motives in travelling, names, &c. &c. A description of his room will serve to give a general idea of the arrangements which constantly occur in the Russian houses. The apartment was divided by a partition of wood, about three-fourths of the height of the room, indented at the top, and ornamented with little crescents; behind this screen was his bed; and in a corner suspended near the top of the ceiling, was the framed and glazed picture of his favorite saint, before which a lamp was burning. This economy of space gave him the convenience of two rooms.

"Our hotel was upon a scale with all the surrounding objects, and very crowd. ed. It was with difficulty that we ob. tained two uncomfortable rooms, which