NEW ZEALAND AT HOME.

Evening Star, Issue 3262, 4 August 1873, Page 3

NEW ZEALAND AT HOME.

(From the English papers.)

At a recent meeting of the Royal Humane Society, a testimonial, beautifully inscribed on vellum, conveying the thanks of the Society, was presented to Ge rge Gilmour, aged thirteen, for saving another boy who sank while bathing at Raglan, Auckland. Among the new hooks on Colonial subjects may be mentioned “ Station Amusements in New Zealand,” by Lady Barker, which has been spoken of as a bright chatty volume, giving a very vivid picture of the home life of a New Zealand settler. It may be regarded as a supplement to the author’s “Station Life in New Zealand.” “Bush Fiahting,” by Sir James Alexander. Some critics are disappointed that instead of giving a treatise on encounters with savages in the bush, it gives a history of the last New Zealand campaign. The Athenceum says, “ We trust that the author will bring himself to consider the history of the Maori war as a mere text for au essay on the subject which he takes as a title, aud will show ua that discipline and organisation are not, as some people imagine, positive disadvantages in contests with savages. We believe that, as a rule, each British soldier is individually a match for a single savage ; and, if such is the case, better arms and a habit of combining efforts cannot fail to give the superiority to a body of our regular troops over even a much larger number of barbarous opponents. A few hints as to how our advantages are to be turned to the best account would be particularly acceptable at the present moment, seeing that it would probably not be too late to turn the teaching to account in the Ashantee war.” Man to man, the British soldier is doubtless equal to even the most stalwart Maori, but in bush fighting it is evident the Atkenceum has yet to learn that half-a-dozen of the local volunteer forces would do more mischief than a score of our highly-trained red-coats. There are some things that the British soldier cannot do, and bush-fighting is one of them. So the Oberon, with the salmon ova shipped by Mr \oul, got out in ninety-three days. Well, you ought to have found the bulk of the ova alive, if there be any truth in analogies, as shown by the experiments referred to in my last. As supplementing those observations, I may state that some of the ova taken from the boxes which had been stowed in the Wenham Lake ice tanka was taken away for the pumoses of experimenting upon by Mr Johnson, a gentleman who rendered considerable assistance in packing the consignment per Oberon, by Mr Frank Buckland, by Dr Ord, assistant-phy-sician at St. Thomas’s Hospital, and by Mr Youl. Mr Buckland’s and Mr Youl’s hatched well. Of those taken by Mr Johnson four died during the evening of the day (May 2) on which the boxes were opened, and two the day following, The first fish was hatched out on May B—six days after the boxes were opened—and the second fish delayed his advent until the 11th, on which day Mr Johnson had to add six more to his obituary list. Between the twelfth day and the twentieth, however, the ova became exceedingly brisk—another hundred being added to the list of live stock all of them being remarkably strong fish. I may add, for what it is worth, that about six or seven of Mr Johnson’s lot died in their struggle to free themselves from the egg. Dr Ord’s method of hatching is worth mentioning. He had not the trough facilities for the work that Mr Youl had, and therefore he was at a loss how to proceed until Mr Youl suggested that he should use a common piedish. This he did. He put the dish slightly aslant under a tap, and let the water drip upon them at the rate of eighty dreps to the minute. Of course this process required time and attention, but Dr Ord was interested in the work, and gave it ungrudgingly, and the result was that he hatched nearly all his fish. Indeed, his experiment was the most successful of the four. The total yield of the ova taken out of the four boxes is about 350 or 400 fish—a percentage highly in favor of a good yield on your Some cientific men contend that the fish hatched by artificial mean# must necessarily be smaller than those hatched in the natural way, but as eggs are eggs all the world over, md hens’do not deteriorate bylthe incubatory process, it is hard to give in one’s adhesion co this theory. The Fiax Association of the Province oi Canterbury, being desirous of testifying their appreciation of the persevering energy displayed by Mr 0. E, Thorne in his efforts to

bring the qualities of the Phomium fibre of that Colony under the notice of British manufacturers, have lately presented a silver salver to that gentleman by the hands of an old colonist now on a visit to this country The salver is of tasteful design, having in relief upon it, in gold, a very good representation of the flax-plant of New Zealand, and is enclosed in a box made of a variety of the native woods, the whole being of local workmanship. Mr Farjeon is bard at work on a new novel and a Christmas story, both of which will bo published in the Sydney Morning Herald, and in one of the New York magazines, as well as in their English form. Mr Farjoon’s works are about to be translated into French.