MISCELLANEOUS.

Wellington Independent, Volume I, Issue 23, 18 June 1845, Page 3

MISCELLANEOUS.

Propagation of the Mulberr* , . —The following particulars relative to the mode of propagation of the Mulberry tree, may be of use to some of our up-country friends. They are extracted from the Launceston Examiner of the Ist of March, and were addressed to the Editor of thai journal, by Mr. George Fry, of the Horticultural Garden : —•

" Although the Mulberry is a fruit so much esteemed, I have observed it is much neglected on this side of the island. I cannot trace any other reason, unless it is supposed difficult of propagation, therefore thought it might not be amiss to mention an easy mode I of propagation which I have proved successful. In the autumn [ take my cuttings from the tree with about an inch or so of old wood to them, prepare them fit for planting by a smooth cut close under a bud, but not shorten the top, put their ends in the ground in a dry shady part of the garden until spring, when the greater part of them will have formed callosities, then plant them singly into small pots, placing a pit of potsherd for the end of the cutting to come in contact with, and plunge the pot into a moderate hot-bed, keeping the lights close ami slightly shaded until the cuttings .begin to grow, they will then require to have as much air as possible, but continue to shade them through the middle of the day ; with good management.they will be fit to shift into a larger pot in about six weeks or two months, but if it is desired to plant them out the same season, I would recommend to saw off the bottom of a good sized pot, and fix a temporary one of wood to shift them, into from the small pot, and as soon as you suppose it has nearly filled the pot with roots prepare your ground where you intend to plant them, make the hole, then remove -the temporary bottom and plant thp tree with the remainder of the pot; and as soon as you suppose the roots are struck into the ground, carefully break, and rfraove the , remainder of the pot; they will then require no more care, excepting a little watering occasionally."—Adelaide Observer.

Captain Stokes, of H.M.S. Beagle, has published, by permission of the Admiralty, an account of his last voyage (or rather succession of voyages) in these seas. The work is said to contain a full account of all the discoveries made by that enterprising and accurate navigator, as well as the surveys of Bass' Straits, whichj as the direct route to Sydney,' are of the utmost importance. The numerous difficulties of these straits are now divested of half their danger accurately laid down as they have been by Captain Stokes and Ms indefatigable assistants. Besides the' survey of the Straits which more immediately , concerns ourselves, the Beagle was, for a length of time, employed on the northern aud western coasts, in pursuance of the objects of the survey the anchorages of South Australia and Swan River were laid down with accuracy. In the latter, this was a source of difficulty and danger, the importance of which may be estimated by the frequency of shipwrecks, resulting from ignorance of the peculiarities of the coast. Besides which, confused and erroneous descriptions of former discoveries rendered it not merely necessary to lay down what existed, but to disprove what was inaccurately and 'hastily asserted by former discoverers. On the north-west coast the Beagle assumed the more imposing and interesting, though not more useful province of discovery. Unknown shores, with unsuspected trendings, were discovered, while rivers, the existence of which was only suspected, but equally unknown, were traced for miles into the interior, uutil the explorers reached to within 500 miles of the centre of the vast continent of New Holland. Of these we may enumerate the Victoria, Adelaide, Albert, and Fitzroy, all discovered and examined, the examination of which gave the first idea, beyond mere conjecture, of the real nature cf the north-western continent. The Beagle was engaged in "this expedition from early in 1837 to late in 1843, of which period five years were spent in these important surveys, and interesting discoveries; and during the whole of which, unprecedented period, the vessel w.as incessantly engaged. The work contains many maps and charts, most interesting narrative, highly useful information, as well as new and remarkable facts in natuaal history; and its arrival in these colonies is looked for with the utmost anxiety and pleasurable anticipation.— lb,

Re-Emmigration from Van Djemen's Land. —In addition to one hundred men previously shipped off .for Port Phillip, sixty more have taken their departure for that colony. We have paid ahout twenty three pounds each for these men. The neighbouring colony now abstracts them at a cost of about two pound five. The Government agents procured for us good men wherever they could ; they then filled up with any description of men they could procure. The Port Phillip people will have none but the best. Thus

not only do we, the poorer and still depresses colony, pay for the labour of the rich and improving one, but we are a filter to separate the best for their especial use.— HobartTonh Advertiser. Van Diesien's Land.—Exertions are being made at the present time to supply both Hobart Town and Launceston with a permanent supply of water fit for drinking. In Hobart Town, a commission of three persons, Mr. Burgess, Mr. Power, and the SolicitorGeneralj has been appointed by the Lieute-nant-Governor to ascertain the best means of supplying the town, with pure water, but the inquiry being a private one, the result is not yet kuown. In Launceston, a proposition has been made by Mr. Wakefield to the Government to supply the town with water, by making an embankment across the Tamar at the Cataract, which it is said has been approved of by his Excellency, who intends to bring the matter before the Legislative Council in the ensuing session.— lbid. • -- Prussic Acid.—The following letter from a correspondent of a daily contemporary contains an amusing illustration of the virtues of cold water, and corroborates the evidence of the medical gentlemen at the late trial of Mr. Belany : —" Sir, —Ou reading that part of Dr. Leithby's evidence in the late trial of Mr. Belany, where in answer to a question put to him, as to the proper remedy to be applied to a person who had taken prussic acid, he,recommends ' dashing of water on the head and face, , I was forcibly reminded of an anecdote which occurred to an eminent chemist in this city (Bath) not long Since:—A strange dog had been in the habit of visiting his shop, and by repeated barking annoying his customers and himself. Upon one of these unwelcome intrusions he desired his man to give the dog a dose of prussic acid, and chuck him into the Avon, which flowed hard by. It was done; and now the son of Esculapius was congratulating himself that he had given the dog bis quietus; when lo ! and behold! to his utter horror and amazement, next day, Jowler makes his appearance as usual, nothing daunted and nothing worse, and by an angry bark seemed to hurl defiance at the abortive attempts of the druggest for his destruction: and thus to an accident may be attributed the important discovery, that cold water is an antidote to prussic acid. The dog had a dose sufficient to carry off twenty dogs, but the dog had also a cold bath immediately afterwards, which recovered him from its effects."— London yayer.

¥ The following is a method of analysing soils for ordinary agricultural purpose :—Weigh a convenient quantity of the earth to be analysed "say 1,000 grains diied in the open air; dry the same before a fire on pap-.r, so as not to sc-.rch the paper ; re-weigh, and the difference will be the moisture. Roast the residue; reweigh, and the difference will be the organic matter. Pour a convenient quantity of muriatic acid on the remainder ; when stirred and settled, pour it off, and add oxalate of ammonia ; the precipitate will be the lime. Mix the [remainder with water, and stir it well; when a little settled pour of the turbid mixture, and the suspended contents are argillaceous, and the deposit silicous. An unclaimed Dividend. —At the exhibition of the Royal Botanical Society in. the Regent's Park, an incident occurred that afforded much mirth to many. We allude to the extemporaneous exhibition, on one of the gravel ..walks, of a gigantic blue specimen of the ' bustle.' It was evidently an exotic f and from the broken tendrils attached, it had apparently been wrenched by accident from its accustomed place on some fair bank —we had just written back. The sight of the monster-flower made the gentlemen laugh loudly. The ladies were more decerous in their mirth; many cheeks assumed a more roseate tint, and all evaded coming in contact by making a curve as they passed it. No one came forward to claim the 'bustle' as her own. Railway.—The extent of railways already constructed and in operation in the United ipngdom is two thousand miles; the sum which has already been actually expended in their formation is no less than £79,000,000 sterling; the projects now before Parliament will, if sanctioned, add nearly another 1,000 miles to the existing length of oar railway?, and were the cost of their construction to be equal to the rate of executing the existing lines, almost other £40,000*000 sterling would be added to railway investments; but as the cost will not reach that rate, to add another £30,000,000 sterliug to railway stock will be probably a more truthful calculation. Thus, in a few years the enormous sum of £109,000,000 of money will have been invested by capitalists in the construction of railways at home, besides a very considerable sum which has been sent out uf the country to assist in the formation of foreign railways. Why is a newspaper like the blood of a • healthy man ? Because it very much depends on the circulation.