BITS FROM BOOKS.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 24, Issue 20, 14 March 1913, Page 3

BITS FROM BOOKS.

1 have brought my.-nlf by long meditation I' Ihe conviction that a human being with t s< l,e d purpose must accomplish it, and thti :k thing can resist a will that will stake eves ej . st ence for its fulfil mar. t . - Lord Beaconsfleld The Custom of “Toasting.” —The cus ton of "toasting" 011.7 favourites appears t( have had its rise in t.ve reign of Charles II Dr. Johnson observes .hat the meaning c the word at its first ur.e was “ a celebrate! woman whose health k often drunk;” ant the reason of her being so teamed may bt found in the “ Tat lor." which says:—“l; happened that on a public day a celebrates beauty of these times (King Charles II.) was ir the Cross Bath, at Bath., and one of the crows of her admirers took a glass of the water it which the fair one stood and drank hoi health to the company. There was in the place a gay fellow half-fuddled, who offeree to jump in, and swore, though he liked no the liquor, he would have the toast. IT: was opposed in his resolution, yet this whir: gave loundation to the present honour wh;d is done to the lady we mention in our liquo.'. who has ever since been called a • toast.' ’’

The Casual Action of Design. —Desig' is a cause which is made known to us in oi consciousness as possessing a peculiarity which sharply distinguishes it from ever' physical cause known to man; for it calls ih iuture and the non-existent into an ide; existence, and then selects and adap: present phenomena, so shaping them thn they must co-operate for a result which a. yet has no local habitation in nature. Or own experience thus gives us a clue to ex plain the enigma, “How can a future whu i docs not yet exist influence the present The explanation being, that though it cU,< not yet exist physically, it has already aideal existence in the mind. Now, natm. teems with complicated adaptions, in with it appears as if the future had in this wa influenced the present. The eye, with at wonderful machinery, with its innumert.id and exquisitely delicate adaptations for 1 1,reception of light, is "made in secret,” an fashioned in darkness, where no ray of I id can as yet come near it. The ear, while ; is being shaped and moulded, is quite n off from the vibrations of air for the recej tion of which its complicated machinery . in process of construction. These are hr among millions of the processes of mu in which reveal the same characlerisiic Natural Theology and Modern Thought. T i- Houghton Kennedy, B.D.

Treatment of Sheet Scad.—;', (a\;.m. j arsenical dip in France is given by Ken vc Arsenic, 2^lb. ; sulphate of iron, 22II).; u; i. 22 gallons. Boil for ten minutes. 1 1 mixture is enough for 100 sheep. The phate of iron is used on account of it.-, .i.-t gent action preventing the absolution u 1 arsenic. The iron imparts a vnsiy c>.i •• to the wool. An equal (juantit\ o: ,1.. may be used in place of the iron, ii ;■ astringent is thought to be necessary. . is also added in some cases to rii:.;-< nr.i the sheep from biting or licking the skin, thus getting the arsenic into the digi-sii. system. Carbolic‘.acid dips are made I mixing the acid with soap, or gelatine, or alkali, as soda or potash, to cause it to on; ■ bine readily with wafer. A useful prepar.. tion is made by dissolving soap in con me iarbolic acid, about 2lb. to each gallon 1 »:id, and then adding a pint of turpeuti.... J his mixture may be used in the propoi tier of one in fifty of soft water, and if propc 1 made it should form a milky fluid wit.', water, without leaving any brown scum o the top. Salving or dressing with dilm. mercurial ointment is by some preferred 1 dipping, and for in-lamb cues,that treatn 0 is certainly more safe. Some skill is require : to divide the wool and distribute the .dn ment equally, so that a sheep prone salved should show very little trace 01 i, ointment on the fleece.— The Field. Transmission of Fgc;s for Hatchinc..An account appeared in the Stockkeeper m long since of an experiment in which h, sittings were forwarded to Sydney. 'I I system of packing adopted was that the e,n were greased with mutton fat, and tin - wrapped separately in sheets of tissue raj “ after which they were (irmly embedded ■ sawdust in a wooden case, which anu. salely, not one egg being broken, 't he eg. were placed in an incubator immediately < arrival, and though several comai >|ioaqons when tested, none hatched. 'l. greasing the eggs, so as to close up the pur. of the shell by which the air necessary • support the life of the chicken alone can sa entrance,cannot be regarded asa satishiciu, proceeding. Had the eggs been packed ■ an earthenware jar, so as to prevent loss ; weight by evaporation, better results nni;! have been anticipated; but even then succo, is doubtful. 1 should imagine that got results could more readily be achieved (• least, in a voyage that was not of too e tended a duration) by taking on board • very docile broody Cochin hen, placing h in a nest that could be swung, and allowh , her to incubate during the voyage—tiinin the proceeding so that the chicks won'' hatch about the time of arrival, says Mfegetmeir. The nest would have to bf made on a turf base, which could be damped daily. The plan appears to offer a chance of success, but whether the game would be worth the candle is not at all certain, ,

America. — The late Archbishop Trench, n that most interesting and instructive book On the Study of Words,” points out that .ccasionally a name will embody and give ertnanence to an error. Thus, ” turkeys” are not from Turkey, as their name seems to ■ay, and as was assumed by those who imoscd that name, but from the New World, where alone they are native. With regard ,u America, or the New World, we know dial it was discovered by Christopher Columbus; yet this discovery, rather the honour thereof, was ascribed to another ■:m ; i;ont discoverer, one who had no title u, . his honour, even as he was entirely guilties:if any attempt to usurp it for himself. T, discoveries of Columbus gave rise to jealousies i i the minds of many Spaniards; one of his l,i'iciest foes was Bishop Fonsica, who, a id the return of Columbus with the news oi bis great discovery, was appointed superintendent of Indian affairs. This man, inti cad of being a help to the discoverer, did hi: utmost to deprive him of hjs well-earned lio lours. He snowed to others the private let.ms of Columbus to the Sovereigns of Spain, and allowed them the benefit of the -.harts and maps of the route by which Columbus had made his discovery. One u:h adventurer who gained such use and ~ j.efit of the labours of Columbus was Ojeda, who fitted out four ships at Seville, assisted by many eager and wealthy specula.tors. Among the number was the celebrated Americo Vespuoio, a Florentine mer- , ,iaut, who was considered well acquainted vi'h geography and navigation. This exedition sailed in 1499. and in thirty-seven bias reached America. Vespucio returned ui Spain the same year, and an account of .-.is v oyage was published, and his name was aiven to the continent at the suggestion, it is said, of the publisher of the narrative, .vuv the discovery, as made by Columbus, mis been kept a State secret; but the ;t i lidious bishop, for his own ends, re- . fs.i'.d the facts to friends and friendly ~<l venturers. In 1507 a popular work on eo"raphy was published, and America espucio’s name was given to the new contin, nt, This error became embodied in, as veil as permanency given to, the word