Cock-fighting is as keenly enjoyed by the native of Porto Rico as bull-baiting was by his Spanish ancestors. In the old days enormous sums were staked on these birds, and not a few men were ruined by their passion for the sport. Since the American occupation of the island, however, cock-fighting has been made a criminal offence and persons detected in its pursuit are severely punished. But it is too deeply-rooted a habit to be suppressed in a few years, and notwithstanding the vigilance of the police it is still extensively practised. On Sundays and other holidays lovers of the sport select a secluded place and fight their birds as of old. The foregoing photograph shows a retired spot in the country where the birds are trained. They are staked out in the morning sun after having been trimmed up, sprayed with rum, and fed. The peasants seen in the background are their guardians and trainers. The Porto Rican game-cocks are fierce fighters, and, though they fight only with their natural spurs, often kill each other with a single blow. [Illustration: A PORTUGUESE PRISON, SHOWING THE INMATES BEGGING FROM PASSERS-BY BY MEANS OF A BAG ON THE END OF A STRING. _From a Photo by S. H. Wright._] They have a happy-go-lucky way of running their prisons in easy-going Portugal. The annexed photograph shows a corner of a Portuguese lock-up, and concerning it a correspondent writes: "The prisoners seem to spend their time in wrangling among themselves and begging food and money from the passers-by. They have a bag on a string for this purpose, and dangle it before the pedestrian's nose. The snap-shot shows a kind-hearted gentleman just putting some coins into the bag, while excited inmates protrude their heads and arms through the grated windows." [Illustration: AN ORNAMENTAL WOOD-PILE--THE PEOPLE OF THIS SWISS CHÂLET TAKE GREAT PRIDE IN THE DESIGNING OF THEIR FIREWOOD STACK, AND CHANGE THE PATTERN EVERY YEAR. _From a Photograph._] That it is possible to give scope to one's artistic feelings even in the building of so commonplace and utilitarian a thing as a pile of firewood for winter use is proved by the next photograph. This depicts a châlet in the village of Toffeln, near Berne, in Switzerland, which is celebrated far and wide for its wood-stack, which is seen in the foreground. Each year the good folks of this particular house endeavour to make their pile more ornamental-looking than before, and they usually succeed. The stack is entirely composed of cut logs, extending right to the centre of the pile, and the structure reaches to the second storey of the châlet. There is not such another wood-pile to be found in the length and breadth of Switzerland, and the villagers are very proud of it. We are requested to state that the picture of a bear appearing on page 236 of Mr. R. A. Haste's article, "Through New Ontario on a Jigger," in our June number, was from a photograph taken by Mr. F. C. Ballard, of Banff, Alberta.