ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

Dunstan Times, Issue 769, 12 January 1877, Page 3

ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

Sixteen suicides a day are reported to take place in Franco, according to the recently published police statistics for 1874. It is said that the Alexandra Palace Company are in such difficulties that their so'solicitor has presented a petition to wind up the undertaking, and that provisional liquidators have already been appointed. A P!e.cto-Plum:, or machine for plucking birds, is the latest American invention, according to the Live Stock Journal. The machine is worked by a treadle, and an operator is able to pluck a fowl a minute—a rate which by power could, it is said, bo ipcreased to 200 fowls an hour. An American Alligator, ten feet in length has been added to tho Brighton: Aquarium. Ho comes from Savannah, is iff good 'health, and has a capital appetite. Town trees form the subject of an* interesting piper on London Arboriculture in the Gardener’s Magazine, which remarking that though London is not the most favorable spot in England even for the much vaunted “ plane,” it states that with care and judicious planting many species of tr°es now not visible in London might fl mrish in the more open spots, snob as the squares, parks, &o. Already there is a pood long list of different trees which grow within a radius of three miles from the General Post Office, of which arc mentioned the thorns in Lincoln’s Tnn Fields, and the Kilmarnock willows in front of the Old Water Gate at the foot of Buckingham-atrcet in' the Strand. a trustworthy barometer of the financial atmosphere of France ia furnished by the condition of cigar ends on tho steps of the Paris Bourse According to tho man whoso trade it is to pick up tho remnants of tobacco loaf fo convert them into now cigars, and who recently confided his experience to tho Paris Figaro, “ When brininess ia dull and nothing doing," ho remarks, “ the bouraitvs slowly smoko their cigars quite out, first because they are idle, and secondly they are economically minded. - But if a ria j or fall comes, if sudden news arrives : and grave rumors are current, the steps are

| speedily littered with half-consumed cigars, ; for tho speculators no sooner light their weed than they throw it away to join the Babel inside tho building, to rush to their agents, to sell out, or to speculate on the rise. Such stirring times aro tho best for our business.” Beer drinking in India is going rapidly out of fashion, and only about one person ih six now takes alo at tiffin and dinner. Twenty or thirty years ago half-a-dozen of beer at tiffin waa no unusual allowance for a man.The Sea Serpent was seen by tho steamer Nestor on her voyage between Malacca ami Penang, and is described by the Straits Times as being about 250 ft. long by 50 ft. broad, square beaded, having black and yellow stripes, and closely resembling a salamander. The Ex-Erapresa Isabella of Spain is stated to have the most valuable collection of laces in the world, according to the Paris Figaro, which values one dress alone at lAOOO. Indian shawls and sapphires aro equally announced to be the specialty of Queen Victoria; the Empress of Austria is declared to have an Unrivalled collection of emeralds ; and the Empress of Russia to stand unsurpassed in turquoises ami pearls ; while the most perfect collection, of rubies belongs to the Grand Duchess of SaxeWeimar. At the Middlesex Sessions, a short time since, a man was convicted of attempting to steal a lady’s purse, and, as a previous conviction was recorded against him, the presiding Judge sentenced him to five years penal servitude. On hearing this the prisoner boldly remarked, “ What ! five years for an attempt ! It ought to bo only two.” Ho was taken away to the cells, but was subsequently brought back and informed by the learned judge that a mistake had been made. He had thought that the conviction had been for stealing ; but as it was for an attempt only, he had no power to pass a heavier sentence than two years’ imprisonment with hard labor, which would bo his sentence accordingly. To this the prisoner laconically replied, “ 1 told you so; but that’s getting off three years.” An exquisite piece of Chinese carving is exhibitek at the Philadelphia Exhibition. On an elephant’s -tusk is represented a Chinese city situated on the side of a mountain, and containing Joss houses, palaces, pagodas, and military processions, while every minute detail of Celestial street and domestic life is depicted with marvellous accuracy. The carving is the work of one man, and occupied him for three years, yet the value of native labor in China is so inconsiderable that the worth of the work is only estimated at 1,64, It has been bought by the Pensylvanian Museum of Art. The following singular excise case was heard at Brentford, near L melon, a short ago. The defendant, who had been convicted of using a carriage without a licence, wrote to the supervisor of tho district respecting the case, and was rash enough to fasten tho letter with an heraldic shield. This, as the magistrate observed, was like shaking a red rag at a bull; the officer immediately summoned him for illegally using armorial hearings, and he has had to pay L 5 for h : s temerity. Mr David Syrao, the proprietor of the Melborns Age, who is staying for a short time in this country, has written a work entitled “ Outlines of Industrial Science,” which will be published immediately. The Tichborno Claimant has got into bad odour with the authorities at Dartmoor by refusing to make his bed. The Yorkshire Post says that an unrehearsed incident was witnessed tho other night at the Theatre Royal, York, when, immediately after a performance of tho “ Tioket-of-Loave Man,” tho actor who had sustained the part of Hawkshaw, the de tect : ve, was arrested by a real detective from London, and handed over to the care of the city police. Tho charge against him is not stated. Another mysterious jewel robbery lias taken place. The gems, vaUierl at L4OOO, were packed as an ordinary parcel by a London jeweller, and sent by rail to Barton, in Warwickshire, but on arrriving at its destination the box was found empty. The wonder is how tho nature of tho contents became known. Perhaps, after all, there are some clairvoyants who aro not strictly honest. A singular breach of promise case has just been tried at Liyerpo >l. The plaintiff stated that the defendant, a Persian, had gme through a form of marriage with her “ according to tho Eastern rite,” and had promised to have the Christian ceremony also performed. The promise was denied, but the lady got L 75 damages.