General News.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XVIII, Issue 1677, 23 February 1885, Page 3

General News.

I It is stated on reliable authority j that considerable fears are entertained i as to the stability of the magnificent ! new Lunatic Asylum recently erec--1 ted at Seacliff, Otago, at a cost of | about £IOO,OOO. The foundations i are said to be defective. The building lis erected on a commanding site, . oierlooking the sea, and it is said that the whole hillside is slipping gradually down to the sea. The Main Southern Trunk Railway passes between the Asylum and the sea, and the line is also in danger. The movement of the earth is very slow, but is stated to be steady and unmistakable It is of course on a scale which renders any preventive measures impossible. The hob water cure for hard milking cows, as used in America, is as follows : Before milking put two or three handfuls of hot water upon each teat, as hot as the band will bear. After giving the teats a thorough soaking, wipe lightly with a dry cloth, or strip with the hand until there is no danger of the water dripping into the pail ; then milk at once. By this means a hard milker can be milked in half the usual time The seven Bibles of the world are the Koran of the Mohammedans, the Eddes of the Scandinavians, the Try Pitikes of the Buddhists, the Five Kings of the Chinese, the Three Vedas of the Hindoos, the Zendavesta, and the Scriptures of the Christians. The Koran is not older than the year 70 of our era. It is a compound of quotations from the Old and New Testaments, the Talmud and the Gospel of Barnabas. The Eddas of the Scandinavians were published in the eleventh century, and are the most recent of these Bibles. The Pitikes of the Buddists contain sublime morals and pure aspirations; their author lived and died in the seventh century before Christ. There is nothing of excellence in these sacred books not found in the Bible. The sacred writings of the Chinese are called the Five kings, “ king ’’ meaning web of cloth or the warp that keeps the threads in their place. They contained the best sayings of the best sages on the political duties of of life. These sayings cannot be traced to a period higher than the eleventh century b.c. The three Vedas are the most ancient books of the Hindoos, and it is the opinion of Max Muller, Wilson, Johnson and Witney, that they are not older than eleven centuries bc. The Zendavesta of the Persians is the grandest of all the sacred books, next to our Bible, Zoroaster whose sayings it contains, was born in the twelfth century b c. Calves may be reared without milk with little difficulty. Take them from the cow as soon as calved, and teach them to drink. Feed with one part of linseed meal, one of maize meal, and eight parts of bran, scalded, and sufficiently thin that the young animals may drink it for a short time; but as soou as possible they must be made to take it dry, as otherwise, unless great care is exercised, they are apt to scour.

Haymaking, which is later than usual in Tasmania, is finished in nearly all districts of that Colony i the late rains have done excellent services to the wheat. The yield will not be a large one. judging from present appearances, but the gram promises to be of good quality. There will be a good yield of oats and barley, but singular to relate in some districts where the eaterpillars used to play great havoc with the cereals named, they have neglected them altogether, ai d confined their attention to the wheat. The turnip fly, bo destructive in New Zealand, is now becoming troublesome m Tasmania.

" P OU Sj 1 . on Rats." Clears out rats, mice, roaches, meg ants, bed bugs, beetles, insects, skunks, jack rabbits, gophers. Druggists, Hosed Moss 6c Co., Sydney, General Agents,