CLIPPINGS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 3360, 15 January 1879, Page 3

CLIPPINGS.

Preparations are being made at Windsor Castle for the marriage of the Duke of Connaught, which will take place some time in Febvuarv.

A French chemist, M. Q.ueynet, has devised a method of rapidly extinguishing fires in chimneys. Ifc consists iv burning about 100 grammes of the si^phurefc of carbon on fche hearth of a chimney, the sulphur being first turned into one or two broad hollow plates, in order that the combustion may be produced on a relatively large surface. The sulphurrt of carbon, a liquid combination of sulphu- and carbon, vapourises and inflames very easily, burns vovy quickly, and yields, by absorbing the oxygen of the air,* a gas composed of two-thirds of sulphurous acid and one-third of carbonic acid, both equally unfavourable to combustion. As to any danger connected with the method, the liquid should be divided into quantities of 100 grammes, in Husks large enough to preserve a vacuum, to allow for the great expansion of sulphuret of carbon. The firemen of Paiis have thus extinguished in January of last year 32 out of 51 fires ; in February, 81 out of 103 ; in March, 133 oufc of 165 ; or in al'. 251 out of 319 fires. And these 251 extinctions have been to some extent instantaneous, without the necessity of mounting the roof or in auy waj - disarranging the apartments.

A contract has been r signcd by a London firm and forwarded to Ber l; n for the purpose of raising the German ironclad Grosser Xurfursfc.

The following telegram from Pesth, dated Nov. 7, was published in The Times: — Vienna has been for more than 48 hours cut off from the world by a violent snow-storm, which broke over the capital and the neighbourhood on the night of Saturday, and lasted 12 hours, covering the roofs and streets, witb snow several feet deep, almost entirely interrupting travelling by road and rail, and destroying all telegraphic communications. The wires were all torn off and twisted, and a large number of the solid iron posts broken and upset in the \lcinity. Hundreds of telegraph posts have likewise been torn up, so that some time must pass before the damage can be repaired. Most of the railway lines were snowed up, and the Sudbahn had to give up trafiic for 24 hours altogether.

The following are instances of large vessels having been dry-docked, overhauled, and re-fioated in unprecedentedly short spaces of time : — The Navarino, a large iron steamer of 3557 tons, belonging to the British India Steam Navigation Company was placed in the large new iloating dock of the Victoria Graving Dock Company, London. On the following morning, at a quarter to seven, the docking was commenced, and afc 25 minutes past 8 the ship was dry. She was then scraped from the keel up to the deep load-line, 2_it, all the bare and rusty places were paved over with a protective composition, and the entire bottom received a coat of paint. The whole of tM? W9>'k was, effected during the uay, and the ship was again ....win, an^. v... „ .i way back to her loading berth at G o'clock the same evening, the dry-docking, scraping, painting, and re-floating of this ship having thus occupied only 11-| hours. The second instance occurred in Russia, and was tliat of the Ingool, which was docked on the Nicolaieff Depositing Dock, completely scraped, painted, her screw examined and repaired, and the vessel herself re-Jloated in seven hours. The Ingool, however, is much smaller than tho Navarino, being a ship of only 715 tons.

The process of levelling the ground for a central railway terminus at Strasburg, in Germany, has led lo the discovery of very many stone coffins, evidently dating from the Roman period, a discovery which confirms the belief long entertained tha*-. this place was the site of a Roman burial-ground.

The Abbe Lcbaizc, who recently started on a Government mission of exploration in Africa, has 400 negroes with him. Ho is the only white, and this, he says, increases his authority over men of colour, whereas the Belgian mission had three whites and the Algerian had ten. He is confident of crossing Africa.

The Chilian Times roports the fitting oufc of an expedition to search for six million of silver dollars which were lost many years ago upon the coast of Venezuela with the Spanish ship San Pedro de Alcantara. Captain Folingsby, of New York, the organiser of the expedition, has made an arrangement with the Government of Venezuela, by which the exclusive right of searching for this treasure in the neighbourhood of the site of the wreck is reserved to him for six years. The Government is to receive 5 per cent, of whatever treasure is landed. A schooner of 100 tons, named the Peter Mitchell, has been purchased for the expedition, nnd is being rapidly fitted out at New York.

The invention of Professor Gambalc, of Florence, with a view of improving the instruction of the blind in music, is being examined by the principal of the Normal College of Music for the Blind, Norwood, England. The moveable types of Professor Gambale's writing-desk are the well known ones of the alphabet, and the figures used in arithmetic. With it, a master possessing sight can with the greatest facility teach the bhnd not only to read, write, calculate in arithmetic and algebra, but also music from the firsfc elementary principles up to a complete knowledge of harmony and counterpjinfc in eighfc parts. The blind thus taught can, by themselves, wifch this desk, set up the types, print either prose, arithmetical propositions, music, however difficult or complicated, and from what is written any nam-

ber of copies in relief can be printed equally legible by the blind as those possessing sight, and also readable it all countries.

An official return shows that during- ihe Paris Exhibition 203,157 foreigners hate been admitted into the Parisian hotels and lodging-houses. Of these, England furnished v$M6 ; Belgium, 28,830 ; Germany, 21,778 ; Italy,. 14,968 ; the United States, 13,573 ; Switzerland, 11,980; Spain, 10;004; Austria, S50I ; B.i'and, 6682 ; Russia, 5725-? Sweden |,and Norway, 2705; Luxembourg, 2238; Poland, 1952; Denmark, 1767;. Portugal, •168/; Eoumania, 1442 ; Mexico, 1409; Algeria, 1382; Brazil, 1164; Tin-koy, SOS; U-eece, So . > French colonies, 795- ;: Canada, 710'; Egypt, G59; India, 386; Peru,. 186; Japan, 166 ; Columbia, 156 ; Venezuslav 148 • Tw% 96; Persia, 83; Chili, 81 ; China, 81; Oceania) 69; Morocco, 68; Bolivia,. 54; Ecuador, 53 ; San Salvador, 45 ; Guatemala' 42 ; Costa Eica, 39; La Plata, 18 ; Uruguay, 16; Honduras, 13; Nicaragua, 11 ; and Paraguay, 11 ;• 16F4 were of unknown nationality. Between Calais and Dover from May 1 toOct. 31 there were 186,747 passengers, which j allowing forthe doublo journey, would show 93,000 persons,- and t.ie above return of 58,916 English must evidently be largely supplemented by visitors who stayed with friends.