The Taranaki Herald. PUBLISHED DAILY. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1891.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XL, Issue 9269, 19 December 1891, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald. PUBLISHED DAILY. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1891.

♦ Mr Hislop, of New Plymouth, has been appointed third master of the Napier district school. A Cake ani Apron Fair, in connection with the Wesleyan Liardot-street school, was hold on Thursday afternoon and evening. There was a Christmas tree, and tho room was beautifully decorated with flowers. The Temperance Band played several pieces outside the building. The attendance was largo, the net proceeds being £51. Mr Corkill reports that during the week he has sold Mr French's 70 acre farm on the Carrington Road to Mr Richard Gilbert, for £770 ; also Mr Gilbert's 5 acre property on the Mill Road to a local buyer, at a price not disclosed. Mr Courtney reports having sold Mr Creagmile's residence in Gill-street, at a fair prico, to Mr John Earp. On Wednesday next, at Ngaire, Mr Newton King will hold a clearing Bale of Mr Mansoa T. West's farm, stock, household furniture, tools, &c., when persons in want of a really choice quiet lot of young stock, will have an opportunity of meeting their requirements. Captain Edwin telegraphed yesterday evening : —"North-west to west and south gale, with rain and heavy sea after twelve hours from now ; glass fall again soon." In conection with the Anniversary of tho Wesleyan Sunday School, the services will be conducted as follows : —Morning, Rev. J. Nixon ; afternoon, the superintendent and the Revs. McDonald and Fairclough; evening, Rev. Fairclough. Special hymns have been practised by the children, and the event is expected to possess all its usual attractiveness. — Advt. It will bo seen by advertisement in another column that Mr J. Sparks is advertising for 20 children to take part in Cinderella. Mr J. Sparks is now engaged in training about 30 children for the musical burlesque Cinderella (written by George Sims, and composed by Louis Dihl), which will be produced in the Alexandra Hall on race night, Monday, December 28. The children are making rapid headway in the rehearsals, and the public can anticipate a really clever performance of this favorite work. Mr F. 0. Sparks, of Wanganui, will conduct the orchestra jOn this occasion. Th t programme, with -cast of characters, will appear on Monday. It is reported that a native named Ngahuoi was killed while bush felling on Mr J. Bayly's land at Awakino a few days ago. At the High School breaking up, on Friday, the Cnairman read a letter from Mr Samuel, apologising for his absence, which was unavoidable on account of professional duties. The Premier will arrivo from the north on Tuesday, and will speak in the Alexandra Hall the same night. The Central, Courtenay-street, and West Infant schools broke up for the holidays on Friday. The many friends of Mr Whiteley King had an opportunity of welcoming him back to New Plymouth this (Saturday) morning, as ho has come here on a short visit. Ho is looking remarkably well, whi-jh shows that the Australian climate evidently agrees with him. Mr Whiteley King is secretary of " The Australian Pastoralists Union," and has visited New Zealand for the purpose of collecting information rospecting the irozen meat trade, also into the working of the Rabbit Acts of Now Zealand. Mr Twentyman Wilson, of the Stratford Hotel, has a notice in aaother column of interest to tourists. Mr Glegg, of Westown, brought us this (Saturday) morning some peaches which are the earliest we have eoen. They are called Brigg's Red May. and from their flavour are a very excellent var'ety. Mr Glegg informs us that thero are about three dozen on tho treo, and they began to ripen at the beginning of the week; in fact, he ate one on Thursday morning last. Last year the fruit ripened as oarly as December 12th, but this season •they are somewhat later; anyhow, thoy aro a very early peach, and very delicious eating. A story savouring of a fairy tale is told by the Gentlewoman of how an old nurso of the German Empress had a dream, in which she saw her favourite Princess seated on a throne of gold, surrounded with courtiers. When the Princess was {old of the dream Bhe laughed heartily, and declared that " she might bo Queen of Primkonan (her father's country estate), but surely of nowhere olso." Some 12 years later, when on the eve of her marriage with Prince Wilhelm, she did not forget to invite her nurse and all her family to see tho wedding ceremony, and enjoy a pleasant holiday in Berlin. The power of sunlight in promoting the fragrance of flowers has been investigated by Horr Regell, who finds that whon a plant is kept in the dark the flowers are scentless. If the flower-buds alone wore kept in the dark, tho flowers proved to bo fragrant. Even flowers which bloom at night lost their scent whon the plant was de prived of light. On restoring the light, however^ the flowers recovered their scent. Respiration has also an influence upon their fragrance. For example, a plant of nycterinia enclosed in a bell jar, with oxygen gus, behaved as it would have done in air, whereas one enclose! with hydrogen did not open its flower-buds, and these had no scent. A preliminary report, issued by tho Registrar-General, of the census taken in Jamaica on April 5 last, returns tho total population at 639,491. Of this number 305,948 were males, and 333,543 were females. These figures show an increase of 58,687 in the population of tho island since 1881. While the male population has only increased by 22,991, however, the female population has increased by 35,696; in other words, while the male population ib only a little over 8 per cent, greater than in 1881, tho female population during the last'ten yeara has increased 12 por coat,