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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume V, Issue 208, 3 September 1870, Page 4

Fancy Ball in Melbourne.^-—Be-tween 2,000, and 3,000 persons, says tbe Australasian, assembled at the fancy ball given by the Mayor of Melbourne ; and upon this event the attention of the public — or of a very large section of it — has been fixed for weeks past, while the discussions which have taken place respecting it have been amusing, owing to the opposite points of view from which it has been regarded. There is, first of all, the sour, misanthropical, and. pessimist view of the matter, giving rise to much smallminded depreciation of masquerading generally, coupled with cynical conjectures as to the ability of iho guests to sfford the purchase of their costumes, with disparaging allusions to the incongruity of the characters assumed with the social rank and daily occupations of the persons so transformed &c. Aud there is, on the other hand, the genial and rational view of the whole question — the view which is free from captiousnessand superciliousness — the view of men who look with a tolerant and sympathetic eye upon all forms of innocent enjoyment, aud who find, even in the harmless foibles, the small vanities, aud the mild self-com-placency of their fellow ci'eatures, provocation for a smile, perhaps, but not for the justification for a sneer. The spectacle of two or three thousand people arrayed in the picturesque habiliments of all sorts of epochs, aud of all sorts of countries, is a very pleasant one apart from its picturesqueness ; and the man or woman who is incapable of enjoying it is very much to be pitied. The incapacity usually springs from one of two things — critical fastidiousness, real or affected, or a lack of that sympathy with the interests, transactions, and amusements of mankind which is the sign of an incomplete nature. The Silk Crop op California. The demand in Europe for raw silk and silkworms' eggs is constantly on the increase, in the double ratio of a greater number of people and larger distribution of wealth, which allows a greater consumption of siik. Nevertheless, the damage doue to the culture in the silk countries by disease among the worms, is such as to make manufacturers dependent, to a greater extent annually upon foreign countries, for the raw material. Europe, collectively, now purchases annually, a value of 100,000,000d015. of raw silk, and 10,000,000d015. worth ofeggs. This is the season for the purchase of the latter, and this year there is an unusually great demand. We published, a few days siuce, a notice of a letter from Bersiges, in France, directed to Mayor Selby, asking the price of silk worms' eggs and yellow cocoons, in this State. The railroad ha3 now brought us a number of agents for French, Italian and other silkworm industries, who are on their way to Japan by the steamer of the Ist, to make purchases of the eggs, and their orders will reach some 6,000,000d015., to be drawn in favor of Japau. These gentlemen have been very active in visiting the various companies of this State, and have expressed the greatest admiration for the prospects of that interest. Among others they have visited the California Silk Culture Company, near Sacramento, which is exceeding flourishing this year. They have raised 3,000,000 worms. The cocoons attracted great attention. They have for sale some 4000 ounces of eggs, of the well-known French variety. These are worth in the neighbourhood of 4 dols. per ounce, and the raw silk, 10 dols. All the silk establishments in the State have not doue well this year. From some undefined causes failures have been met with. As a whole, the interest is very growing. The Freuch variety generally propagated, is the best known and most desired iu Europe. It. is larger and more marketable, and it is that which in Europe has most suffered from disease in the last few years. The outlet for the sale of the eggs is immense, and the development of the interests here will lead to great results. For instance, the California Silk Culture Company, from this present stock, will, with a fair seasou next year, have 170,000 ozs of eggs disposable, which is a value of 700,000 dols., aud in five years they may raise 1,500,000 eggs. The causes of failures in some places will be constantly discovered aud removed, until a uniformly large crop may be obtaiued, and there is no reason why we should not at least rival Japan in the sales. — Melbourne Paver.