GLEANINGS FROM THE PAPERS.

Samoa Times and South Sea Gazette, Volume 3, Issue 112, 22 November 1879, Page 3

GLEANINGS FROM THE PAPERS.

It is known that Mr. Muybiidgo, of San Francisco, lately obtained a series of photographs of homes in various modes of progression (even in full gallop) and it various stages of the movements, with highly encouraging success. These experiments were made at the instance of (iovernor Stanford, to whom tho idea occurred from reading Professor Maroy's remarkable work on animal mechanism. Wo hear that Mr. MuybrWge is about to develop and extond his experiments. With this view ho has had constructed thirty cameras with oleetric screens. For photography of horses these will bo placed about one foot apart from each other. The experiments are to bo commenced in May, and Mr. Muybiidgo proposes to fix all altitudes imaginable to athletes, of horses, of cattle, of dogs, and other animals in motion. Professor Maroy lately suggested that the method should be applied in studying the flight of birds, and Mr. May bridge intends modifying his apparatus for that purpose. Of course this caße presents special difficulties. A French captain, M. Vassol, has proposed in La Nature an apparently feasible way of realising M. Marwy's idea of a " photographio gun" (so oalled) for fixing birds in their flight. The gun, which is fitted with Bertsch's automatic camera obscura, is actuated by means of a round' aperture in the centre to let the light pass, while it intercepts it by its two extremities. Should it be desired to produce at one operation a series of successive attitudes, the construction of a " photographic revolver" would offer no greater difficulty than the gun described. A ludicrous soene (says the Dunodin Star) occurred at uu auction side, by conducted by Mr. It. N. Hophins, at Kowai Pass, a few days ago, and might have had a serious termination only for the pluck and presence of mind displayed by the auctioneer. A bull, Lnrd John, was sole occupant of one yard, and the auctioneer was going toward him hackwards, describing him ab an animal" capable of being led by the owner's smallest child." All at once the brute made a rush at him, Mr. Hopkins catching him by the horns. A short struggle ensued, and the bull tossed him toward the rails, which he mounted in a style that would have done credit to an acrobat. When safely perohed on the top rail, the auctioneer gave Lord John a pedigree (amid roars of laughter}, which, however, does not appear in the " New Zealand Herd Book." On June 19 two divers—an Englishman named Thomas, and Schlendler, a Geiinan—succcded in getting on to the deck of the Grosser Kurfust, and sent to the surface a rilled Krupp deck gun weighing about 13 cwt. That local indusstrie require to be fostered witn a judicious and discriminating hand, is tolerably evident from what is now going on ill Victoria. Amongst o her industries which have been protected in Victoria is the " bagging industry." This protective tax falls largely on the farming class. At a public meeting recently, ft Viutori.tn farmer stated, " that they were taxed to the tune of £(iOUO annually support one weakly industrg—that of bag manufacturing—which other words, the fanners were fleeced to the extent of £4O per annum for every sould employed by the bag manufacturer." The following paragraph is going the rounds of the Scotch papers, under the heading " Good News for Glasgow Rank Shareholders " :—" The Dundee Advertiser publishes an extract from a letter received from Mr. James Cunningham, jun., son of Mr. James Cunningham, Douglas House, Broughtv Ferry. Tho letter is dated luvurcargill, New Zealand, 21st April, IS7O: —'We set out early with Mr. J. to a sale of stock and implements at Edendnle. This is a model farm belonging to the New Zealand I Laud Company, whieh was promoted b>' Morton and the directors of the City of Glasgow Bank. In consequence of the failure they are realising the ofi'octs. The company own t.">O,00l) acres here. They say tho worst of it is worth £lO an acre, and some (iOOO acres were sold the other day at from £2O to £3O an acre, so that the assets here alone, if properly managed, ought to go a long way to moot the bank liabilities. I suppose ninetenths of tho people at the sale were Scotch—small farmers having farms of four or live hundred acres, working very bard just now to make both ends meet, but wiio will one day bu rich men, as ail ..their farms are or will he freehold. Land here is a very good investment ; some which Mr. J. bought live years ago for 10s an aero, he sold the othsr day for £7.'" According to Humbold the oldest town in tho world is Jakutsk, of SOOO inhabitants, in Eastern Siberia. It is not only the oldest hut probably, also tho coldest. The ground remains always frozen to tho depth of 300 feot, except in Midslimmer, when it thaws throe feot, at .tho surface. The mean temperature for tho year is 13:7d0g Fah. 1) or ten days in August thormomoter goes ai high its 85 dog. From November to February the temperature remains between 42deg and OStbig below r.ero. The river Lena remains frozou for tho mouths of tho year. Among the disoovorod asteroids, now numbering nearly 200, a few have allready ben lost, and not a fow might well be spared. There i« oue, how- '■ oyer, remarks Mr. R. A. Proctor of the | Newcastlo Daily Chronicle, which asj tronomers would regret to loso.niiyoftho lothurs. This planet could give moro exact information respecting the mass

The diplograph is, an apparatus invented by M. Recordou tor enabling tht blind to communicate in writing with Oiioh other and with tho " outer world ' with greater ease than is possible undei the system at present in use. Hitherto they have been obliged, for this purpose to liavo recourse to characters given in relief, generally formed of a number of 'points, not exceeding six, distributed in three linos according to a certain order Their sense of touch being extremely delicate and acute, the blind rapidly acquire the power of reading and writing by tho aid of this system. But seeing people find groat difficulty in mastering it, and written communications between them and the blind; which shall be legible: by both parties, are consequently rarely feasible. This difficulty is said to be now overcome by tho introduction of the diplogrnph, an instrument with simultaneously produces the writing in two different ways, and oh two distincts leaves of paper—the one impression being intelligible to tho blind, and the other to the tsccing. Tho apparatus consists of two discs bearing the respective signs or characters of the two styles of writing, and either party using the instruments produces, together with the letters intelligible to himself alone, a Terbatim transcript in different characters for the use of his correspondent. I think I shall not bo far wrong if I say that there are fow subjects more important to the well-being of man than the soleotion and preparation of his food. Our forefathers in their wisdom have provided, by ample and generously endowed organizations, for the dissemination of moral precepts in relation to human conduct, and for the constant supply of sustenance to moet the cravings of religious emotions common to all sorts and conditions of men. In these provisions no student of human nature can fail to recognise tho spirit of wisc'om and a lofty purpose. Rut it is not a sign of ancostral wisdom that so little thought has been bestowed on the teaching of what, we should eat and drink ; that the relations not only between food and a healthy population, but between food and virtue, between the process of digestion the state of mind which results from it, have occupied a subordinate place in the practical arrangements, of life. No doubt then: has long been some practical acknowledgment, on tho part of a few educated persons, of the simple foci that a mans temper, and consequently many «f his actions, depends on such alternative a» whether he habitually digests his food well or ill ; whether the meals which he eats are properly converted into healthy products constantly pollute the course of nutritive supply. But the truth of that fact has never been generally admitted to an extent at all comparable with its exceeding importance. It produces no practical result on the habits of men in the least degrie commensurate with the pregnant import it contains. For it is certain tbM. «u adequate recognition of the value of proper food to the individual in of health, in prolonging healthy life (the prolongation of unhealthy life being small gain either to the individual or to the community), ami thus largely promoting chvoifill temper, prevalent goodnature and improved moral tone, would require almost, a revolution in the habits of a large part of the community.—Popular Science Monthly for July,