Local and General.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 102, 10 September 1868, Page 2

Local and General.

Drainage. — A correspondent makes the following suggestion in the columns of the Lyttelton Times of this morning : — " I have remarked pools of stagnant water in the town much below the level of the adjoining land, and lower than tbe level of the side channels. As this water cannot be got rid of by cutting ordinary drains, 1 beg to suggest the following method :— At the lowest part of the ground requiring to be drained, let a square hole, say 3ft across, be sunk till a stratum of gravel be reached — from six to ten feet — the sides of the hole to slabbed, and the top covered with a grating so as to allow water only to go down. The stratum of gravel will carry off all the surface water. I know of an artesian well in town from which a great deal of surplus water escapes daily. There being no natural outfall, a hole such as I describe had to be dug, and it answers the purpose admirably. Probably the greater portion j_f" the lowlying land about Christchurch could be drained in this manner. The expense of a trial would be small." y Philosophical Society. —An ordinary monthly meeting was held at the Literary Institute last night. Present : Dr Haast (chairman), C. Davie, W. Packe, J. W. S. Coward, R. Mainwaring, L. L. Powell, Rev C. Fraser (hon. sec), Rev Canon Wilson, J. Marshman, R. W. Fereday, E. Jollie, and T. Nottidge. The minutes of the last meeting were read aud confirmed. A ballot was taken for the election of new members, and resulted in Messrs Cowlishaw, Hennah, and Frankish being admitted tothe society? The chairman stated the next business to be the election of officers for the ensuing year. The secretary said, in accordance with the by-laws this should have been done at a meeting in the first week in September, but it bad not been possible to convene one during that period. A discussion ensued as to the power of the meeting to elect officers after the date fixed by the rules had elapsed. Mr Jollie called attention to clause 21, by which a special general meeting could be convened on eighteen members signing a written request to that effect. He would suggest that this should be done for the purpose of transacting the business neglected by not calling a meeting at the proper time. A resolution embodying this was, after a brief discussion, put and carried. The chairman said he had not beard anything about the new room intended to be placed at their disposal by the Provincial Government, but he had no doubt the society would be able to hold their next meeting in it. The presentation of a map of Abyssinia by Mr Enys was announced. Mr Powell moved, and it was seconded and carried, that an annual donation of £5 should be made by the society to the Canterbury Museum. Mr Powell said in compliance with a suggestion of one of the members he had intimated his intention of exhibiting an opthalmoscope, and giving some practical demonstrations of its properties, but it had escaped his notice that the white walls of the room would not permit of the latter being done, and he was therefore compelled to ask their indulgence so far as experiments were concerned. Mr Powell then proceeded to explain the mode of applying the instrument for examining the human eye, and commented on the structure and diseases of that organ. For better enabling his remarks to be understood he exhibited several diagrams and an atlas of the eye in its different stages. After exhausting the subject in a very able and comprehensive manner, he submitted a second instrument, known as the laryngoscope, and used for examining the throat. The hon. secretary then read some notes on tbe local disturbances in Lyttelton harbour caused by the recent earthquake wave. They had been furnished by Captain Gibson, and were very complete in detail. The Chairman afterwards read a paper on earthquakes on iand and sea, referring more particularly to those lately experienced in the province of Canterbury. The subject was very minutely entered into, and the whole formed a most interesting and instructive discourse. A short discussion ensued upon the principal points referred to, after which the meeting .. adjourned. . '.«' / •*: •' .

Lyttelton Popular Entertainments. — An excellent programme is advertised for this evening. The Ashley. — The coaches got through the river yesterday for the first time since the commencement of the late bad weather, I but the ford is not so good as formerly. The river has been impassable for an unusually long time. Albion- Cricket Club. — The adjourned geueral meeting of members was held at the City Hotel last night. There was a large attendance, and Mr Turner was voted to the chair. The minutes of last meeting were read and confirmed. A letter was read from the hon. secretary of the U.C.C.C. stating that the Club would not make any arrangement with reference to occupancy of the cricket ground until after their annual general meeting. Further consideration of the matter was accordingly deferred. Tbe election of officers was next proceeded with, aud resulted as follows: — President, J. Ollivier; Vice-President, W. 11. W.Williams; Treasurer, J. G. Ruddenklau; Committee, W. Ilobbs, Warner, Davis, Banks, Calvert, and Cresswell. The appointment of a secretary was deferred until after the financial statement for the past year had been received. The non-attendance of the late treasurer, Mr Bruce, and his neglect to furnish this, was discussed at some length. It was ultimately moved by Mr Hobbs, and agreed to, " That this meeting regrets the absence of the treasurer, which prevents the financial- position of the club being ascertained ; and the arrangements for the coming season being thereby retarded, the secretary be requested to communicate with him for the purpose of obtaining an account of receipts and disbursements for the past year." A general meetiug was next ordered to be convened for the Ist of October, to receive and consider this account, elect new members, and appoint a secretary. The meeting then adjourned. a New Colonial Industky. — A new industry has sprung up in Tasmanin, and appears to be a promising one. From the Tasmanian Times we le m that "a few days ago, Mr Dyer, boat-builder, of Oe Witt street Battery Point, exhibited to us the model of a machine designed by him for the manufacture of oars. The machine, although simple, is ingenious, and Mr Dyer hopes to be ahle by its means to produce oars without any further aid from manual labour than what is necessary to procure tbe rough material and feed the machine. We are not, of course, at liberty to describe the principle on which thi* machine is constructed ; but we may state that Mr Dyer has had a great deal of trouble in mastering the details, and believes tbat by its aid he can turn out oars at half the present cost, and of first-rate qunlity. Large quantities of oars are annually imported into these colonies, and Mr Dyer expects to compete successfully with the imported article. Tasmanian timber has been found suitable for this purpose, especially that known as mountain ash. Sculls that used to be imported from Sydney are now roanufactued by ?r Dyer, and the foreign article is shut out." Wool. — The following statistics are from the Times -. — Although the imports of wool into the United Kingdom have very greatly extended during tbe last fifteen years — having amounted in 1853 to 119,396,449 Ib, and in 1867 to 233,703,1041b.— the exports have also considerably increased, having risen to 90,532,5841 b. last year, as compared with 11725,3691 b, in 1854, the result being that the excess of imports over exports did not exceed 142,870,6001 b., as compared witb 107,671,0801 b. in 1854. South Africa sent us 7,221,448! b. of wool in 1854, while in 1867 the total had risen to 35.126,7501 b. Australia is the quarter of the world which most largely contributed to the progress of our wool imports, having sent us 47,076,0101 bin 1854, and 133,108.1761 bin 1867. South America forwarded 9,740,<)321b in 1854, and 21,381,281 b. in 18(57. The European sources of our avool supply show no progress whatever, but, on tbe contrary, rather a fai lirig-off. The excess of imports available for home consumption attained its maximum last year, when it was 172,785, 2011 b; in 1805 it wa9 129,761,8171 b; in 1864, 150,539,3061 b; in 1863, 113,349,7031 b; in 186-', 123,866,9731 b; and iv 1861, 92,795,7371 b. The English Grais Market. — Farmers in these colonies will he interested in the following intelligence with respect to the state of the English markets. It is furnished by a ] London correspondent of the Sydney Herald, and appears in a late issue of that journal : — The state of affairsi s anything but reassuring. We are threatene with one of those severe droughts with which the people of New South Wales are, unfortunately for themselves, but too familiar. This very week, in anticipation of a defective hay crop, the price of linseed has begun to rise. The peas, too, Hre dyin^r off for want of rain, while tbe wheat lands present a suspicious appearance. Yet, in tbe very face pf these indications of danger, our journalists are sapiently uttering jubilant exclamations over what appears, in their sight, to be the complete certainty of a plentiful harvest. It was the same last year. Our leading journal congratulated us, in magnificent language, on onr splendid harvest prospects, even at tbe very moment when experienced persons perceived how the last chance of safety had patsed away, and how our garners would, at the best, become but balf filled. A deficient harvest this year will prove extremely serious. Tbe defective harvests of 1866 and 1867 have all but emptied the great granaries, botb here and on the continent ; and unless these can be refilled this year, besides providing for im mediate consumption, the price of wheat must inevitably rise to a point far higher than any attained since the repeal of the Corn Laws. The subjoined official statement of corn sold in 150 towns in England and Wales in the week ending 30th May, 1868, and the corresponding week in the years 1864 to 1867, marks the steady increase whic'i has taken place in prices : — 1864, 39a 5d per quarter ;

'65, 41s lld per qunrtcr; '66, 47s 5d per quarter ; '67, 65s 5d per quarter ; '68, 72s 3d per quarter. These figures speak for themselves, and show how critical will become the position of our food supply should the European wheat yield prove deficient, as—considering the accounts from France, Italy aud Germany— there is too much reason for believing will be the case. Nor must we look to the United Stales for supplies. Telegrams received this morning persist in maintaining that all United States wheat will ba required : for American use. Perhaps these facts may i lead to fresh attempts at exporting grain from the antipodes." .Useful Inventions. — Several imrenious ■ inventions in sheep-farming and agricultural processes have lately been brought before the Victorian public. One of them is thus described hy the Melbourne correspondent of the Alexandra Courier -. — " I saw a machine at work the other day which is likely to c «use a great change in the sheep-funning interest; it is no less than a machine to shear sheep by steam, and from what I saw of it, it is likely to be a complete success. The machine is inude of brass, something in the shape of a trowel; the motion is got up t>y a turbine wheel about three inches in diameter, and this is glared into another wheel on which is fixed a gutter ; in front is a comb which serves as a guide and guard against cutting the skin of the sheep. The steam is conveyed from the boiler by a tube of indiarubber; this tube or pipe is double, having one inside the other; the -'mer oue is the injection, and the space between lis two is the ejection. The machine can be handled quite easily, and will be used just in the same fashion as the shears, but will cut much quicker and far cleaner, without the least dansjer of injuring the fleece or the sheep. It is exp cted that it will be all completed and publicly tested in tim. for this season's clip. The inventor lias been about three years at work on it, and bas just got it into what he thinks a perfect state." Another — a portable engine— is still more ingenious. We take the description from tbe Ararat local journal : — One which we saw erected and at work, a couple of days since, was within the space of two hours employed in sawing wood into lengths for ihe various fires in the establishment, boring posts for feucing purposes, crushing corn, cutting chaff, and churning, all of which operations it performed in a most satisfactory way. The proprietor informed us that the v .lue and efficiency of the engine and appliances had repaid the cost some time since ; thus posts, which cost by manual labour three pencp half-penny to bore, were now bored at a cost of one half-penny each, and iv this way the number of hands wbich with the service of the engine he was able to do without, made a very considerable difference in the yearly expenditure. There is no operation which the engine performs more completely than that of churning ; the churn is placed in the engine bouse, and if tbe day be cold the doors are closed to assist the formation of the butter, the churn staff being raised and depressed with an energy and constancy which human arras would imitate in vain. — A third machine is the invention of aMr M'Call, who seems to have secured the confi:ience of the Bailarat and Smeaton farmers. It is a reaping and binding machine, which promises to effect a saving of fire men out of seven in ordinary crops. No doubt is entertained as to its ultimate success. > A New Zealand Artist. — The Argus of Aug. 26 has the following: — We had the pleasure yesterday of examining some works from the easel of Mr H. J. Worsley, an artist who has resided for some years in New Zealand, and who has come to Melbourne to practise his art. Mr Worsley is an enthusiast in painting, and his works bear testimony to an intelligent and severe study of the great masterXj The works which he has now collected in his studio, and some of which were painted many years ago, indicate a cultivated and disciplined taste, considerable skill in manipulation, some degree of imagination, and perhaps also some of those lofty if unfulfilled aspirations which are necessary to the true artist. There are two large cartoon pictures— the one, the Angel appearing to the Shepherds on tbe night of the Nativity; the the other, Edward the Black Prince receiving the submission of the King of France after the battle of Poictiers. These are subjects wbich require the very highest kind of artistic genius to deal with satisfactorily; and although Mr Worsley's paintings lißve many meritorious points, they are wanting in power and imagination. The best of the two is the Angel appearing to the Shepherds. The figures are well grouped ; both the drawing and the colouring display many excellences, and some of the countenances are not without considerable character and expression. The other picture, however, appears commonplace and insipid. The composition of the picture is feeble, and a more harmless-locking and characterless assembly of warriors was never brought together on canvas. It is, however, in his smaller pictures, and especially, we think, in his copies, that Mr Worsley 's qualities as an artist may be most favourably observed. His copy of the smaller of Rubens' pictures, " The Descent from the Cross," now in tbe Munich Gallery, is a very finished work, and reflects in a high degree the merits of the great original. In some of Mr Worsley's owa less ambitious works bis powers appear to considerable advantage. For instance, the King and the Queen of the Fairies, inthe "Midsummer Night's Dream," is a light and graceful production. The picture of David returning across the brcok with the head of Goliath is a work of fair merit, but most people, we think, will be of opinion that tbe countenance of the young Hebrew is too effeminate. A visit to Mr Worsley's studio will well repay tbe trouble. Meat Pbesebving. — Meat preserving experiments continue to multiply. A new adventurer in this field has made his appearance — Mr James Manning, of New South Wales. His process is not described, and the results appear unsatisfactory. A late Argus supplies tbe following facts with reference to it,

as disclosed at a formal inquiry into the value of several specimens of preserved meat, held in Geelong, at a National Grain Show : — " There were four samples of preserved beef exhibited— one by Mr James Manning, of New South Wales, and three by Mr S. Ritchie, of the Melbourne Me it-preserving Company. The latter also submitted two samples of preserved mutton. The samples were opened by the judges— The Hon. C. Sladen, M.L.C., and Dr Carstairs— on the sth instant, and were partaken of at luncheon by the members of tbe Committee of the Agricultural Society who had met for business on that day. The samples were generally approved of, and the residue of the meat, retained in the open tins, was then placed in the secretary's office, simply covered over with brown paper, where the samples have since remained partially exposed to the atmosphere. The judges, after subjecting the exhibits fo this test, have at length determined in favour of the meat preserved in Melbourne, the principal reason being that, ' although thus exposed for ten days, the meat continued perfectly sweet and good, while the New South Wales exhibit became i bad the day after it had been opened." Recent advices from England with respect to the preserved meat shipped from Australia are highly satisfactory. The London correspondent of the Sydney Herald writes on the 19th of June as fo lows:— "The possibility of exporting Australian beef and mutton to Europe has been demonstrated most conc!usively by Mr Tallerman, of Victoria, who has just arrived in this country with samples of preserved colonial meat shipped via Panama. In such excellent condition s the beef and mutton thus brought to England by their enterprising importer, that there exists little or no doubt of a ready aud profitable sale awaiting the various cargoes now on their way herefrom Melbourne. The process employed by Mr Tallerman was fully discussed some months since in the Melbourne papers. It differs essentially from that introduced into New South Wales by Mr Mort, whose project is regarded here with some interest by several of our scientific men, although not a few of our experienced shipping firms! express their belief that the preliminary experiments are being conducted on too large a scale. We trust not, There is plenty of room for the profitable development of both Mr Mort's and Mr Tallerman's syctems, should they succeed in meeting the wants of the public. The beef and mutton shewn by Mr Tallerman appear to have a wonderfully fresh and sweet taste. The meat is cured in the usual way, by pickling or smoking, the bones being first cut out, so as to lessen the cost of carriage. It is then bound tightly with string, wrapped in linen cloths, and packed in seeds or tallow, the cloths preventing the tallow injuring tbe meat, which is excluded from the air by means of the tallow. The successful character of Mr Tallerman's experiment may be inferred from tbe fact that the tallow in which the meat was packed did not in any way melt during its passage through tbe tropics, but arrived here in a hard and solid state like wax. It is proposed to ietail tbe meat at 7d per lb for beef, and 6d per lb for mutton, which prices are low, considering that lib of preserved Victoriin meat is equal to 2lb of ordinary English butchers' meat. Low prices, be it observed, form an essential condition of success."