CLIPPINGS.

Press, Volume LI, Issue 8737, 8 March 1894, Page 4

CLIPPINGS.

Codlin moth has made its appearance at Oamaru. It is supposed to have been in* troduced through the use of second-hand imported fruit cases containing the larvae. A curious thing is narrated by the Edinburgh correspondent of the Otaga Daily Times'. —"A gold wedding ring, with the letters 'W.A.G/ engraved on the inside, was found under the roots of a holly tree near the Lake of Menteith Hotel, on the tree being blown down. Since then another storm has blown the tree back into Its former position, and it seems to be thriving. Time was (says the N.Z. Methodist) when it was almost impossible to get an Australian minister to come to New Zealand. A few years ago one resigned rather than be banished to our shore*. Of course this may be explicable on Dr. Johnson's principle— "Pure ignorance, madam; pure ignorance. , * If so, the time of this ignorance has passed away, for it i 3 evideno that married ministers would readily come to New Zealand now. Perhaps it ia remotely connected with the fact that their years of plenteousness are ended, and the years of dearth begin to come, while we aie reputed to be booming. In reply to someone wLo was recently congratulating Leo XIII. on his good health, the Pops said:—" A few days after my elevation 10 the pontifical throve I received a visit from a JTr&nciscau monk who insisted upon seeing mc. Hβ said that he had been shown in a visioa that my reigu

would last for four lustra*. Another prophet has likewise declared that 1 shall reign for twenty years. I ought not, therefoie, to die before' the year 1893." The firat consignment ot poultry to the London market, a ventnre undertaken on the suggestion of Mr L. L. Smith, 11. L.A., some months ago, was shipped in theß.M.e. Parramatta. There were eleven crates in all, containing 171 chickens, 44 ducklings, 64 teal, 36 wild duck, 4 curlews, lOC pair of rabbi Iβ, and one gross ot hen eggs. Samples of game plucked and in feathers have been shipped to ascertain which the English buyers prefer. A second shipment was to follow in the R.M,s. Cuzco. Two Swiss gentlemen of fortune, cousins, named Sarrasin, have been making a careful study of the Veddas of Oylon, and have juat published the results of their investigations ; the most important conclusion being that these represent one of the moat ancient races in the world, and are much more closely related to the chimpauzee than any European tribes. They are the survivors of a primitive race of little men who inhabited India many thousands of yean before the time of Buddha. The skull, arms, and legs of the Yedda resemble those of the monkey. He has no sense of shame, has no habitations, cannot count five, has no divisions of time, and a very limited vocabulary, and has no proper name. The conception of a God, a soul, and a future life is also quite foreign to him. Mrs Colenso, widow of the historical old heretic who wrote Colenso's Arithmetic, has just died at Pietermaritzburg. The Bishop left his family fairly well off. The Arithmetic brought in a large income, both to the author and to John Murray, the publisher, for many years ; aad the Bishop's critical works had a good sale at one time. The former residence of the Colenso family, Bishopstowe, near Durham, was burnt down a good while ago. Miss Colenso has beeu the companion of her mother in her old age; one of the sons, Di*. Colenso, resides in London. Having turned Humanitarians, the whole family have given tip worrying the Pentateujli, and that sort of thing. The Bishop's particular brand of heresy is quite out of date and forgotten. Indeed (adds the London correspondent of the Argus), heresy is one of those things which require to be kept up to the very latest fashion, or the public won't look at it. You know that theological peace now reigns in the See of Natal. The orthodox Bishop retired, the nnorthodox died, and now churchmen have the services of a via media prelate, accepted by both parties. An amusing discussion is proceeding in the columns of one of the metropolitan dailies (writes the Argus correspondent on January 19th) relating to the advantages offered by the encouragement ot kangaroo farming in England. On the one side it is urged that this course would not be likely to increase our list of viands, as kangaroo meat is never placed on the table in Australia. Mr J. Troubridge Critchell, v Queenslander, declares that such a statement does not prove the worthlessness of the marsupial for the purposes of food, and as " the Australian cuisine is of the most limited and unenterprising character. 7 ' He also adds, "The genius of the average Australian cook is incapable of soaring beyond the most hackneyed way of treating joints of butchers' meat." This communication has provoked a most indignant rejoinder from Mr VV. H. Stephenson, who, as "an Australian by birth," feels it necessary to most emphatically deny the "imputations" of Mr Critchell. Hβ declares that in the good hotels in the larger cities, and in several of the inland towns, " the cuisine is comprised of large varieties of appetising dishes, with the never-varying beef and mutton as the least important." In Australian cluba and private houses of means, too, the catering is capable of pleasing the most fastidious taste. Mr Stephenson confidently asserts that kangaroo tail soup is of much finer quality than real turtle.