AMONG OUR EXCHANGES

Northern Advocate, 14 May 1887, Page 2

AMONG OUR EXCHANGES

At Makatu at twenty minutes past eight last Sunday night there was experienced the moat severe shock we have had for months, lasting about seven seconds. It was proceeded by a rumbling noise from the direction of White Island. At Dunedin on Sunday, All Saints parsonage was completely destroyed by fire, which broke out in the nursery during the absence of the family at church. The Insurances are £500 on the furniture in the Standard, and £1600 on the house in the National. MrFitchctt is a heavy loser, ashe had a valuable library, and very little was saved. A horrible accident occurred during the Carnival season in Belgium. At Ninove, a small town not many miles west of Brussels, three workmen disguised as bears, in garments fabricated of tow, entered a cabaret for the purpose of frightening their companions, and approaching the stove which was nearly red hot, the tow caught fire, and all three were roasted alive in the sight of the horrified spectators, who were powerless te prevent the fearfully sudden catastrophe. The Masons of Minneapolis are making arrangements to erect a large hall, which it is estimated, will cost £50,000. The fastest vessel in the world is said to be' the French torpedo boat Ouragan, which is credited with a record of about 29 miles an hour. English is the mother tongue of a hundred millions of individuals, German of fifty-six, and French and Spanish each of forty-three millions. A baby weighing but sixteen ounces is ' reported from Utica, a town near Lexington, Ind. The midget is described as being well formed and in good health, with every prospect of living. The theory of earthquakes now is, that occasionally the weight of the water of the sea breaks the crust that surrounds our globe, and in rushes the water, which is converted into steam, and produces throbs in its effort to force its way out.

It is said that nine-tenths of the men who apply for relief at the London Workhouse are unmarried. Ai tides have deen signed for a sculling race between Hanlan and Beach, to he rowed on the Nepean River, in November next for £500 a side. Mr Vincent Pyke claims that country electors are more intelligent than those in the towns, because they read every page of Hansard. One Of the London public analysts calls attention in his last quarterly reports to the necessity for consumers of tinned food to ea\, them the same day the tin is opened, that Buchfood becomes decomposed and produces poisonous products known as " potomaine," especially m hot weather. Death had recently followed very rapidly after eatijg some tinned meat which had stood some time after being opened. A horse belonging to Mr George Ginnett, of Ginnett's Circus recently displayed extraordinary jumping abilities at Dalton, England. The horse is a bay seven years old, stringing a shade over It hands 2in. The usual circus tricks were performed allright, and then the horse was put at a jump 5 feet 9 inches high. The ring was only 50 feet in diameter, and left little take off , but despite this the bar was cleared in splendid style, . and an additional j 9 inches made no difference to the flyer. Not content with this, Mr Ginnett vacated the saddle and placed a bar 7 feet from the ground, which the horse passed over without touching. Five sperm whales, averaging fifty feet in length, were stranded near the mouth of the Tangitikei River on Saturday. It is announced that at a grand naval review which is to be held at Portsmouth on the 21st of June, in connection with the celebration of the Queen's Jubilee, upwards of a hundred men-of war will take pnrt in the evolutions. A professor of horse training, who it is stated, has shown great skill in subduing and breaking the most obdurate animals, give 3 the following advice on selecting a horse : — Never select a horse having long ears lined inside with long straight hair. Do not buy one that is narrow between the ears, and between the eyes, or that has flat) round eyes, in surken orbits, and whose nostrils are small and thick, for he will certainly prove to be a beast of small inteltigence,~hard to teach, incapable of remerifbering,"and liable to be treacherous. But take -the horse that has short ears, w^th short curly hairs inside of them ; that is, broad between the ears and eyes* with a regular, straight face, and large thin nostrils ; for in him you will find, an intelligent, spirited, yet wir'ng servant and faithful friend, if treated rightly. ; •