are made on small farms and sent en blanc, that is after three or four days, to some of the larger factories, where they are finally salted and dried and packed for export.

A very excellent variety of Camembert is made by Monsieur Chiffeman, but his dairies are not near Lisieux, although he is one of the largest buyers and exporters, and a most kind and courteous adviser I found him as to the best dairies to visit.

A SUNNY DAY.

The whole neighbourhood of Lisieux is full of interest not only to the would-be cheese-maker but to the lover of architecture. Its quaint, narrow streets and houses, enriched with carving up every beam, and its fine churches, make it one of the gems of Normandy towns, while within easy distance on almost every side may be found delightful specimens of old chateaux and of Manoir-Fermes surrounded by a whole array of picturesque half timbered farm buildings, all so arranged that the master's eye can be upon everything, the whole nestling in rich orchards which are one of the greatest sources of wealth to these proprietors, while herds of the handsome Cotentin cows graze knee-deep in the rich grass—these cows are a breed of which the farmers are justly proud, somewhat resembling large Ayrshires but stronger in make and bone—they consider them better than the Channel Islands breeds for their purposes. I must not omit to mention among other cheeses the Livarot, which really haunts one in market, hotel, and factory, the strong pungent smell being very disagreeable to our English ideas. Livarot is made from skimmed milk, mostly in the smaller dairies, and is eaten by the poorer people. It is not a cheese which could ever find a sale in England. The little town of Livarot lies about twelve miles from Lisieux, and is worth a visit for the sake of its curious old houses.

Charming excursions can also be made from Lisieux to Falaise (27 miles), with its grand castle, the birthplace of William the Conqueror, Caen (28 miles) with its magnificent abbeys, Bayeux (18 miles further) with its fine cathedral and interesting tapestry.

If a longer excursion than I have named can be taken, I should strongly recommend my cyclist to take a run into Brittany, and visit the farms round Rennes, where the Port du Salut cheeses are made. I could not visit these manufactories myself, and I can give little advice on the subject, but I know the roads round Rennes and they are good and it is not very hilly, while the Port du Salut is a cheese which is always sought after in England. It is one of the cheeses known as "Fromages cuits," and for all these the plant required is costly. Another cheese, almost similar, is known as La Providence, or Bricquebec, because it is made at a convent of that name near Cherbourg. I do not know whether the sisters at the convent could be induced to show their "fabrique."

I must not lengthen this article further, except to conduct my intending cyclist home! And I think any one would find the road from Lisieux by Bernay, 20 miles, and on to Evreux, 36 miles, visiting there the celebrated cathedral, and then up straight north to the Seine, one of the prettiest roads. Vernon, 25 miles, is easily reached from Evreux, and few or many days can be happily spent along the ever changing and delightful scenery of the silvery Seine, while here and there one comes upon high chalk cliffs, honey-combed with caves, which are fitted with doors and windows, and which form the dwellings of many families.

From Vernon by le Petit Andelys and Pont de l'Arche to Rouen is about 40 miles, but I would suggest breaking the journey at Pont de l'Arche, where there is a comfortable little inn close to the bridge and an interesting church.

I think no tour in Normandy can be more appropriately finished than by a sojourn at Rouen, that home of all that is most fascinating, in rich, if somewhat over ornate architecture.

I have not, in this article, touched upon the question of Normandy butter, which has become such a formidable competitor with English markets, but to diversify the road to Dieppe, let our cyclist take the road by Gournay through Neuchâtel-en-Bray, and visit on a Tuesday the butter-market. I think when one sees the uniformity of the splendid quality of butter in that market, and the severe scrutiny to which it is subjected by the merchants, one realises partly why Normandy butter has such a high character. Some thousands of pounds of butter change hands there in a day.

Gournay is not only the centre of the butter market, but here also are made the well-known Pommel and Gervais cheeses, of which the process is well taught in some of our own English Dairy Schools—so at the British Dairy School at Reading.

No stranger is allowed to enter any of the factories at Gournay, and the greatest secrecy is observed, but I think that possibly, armed with introductions, one might obtain an entrance, and then I am sure many valuable hints could be got.

I hope anyone who undertakes the little trip I have described will enjoy both the country and the dairies as thoroughly as I did, and come home feeling that they have gained a considerable amount of knowledge and of interest in all dairy matters, besides having their memories stored with happy recollections of many sunny days spent amongst courteous Normandy folk.

SOME PRACTICAL HINTS ON COSMETIC MEDICINE.

By "THE NEW DOCTOR."

PART I.

THE COMPLEXION.

It has been stated in the papers lately that the Amsterdam physician to the poor, late Empress of Austria did much by his prescriptions to maintain the beauty of that most beautiful and accomplished lady. And yet the Empress was by no means a vain woman, and this is proved by the fact that, now she is gone, there has been no photograph of her taken these twenty years.

I thought that I might state as an axiom that beauty is impossible without a fair amount of health. That for instance, a beautiful complexion was incompatible with a very serious disease. But I find that here I am mistaken. "I want a complexion like a girl in a decline," a woman said to me the other day. I wonder if she had ever seen a girl in "a decline." To me the dull purple cheeks and lips of advanced consumption are most ghastly. Other women strive after a dead white face, and poison themselves with arsenic to try to obtain it.

The beautiful shades of red and white which are admired by most persons are, however, impossible without good health. Late hours, indigestion, lack of exercise and the use of cosmetics will destroy a good complexion, and when once it has gone it is by no means easy to regain.

Of course I do not know, but I strongly suspect that every girl who has a good complexion is too careful of her appearance to need any of the crude hints that I can give to her less favoured sisters about improving their complexions.

The best complexions to be found are not in the drawing-rooms of Mayfair but in the slums of Whitechapel. Many dirty little ragamuffins have far finer complexions than any of the leaders of fashion. This is sufficient proof that soap and water are not the causes of a fine cheek. Rather is it the outdoor life, the not too liberal diet, the absence of stimulants, the early hours and the loose clothing of the urchin that give her her good complexion.

All soap used for washing the face should be of fine quality. You should never wash your face in very hot water. You should not go out in a