MISCELLANEOUS.

Inangahua Times, Volume V, Issue 10, 17 December 1877, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

The Colorado beetle has not appended* in. the* colony, and it is to be hoped! thni it never may. In. ease it should' it would* be well to have a supply on hand) of the insect referred) to in a home paper :r~ "An insect sent by post and kept as a pet, and whose escape would be- a- benefit rather than injfiry to the public^, iaone of the pressing requirements of the day. Such> aa insect appears to have been' discovered in Sandußlcy,.lowu, United State* where> ,it is staied^ a gentleman named Whitney has lighted upon an insect which asks for no better food than the Colorado beetle. Mr Whitney's insert has a proboscis somewhat resembling that of thehouse fijjr.but whioh' s«amato be hard, like bone. Tba- insect is- of the bug genus, and whent it meets. with* a Colorado beetle, makes, short work of it. Storking the bettle a terrible blow with its< proboscis, the bug appears to suck the life out of its victim,. and being happily blessed with a good appetite, has no* sooner made ao end of one Colorado beetle than it is ready for. another, Mr. Whitney, who. by latest.

ecounts had not had time to watch the but! very much, saw it nevertheless kili two beetles in ten minutes. One Whitney j bue would at this rate destroy twelve Colorado beetles an hour. ; and the bug | feeds greedily from 2i p.m. until dark, besides ocuasional ' s .lacks ' at other periods of! the day, it i» evidently an invaluable insect, welli deservinc encourage* raent. and oae to whose comfort and convcnwnw etf^ry a-ttenftion should be paid in transit through the post-office. Indeed, if the clinrnvtw giveaotf i f proves aee*!rnte, it migliit almost be allowed to travel pos-t free." The Melbourne Ar<iivs-«nys - — A gentle, man who ha» just nMuriwd Irom itn inspection of the *'ro,iH in ('•(' V*'immora district states, .•wenrlim.' i<> tln» Mnwell Chronicle, that the U-ipv*.-f»t jm-uhi s<'i< n<>w better then it lias bf-n for yt-ar-* jmst. All the fields are I"oI< : mu reninrluibly well, and any fear winch might huvc existed as to the destructiv«ne!H of hot wiads is over, the- crops beroff thick- an I vigorous enough 6o shelter the ground from their parching influence. The- stalks are earing rapidly ,aud will soon be ready for stripper or sickle. There are many complaints about the scarcity of hands, and it is stated that a movement is o» fool to employ a good deal of Chinese labour. FarEieps state that in mining centres especially,men have a great antipathy to undertake this kind of field work,, the result being bliat riaplovers of labour tine forcedto resort to the Mongolian porbiGti of the population. There is thus year a much Ibryer even under crop than has been th«ciise in> any preceding season, an<l it is anticipated that a lower price for wheats especially at the begining of the season, will rule throughout the colony than during forraer years* The wool harvasjt is all gathered and fopwarded, aoid the only gvent looked forward to in every district , is the getting in of the gpain, Th«re is much speculation sas to the average, but all are- contented with the- prospects. An Auckland paper relates a smsjular circumstance whi«-h occurred on Satur* day. The cu?ator of the Acclimatisation k^Ofiety's Gardens received instructions to capture some PrussiaHi carp for distribution, niwl while one of his nssistnnt* wiw engaged in the work, he observed a large evl spriug forward and seize a carp 3tn long by the head and kill brra. The eej then cmi-ght the fish by the bacit, nnolwas draggiag him»into deeper water, when the man rescued 'Ac fish.. This cw?um<tHMiee abudidantly proves the ne-cessity of' the arrangement.* mnde by Mr .f. C. Tu-ih for the proteotion of the^saltnen- ova lately tfi.stribu.ted by him in> tbeuorthern and southern districts of til's province,, in building walks ii/nd'ciosrag them- in with tine w-itfe netting so as to protect 'he fi>h^ until aible to take card of themselves.. The ' carp being a sluggish fish, and? very sl<nv ! iv its- movements when compared with ibv trout or salmon, wcu-d the m>reiealiy become a prey to the eel. Among the Pluehlo Indians wh n> a ( gifl wishes to marry, &he tells I cv fit her I vrhat young man she wants, and the fi'her of tlWyoun^ r«)iB. iKhe agtvpt^, must pny for the loss of the bride. Sn the i tif dIo almnnnc every year must t«e a h'tip year. Paying U>r the bride nia-j a-ppea-u- io bxj the most diflji alt pan of the ccwiaoKov but as ycu can luv a wild-- I ) ad l'ochoiii ta9 lor "an old blanket, a lirnlliMi. bladfd' kiiiif and a red col ion handkerchief* thei siit'iißi oh the old man's pock«t is uot so feurlul after all-. Ah. A isjuiican paper by th«- nuv'l stalesthat General ©ran '« apparent »tolic#ty is too much for the Frrnch reporter. J I c Ijhis tvoa a decided vie'ory ovpn tlifr re> porter uf the Figam, which in som« resjtcets i« more to his credit than cvei* the Battle of the \Vil<lerness. A Fretiehnw»» {geflorally kLows Low to use a corkscrew^ and conseojuently one nwglit ajß'tictpate that a French ueporter could draw an-ails-wen to any categorical question he miuliit ply. Uuc be failed. Graut was on lii 9 unard. He could not be made to I dwiiJae hisopinicfi of Marshal M'M'jkonv j '• We were not made to understand each other,." he said. v He does not ttndcestand Knelislj ; I ranuot *peak ¥rei oil. TI\U« • the'lfiuaro ligiwedv 6lms Giau.s gratttcd— UGdliiu;;. A lala number of the Poverty Bay Stnndiii'd' says:<— Possibly in our uext issue we shall be in a position to expose one of the laost rascally swindles in connection wibh the purchase of East Coast Native lands blmt has ever beeu perpetrated. We aie iv full possession of. the particulars and we only await their confirmation before giv-ing them- fall publicity. This we shall do- without fear and witlmuc showing e«,y favow. The " ring " whK-h baa- been formed for the purpose of deo j fraudiug the Goverament and'' of locking up the moat valuable blocks of Native land on the East Coast by lnnd shark speculhtoiw compriaes, as we have been informed' some East Coast Native Officials mad interpreters.. Should the charges be sheeted homer as we have very litrfclfe* dowbt but wJiat they will, the simple dismissal of the officials concerned* and the cancelling^of the licenses of theNatiie interpreters will saarcely be considered by the- public as nearly- saScient punishment.. An Aanericatt eschan«e says-:- Lady Barker, dbwa in South Africv trying to tell how dusty it is there, says- that little Q. vcaa- a«bout to suffer the extreme penalty of the- domestic law for flagrant disobedience-, when he remarked dryly to the reluctant executioner, "Youi had bet« ter take care •; lam very dusty." It was quite true, for the slipper elicited such clouds of dust frora» the little "blue serge suit that the chastisement had to»be curtailed 1 , A man shot himself dead' in Hyda Park,. Sydney, on October SO'.h. The man shot himself through tho»n>outh,.and* death must nave been instantaneous. He had been afflicted with kmeness or paralysis, as near the body were founds 'two crutches. The body was removed to tile dead-house, and on its being searched there was found a letter addressed to thepolice, stating that the writer, who signed himself b\. IK H., intended to commit suicide,. as Ue had,, for a- length of time; beeh su^rins; from physical infirmity, including paralysis end weakness of the spines which rendered him tired of life, and determined* to do* away with him* self, as- he believed' bis infirmities would 1 increase,, and he did not wish again to gointo a hospital. Ho said that he had* recently oome from New Zealand, where he- had been under medical treatment in hospital for seven months. The body was respectably dressed and apparently t iat of a man about 40-yenrs of age. The following is one of € *les ' stories : : — it genllemun accomDaui B d. by souia

Indie*, was recently visiting n station not far From the Murray during shearing I'm". Amongst other matters of interest Hit* sheep wash wan considered woithy of iii«ppction, and accordingly lie drove hi a pmiy Miiiher one morning after breakfast. On siinvritl'the first object tlint calleJ for special attention was a fcVe in th« open, nrr, surrounded by pot* and 1 ' billiYs 'of various sorts- and* siz»s. Over the Grp, and hanging close together from a stick supported! on two fork9s were two buckets full of boiling water, and in each bucket was- a ha of aipair of moleskin trousers, wliic^, by the bye, did not appear fo have been waslwd for some time. Of course, t'ne arrangement was recognised as the culinary deportment, but the boilinji tr, user-legs naturally excited curiosity „ and a functionary, who- appeared to be the rhef, was asked to explain the mystery. • You see, sir.' said the- man, • before we came out I forgot to make pudding bags, but the leg of «■ tronser answers firstrate, and it helps to wash' 'eta at the same tvmc The piulding in the- rtssiU* leg i^. for the- men -_ tiiis nest is a good 'un— there's more fat in- it — it's ft>r the bosshisneW." Shortly afterwards the overseer in irliarge-ot the slieepwash. appeareil anl invited the part}' to lunch. H<e couldn't undeisJand why k was^ that not one of his guests would piirbake- of the plum, pudding, which he Wmselfe' partook of libera-lly and with obvious relislu »..!,,./.. I. LI I I 1111 ■■■ I —II ■■.. „■■■■',.,, „»„,