COFFEE GROWING IN NEW SOUTH WALES.

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 3 August 1901, Page 4

COFFEE GROWING IN NEW SOUTH WALES.

Coffee growing is likely to become a new industry in South Wales. Experiments made in the Claranco district have proved very successful. Mr Bale, who has grown coffee in the district for some time past, finds thatths average production of harries on each t ee is 191 b. ftvra which 21b of manufactured-coffee is made. This at la per lb wholesale would no £SB per acre. The principal cost is the p oking of the berries, which Mr Bale puts down at £2 per acre. ,l Pulping ” costs £llos for the product of an acre ; fermenting , bleaching and cleaning, £1 15s ; toasting. £3 ; tinning and labelling, 15s ; total, £l3 6s ; for the produce of each acre. This, it will be seen, saves a profit of over £SO an acre, not counting cultivation expenses. These, however, are light ones, the trees have been planted and well grown. The ground must be kept cultivated and the trees pruned.

Another Discovery of Gold in Leith Gold deposits similar to those recently discovered while digging the foundation of the new hospital buildings were found on May 15th in the Leith improvement self me area, about two hundred yards from the hospital. Tic ground was cleared of old buildings some years ago, and workmen engaged cxcava ing for the foundations of new dwellings came upon particles of the precious metal embedded in friable stone under a bed of sand apd gravel, about nine feet from the surface. Several samples of the gold were secured by labourers and others. A Woman Sea Captain.

Marin Joanna, Kersaho, whose death on the Island of Groix in France at the age of 72 has been reported, had the distinction of being the only woman sea captain in the world. She went to sea with her father when she was twelve years old, and after his death she captured three boats, and obtained several medals and money rewards for heroism on the water. South African Blockhouses. A new and excellent system of blockhouses lias been inaugurated for the protection of the line. Some are constructed of solid stone, rendering capture almost impossible, but most consist of wooden frames supporting galvanised iron, sheets four inches apart, and filled with gravel, These arc able to stop either Mauser or pompom bullets. The new mode of defence is very economical, releasing for active operations over 6000 men. The line from Elandsfontcin to Volksrusfc is studded with blockhouses, effectively preventing attacks on the line. A Fish in the Net. Mr Justice Simpson, after disposing of eight divorce cases on one day in Sydney, recently, said -.—“ One day I proposed to grant a young woman her decree nisi, and make it returnable in three mouths. She said to mo, ‘Cannot your Honour make it .shorter than that p ’ I said, * Why ? Have you any particular reason ? Do you want to get married again ? ’ She said, ‘ Well, your Honour, I’m engaged.’ So you see she was actually engaged again before she got her divorce. She said to me, ‘ I’ve got this chance, your Honour, and if I miss it I might not get another one.” (Great laughter). A Strange FI wer One of the strangest botanical curiosities in the world is “Wonder Wonder” flower found in the Malay Peninsula. It is simply a blossom without leave, vine, or stem, and grows as a parasite on decayed wood. This extraordinary flower is something like a yard in diameter, and has a globular cup in the middle of a capacity of five or six quarts.

Wet Wedding Day Preferred. The adage ‘Happy is the bride that the sun shines on ’ is one that is unknown in many lands. A Breton bride takes it unhappily when the day of her wedding dawns bright and sunny. Eain on her marriage morn is held to signify that all her tears are shed, and that she will therefore have a happy married life. It is said that the Brza of Simbrisk call the day before the wedding the weeping day, and the bride and her girl friends weep as much as possible, with the idea of getting the mourning of life over, so that only what is joyful may remain, In some countries this result is attained by sousing the bride witn water. The Greeks think that a thorough drenching of the bride will bring her lasting good fortunes.