FACTS AND SCRAPS.

Southland Times, Issue 1829, 9 December 1873, Page 1 (Supplement)

FACTS AND SCRAPS.

The other day there was a little parliamentary discussion in the Florida Senate, in the course of which the President pro tem. was knocked down by an honorable member and scattered over tbe floor, his wig going one way, his glass eye in another, and his false teeth in several. He asked time to " collect himself," which was unanimously granted. Bullocks' or other horns can be polished by first steeping them in hot j water or in a weak solution of sulphuric acid and water, and then scraping off the outer coating with a sharp knife or a piece of window glass. The finishing is given by fine glass paper or emery paper. Glossiness can be obtained by friction with chamois leather, and a little spirits of turpentine. A prettier guide to matrimony has seldom been devised than the prize competed for the other day by the bachelor Volunteers of Biggar, Scotland. A handsome gold ring was given bj the ladies of the neighborhood, the winner to retain it for a year, unless in the interim he should become disqualified by matrimony for further competition, on which happy event the ring becomes his own in perpetuity. A correspondent of the Lauuceston Examiner calls attention to the fact that a very peculiar parasitic worm is found very numerously in the fish known as the flatbead. The writer says: — As the result of observations carried on at intervals through nearly a whole year, I ean safely assert that these entoaoa are not peculiar to any particular season, though in the summer they appear to be most numerous. In the winter I found them to be almost exclusively confined to the vicinity of the backbone and generally near to the tail ; but in a flathead that I examined a few days since they were diffused through every part — even between the bones of the head. Sir Andrew Clarke, who recently relinquished the important position of director of works of the Navy, has had (tbe European Mail says), a very tangible proof of the feelings with which his administration of the department, to which he has been attached for upwards of nine years, is viewed by the officers of that department. On September 15 he was waited upon at his residence, No. 72, Queen's Gate, by a deputation of gentlemen from the department, who, on behalf of all their colleagues, presented him ' with a farewell address, and a testimonial in the shape of a handsome piece of plate. The address was handed to Sir Andrew Clarke, with a lew appropriate remarks by Mr. Wood (superintending engineer at Portsmouth), the senior officer of the department, who at the same time requested Sir Andrew's acceptance of the testimonial which it accompanied. The < latter consisted of a magnificent silvergilt ewer and dish for rosewater. '[ In a discussion in the Parliament of \ South Australia on the desirability of i planting forest trees, one of the speakers said that timber trees in the colony were fast dying out, and an improvement in ■ arboriculture was absolutely necessary. '. There was little doubt that forest trees j had an effect upon the climate and productiveness of the country. More attention should be paid to the planting ! of live fences. The reserves would have j to be preserved after they were planted < in a better way than they were now. | Now they were being cut down, and this was useless, as they were only spending ' money for nothing. The tobacco plant made a very good live fence, and might be put along the Northern line of railway. The red gum trees would probably make good sleepers, and would last at least 30 years. It was a most useful and durable timber. "Anglo-Australian" writes to the European Mall that Messrs Thomas and Edward Brice, of Plymtree, Devon, claim to have discovered the cause of the ?otato and foot-and-mouth diseases, 'hey lay the whole evil at the door of chemical manures — sulphuric acid being the great offender. Its particles are said to be grosser than those of water and smaller than those of earth, and are much less fixed. They readily attract the particles of water, producing fermentation, and sometimes causing putrefaction of the compound they adhere to. They have tried, as an experiment, by mixing sulphuric acid with water; fermentation and poisoning of the water were the results, and on being applied to the

potato caused disease. With reference to the foot-and-mouth disease, the cattle and other animals travel and browse where the poison has fallen, and it is taken in with their food. The active particles adhere to their feet, lips, and mouth, destroying the scarf skin and mucous membrane of the mouth and throat. The symptoms are such as sulphuric acid and other corrosive acids will produce. Thus they hope thafc they have given sufficient proof to convince the public generally that sulphuric acid has done all the mischief, and to induce them at once to petition Parliament to introduce a law to prohibit the use of it, and all other corrosive poisons for making or preparing any kind of manure. The Hollowat Lunatic Asylum.— The following is from the Times of Aug. 21 : — Upon St. Ann's Heath, one of the most picturesque elevations in the county of Surrey, Mr Thomas Holloway, whose name is known in every land that possesses a newspaper, has commenced the erection of a magnificent asylum, which he is about to present to the British nation, for the reception of lunatic patients. The site of the asylum faces the Virginia Water station of the Staines and Wokingham branch of the London and South-western railway, the front having a south-westerly aspect. The ground selected is about 21 acres in extent, and five acres of this will be covered by tbe building, which will be of richly -decorated Gothic architecture, having a fagade of 640ft. and a depth of 250ft. The materials will consist of red brick and Portland stone dressings. There will be a handsome colonnade ot massive pillars at tbe chief entrance, and a central tower of 170ft., with turrets at each wing about 60ft. high. A terrace, 40ft. wide, will run along the principal front and by the wings. The asylum will cost £100,000, will take three years in building, aud is intended to accommodate about 400 male and female patients. The architects are Messrs Crossland, Salomons, and Jones, of Carlton Chambers, Regent-street. In addition to the amount above referred to, Professor Holloway proposed to devote a further sum of half a million sterling as a free gift to the nation, for the benefit more especially of the middle classes in reduced circumstances.