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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume II, Issue 109, 11 May 1867, Page 2

Mr. Tuckwell, chief gaoler of Auckland, has been dismissed on account of the report made by the committee appointed to enquire into the prison management at the Mount Eden Stockade.

The following is an extract from a letter received by the last Fanama mail by a gentleman in Auckland Yi-Wb England: — My object in writing is tr.,, Al you what I have learned with respe«., to New Zealand flax in the London market. It seems it much depends on the condition in which it is sent; if well cleaned , a it wiU sell readily at £25 per ton, and sometimes fetch £30 per ton, but if not well cleaned, it sells as low as £10 or £15 per ton. Ifc should be quite free from the outside husk, aud of a bright clear color. The ninth half-yearly meeting of the Bauk of New Zealand was held at Auckland on the 30th ult., when a dividend of 17 per cent was declared, and the sum of £1400 carried forward to the new account. The Auckland papers state that Major General Chute would probably present tbe decoration of the Victoria Cross to Major Heaphy on the Bth or 9th inst. The Talbot Leader remarks: — Another illustration of the truism that there is nothing without its use, is that small birds — those powerful auxiliaries to successful farmiug and also horticultural operations in Victoria — have not been slow in recognising the applicability of the motto Neiro me impune lacessit, when hatching their young, safe from the assaults of their iusatiable euemies, the native wild cat and the hawk. A man recently employed in cutting down thistles on Mr. Clapperton's Amphitheatre ruu, has counted not fewer than from six to eight birds' nests amongst the prickly branches on each stem. May we not, after all, in abating what is termed the thistle nuisance, be adopting the policy of Frederick of Prussia, when he thought to save the cherries by exterminating the sparrows.

Bell's Life in Sydney says, that Mr. Abrahams, proprietor of the Metropolitan Music Hall, Poplar, London, has effected an engagement with the renowned Jem Mace, late champion of England, for a tour of the Australian colonies. Mace's time being for the present full, he is unable to leave England; but he will sail about the middle of March for Sydney direct, whence he will make the graud tour of all the

Colonies.

In choosing a warm dress, then, get it as light as yon can. Think how lightly animals, which have to endure great cold, are clothed. "What is lighter than feathers and fur ? A bear can thus teach us a lessou of civilised science, and a goose can impart wisdom. The principle of the advice given by the wise man, "Go to the aut, thou sluggard," might well be extended to the example of the way in which the Creator clothes the dumb animals he has made. They are not heavily laden, unless, indeed, it is necessary to protect them with armour; but even then the material used is remarkable for its combination of lightness with strength. The tortoise is shielded move by the arched shape of its shell than by its thickness. There are some animals which float in the water which are covered heavily, but the weight of their clothes facilitates their movements in the element in which they are iutended to live, inasmuch as it enables them to sink to the depth necessary for them to subsist iu. But for warmth, weight is needless, and for equable warmth it is a positive hindrance, siuce a heavy dress adds the heat of pressure to that of protection to those more prominent parts of the figure upon which it rests. If you want to be warm, chose a material that is not ouly thick but light. And when you wish to protect from windy as well as still cold, wear under or over a woollen or fury fabric the thinest impervious texture you can get. Then you have an arrangement similar to that with which the animals of cold climates are provided : viz., thin skin and thick feathers or hair, — Leisure Hour?

The materials used by those artists who sculpture iu stone are as varied in their nature, r* in the manner of handling them, in f-.'-e relative facility of obtaining them, irf t -3 facility of working them, and in their color, texture, and adaptability for certain purposes, as are the colors used by the painter. They are, however, in all cases j. ore costly, less easy to handle, and more difficult to procure. Tbe art of the sculptor, after he has completed his modelling in plastic material, is at first more mechanical than that of tke painter, but afterwards less so. The rough chiselling of the statue is the work of a mechanic. The final touches, that give to the marble that soul without which it is worthless as a work of art, are master strokes of genius, and whatever the material may be, the genius, if it exists, can show itself. But the material exercises an important influence on the result. It is doubtless quite true that material does not of itself induce art ; but notwithstanding this, a knowledge of the nature of the various substances that may be used in sculpture, cannot fail to be a subject of interest to all lovers of art, useful to those who would either attempt to produce their thoughts in stone, or would thoroughly understand the works executed in stone. — Art Journal.

It appears that France produces more potatoes than any other European country, more even than Ireland. Thus the extent of land under potatoes at the date of the last comparative returns was in Great Britain 498,84-3 acres, in Ireland 1,050,419 acres, in Sweden 334,000 acres, in Denmark Proper 69,176 acres, in "Wurtemhurg 167,341 acres, in Bavaria 649,735 acres, in Holland 265,987 acres, in Belgium 369,850 acres, in France 2,049,364 acres, and in Austria 1,308,148 acres.