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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIV, Issue 49, 26 February 1879, Page 2

There is some probability of a representative cricket team from Wellington paying a Visit to Nelson shortly. Two more appointments are gazetted under the Land Tax Act, making a total of 21(i appointments, we believe.— N.Z. Times. The Duuedin Resident Magistrate has made a rule that the non-appearance of a defendant in any by-law case will in future be regarded as an admission of the charge. He made this rule so that no time need be lost by persons concerned, through waiting at the Court for their cases to come on. A Timaru paper says that between one and two years ago a man representing himself to be a widower, commenced paying attentions ! to a young girl about sixteeil Or seventeen years of age. Ue told her family and herself that his last wife had died in England, ! where he had two children living Having no reason to doubt his story, she married him, and the pair went to live on a station iu the country. As time went on the man began to ill use his wife, aud eventually she returned to her mother in town. The husband after this never went near her. Some little time ago it came to the family's ears that his former wife was still living, and he was therefore sought out and taxed with it. The fellow not only did not deny the charge, but coolly informed (he girl's family that he had nominated his wife and children, and that they were daily expected. The consequence is that the poor girl is in the painful position of being a mother without being a wife, owing to the deceit of this heartless scouudrel. Perhaps he will not think so lightly of the affair if he finds himself placed in the dock on a charge of bigamy.— JVetc Zealander. Further complaints reach us from Gambier East, of the nlvages of the grasshoppers (writes the Boder Watch of February Ist). In many localities there they are to be found in myriad?, and they are devouriug every green thing. Mr John Jacob of the Red Camp, says they were never before so had there. He left with us branches of bis fruit trees and vines, to show how effectually thev nave aone me work of stripping them. The leaves are all gone, and some progress has been made on the bark. Some fine cabbages in his garden were devour^, hi« oniona -?cre shelled, his potatoes eaten down, aud they had made a start on the thistles. In shady localities it is scarcely possible to get through the flights of grasshoppers that arise on their being disturbed. The followiug particulars, kindly furnished by an American gentleman at present in Chnstchurch, respecting the description of American game, known as the prairie fowl, just introduced into Canterbury by the Acclimatisation Society, may uot be uninteresting :•— " The prairie chicken in its native country always keeps in open ground, and never resorts to the timber, its favorite feeding ground being stubble fields. Thev nest always iu low marshy ground, where the grass is high. They are very prolific, the hen bird laying ou an average sixty eggs in a nest which she scoops out iu the open ground. They take turn and turn about to ait on the eggs, the male taking the female bird a place when she is off feeding. It is impossible to tame them in any manner, so that they are valueless as a domestio bird • but considered as game, they are far finer shooting thau the English pheasant. The proper time to shoot them is when they are about half-grown, that is. from the ages of three and a-half to four months. It is almost impossible to make them rise during the heat of the day, as they can run at such speed through tbe grass that a properly trained dog cannot rise them. An average marksman can shoot the entire covey early in the morning when the dew is on the grass. One absolutely essential condition for the successful rearing and propagation of the prairie fowl, when removed from its native locality to another, is to choose as fnr as it is possible the same open and grassy country to which it has been accustomed. Sportsmen i in America always go for the young birds so as to save the old ones for breeding. la rising, the young bird soars about two feet above the grass, and flies very rapidly at that level, and as a rule on a curve to the right or left. Another peculiarity of the bird is that all those that the sportsman misses, fly round and meet together generally about a thousand yards away. There is very little reason to fear but that the experinienfc of acclimatising the prairie chicken in New Zealand will prove successful,as they are extremely prolific and hardy, and the c.imate of the colony is, if possible, even more favorable to the birds than the severer winters of California. In an article on sunstroke the Argus says • — " It is a popular idea, for instance, that if the head and back of the neck are well protected by some covering capable of resisting the solar rays, immunity from sunstroke is gained. This is quite a mistake, which people have fallen into as much from the nature of the term employed to describe the attack as from anything else. Soldiers in India fall victims to " heat apoplexy " (which is a more scientific and correct description of tbe affection than "sunstroke") within their teuts, and we frequently hear of the mortality from heat apoplexy amongst travellers while crossing the Red Sea in steamers, who probably never once expose themselves to the direct rays of the sun. The fact is that any one who for a long period exposes himself to an extremely high temperature, such as is found in most parts of Australia on a hot wind day, is in danger, no matter how he may be dressed or equipped, of being struck down, with about even chances of death or recovery, for the mortality \ in these cases has been ascertained to be at the rate of about 50 per cent. Prevention is therefore more to be depended upon than cure, and out-of-door workers could not do better than adopt the course pursued by the Echuca wharf laborers last week— viz., to work in the morning and evening, and rest daring the extreme heat of the day." No one bad been able to explain why it is that a man feels he ia more likely to get up in the morning by keeping his watch or clock a quarter of an hour fast,

Tbe Indian Famine Relief Fund and that for the sufferers by the failure of the Glasgow Bank will be recalled to the recollection of those who read the following paragraph from the Argus, which we extract from an article on Imperialism. It is beginning to be seen that an empire may be scattered and yet be united, and that peoples may be separated by half a world and yet have sympathies in common. The electric wire has revolutionised the theories as to the colouies. Hopes and fears are daily transmitted, appeals for help are made, and the people of Australasia sharo the work of benevolence with the people of Great Britain. So long as this lasts the empire can never fall to pieces. What the ultimate developing nmy be it would be idle to speculate upon, but tve may safely say that the present ' tendency is towards a closer, stronger, truer union, held firm by tics of sympathy, and, on tiie whole, by ties of common interests. Again the melancholy tale, but too often repeated, has to be told of loss of life in the Coast rivers. A poor fellow named Thomas Smith, iu the employ of Mr George Mason, was diowned in the Ahnura River on Friday, 7th inst., while proceeding to the Haupiri with goods procured the day before at Ahaura. There was a slight fresh in the river on Thursda}- morning when he left Ahaura, but it increased during the day ; consequently, when arriving within sight of Ahauia River, he decided to camp until the following day. He was accompanied by Edmuod Illisby, a miner who is prospecting at Haupiri. When within about eight miles of his destination a narrow ford was reached, and Illisby endeavored to pursuade the poor fellow not to attempt it. However, he drove in the packhovses, and they crossed eafely. The two men attempted to cross on the same horse together. It appears from Ulisby's account that the animal turned on hia sfde, and both were swept off his back. Illisby saved himself with great difficulty, and states he saw nothing of Smith after the accident. He proceeded to Mr Mason's nhd delivered his sad news. They at once returned to the scene of the accident, but nothing could be discovered of the poor fellow. Illisby the following day left for Ahaura, and arriving on Saturday evening gave information to the police. Constable Walton was despatched early ou Sunday morning to continue the search. No further information has been received. Deceased was a yoUng man not more than 25 years of age, steady and trustworthy, said to be a native of Yorkshire, and as far as can be ascertained from enquiries, has no relations ou the Coast.-— Grerj River Argus. It is very satisfactory to obserre, says the Olago Da ly Times, that while Victoria is complaining that during the year ending 30th September last the deposits in her banks have decreased by £G97,413, those of New Zealand, a much smaller and younger colony, have in the year ended 31st December last increased by no less than £1,658 350— viz,, from £7,753,75" to £9,417, '07. Even the prosperous and progressive colony of New South Wales only increased her deposits by £109,434 in the year. Besides this, a comparison of the New Zealand advances shows that additional resources from outside, not of the of nature of deposits, have been used to the extent of about one million. Tbe London Examiner says: — "We believe that, in estimating the causes of the unpopularity attaching to England abroad, too great stress can. hardly be laid upon our national habit of giving foreign countries to know that we understand their own affairs far better than they do themselves."