SPEEDWELL.—The specimen is _Claytonia perfoliata_. It is a native of N.-W. America, Mexico and Cuba, but has now become naturalised in England. Plants should be laid flat between sheets of blotting-paper and a weight placed upon them; some flat irons or large stones will do; or better still, if they can be put in a press they will readily dry and retain their colour to some extent. _Every day_ the sheets of blotting-paper should be thoroughly dried and the plants replaced until they are perfectly dried. M. A. T.—The French phrase, “Je vous en fais mes compliments empressés,” means, “I present my hearty compliments on” so-and-so, or such an event. Literally rendered (according to French idiom), “I you on it make my compliments earnestly” (or more literally “emphasised”). RABY.—A Conservative is a medium Tory, one who wishes to preserve the union of Church and State, and not radically to alter the Constitution. The term was first used in 1830, in the January number of the _Quarterly Review_. Liberal was a term first employed in 1815, when Lord Byron and his friends started the periodical called _The Liberal_, to represent their views. A Radical is an ultra-Liberal, verging on republican opinions. The term was first applied in 1818 to those who wished to introduce _radical reform_ into the representative system. The Liberal-Unionists are those Whigs and Radicals who united in 1886 with Lord Salisbury and the Conservative party to oppose Home Rule for Ireland. The present Duke of Devonshire was head of the Whigs, and Mr. Chamberlain head of the Radicals, who seceded. The term Whig appears to be extinct at present. There is a very great change in all opinions, and to quote a recent speech, “the Conservatives have become more liberal, and the Liberals more conservative” than of yore. LUSITANIA.—The term “stock,” as employed in English cookery books, signifies the foundation of soup, and is made from meat and bones. To make good soup from it, the stock should be in jelly when cold. Pea-flour, vegetables, lentils, and so forth, and whatever flavouring may be desired, should be added to it. The cold which some people suffer in the feet and hands arises from mal-nutrition, an insufficiency of warmth-giving food, as also of suitable clothing; and thirdly, from an insufficient amount of exercise. Tight stays also greatly impede the due circulation of the blood. When you finish taking exercise and sit down to your avocations or recreations, put your feet into a fur slipper or foot-warmer, such as employed in a carriage. The heat-producing foods are those containing starch, sugar, gum, and fat. IRENE.—“Sir R. Loder,” with no initial letters after his name, is simply a knight, a dignity which is not hereditary, and cannot descend to his son. “Sir Thomas Hesketh, Bart.,” is a baronet, which is a dignity inherited by his eldest son. “Bart.” is an abbreviation—solely restricted to writing—of “baronet.”