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Patea Mail, 19 October 1880, Page 3

The cost of sending a bushel of wheat from Chicago to Liverpool i-s, according to (he Prairie Farmer (Chicago), one shilling and 3-16 th of a penny. Mr R. A, Proctor, the celebrated astronomer, is to give four lectures at Dunedin this week. The subjects are “ Life and Death of a World,” “The Moon,” “ The Sun-ruler fire light and life of the Solar. System,” and “ The Star Depths, or the glories of the heavens.” The lectures are illustrated by illuminated views exhibited by the oxy-hydrogen light, and seem to be exciting great interest. The Druggist’s Boy, —At a recent sitting of the Dunedin District Court, Mr Dermer, a druggist, asked to be excused from serving as a juror, on the ground that he had no one but an inexperienced assistant to take charge of his shop while he was away. The circumstance (says the Otago Times) recalled to the mind of the Court very vividly the case of Bardell v. Pickwick, as reported by Charles Dickens, and his Honor wanted to know whether this boy was similar te the one mentioned in that case. Mr Denner innocently answered that the only-difference was that his boy was subject to epileptic fits. His Honor, alarmed at the series of calamaties that might occur through Mr Dormer’s absence, despatched him back to business. The Army Worm.— -Silent for the present about the Colorado beetle, the American fanner is just now very loud about the damage which another of his insect pests is doing. This is the Army Worm. It committed such ravages in Long Island and elsewhere as to induce the heads of the Department of Agriculture to send their entomologist to report on its doings. He found the damage was mainly to wheat and corn. In every instance the worms appeared in the wheat first. After destroying the leaves and board of the wheat) and in some instances eating into the upper end of the kernels, they marched, or attempted to march, into neighbouring fields. The greatest injury was done to corn, which, being tender, was eaten to the ground, wherever it was encountered by the worms in their march.