THE WRECK OF THE CITY OF DUNEDIN.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1482, 12 September 1865, Page 3

THE WRECK OF THE CITY OF DUNEDIN.

♦" We (Otago Daily Times) are indebted to the courtesy of the Hon. the Postmaster-General n & C Tr Py t ' lo Mowing official report:— Dr. Hector has the honour to report to the Hon. the Postmaster - General that J. W. Mayer, sent, in compliance with instructions! to search the coast near Cape Terawiti, for traces of the wreck of the City of Dunedin, p.s., returned last evening, {[having examined the shore from Lyall Bay to Ohariu Bay. He reports that—

♦l, t! k* 1 *' we9t Tongue Point, lie found the back of a saloon-seat, with iron racks, painted green, and quite uninjured. Within a few yards of the same placejwas the top of a round table, a cork fender, and liningfloats from the inside of a life-boat, also, a staved water-cask a little further up the coast.

2. "On Inner Ohaoa Point, which faces northwards, he found a second saloon-seat back, but severely injured and battered.

3. "At Ohariu Bay, pieces of two boats, one painted green, with black and white streaks, and the other blue.

4. "At Sinclair's Head, part of the rounded stern-rail of a vessel.

5. " Planks—as if of bulkheads, scattered along the whole coast. Examined those to the north, being most battered. " When at Terawiti lie made inquiries respecting what had been seen by the girl Inacmarama, aged 15. She left Wellington to ride out to Terawiti on the Saturday the City of Dunedin left port, and when about a mile from home, and just before dark, she saw a steamer close among the rocks, and looking as if it was going round and round, and would not steer. The sailors were pulling the sails up and down and appeared to be in confusion. On reaching home she asked her mother to come out and see, but she (her mother) was busy, and did not go. The manager of the station had passed the girl in the afternoon in Happy Valley, on his way into town, and some time after saw a steamer clear the port on a westerly course. He says it was a fine evening, but the wind fresh from the S.E.

"On the Monday following, a shepherd named M'Leod saw from the top of the cliff what looked like a sheep's carcase floating in the sea with a large bird on it. As one of his own sheep had slipped down the cliff, he thought it might have been it washed away, but, on descending the cliff, he found his sheep still there.

" Rayer is to return at once, and continue the search northwards to Otaki, where there is a report that a large quantity of coals have been cast up on the shore."

Anecdote op the Late Emperor Nicholas.—The following incident has been related which is highly creditable to Nicholas. Passing on a winter's night by one of the guardhouses in St. Petersburg, he had the curiosity to see what was going on in the interior. The officer on duty was seated near a table, tranquilly sleeping, but with helmet on, sword by his side, and accoutrements irreproachable. The Emperor made a sign to the sentinel to let him enter, and, approaching the table, he perceived on it a paper, on which the following memorandum was written : —" S<;ate of my expenses and of my receipts : Debt — Lodgings, maintenance, fuel, &c, 2000 roubles ; dress and pocket money, 2500 ; debt, 3500; alimentary pension to my mother, 500 rqubles ; total, 8000 roubles. Credit — Pay and other receipts, 4000 roubles ; deficit, 4000 roubles. Who will pay this sum. This question terminated the account, and the officer, unable to find any answer, had fallen asleep with the pen in his hand. The Em-

per approached him, and having recognised one of the best conducted amongst his guards, took the pen, and wrote beneath the appaling question the significant name of Nicholas. He then quietly withdrew without awakening the officer, or having been seen by any of the other soldiers on guard. The surprise of the guardsman may be imagined, when, on awaking, he found the Emperor's signature on the paper before him, and learned the mysterious visit with which he had been favoured. The next morning, to his further surprise and delight, he was presented by an orderly with a letter from Nicholas, in which he was admonished to choose for the future a better time and place to sleep, but to continue, as in the past, to serve his Emperor and to take care of his mother. Renewal op Old Fruit Trees. — A French horticulturist has hit upon a curious mode of revivifying old fruit trees. He recommends that so long as the roots of the old tree are sound they should never be destroyed. His plan is', when the tree ceases to be productive, to out it down to the neck of the roots, and to insert two, three, or four grafts into the stump. This system he declares to be applicable to pear, apple, cherry and almond trees. When the grafts have been put in, the face of the stump must be carefully covered with grafting wax or clay, and then the whole surrounded and covered up with mould, so that only one or two of

the eyes may be exposed. Six old pear trees were so treated on the 18th of March last;

the grafts have attained from thirty to sixty inches in length, look very promising, and are expected to bear a good crop of fruit in three years. Where the roots of an old tree are well developed and sound, this mode of making use of them for a new family of small trees is certainly worth a trial.—Science of Arts Journal.

Improvements in Horse-Shoes.—An invention, which has for its object improvements in horse-shoes, was patented by the late Mr. John Fowler, of Leeds, engineer. In order to obviate the injury to horses arising from the jar to the hoof and legs in travelling on hard roads, it is common to put leather between the hoof and the shoe, and vulcanized india-rubber has been tried with the same object. By means of leather the object is but very imperfectly attained, as leather so placed is but very slightly compressible. By substituting vulcanized indiarubber for leather, much greater elasticity is obtained, but it is found that the shoe in working up and down on the nails in a short time makes them loose, and the shoe is thrown off. According to this invention, the vulcanized india-rubber is placed between two metal shoes, the inner one is nailed to the hoof as heretofore, <md it has studs upon it which pass through the vulcanized indiarubber and so keep it in its place ; and below the india-rubber the studs carry the outer shoe so as, to retain it securely in its place, but the shoe is able to work up and down freely on the studs. The studs may be projections from or parts of the nails, but it is preferable to make them separate.—Mechanics' Magazine.