The Natal Mercury, speaking of the South African Diamond Fields, says that next to diamonds, potatoes seem to be the dearest thing, £6 10s. having been given for a bag of them. At this rate, however potatoes are still considerably cheaper than carats. - Punch.

Plant doctors, according to the Scientific American, may become a necessity; the editor advocates such a profession, and thinks we already have made a beginning when we bore the bodies of trees with gimlets and insert sulphur, and so on. Who will become the first D. P. plant doctor?