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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IV, Issue 276, 24 November 1869, Page 2

Flax — A. M<d'»ourne contemporary informs us that, an uncomfortable feeling seems to have existed 1.-ttely nmonest the underwriters and shipping agents iu reference to the supposed hazardous character of New Z'uliiinl flax, as it. is liable to spontaneous combustion, and tbe emitrraii>n officers have iiitimu te«l that it should not be allowed to lie onriro. It is uaderstoo 1 that tbe underwriting compinies have d"dded, ender the circumstances, not to accept ri-ks at or liniry ra'es when flax Is earned, ami that it. is couriered to he undesirable car_o, i-sp-emily with wool,, unless, thoroughly dry and well paeked. An Inch of Rain. — We often hear tha question asked "what is au inch of rain '" A late weekly return of the I'egistrar General of England _ives the following solution, combined with other information with regard to rainfall, which will be interesting: at the present moment : — *' Rain fell in London to the amount of 0.43 inch, wluidi is equivalent to 43 tons of rain per acre. The rainfall during one week in Edinburgh varied from 80 tons per acre to 215 tons per acre in Gl»s_ow. An English acre consists of 6,272,640 square ins.^ and an inch deep of rain on an acre yields 6,272,640 cubic inches of raiu, which, at 271,274 cubic inches to the gallon, makes 226,322 gallons; and, as a gallon of distilled water weighs ten pounds, the rainfall ou an acre is 225.225 pounds, avoirdupois ; but 2240 pounds are a ton, and, consequently, an inch deep of rain weighs 100,990 tons or nearly 101 tons per acre. We learn from the Courier that a singular discovery was made in tha shaft of the Tweed Company, Had don, on Saturday. "In a drift about 100 feet from the surface, the workmen came across three.or four round substances, about the size and formation of lemons. One of the men broke one, and discovered within seed exactly similar to the pips found in oranges. The ho'low was clear and well defined, and in size about a third of tlie whole substance." The outer rind or coaling is very tda-k, •md tlie shell soft though evidently petrified. Alongside of these singular substances, the workmen name across several pi -ees of decayed wood, and the trunk of a tree three feet thick, standing perfectly upright. The general hypothesis amongst the men is that they have, found the remains of an orange tree, and certainly superficial symptoms seem to denote that r they are not far out in their conjecture." Feom statistics just published, i(j appears that in 1867, 2,152 horses (including a few donkeys and rnules), represent--, ing 480,000 kiUograraraes (2 lbs., each) of eatable meat. were, devoured y by^ thParisians.y In 'lßeSj/thevyfigur-S^.^ertf;; ; 2,421. and . 484,200, being; an: increase of > 269 attd;s3,BQO. \:Jj..,£ : k'J '^kk;, k : k££ ...

The barbarian goes right, when fie does go right, from ignorance of any other course than one. Even his incapacity for any intricate intellectual process is often a moral safeguard. M. Vambery was employed to draw up cheques for the Turkomans, and to his surprise saw the debtors pocket these documents. When he questioned the creditor on this remarkable pro ceeding, (he answer was, "What have I to do with the writing? the debtor must ker j p it by him as a reimnder-'of the del>t." This beautiful truthful simplicity is a truir, of the greatest robbers, pillagers, and kidnappers iu the world; they are honest because their minds are not opeu to the ingenuiiies of fraud, nor equal to the comprehension of an IOU. Once let them be as well instructed as the fool of civilisation is in this road to their neighbor's purse, can wt* doubt that they will turn sharpers as well as thieves.