COURTS IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND.
(Corrected 1874.)

SUPREME COURT.-At Newport, 3d
Mon. in Mar., and 3d Mon. in Sept.
Providence, 4th Mon. in March, and 1st
Mon. in Oct. South Kingstown, 3d Mon.
in Feb., and 3d Mon. in Aug. Bristol, 1st
Mon. in March, and 2 Mon. in Sept.
East Greenwich, 2d Mon. in March, and
4th Mon. in Aug.

COURT OF COMMON PLEAS.- At Newport, 3d Mon. in May and Nov. Providence, 1st Mon. in Mar., June, Sept., and Dec. So. Kingstown, 2d Mon. May, and 1st Mon. in Nov. Bristol, 1st Mon. in May, and last Mon. in Oct. E. Greenwich, 2d Mon. in April and Oct.

SUPREME JUD. AND SUPERIOR COURTS IN MASSACHUSETTS. (Corrected 1874.)

SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT OF MASS.] SUPERIOR COURT OF MASSACHUSETTS.-
JURY TERMS.-For Barnstable and Dukes For Essex Co., (civil)_at Salem, 1st Mon.
Counties, at Barnstable, 1st Tuesday of of June and Dec., at Lawrence, 1st Mon.
May. For Berkshire Co., at Pittsfield, 2d of March, and at Newburyport, 1st Mon.
Tues. of May. For Bristol Co., at New of Sept.; (crim.) at Lawrence, 1st Mon.
Bedford, 2d Tues. of Nov.; also at Taun- of Oct., at Newburyport, 2d Mon. of May,
ton, 3d Tues. of April. For Essex Co., at and at Salem, 4th Mon. of Jan.
Salem, 3d Tu. of April and 1st Tu. Nov. For Middlesex Co., (civil) at Lowell, 2d
For Franklin Co., at Greenfield, 2d Tu. of Mon. of March, and 1st Mon. of Sept.;
April. For Hampden Co., at Springfield, at Cambridge, 1st Mon. of June, and 2d
4th Tues. of April. For Hampshire Co., Mon. of Dec.; (crim.) at Cambridge, 2d
at Northampton, 3d Tues. of April. For Mon. of Feb., and 4th Mon. of June; and
Middlesex Co., at Lowell, 3d Tues. of at Lowell, 3d Mon. of Oct.
April; also at Cambridge, 3d Tues. of For Hampshire Co., at Northampton,
Oct. For Nantucket Co., at Nantucket, (civil) 3d Mon. of Feb., 1st Mon. of June,
1st Tues. of July. For Norfolk Co., at and 3d Mon. of Oct.; (crim.) 2d Mon. of
Dedham, 3d Tues. of Feb. For Plymouth June, and 3d Mon. of Dec.

Co., at Plymouth, 2d Tues. of May. For For Franklin Co., at Greenfield, 3d Mon.
Suffolk Co., at Boston, 2d Tues. of Sept. of March, and 2d Mon. of Aug. and Nov.
and 1st Tues. of April. For Worcester
Co., at Worcester, 2d Tues. of April.

For Hampden Co., at Springfield, (civil) 2d Mon. of March and June, and 4th Mon. of Oct.; (crim.) 3d Mon. of May, and 1st LAW TERMS OF SUPREME JUDICIAL Mon. of Dec. COURT OF MASSACHUSETTS.-A law term For Berkshire Co., at Pittsfield, (civil) for the Commonwealth shall be held 4th Mon. of Feb., June, and Oct.; (crim.) at Boston on the first Wednesday of 2d Mon. of Jan. and July. January of each year, which term may be For Norfolk Co., at Dedham, (civil) 4th adjourned, from time to time, to places and Mon. in Apr., Sept., and Dec.; (crim.) times most conducive to the despatch of 1st Mon. in Apr., Sept., and Dec. business and the interests of the public;| For Plymouth Co.,at Plymouth, 2d Mon. and there shall be entered and determined of Feb. and June, and 4th Mon. of Oct. therein questions of law arising in the For Bristol Co., at Taunton, 2d Mon. of counties of Barnstable, Dukes County, March and Sept., and at New Bedford, 2d Middlesex, Nantucket, Norfolk, and Suf- Mon. of June and Dec. folk; and also all questions of law arising in other counties where special provisions are not made therefor.

And law terms of said court shall also annually be held as follows:

At Salem, for Essex Co., 1st Tu. of Nov. At Pittsfield, for Berkshire Co., 2d Tues. of September.

At Springfield, for Hampden Co., 3d Mon. after 1st Tues. of Sept.

At Greenfield, for Hampshire and Franklin Cos., Mon. next after 2d Tues. of Sept. At Worcester, for Worcester Co., 4th Tues. after 1st Tues. of Sept.

At Plymouth, for Plymouth Co., 3d Tu. of Oct.

At Taunton, for Bristol Co., 4th Tu. Oct.

For Suffolk Co., at Boston, (civil) 1st Tues. of Jan., Ap'l, July, and Oct. ; (crim.) 1st Mon. of every month.

For Barnstable Co., at Barnstable, Tues. next after 1st Mon. of April, and 2d Tues. of Oct.

For Nantucket Co., at Nantucket, 1st Mon. of June and Oct.

For Dukes County, at Edgartown, last Tues. of May and Sept.

For Worcester Co., (civil) at Worcester, 1st Mon. of March, Mon. next after 4th Mon, of Aug., and 2d Mon. of Dec.; and at Fitchburg, 2d Mon. of June and Nov.; (crim.) at Worcester, 3d Mon. of Jan., 2d Mon. of May, and 3d Mon. of Oct.; and at Fitchburg, 2d Mon. of Aug.

COURTS OF INSOLVENCY IN MASSACHUSETTS.

There is in each county a Court of Insolvency, held by the same judge as the Probate Court, at such times and places as the judge appoints.

While the Bankrupt Law of the United States is in force, the Insolvency Law is suspended as to new cases, but not as to those previously commenced. The U. S. District Courts have jurisdiction over insolvency cases, and are open at all times for

DISTRICT COURTS IN MASSACHUSETTS.
(Corrected 1874.)

No. Berkshire. - For the towns of

Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg, Florida, and Savoy, at Adams, crim., daily, 9 A. M.; civil, weekly, at north village of Adams, and 1st Wed. of each month at south village. Centr. Berkshire. For the towns of Dalton, Hancock, Hinsdale, Lanesborough, Peru, Pittsfield, Richmond, and Windsor, at Pittsfield, crim., daily, 9 A. M.; civil, every Saturday. So. Berkshire. — For Alford, Egremont, Great Barrington, Monterey, Mt. Washington, New Marlborough, and Sheffield, at Great Barrington, crim., daily, at 9 A. M.; civil, every Sat., at 10 A. M. East Hampden. For Palmer, Brimfield, Monson, Holland, and Wales, at Palmer, crim., daily, 9 A. M.; civil, 1st and 3d Sat. of each month. 1st of So. Worcester. - For Sturbridge, Southbridge, Charlton, Dudley,Oxford, and Webster, crim., at Southbridge, Mon., Wed, and Fri., and at Webster, Tues., Thurs., and Sat., 9 A. M.; civil, at Southbridge, Mon., Webster, Tues., weekly. 2d of So. Worc.For Blackstone, Uxbridge, Douglas, and Northbridge, for trials by jury, in Blackstone or Uxbridge, at such times as, in the discretion of the justice, the public convenience may require; when not in session for trials by jury, the court shall be held for crim. business, in Blackstone, every Mon., Wed., and Fri., in Uxbridge, every Tues., Thurs., and Sat.; for civil business, in Blackstone, every Mon., in Uxbridge, every Sat. 3d of So. Worc. -For Milford, Mendon, and Upton, at Milford, crim., daily; civil, 1st and 3d Wed. of each month. Centr. Worc. -For Worcester, Milbury, Sutton, Auburn, Leicester, Paxton, W. Boylston, Boylston, Holden, and Shrewsbury, at Worcester, crim., daily, at 9 A. M.; civil, every Sat. 1st of E. Worc. Northborough, Southborough, Westborough, and Grafton, crim., Westborough, every Mon., Wed., and Fri., at Grafton, every Tues., Thurs., and Sat., 9 A. M.; civil, at Westborough, every Mond., at Grafton every Tues. 2d of E. Worc. For Clinton, Berlin, Bolton, Harvard, Lancaster, and Sterling, at Clinton, crim., daily; civil, 2d and 4th Sat. of each mon. No. Middlesex. - For Ayer, Groton, Pepperell, Townsend, Ashby, Shirley, Westford, Littleton, and Boxborough, at Ayer, crim., daily, at 9 A. M.; civil, 1st Mon. of each month. Centr. Mid

For

dlesex.- For Acton, Bedford, Carlisle, Concord, Lincoln, Maynard, Stow, and Lexington, at Concord, crim., daily; civil, 1st and 3d Wed. of each month. 1st of E. Middlesex. - For Wilming ton, No. Reading, Reading, Stoneham, Wakefield, Melrose, Malden, Everett, and Medford, crim., at Malden, every Mon.. Tues., Frid., and Sat., at Wakefield, every Wed. and Thurs.; civil, at Malden, every Sat., and at Wakefield every Wed. 1st of So. Middlesex. - For Ashland, Framingham. Holliston, Hopkinton, Natick, Sherborn, Sudbury, and Wayland, at So. Framingham, crim., daily; civil, every Mon. 1st of Essex. - For Salem, Beverly, Danvers, Hamilton, Middleton, Topsfield, and Wenham, at Salem, crim., daily, 9 A. M.; civil, every Wed. E. Norfolk. - For Randolph, Braintree, Cohasset, Weymouth, Quincy, and Holbrook, at Quincy, crim., daily, 9 A. M.; civil, every Monday. 1st of Plymouth. - For Brockton, Bridgewater, and W. Bridgewater, at Brockton, crim., daily; civil, every Tues. 2d of Plymouth.- For Abington, Rockland, Hingham, Hull, Hanover, Só. Scituate, and Hanson, crim., at Abington, every Mon., Wed., Thurs., and Sat., at Hingham, every Tues. and Frid.; civil, at Abington, 1st and 3d Wed., and at Hingham, 4th Frid. of every month. 3d of Plymouth. -For Plymouth, Kingston, Plympton, Pembroke, Duxbury, Marshfield, and Scituate, crim., at Plymouth, every Mon., Wed., Thurs., and Sat., at Scituate, every Tues. and Frid.; civil, at Plymouth, 1st and 3d Wed., and at Scituate, 4th Frid. of every month. 4th of Plymouth. - For Middleborough, Wareham, Lakeville, Marion, Mattapoisett, and Rochester, crim., at Middleborough, every Tues., Wed., and Sat., and at Wareham, every Mon., Thu., and Frid.; civil, at Middleborough, 1st and 3d Wed., and at Wareham, 4th Fri., of every month. 1st of Bristol. For Taunton, Rehoboth, Berkley, Dighton, Seekonk, Attleborough, Norton, Mansfield, Easton, and Raynham, at Taunton, crim., daily; civil, every Mon. 2d of Bristol. For Fall River, Freetown, Somerset, and Swansea, at Fall River, crim., daily; civil, every Monday. 3d of Bristol. For New Bedford, Fairhaven, Acushnet, Dartmouth, and Westport, at New Bedford, crim., daily; civil, every Mon.

MUNICIPAL COURTS IN MASSACHUSETTS.
(Corrected 1874.)

Municipal Courts are held daily in the city of Boston, as follows: In Boston (old city), Highland District (Roxbury), South Boston, East Boston, Dorchester District, Charlestown District, Brighton District, and West Roxbury District.

POLICE COURTS IN MASSACHUSETTS.
(Corrected 1874.)

Police Courts are held daily at Cambridge, Chelsea, Chicopee, Fitchburg, Gloucester, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lee, Lowell, Lynn, Newburyport, Somerville, Springfield, and Williamstown.

PROBATE COURTS IN MASSACHUSETTS.
(Corrected 1874.)

JUDGES OF PROBATE COURTS IN MASSACHUSETTS.
(Corrected 1874.)

Suffolk Co., Isaac Ames, Boston.
Essex Co., Geo. F. Choate, Salem.
Middlesex Co., Geo. M. Brooks, Concord.
Worcester Co., Henry Chapin, Worcester.
Franklin Co., C. C. Conant, Greenfield.
Bristol Co., Edm. H. Bennett, Taunton.
Plymouth Co., Wm.H.Wood, Middleboro'.
Barnstable Co., Jos. M. Day, Barnstable.

Nantucket Co., Thaddeus C. Defriez,
Nantucket.

Dukes Co., Joseph T. Pease, Edgartown.
Hampden Co., W. S. Shurtleff, Springf'ld.
Hampshire Co., Samuel T. Spaulding,
Northampton.

Norfolk Co., Geo. White, Needham.
Berkshire Co., J. T. Robinson, No.Adams.

REGISTERS OF BANKRUPTCY IN NEW ENGLAND.
(Corrected 1874.)

Waste of Seed.

FEW farmers can be open knowingly to the charge of wastefulness. The majority are supposed to err in the other direction. At the same time, there can be no question that the annual loss and waste of seed, by the injudicious sowing and the want of complete preparation of land for a proper seed-bed, is something_enormous. Nor is it in one direction alone, or with reference to any one variety of seed. It is too common, but we wish to speak more particularly with regard to the loss of seed in the methods of seeding down land to grass.

Every farmer knows that losses often occur on newly-seeded lands from a failure of the seed to "catch." It is worth while to inquire whether this is owing to influences which are inevitable, such as severe droughts occurring year after year, or to the mistakes so often made in the methods of seeding. Is Nature to blame, or are we ourselves responsible for it? Let us look at it a moment. Probably, in a majority of cases throughout New England, the old methods prevail, of seeding in the spring with grain. We do not overlook the fact that many intelligent and progressive farmers have adopted the practice of fall seeding, and like it, laying down land without grain; but taking the country over, the old practice still remains. Now, let us see what is the effect of this laying down in the spring with grain. There is no kind of grain that does not draw heavily on the elements of plant food in the soil. The soluble materials that enter so readily into the circulation and growth of plants, helping to build up their structure, are seized upon first and absorbed, leaving the soil in a reduced condition. No matter what the particular kind of grain may be, if it requires materials similar to those needed by the grasses, the effect on the soil, so far as its relation to the grasses is concerned, will be the same. What is the result? The grasses are deprived of the food essential to their growth. The root is feeble and sickly. The growth of the stalk corresponds to the size and vitality of the root; and this is so jostled, and crowded, and robbed by the stronger and more vigorous roots of the grain that it cannot, and does not, thrive as it would if it had the free use and the sole possession of the land. In these conditions a very large part of the seed will die from suffocation and starvation almost as soon as it germinates. The portion which survives this severe ordeal will grow up feeble and puny in the shade of the overtopping grain, and it may fight its way along till the grain is cut, in the heat of a July sun, and its last end will be worse than the first. It cannot stand the sudden and severe shock which the cutting of the grain and the removal of the shade bring to it. If it is dry and hot, the chauces of life are small, and, in point of fact, a large part of the plants that survive till the grain is cut never live to attain maturity.

Now, this is just what takes place where the small and tender grass seed is sown along with any grain whatever. Much of it dies immediately after germination, from starvation and want of room, and what lives in the shade is so enfeebled that it dies on exposure to the sun. There is undoubtedly a great waste and loss of seed, let the season be what it will, and however much moisture there may be at the time of cutting the grain; but when this happens in a dry and hot time, the chances of an entire failure are very great. Sowing grain and grass seed together is very much like setting out an orchard or a nursery of tender trees and shrubs in the midst of a pine forest; the pines can stand it, perhaps, but it is hard on the shrubs.

It ought never to be forgotten that grass, or hay, is the one thing indispensable to success in farming in this climate. The grass crop must always take the lead in point of importance. At the same time, grass seed is expensive. It is not secured and saved in any considerable quantity for sale in the market in this part of the country. It is, therefore, clearly for the farmer's interest, after he has bought and paid a high price for it, to manage so as to save and economize it, by giving it the best possible chance of life and growth. But the sowing with grain of any kind, especially with oats, is giving it the least chance in our power. It is choking it at birth, and it involves the greatest waste, and consequent loss of seed, and of the cost of preparation and sowing -a loss which amounts to something like half a million of dollars a year in this state alone. Isn't that sum worth saving?

Seeding in August, or early in September, with grass alone, would save a very large part of this loss, especially if the practice of applying a liberal dressing of manure on or near the surface to which the seed is applied, were adopted. A grain crop along with, or immediately preceding a grass crop, reduces the capacity of the soil to an extent greater than is generally supposed.

Charleston Phosphate Beds.

AMONG the sources of supply of the materials which constitute what may be called the food of plants, none are more wonderful than the immense phosphate beds of the Charleston basin. They have opened to us a vast mine of commercial and agricultural wealth, the extent of which we can hardly realize.

The geological position of these phosphatic strata had been long known to scientific men, and the presence of the rocks had been a source of trouble to planters from the first attempts at cultivation, cropping out often upon the surface in the form of nodules of rock," varying in size from a hen's egg to that of a man's head. They impeded the plough in the processes of cultivation, and were picked up and carted off to get them out of the way, just as we dispose of the stones on

our hill-sides, without the slightest idea of their value. Their chemical composition was entirely unknown till just before the breaking out of the rebellion, when analysis proved them to be very rich in phosphate of lime, and to be of animal or bone origin; that is, they were found to be fossilized boues of races of animals long since extinct.

The deposit extends over a vast extent of territory, its average length being something like seventy-five miles, and its breadth about fifty miles-an area of between three and four thousand square miles, the strata varying from six inches to a foot and a half, in many places from two to three feet, in thickness. Though it usually lies some feet below the surface, it often crops out. It will yield as high as a thousand to fifteen hundred tons to the acre, and the deposit has been estimated to contain not less than sixteen hundred millions of tons of bone that has lain untouched for many thousands of years, to say nothing of the millions of tons that must have been pulverized by the action of the elements, and gone down into the underlying marls. This is shown by the high percentage of phosphate of lime found in the marl below the layer of fossil bones, a peculiarity that can be accounted for in no other way than on the supposition that it came from the phosphatic stratum above.

The "rock" is found in nodules varying in size, rounded and water-worn, cavernous from the boring of the teredo and other mollusks, and containing the perfect casts of many shells, the original carbonate of lime of which they were composed having long since disappeared. If we suppose a layer of different sized, rounded rocks, piled evenly on a floor, a foot or a foot and a half thick, just like the cobble stones on a paved street, and packed down closely, and then scatter among them indiscriminately the bones of marine and terrestrial animals, and then pour over them a soft paste of clay and sand, till all the interstices are filled, and this to be covered over with a foot or more of sand, and above this, still, four to six inches of humus, or dark soil, we have a good idea of this wonderful deposit. How it came there in such vast quantities has been a problem for scientific men to solve, and also why it is that it is actually richer in true bone phosphate of lime than fresh bone; for it will average not far from 67 per cent., some specimens going as high as 85 per cent., while we seldom find more than 50 per cent. of phosphate of lime in fresh bones.

Let us suppose that before the southern peninsula of Florida was formed, which is estimated by geologists to be scarcely more than a hundred and thirty-five thousand years old, the Gulf Stream poured its warm and genial current around the western and northern shores of what is now the Gulf of Mexico, and directly across upon what is now known as southern and eastern portion of Georgia, and the Charleston basin, at that time submerged, but shallow and gradually rising. The myriads of coral animals formed a partial barrier along the borders of the deeper water of the ocean, and thus made a vast lagoon, a sort of inland sea, partially shut in and protected by walls of coral reef, but still accessible to vast quantities of marine animals, of races long since extinct. Hither the weaker would resort for safety, and the stronger for prey, including, also, terrestrial animals in search of food. Storms and other convulsions of the ocean, also, would send over into this great basin vast quantities of marine animals, dead and alive. When it is considered that this process went on thousands of years, it is not difficult to comprehend how such a mass of bone may have been accumulated.

But how about the great richness in phosphoric acid? Why should bones in a fossil condition, after lying ages buried beneath the surface, contain a higher percentage of phosphate of lime than fresher bone? This is easily explained in this way. The solid fresh bone of an ox will have the following composition:

Take out of this, by decay, putrefaction, or otherwise, say 28 parts of organic matter and water, and we have,

Now, out of every 72 parts v1.24 parts are still phosphate of lime. The ratio of 61 to 72 is much greater than that of 61 to 100. It is equivalent to 85.05 per cent. of pure bone phosphate of lime. The organic matter of the fossil bones has, of course, long since disappeared, and hence the proportional higher percentage of phosphate. In its crude form, as it is dug out with the common pick, it is perfectly insoluble in water. It is, however, easily soluble in dilute acids, and if treated just as we treat ordinary bone meal, with sulphuric acid or oil of vitriol, it is changed to a superphosphate, in which form it is easily soluble in water. Hence its high value to the superphosphate manufacturer and the farmer. The discovery is of vast importance, not only to the agriculture, but also to the commerce of the country.