MISCELLANEOUS.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 4204, 15 May 1895, Page 6

MISCELLANEOUS.

Two excellent samples o f wheat grown at Cheviot are on exhibition in Christchurch. They are of the pearl and Tuscan varieties, and represent the produce of 100 acres cultivated by Stevenson Bros. They were grown after only one ploughing, and averaged 39 bushels to the acre. This ia considered by experts a splendid result. Information has been received that |the owners of the Ashley Bank (Canterbury) Estate have accepted the offer of the Government to purchase the property, which consists of 1,158 acres. Dr F. D. Bullen, of Tauranga, died from heart disease on the 2nd inst. The Auckland ' Herald ' says that deceased was an early practitioner on the Victorian goldfields, and was fifty-eight years of age. The death of Mr T. M'Laughlin, the Reefton mining speculator, recalls to the recollection of the Nelson • Star ' a characteristic anecdote that occurred at Reefton a year or two ago. A pious friend, in discussing the lack of buoyancy in scrip, took occasion to remind " Tim " of the Sermon on the Mount and the beautiful truths contained therein. His effort at consolation, however, was futile. "That's all very well," said the man of scrip, "the man who preached the Sermon on the Mount may have been very good at preaching, but he never paid a call!" It adds that Mr M'Laughlin died worth between £50,000 and £60,000. The late Mr John Buchanan, C.E., one of the victims in tbe tunnel calamity at Melbourne, was in receipt of a salary of £2,000 a year. He was only thirty-eight years of age. A mysterious disappearance from Dim. boola, Victoria, is causing much excitement. One night Police-constable M'Phail finished duty, and left the station in his usual health and spirits. He visited a local hotel, and since then no trace whatever can be found of him. The 'Examiner' says there is trouble brewing at the Woodville School over the caning of some grown-up girls, and complaints have again been made to the chairman of Committee. There are 535 solicitors practising in New Zealand, or one to every 1,361 inhabitants. j The number of convictions for drunkenness in New South Wales in 1894 was 13,233, and drunkenness and disorderly conduct 7,566. A woman died at Wellington a few days ago from the effects of excessive drinking. Her liver weighed 750z, the normal weight being 45. Scientific temperance is to be taught in the State schools of Tasmania, and two and a-half hours per week will be devoted to this class of instruction. Would you know the secret of happiness ? It is making others happy. It is reported that in Melbourne the other day £10,000 was lent on mortgage fcr ten years at 4 per cent. ! ; The estimated population of the colony at the end of March, exclusive of Maoris, was I 365,365 males and 324,110 females, or a total |of 689,475. The Maori population was estimated at 41,993, making a grand total | for the colony of 731,468. i The late Sir Daniel Macnee, president of the Royal Scottish Academy, had a splendid physique, and presented the appearance of a portly well-to-do farmer. On one occasion he was standing at a wayside railway station, when a cattle dealer approached him and said : " Man, ye're a gooa-lookin' chap ; I wager noo yell weigh about fourteen stane." " You are quite correct, my dear fellow," said the president, with a humorous twinkle in his eye. " Ay, I thochl so !" was the self - satisfied rejoinder. " I'm never very far wrang, for I'm the best judge o' swine in the country 1" While at Champery, in Switzerland, this last summer, a correspondent of the ' Spectator ' saw a curious incident. A shepherd was with his flock of sheep some way up the mountain side. Instead of a sheep-dog he had a horse which acted in that capacity. The shepherd spoke to the horse, who at once galloped off and brought in the stray sheep. He then returned to his master for further orders, which he carried out in a most exemplary fashion. You can't keep a dead level long, if you burn everything down flat to make it. Why, bless your soul, if all the cities of the world were reduced to ashes you'd have a new set of millionaires in a couple of years or so, out of the trade in the potash. — Holmes. Miss Beatrice Harraden, who wrote 'Ships that Pass in the Night,' was born in London, and received the earlier part of her education in Dresden. Afterward she studied in several English colleges, and in 1883 took her degree of 8.A., both in classics and mathematics, at the London University. Miss Harraden, even during her college life, practised on the violoncello, and her father attributes the nervous exhaustion from which she soon began to suffer to the enthusiasm with which she devoted herself to her music. At a recent wedding in England, where the groom and the best man were admirals, the bride was attended by a boat's crew of pretty bridesmaids dressed in charming nautical costumes. These were of white cloth, with boat bodices faced with moire ; silk and trimmed with naval gold lace, and having heavy gold bulletin epaulets. Long moire sashes, edged with the Union Jack colors and white regulation caps, with the Rear- Admiral's flag in front, completed the toilets. Madame Patti has very pronounced opinions regarding the injurious effect of alcoholic liquors on the human voice. She is quite convinced that anyone who aspires to success as a vocalist should be an ab- ! stainer from intoxicants. She says : " Alco- > holic stimulants of any kind tend to irritate 1 the throat, and should be entirely abstained from. Even light wines are no exception to this rule. Most people are familiar with the hoarse voice of the hard drinker, and it ' is often said of such an individual that he < has burnt his throat with drink. Even a moderate use of alcohol may, therefore, tend. to make the voice husky."