MISCELLANEOUS EXTRACTS.

Southland Times, Issue 935, 17 April 1868, Page 6

MISCELLANEOUS EXTRACTS.

Ship Building on the Pacific. — 1m "Washington Territory they take a lively Interest in all that the California press publishes in regard to ship building. What has been said about the want of hard wood and crooks of large size for ship's knees, breast hooks, ribs, etc., and the necessity of importing teak or other woods, for. these purposes, has led the "Washington Territory people to look around them and examine what they have. They find in considerable quantities a spruce, growing on the low lands con-. tiguous to the Sound, and which are washed by the tide. This tree has large roots, and the wood is said to be as tough and durable as oak. The Oylmpia "Transcript" says that the experiment of using this material is about to be tried on a large scale. A party of men from Oregon have recently gone down on the Chehalis river, to cut a cargo of ship's knees and breast-hooks from tide-land spruce, which species of wood grows in almost unlimited quantities along the bottom of that river. The roots of this tree grow along the ground, with every imaginable crook to them, and often, quite large. So hard and tough is this timber when dry, that it soon ruins an axe to cut it, without the utmost caution is used. — " San Franciscan Bulletin." "Whipped to Death. — "We learn from W. J. Organ, that two Chinamen were whipped to death at Squire's Canon, near Dutch Flat, a day or two ago. They. were caught by the watchmen, who was watching the sluices, in the act ef robbing the flume, and were beaten to death. It is reported that the poor Chinamen were horribly mutilated, and literally beaten to a jelly. Although they deserved punishment, it wonld have been much better to have the law take its course then to engage in such horrible brutality, and we hope those guilty of it will be scri/pt, sth February. The New York boat, after having been used in blasting many rocks at Hellgate, was taken apart, shipped to Panama, and there put together, and it is expected that she will soon start on her pioneer expedition to the Bay of Pearls, fifty miles from Panama, where 450 native divers get pearls enough to pay them for their labor. The pearls are not the only prize. The shell of the pearl oyster has become very valuable, commanding now 200 dols. per ton in the New fork market, and being used for buttons, knife handles, and a great variety of articles of ornament. It requires seventeen days' work of a single diver to get a ton. "Whaling in the Nobth Pacific. — The city of New Bedford employed in these northern waters, last year, 106 vessels, some of the ships, owing to the mildne3s of the season going as high up as 73deg, 30min. Of the whole number of vessels employed, accounts have been received from 25, and the average catch of these was 659 barrels. The average amount of bone is not stated. Of these vessels 69 were in the Acrtic Ocean, averaging 668 barrels; 14 vessels, were in the' Ochotsk sea, averaging 753 barrels : 12 were at Kodiac, averaging 458 barrels. The whole season's catch was set down down at 67,000 barrels, against 64,207 barrels for the previous year, although whaling was good only in the early part of the season, very little being done after July. Yet this uniform success is remarkable. "While at the same time it is to be noted that the fisheries of the North Atlantic, that is to say, in the waters of Hudson's Bay and Davis Straits, were a complete failure. It is. also worthy of note that many of the North Pacific walers supplement their summer's work by a winter's cruise along the coast of this State and of Lower California. Others with rendezvous at the Hawaiian Islands, make a short winter's cruise about the Islands with good results. In the statistics of the whale fishery furnished by the " Evening Standard" of New Bedford, the whole number of vessels employed in this interest throughout the country, is set down as 342. Of these, 182 are owned in that city : and five barques, three brigs and three scoooners, making eleven vessels in all, are set down as belonging to San Francisco. — " S. Francisco Bulletin." '