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Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 14, Issue 1144, 15 April 1870, Page 2

New Zealand Stud Book. — Mr. Chas. Elliott, the compiler and publisher of the New Zealand Stud Book, lias requested us to call the attention of breeders and others iuterested in blood stock to the fact that he is about to send the third volume of the Stud Book to press almost immediately. Mr. Elliott requests gentlemen to send him ab once the particulars of all their foals bred since 1864. The forthcoming volume will contain a portrait of Manuka, photographed from an oil painting, taken by Brock, just before the horse was sent to Melbourne. The picture is regarded by Mr. lied wood as a perfect likeness.— Jbyttelton Times, March 22. The Fall in Flax. — Mr. J. Crispe writes to the Southern Cross as follows : — " I trust none of our cultivators or manufacturers of flax will be discouraged by the late advices of a considerable fall in price in the English market, which is but the natural consequence of the too rapid rise. This led to so sudden and large competition for the great profits which wero supposed to be realised by those who had entered into the trade, that the market was suddenly and for a time overstocked. But there will, doubtless, ere long, be a counter re-action, and then there will be a more steady and permanent market. . The Fibst Tube Bridge. — It will not, we feel sure, be uninteresting to our Home readers to learn that a bridge has at length spanned the Rakaia. The important districts to the south of this formidable river have been hitherto shut out from communication with the capital excepting by fording, or crossing it in a small boat, and no doubt this primitive and somewhat dangerous state of things would have been continued, but for the clever and practical experiment of the projector of the present structure. It is true that the bridge which on Monday last was crossed and recrossed by his Honor the Superintendent and Mrs. Bolleston, is only a temporary one, and merely intended for use as the scaffolding for a more substantial structure, yet still there remains the fact that it actually spans the river, and having stood the test of a severe fresh, there seems to be no reason why it should notbe made available for thecouveyance of passengers and light traffic. It is very creditable to Mr. White that at an expense of about two thousand pounds only, and in the course of five or six months, he has been able to erect a temporary bridge across such a river as the Uakaia. The structure is simple in the extreme, and offers but little resistance to the rapid current of water. It is about three-quarters of a mile long ; the piles are iron tubes 14 feet long, driven about seven feet into the shingle of the river bed ; on these piles a framework of timber has been erected, above the reach of the current, and securely fastened together with cross beams and girders. — Lyttelton Times. A Cube fob Drunkenness. — There is a famous prescription in use in England for the cure of drunkenness, by which thousands are said to have been assisted ] in recovering themselves. The prescrip- | tion came into notoriety through the efforts of John Vine Hall, commander of the Great Eastern steamship. He had fallen iuto such habitual drunkenness that his most earnest efforts to reclaim himself proved unavailing. Ab length he sought the advice of an ancient physician, who gave him a prescription which he followed faithfully for seven months. At the end of that time he had lost all desire for liquor, although he had many times been led captive by a most debasing appetite. The prescription, which he afterwards published, and by which so many drunkards have been assisted to reform, is as follows: — Sulphate of iron, 5 grains; magnesia, 10 grains ; peppermint water, 11 drachms; spirit of nutmeg, 1 drachm; twice a day. This preparation acts as a tonic and stimulant, and so partially supplies the place of the accustomed liquor, and prevents that absolute physical and moral prostration which follows a sudden broaking-off from the use of stimulating drinks. Cultivation op Flax.-— The following facts, regarding the cultivation of New Zealand Flax, have been collected by Messrs. M' Laundress, Hepburn and Go. of Dunedin, from reliable sources in the North Island : — In choosing land for planting flax, the cultivator may be guided in a great measure by the indigenous growth of the flax on his land. He must also be careful in planting the kinds of flax best suited to the nature of the soil. It is useless to plant "Tihore" on barren land, and ibis unquestionable that this description of flax is not so well suited for rope-making as " Tuhara," the swamp flax. Before planting, clear the land, and at intervals of eight feet plough in two or three furrows, and in these furrows place the roots of the plant at distances of about six feet apart. The roots can be obtained hy digging up native flax bushes, the roots of which may be divided into 30 or 40 pieces. Care must be teken not to cover the roots too deeply. Cattle must be kept from the growing crop or they will destroy it. If the grouud is in good order a crop of potatoes, in two or three | rows between the rows of flax, may be taken off the ground the first year. Root planting is far preferable to seed, which requires much longer to develop. If, however, seed is determined upon, it should be submitted to hot water just below boiling heat beforehand, until the hard case of the seed is softened. An acre planted as described will require about 1500 plants, and will not be ready for cutting in less than three years; it will, however, then yield about 25 tons of green leaf per annum. If it is intended to make the flax a permanent crop, it should not be cut more than once a year, the outer leaves being taken. In cutting, avoid, as far as possible, committing any injury to the young shoots, which will be fouud springing up near the bottoms of the older leaves. The flax may be cub to within about half a foot from the bottom of the plant, and should be slanted off.