MISCELLANEOUS.

Waikato Times, Volume IV, Issue 221, 9 October 1873, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

\^£e fjGHoQeJ haye on, several occajiaqs spoken,^ tke advantyinges likely to accrue to > $e,qpun.trT,from the free use of peat; at a substitute for coaj. The great difficulties, connected with its preparajion, have jfosfcunajtely been surmounted, and there is every^ reason to belie ve compressed peat w£ll shortly be an article in common, use as fuel,, both fojr ordinary domes* tio and for manufacture purposes. ' The, faoft thas the peat ooal* whiph will soon, be p in the market, is. expeoted to be^ sold at less than, ips per ton, and that it is allowed to be as serviceable and. lasting as common coal, indicates the importance of this new industry. W,e understand that peat coal has been lately tjriedj in the, engine fires of steam ships, and has been found an excellent substitute for pit coal. It ' is smokeless, or nearly so, and the. a^h, is in infinitesimal proportion to the quantity of foej consumed. With a properly constructed furnace, it is, alleged no more peat coal will he required to produce the same steam power than is now.consutned as pit coal. If these expectations be realized —•and they are not speculative, but experimental results — it is impossible to over-estimate the value of^hu new industry. A, sad and singular relic (says the 'Fiji QqxAte) has been, brought to, £evuka by. Captain M'Donald, of the Success. Some few months ago, when a vessel was at the Island of • Santo, a, young man on board, a native of Hobart Town, ' w,hi|e hanging a revolver, accidentally shot lumiflf through the .body. The wound, at the time, was not apprehended to be fatal, and the sufferer was removed on shore to the Mission, where he received every attention, Captain McDonald undertaking to take him up on his return. The poor fellow, however* after, a, few days, died. On the return of the Suocess, tjie" resident missionary informed the captain of the . deaths ana \ toUi him also that the natives had made many appjioatjpnp to him for the body, as they wanted the bones with' which to point their spears 5. but that it had been buried at midnight in, a^ secluded spot, and such care taken to obliterate every, tra'cj} of the. grave that he believed it was safe. On the last, trip of the Success, however, a native came on board, with a beautifully-finished many-pointed spear, which be wished t1)t 1 ) sell, and to Captain McDonalds horror, informed him that the points were made from the bones of his late shipmate, who, in spite of all precautions taken, bad,, been disinterred by the savages. Mr Beeoher makes the following re.marlts about the crow ; — " Aside from the special question pf the profit and loss, we have a warm side toward the crow, he is so much like ourselves, tie it cunning and that is human. He takes advantages of those weaker than himself, and that is so manlike ! He is sly, and hides for to-inqrrow what he can't eat to-day, showing a real human proviclcqcc. He learns tricks much faster than he docs useful things, showing a true boy nature. He thinks his own color the best, and loves to hear his own voice, which are entirely, human trajts. He will never work when he can get another to work for him, — a genuine human trait. He eats whatever he can. lay his claws upon, and is less mischievous with a full stomach than when, hungry, and that is like man. He is at war witb,aU things except his own kind, and with them when be has nothing else to do. No wonder men despise crowe. They are too., much like men. Take off, their wjngs and put them in breeches, and crows would-be fair average men. Give men wings, and reduce their smartness a little, and many of them would be almost gpod enough to be crows." Mark Twain, a fpw moqtlis after his first baby was born, was holding it, on his knee. His wife said, ' Now confess Samuel that % m>u lim> the chilil.' ' I i-un't do that,' he replied, ' but 1 am willing to admit I respect the little thing, for its father's o.ti.' ■ ' ""*