SOMETHING ABOUT OYSTERS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 6, 6 January 1877, Page 4

SOMETHING ABOUT OYSTERS.

Bar Frank Bnckland, who. conveys • instruction tfrai-l any naturalist "of the day, tbua explains the! manner in which the oyster builds its • _ liVt'svttMi-r. 'in .*•**•-' «'- V ' '"**' *** i ': • shell :—lne body 'of an oyster is a P°°3**JJtf^^ ioca-pable of doin**? anything at" all. Yet wha(; -k i marvelloaet7b9uaec;au;,; oyster builds around bis delicate frame ! When an oyster is first born he is a very sample, delicate dot, as it were, and yet be; is! born with} hia two shells upqn-.him. For some unknown reason, he always fixes himself upon his round shell, never by his fiat shell; and, being once fixed, ho .begins to growr— but he. only grows in summer. Inspect an oyster shejl- = and it will be seen that it ; is : . marked with . distinct lines. As the rings We observe in the section of the trunk, of a tree denote years of growth, so do the markings on, : an , • oyster , tell as *, how many years he baa passed in bis bed at the bottom of.the sea. Suppose tbe oyster under, inspection -was , born June, 15, 1870, bewdul^ go on growing up J to' the first line we, see well marked; he would then siop., fbr- Ithe winter. In summer, 1871 he would' be more than doubi^hia (Size. ..In ; 1872 he would) again add to his house. In 1873 and 1874 he would again add to his building, till he was 'dredged is p in the middle of his work in 1875; so that he is plainly five and a-balf years old. The way in which an oyster grows hid shell.ia a pretty sight. Thel beard 0f ... an oyster is not only his breathing organ— i.e., his lungs — but also his feeding organ, by which he conveys bis food to his 1 complicate four lips. , When the 7 warm, calm days of Jqna come, ibe'oyst^i* opens bis shell and, by. meana of his beard . begins building storey- to his house. This he. does by depositing very, very, fine particles i of carbonate of lime, till at last 1 they form a substance as thin as silver, paper, and ..exceedingly fragile. Then be adds more land more, till at last the hew shell is as hard as the old shell. - * When oysters are growing -iheir shells tbey must be handled very carefallyi as tbe new growth of shell will out like broken glass, and a wound on the finger from, an oyster shell is very, often poisonous. t" " ■ i - • ~." ■ - '

A, .OIGANTIC, Circus .Company. — The' following particulars concerning Messrs Cooper and Bailey's circus and managerie are from the Sydney Mornitig Berald,6i Nov. 7 :—•■«" The Pacific M.S.S. City of Sydney, which arrived yesterday morning irotn San Francisco, has brought over from America the largeat combination circus and menagerie that has yet visited this colony. To give an idea of the strength of the company it may, be stated that the troupe. numbers about 60, comprising Mr Robinson, the reputed, champion rider of the world, the S»tsamaßoyal Troupe of Japanese, and several ladies ana gentlemen of great skill in the various parts of the entertainment in which 'they perform, There are alao fifteen horses, six elephants, five dromedaries, one camel, two lions, one lioness, and . three bubs, about six weeks old, a pair of tigers, a gazelle, two wart hogs, two sea lions, a young hippopotamus, a cinnnamon-brown bear from the Rocky Mountains, one sacred bull, of India, one cameleopard, standing 16ft in height}* and a colony of about 20 monkeys, including a pig-tailed ape and a dog-faced baboon. There are a few other animals. ' The proprietary were obliged, whan shipping the animals, to leave ooe elephant in America, as .there was not room, for it to stand 'tween decks on board the steamer, it being 18ft 6ihi in height. The largest elephant brought over stands about 12ft. Due regard was had to. the comfort of the animals during their ocean voyage, and wo are' glad to learn that no serious loss 'bar been incurred, more than the ileath' of a couple bf monkeys' and a puny. : The lions and tigers have been trained by Professor G. W. Thompson,, who^has faugh t them a number of tricks. The hippopotamus is a youog animal, being only about 15 months ol(\ its original habitat being the Nile. : It is some o^ft ' in length, and about 2ft 6in in height. The barrel organ grinders will now meet witb serious 'opposition from. Messrs Cooper and ! Bailey's steam piano, which is both a novelty and a curiosity. From a hasty glance it would appear to be constructed on the following principle :— At one rnd of a long box is a boiler in which steam is generated, and on either side bf tba box is a parallel row of whistles similar to those used on steamboats and railway engines, each one being a little larger tban its companion, and ranging from a whistle about 2_ to 3 inches in height to one, apparently about 12in in height. Affixed to the bottom of each of these whistles is a metal wire connected with a key- board, similar to a pianoforte keyboard, and >8 the whistles are tuned to a certain pitch, it is obvious that the pressure of- the keys produces the music." We used to think an archbishop was not badly off as regards thia world's goods, but he is a pauper compared with an opera singer. Prima Donna Patti, so a theatrical paper asserts, gets about £28,000 a year,' which is very pearly twice the income of his Grace of Can tebury; and she heed not give away : a penny of it ih charity. She is threatened, however, 1 with a reduction of her income, for her health is delicate, and the! doctors are doubting ,if she ought' to winter io Russia. If Vhe does hbV she will lose £300 a ' ! jiighu : 7\r { ':i:ryx a, ..- '**7: X'xf>. . . ;>■ ■_,

j The following paragraph appeared in the West Coast Times of Saturday ««feek last : Mr Woolcock, M. H. R., of Greymoutb, is a candidate to represent the Cobden Riding in the Grey County Council. Mr Woolcock is also a candidate for the office of. Chairman, of the Cjounty, and has good prospaotdbf being* successful. We are aware that Mr Woolcock has had extensive business losses since be has taken part in publio matters, and' considerable sympathy is feU for himon tbat acoount. While he devoted his time and attention, to bis own business he prospered greatly, but during tbe last, few years he has of necessity been obliged to be often and constantly absent from home on his public duties, and the result has been, as above stated, that his owh interests \irere neglected." To this the Grey Biver Argus replies that as Mr Woolcock has been in receipt of a salary all the time he has been a representative, fpr doing next to nothing, he has no cjause to complain of public sacrifices, and that as he is by no means a man at ajll qualified for tbe position he now seeks, and for other reasons, we venture to advise Mr Woolcock to rest Content, and not to provoke an opposition which he will certainly regret having evoked. We are tjoite satisfied that the Cobden elector's will not return bitn. Tbey can find useful men from amongst their own number. The- law sometimes has strang<-t freaks A case lately tried in a Dublin court brought' out ode of the strangest bf them. The . plaintiff, sued for damages fpr 'injuries sustained by failing' into a cellar, the grating of which had •^een left open by the dafaudanh : Thj3 plaintifi\in his fall broke thp' grating, and for this; damage to hia property the defendant claimed £5. Plaintiff's, coansel said that the audacity of- thia; demand had never been paralleled in bis experience, except in one instance ; and this exceptional case he proceeded Jo relate for the benefit of the jury. There lived, he said, at one time, in the fashionable 'quarter of that city an eminent lawyer, who afterwards came to occupy a position on the judicial bench. He was a man of high professional attainments, but of testy and irritable temper. His next door neighbour was a retired major, noted for the eccentricity of his habits. Between tbe two JShore was anything but friendly feeling, and they did all in their power to annoy and harass eaeh other. One night, memorable in Ireland as M the night of tbe great storm, " tbe major's chimneys were blown/down. Crash they went through the roof of the lawyer's house, aod tbence down through floor after j floor, carrying havoc in their course. The man of law was iu no good humor as be contemplated the destruction ; and what made matters worse was that , it was the major's chimney that bad occasioned the wreck. His mind was : actively engaged ia devising some process by which he could get satisfaction from his arch-enemy, when a missive arrived from the latter, [couched as follows — " Send me back my, bricks immediately or I'll put the matter into the hands of an attorney."-— Exchange. A Mad Bull ist a Schoolroom:.— The correspondent of the Maitland Mercury (a New South Wales paper) relates an occurrence of an extraordinary character which took place at Meniwa. It appears a bull was being driven to pound by a stockman, who in the usual bush fashion whipped the poor beast 'through: the town until fie became perfectly madi and thrust himself into' any place likely ts afford him shelter from hia tormentor. In this manner he was 'driving the poor beast along M'Kenzie'street, when the infuriated animal •rushed into the public school, where tbere were present .about sft ohildren of ■all ages, from. three years up to 14 or. 15. Such a scene of terror 1 and confusion as ensued is better imagined tban described. Fortunately the beast directed bis attention to that part of .the room in which were seated the bigger boys and girls who managed to get beyond bis reach. Had he gone ' among the little ones, who had neither tbe sense nor etrength to get out of the way, he must have bruised, perhaps • killed several of them. At the time I the bull entered tho school, I understand j the teacher was engaged in writing a : word on the black board, and was quite ; unconscious of the presence of bis monstrous visitor until bis attention was attracted by the screams of the -ohildren, when be looked round to fiod j the beast cloee upon him. The bull ! charged the furniture right and left, ; lifting it on bis horns and throwing it ; about in tbe most fantastic way; but getting tired of this pastime, io a very short time, he suffered himself to be driven out of doors without doing further injury. The escape of ull unhurt is certainly one of the most providential on record.