[J. Thomas Scharf (1886)] furnished a home mar-ket for farm produce, has resulted in an almost en-tire destruc-tion of river transp orta-tion. The saddest of all the incidents connected with our river navigation was the explosion of the passenger steamboat " Magenta," which occurred March 23, 1878. This ill-fated vessel had just left the dock at Sing Sing, and had scarcely reached the prison when an explosion took place that resulted in the death of seven persons. The coroner's inquest brought out the disgraceful fact that the steam boilers were so far worn out that their thickness at the point of bursting was only one-six-teenth of an inch (!), and yet she carried a recent certif-icate of agovernment boiler examiner, to assure her ias-sengers that she was safe and sound From all such officials as this examiner may the good Lord deliver us. Among those largely interested in the dock and river front. business of Sing Sing is Mr. S. Ferris Washburn, who was born in the town of Newcastle, Westchester County, to which place his grandfather,.John Washburn, is said to have removed from Ja-maica, Long Island, just before the Revolution. His father, Solomon Washburn, was a farmer, and the early life of Mr. Washburn was spent with his parents on the farm, and his education was obtained at the village school. In 184!!