MISCELLANEOUS.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 12, 22 November 1883, Page 4

MISCELLANEOUS.

Til Chwvri of River Fish.—At the Uat weekly meeting of the Balloon Society ; at the Royal Aquanum, the subject of river fish culture wai lectured upon by Mr. Cramplen, a well-known member of the •• Gresham ” and other angling eocietiee of London. Dr. Brunton, an equally wellknown angler, presided. The lecturer said that there wae no doubt about the lessened ■took of fish in our rivere. This depopulation of the rivers was due to the pollutions poured into them, to the canalisation, to the ploughing up of the spawn beds by the latest nuisance on the Thames—the steam launch —and the increase of swans. Tfre Thames salmon had become a thing of ths past, and the much-prised Thames trout were exceedingly few and far between ; and the question remaining was whether the '* coarse fish could be cultivated, these being P** e » perch, carp, tench, roach, bream, chub, others of the coarse kinds. The leotn rer drew attention to the plans suggested tor the culture of these fish by developing the ova in a suitable box, by a system of pond culture, and by providing full-grown fish in suitable breeding-places in waters adjacent to the rivers. He stated that great success had followed the initial attempts, and that the London Fisheries Association, formed by the anglers, would breed fish voluntarily, and for the public benefit; and for the public sport would endeavour to re-stock the Thames, the Lea, and other waters fished by the large numbers of London anglers. Mr. W. B. Marston stated that there was no difficulty in getting artificially-bred trout, but at present no coarse fish could be obtained except by netting the preserves in gentlemen’s parks. He spoke of the importance of providing healthful, innocent, and cheap recreation for the large mass of the hard-working population of the towns, and of having a good stock of fish in the rivers. Mr Lefevre urged the necessity of the rivers oeing nationalised, so that the public waters should be allowed to give food and sport to the population. Mr Potter, Colonel Parker Gilmore, Captain Molesworth, UN., Mr. Simmons (the balloonist), Mr. Herbert Brown, and others spoke, and a resolution was passed expressing the opinion that the re-stocking of the suitable waters with the more common kinds of fish was a paramount importance, both for sport and food, and should be encouraged either directly by Government or by some authoritative central association. Thanks were voted to lecturer and chairman. A New Bisulphide Engine.—What is represented as a successful attempt to utilise the bisulphide of carbon to drive a steam engine is described in the Lowell (Mass.) Daily Courier of August 13. With the engine and heater in use the improver, Mr, W. S. Colwell, gets an expansive force of 51 lbs. per square inch at the heat of 212 deg., which in the steam engine, with vapour of water, is nil. The claim is made for this motor that the objections heretofore urged against the use of bisulphide of carbon are all removed by Mr. Colwell’s methods, which have been carried beyond the experimental stage.

Ocean Ratting.—A raft of timbers, intended for spiles, was brought from St. John, New Brunswick, to New York city August 26, after a voyage by steam-tows, of three weeks. The distance is 600 miles—an average of sixty miles per day. The raft, if such it can be called, was 800 feet long and 30 feet wide, drawing about 8 feet of water. It was formed by sections of eleven cribs each, containing about 500 spiles of 65 feet length. Over and around the sections great chains are wound. Between each cargo there was a wide space to allow free working of the raft in a rough sea. The cargoes weigh about 250 tons each, and it would have cost about 25,000 dots, to bring

them to New York by sailing vessels, as the boats engaged in this kind of transportation demanded extra pay on account of the size of the raft. The raft was towed by two powerful tugs,

Elevated Railways.—The elevated rail, ways of New York constitute one of the most striking features of that remarkable city. Metal pillars, erected at the edge of the pavement or in the centre of broad avenues, and standing some twenty feet high, support the lines along which passenger trains are driven at intervals of five or six minutes. The long, straight streets of the city are, of course, {jeceliarly suited for this strange mode of ocomotion. Passengers who use it can look down on the heads of the pedestrians below or in the sitting-rooms and bedrooms of the bouses they are passing. Access to the numerous stations is obtained by flights of iron steps at the corners of the streets. A uniform rate is charged for* a {single ride, whatever the distance travelled; but that rate is doubled after a certrin hour at night. May tn the collection of tickets is avoided by a simple contrivance. When the passenger has purchased his ticket, he is directed tp.deposit it in a box provided for the purpose near the entrance-gate of the platform. There is a conductor to each car, who, immediately the train starts, calls out the name of the next stopping-place. Hence no time is lost in discharging or receiving passengers. As the elevated railway extends the whole length of the city, some seven or dght miles on each side of it, the accommo- i dation offorded is necessarily immense. But ' the. appearance of the thoroughfares through Which the lines pass has been sadly marred. Some streets where junctions are formed look more like tunnels than streets. Worse than all, the company has been allowed to cross the Battery Park, ruining, as the York Herald has remarked, “the most beautiful waterside park in the world,” Strange things are done in New York One of the strangest was that of granting permission to the proprietors of the elevated railway to erect a nuisance in front of the houses and shops of the citizens without granting them one farthing of compensation for the injury done to their property. Our American Cousin*, by W. E. Adams.

Among recent arrivals in Melbourne is the Baron R. Michel, an officer of the department of the Minister of Trade and Commerce in France, who has been commissioned by the French Government to make enquiries with a view to the promotion of direct commercial intercourse between France and the Australian Colonies, and to report to the head of his department on the subject. This gentleman has given- some information re. yarding the price of meat in Paris which .cads, the Argun to think that the city should furnish the refrigerating companies with a fresh field of operations. It is said that the copmouer kinds of meat cannot at presen be bought in the French capital for less than 13d per lb, while as much as 2s 6d per lb is ctareed’ for “prime cuts” of first-class quahty. -The prices now ruling must, of Course, place meat beyond the reach of thousands, and the appearance of a cheaper article in the Parisian markets would call forth an entirely i.ew class of customers. Joints at from Is Id to 2s 6d per lb can only be indulged in by the few, but large numbers could afford meat at from fid toBd per lb. The Argun thinks the market might at once be tested by sending small parcels from England.

Extract from a letter of congratulation : * I am delighted to hear that Mary is doing do nicely ; but yon haven’t told me of what tex the child is, so I cannot say whether I an aa uncle or an aunt. ”