MISCELLANEOUS

Dunstan Times, Issue 492, 22 September 1871, Page 3

MISCELLANEOUS

—o— Barman's “ Two headed nightingale ” is attracting much attention in England. She (or they) is (or are) an exceedingly curious phen> ci'euri (or phenomena) for with only one body—chest, stomach, and soon—there are four legs, and two decidedly different heads, the mouths of which sing duets very prettily. What is more, they ha' e not the woe-begone look of the Siamese twins, but really appear to enjoy themselves. New Gold Saving Machine, —We have seen a gold saving, machi e invented by Mr. J lach of this place, says the Times Advertiser, which is likely to prove of very great benefit in saving gold and quicksilver, and especially in the treatment of tailings. It can be inexpensively worked, and from the result of trials that have taken place, its efficiency is said to be very great. It consists of a pan three feet in diameter at the bottom. Around the inside of the bottom circumference is a ripple in which the silver is put. The grinding and amalgamating process is effected by a pair of heavy rollers each of which weigh six hundred weight, and attached to a stationary axle, and the pan itself revolves, Fixed to the framework in such a position as to skim the bottom of the pan are a pair of scrapers, which by the revolutions of conduct the stuff from the pan rim under the rollers, at the same time keep the mercury clean and in motion. The stuff is made to discharge when sufficiently reduced through a syphon pipe, which conducts it over peculiarly constructed ripple tables, calculated to retain the moat minute particle of mercury ; but, judging from the trials which have taken place these precautions are not likely to be much required. The tables are so constructed as to cause an ascending and descending motion to the currett. It is said that it will only require one horse power to drive three of these mills, and at the trials two men worked one machine easily for six hours. A trial of some tailings, from which only half an ounce to the ton was first obtained, took place. Two pounds of silver was put into the trough, when the machine was charged, and the stuff had been treated the whole of the silver was placed again in the bottle, and a surplus which had been extracted from the tailings, was very considerable. Besides, a lump of hard amalgam about the size of a marble was obtained. The stuff was ground to the most extreme fineness, and not a particle of silver was found either on the plates or in the ripples of the tables. Each mill is calculated, when driven regularly by steam power, to be able to treat one hundred weight and a half of tailings per hour. Letter patent have been applied for by Mr. Bach fot the invention, which, there is every reason to believe, will prove a very valuable acquisition to the machinery for o*l4 wring. It can either he placed at the foot •{ th* tables of a ba;tejy to receive the’ dkehaijs frost the plates*

It has been said that a bad woman is as much worse than a bad man as a good woman is better than a good man. What man, for instance, however degarded, would watch the houses of the sick poor, until the one wretched attendant had gone out to get the dying patient's medicine, and then sneak into her house, and in hearing of the feeble protests of the helpless creature lying in bed j strip the sick room of everything that was pawnable? Yet this seems to have been the trade of Mary Plinder. aged 37, "an ironer, with no fixed residence,” brought before the Lord Mayor a day or two since. Fortunately she has at last been caught, and has been ooromited to Newgate for trial. It is to be hoped that she may be "laid aside’’ for some time to come. —The Graphic. Sir Walter Scott's favorite wine cup was one which had travelled from Edinburgh to Derby in the canteen of Prince Charlie. Lockart says that its bottom was cf glass, that he who quaffed it might keep bis eye the while upon the dirk hand of his com. panion. A doctor's motto is supposed to be “ patients and long suffering." Littleberry Strange is a judge in Alabama.