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Hawke's Bay Times, Volume V, Issue 223, 6 February 1865, Page 3

Cuee for thejßiiepmatism. —A correspondent signing hinself Enoch Jellyraan sends the following to our Nelson contemporary : —" To the Editor of the Colonist. —Sir, — My-wife had a very severe attack of rheumatism in the knees, and was quite a cripple, scarcely able to get about the house at all. She was recommended to try the leaves of the peppermint gum tree, well stewed, and bathe the parts alfeeed with the liquor, as hot as could conveniently be borne twice a day. This she did, and twenty-four hours she felt considerable relief, and in five days she had completely recovered. Other cases I have known in which this treatment has produced cures, and I think the public should know. A Xakuow Kscape.—The Marlborough Press, January 7, has the following:—A fearful scene of confusion occurred on the Picton Jetty on Thursday night last about ten o'clock. The Queen, steamer, had arrived some short time previously, and having made fast to the wharf, the crew commenced hoisting out a number of cattle which had been shipped at Wellington. The purser, Mr. Carver, was acting for the mate at the time, superintending the landing of the bullocks. At the time when he was standing about the centre of the jetty, a bullock which had become dangerously, infuriate from rough handling he had received, made a rush at Air. Carver, who dexterously avoided the first attack. The bullock, however, shortly placed him in such a position that he could neither run forward nor retreat, backward, and to save himself from being mortally wounded, Mr. Carver made a long leap and plunged into the water. He was but a very indifferent swimmer; the night was pitchy dark, and on rising to the surface of the water he was ignorant in which direction to make for. So much confusion prevailed, and so many contradictory orders were given and none of tl\em obeyed, that the unfortunate gentleman must have perished in a watery grave had not some of the crew of the Lyttelton, which vvus lying off the end of the jetty, cleverly butwith great exertions succeeded in enabling Mr. Carver to seize hold of a line by which he was kept from sinking until he was assisted on board. In our advertising notices we observo that the purser of the Queen begs to thank the men on board the Lyttelton steamer who saved his life on the occasion. It was the narrowest escape from one of two frightful deaths we have ever witnessed.

■ On one occasion at a rehearsal Weber said to the performers, “lam very sorry you take so much trouble.” “ No, not at all,” was the reply. “ Yes,” he added, “ but I say—dat is, for de way you take de trouble to sing so many notes dat are not in de book.”

The Death Watch. —The death watch is a very common inmate of our houses. Among those who are unacquainted with tiie habits of insects, there is a common superstition that the strange ticking sound often heard in old houses is a sign of approaching death. This noise, however, is caused by a small beetle, which, during its boring operations, rubs the neck and thorax (chest) together, by which means this to some per tons terrible omen is produced—a world of causeless anxiety and uneasiness. In the larva state, these insects do great injury to our furniture and the wood-worjf. of old houses, which they gnaw continually. When captured, this little beetle feigns death with the strangest pertinacity, preferring, it is said, to suffer death under a slow fire rather than to betray the least sign of vitality. The death watch, on account of its retired habits, minute size, and dark colour, is very seldom to be seen ; and, as there are often several individuals working at the same time in their boring operations, the sound seems to proceed simultaneously from opposite directions, thus adding to the superstitious terror wherewith by some persons it is regarded. The greatest evil, however, to, be dreaded from it is the injury it does through its excavations in the wood work of our houses. It is not larger than a good-sized flea. —Our Common Insects. ■ “ODD’S SXAILS.”— ANTIQUATED OATH. Physiologists, your ears. Galignani has this for you:— “Snails are now eaten at Parisian taverns and public houses, not in hundreds of thousands, but in myriads, and gourmets assert that they possess a delicacy of flavor which exceeds that of the oyster.” It is a pity that the Social Scientifics have separated, as we should have liked to present a paper on the subject of this paragraph. It is now understood that human beings acquire a certain portion of the nature of that on which they feed. Persons who eat many oysters hate to be shaved. Persons fond of pork always keep their rooms in a litter of slovenliness. Persons who delight in goose get to believe in Dr. Gumming. Suppose that the Parisian nature should assimilate itself to that of the snail. Suppose—it is a very wild idea, doubtless—that Parisian women would learn to stay, like snails, in their own houses. And suppose their imitators on this side of La Marche should imitate them in that. How husbands would save in the articles of cabs and white cravats! The notion has so inspired us that we have ordered a new brooch, with an enamelled'snail, as a present to the wife of our cheque-book.— Punch.

Herrisgs. —Viewed as an article of food herrings may be said to be of four kinds. We have the fresh herring, the salt herring the red or smoked herring, and the bloater. These, with the exception of the first, which is simply the herring in its unprepared state, are produced by various modes of “curing.” In the preparation of salt herrings for the market, a good deal of routine has necessarily to be gone through before the crown-brand is affixed to the barrels ; but in the main the process is as follows : —The fish having been conveyed to a convenient spot, they are in the first instance gutted ; that is to say, the gill* and digestive canal are removed by means of a sharp-bladed knife. They are then sprinkled with salt, and are ready for the barrel. In the bottom of the latter is placed a stratum of salt, and upon this is laid a stratum of herrings closely packed with their sides upwards; then follow alternate layers of salt and herrings till the barrel is full. Having been allowed to remain in this condition for some few days, the barrel on examination is found to contain a quantity of pickle in which the herrings are seen floating. The supernatant liquor is now poured off, an additional number of herrings, and a superficial stratum of salt are placed in the barrel, which is then closed and is ready for branding. The branding process consists in affixing to each barrel a senes of letters, indicating the month and day iu which the herrings were caught and cured, the name and address of the curer, and also the presence or absence of the gills and alimentary canal. Bed herrings, or rather herrings which are about to be made red, are placed in barrels, with salt, and left for three or four days, just as in the case of the salt-fish. They are then removed and hung upon spits which contain about twenty herrings a piece. These spits are now plunged frequently in vessels of cold water, until the herrings have undergone the requisite amount of washing. Next, they are removed to the open air and dried, and are then ready for the “smoking-honse.” In this house they are suspended from the roof and are subjected to the influence of the smoke arising from wood fires made upon the floor of the chambers. Those red herrings which we ourselves purchase are exposed to the operation of the peculiar principles of the smoke far about ten days, but those intended for exportation often remain as long as three weeks in tne smoking-house before being packed in barrels for the market. In the curing of bloaters a far more speedy process than either of those described is chosen. The freshly-caught fish are placed for a few hours in a very strong solution of salt and water; next they are pukup upon spits and plunged in cold water; and finally they are removed to the smoking-house, and submitted to the action of the smoke of small fires, which, having been kindled some time previously, emit but a slight quantity of fumes. This process extends over a period of about eight hours, and the herrings are then taken down and packed in the usual manner. Kippered herrings are merely modified bloaters. Who first pickled herrings and who was the discoverer of the red herring, are questions which in the midst of the obscurity that herring enthusiasts have given rise to by their many controversies, will probably never receive satistactory replies. The french claim the latter discovery, whilst the former has been yielded to the Dutch. Indeed, an English writer goes so far as to say that the word pickle itself originated in ths name of the individual who first salted herrings. We are told that “Flanders had the honour of inventing the art of pickling herrings. One William Bukelcn, of Biervlet, near Sluys, hit upon this useful expedient; from him was derived the name pickle, which we borrow from the Dutch and German.” —Popular Sciexcr Rteiew.