a device for catching fishes and fowls. The taking of fowls by means of nets is the readiest and most advantageous method, where numbers are to be caught. The making of the nets is very easy, and what every true sportsman ought to do for himself. All the necessary tools are, wooden needles, of which there should be several of different sizes, some round, and others flat; a pair of round pointed and flat scissors; and a wheel to wind off the thread. The pack-thread should be of different strength and thickness, according to the sort of birds to be taken; and the general size of the meshes, if not for very small birds, should be two inches from point to point. The nets should neither be made too deep nor too long, for they are then difficult to manage; and they must be verged on each side with twisted thread. The natural colour of the thread is too bright and pale, and it should therefore in many cases be altered. The most usual colour is the russet, which is to be obtained by plunging the net, after it is made, into a tanner's pit, and letting it lie there till it be sufficiently tinged. This is of a double service to the net, since it preserves the thread as well as alters the colour. The green colour is given by chopping some green wheat and boiling it in water, and then soaking the net in this green tincture. The yellow colour is given in the same manner, with a decoction of celandine, which gives a pale straw-colour, like that of stubble in the harvest-time. The brown nets should be used on ploughed lands, the green on grass grounds, and the yellow on stubble lands. In the article Holland has been traced the history of the revolt of the seventeen provinces of the Netherlands against the Spanish monarchy, and the subjugation of the greater part of ten provinces to that power in the year 1578, whilst the remaining seven provinces, under the Prince of Orange, maintained and ultimately secured their independence in a republican form. Whilst this work has been in progress, a change has been effected in the Netherlands, terminating in a division which renders it necessary to introduce here an account of the new kingdom of Belgium; the name which has been assumed by the southern part of what was formerly the kingdom of the Netherlands.