THE Kaikoura Star FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 1892.

Kaikoura Star, Volume XII, Issue 22, 18 March 1892, Page 2

THE Kaikoura Star FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 1892.

County Council meets tomorrow. Mr Joseph Mitchell is now proprietor of the Central Hotel, Christchurch.

Some splendid tomatoes have recently been sent us by thoughtful friends north of the Clarence and south of the Kohai. Mr James Buchanan is growing some very fine grapes on bis Torquay Street property. Mrs Buchanan was good enough to send us some today, one bunch of which weighed one pound and a quarter. Rumor has it that one of our most prominent settlers, w’ho has long been resident here, contemplates selling out and going to the United States. He has, if we mistake not, been resident in America before.

Mr John Smith recently had a very large sun-flower growing on his well cultivated piece of land in Torquay Street. The circumference of the flower exceeded by one inch, that grown by Mrs W. Davidson, at the Kohai. When running about shoeless on the Sport’s Ground yesterday, one of Mr M. Kerby’s youngest children cut her foot badly, one of the tendons being nearly severed. Fortunately Mr Burland was at hand, and he skilfully attended to the girl

The New Zealand Times, instead of being recognised as tbe Great Lib th. Organ, will probably be designated the “ Barrel Organ.” The promoters of the Company are soliciting the support of the brewers.

Mr Kenny is, after just over a year'e conduct, about to relinquish hotelkeeping here. He has sold out his interest i: the Club Hotel to Mr Whitty, recently, or it may be still, a member of the police force. We regret Mr Kenny’s approaching departure from our midst. He has proved himself a very obliging and kindly disposed citizen, and in his business conscientious and upright.

The length of a mile is not the same in every country, iue French kilometre is about equal to five eighths of our mile A Spanish and Shout 3L English miles. A Swedish Danish, and Hungarian mile '.o from to G English. A Russian mile or verst is about $ of an Enp-lish mile. Ti e French metre is equal to 109 yards. The phrase ‘ Worth its weight in gold ’ no lotger expresses the idea which it was intended to convey, for there tire at Ifenst twenty substances worth more than gold. Berylium, for instance, is worth about ten times its weight in pure gold, and venadium is five times as costly as the precious metal. Iridium, also, is more than twice as costly as gold. The text-books used to say that platinum was the only metal more valuable than gold, but it costs about the same. A little more than one hundred and three years ago took place what may be termed the birth of steam navigation. On the 14th of November, 1788, the first vessel propelled by steam power was launched upon Dalswinton Loch, in Dumfriesshire. Its inventor was Mr Miller, son of the then Lord Justice-Clerk of Scotland, while Wanlockhead, bad superintended the construction of the necessary machinery. The company who were present on board the tiny craft on the momentous occasion included Henry, afterwards Lord Brougham, Robert Burns, tbe bard of Scotland, then a tenant on Mr Miller’s farm at Ellisbank, and Alexander Nasmyth, ar’ist, the father of the inventor of the steam hammer.