CALIFORNIA.

Colonist, Volume II, Issue 175, 24 June 1859, Page 4

CALIFORNIA.

The Californian mails of the sth of March, and 1,032,314 dollars, in gold, had reached New York. The news had been anticipated.

The New York pfapers aay that:—"" Ge~ neral William Walker, ex-president of Nicaragua, arrived at Aspinwall on the 15th. and proceeded to San Francisco on the 16th, in the Golden Age. He was accompanied by Colonel Natzmer. Walker took. a second cabin passage through to Califor* nia, and was passing under the name of William Wilson. He was in the United States Consul's office during his stay in Aspinwall of a i'ew hours. *. Report says he goes to prepare an expedition to invade Sonora. We shall soon hear from him, but not as Mr. Wilson."

New French Cannon.. —The new system of artillery which has been under examination for more than two year? past is said to be completed, and the last experiments have decided its adoption. The various calibres that before existed are, according to this plan, reduced tp two —twelve-pounders or siege guns, and four-pounders field guns. The pieces are rifled; the projectiles sire hollow, and produce a double effect—that of solid shot and. of shell. Their form is conical, and leaden ailettes give to the ball precision never obtained before. In order to give an idea of the terrible effects of these new pieces it suffices to say that a twelvepounder (new model) will, with one half the number of shots of the old pieces of twentyfour, produce the same effect; and the new pattern twelve-pounder produces'at seventy metres the same result as the old twentyfour at thirty-five, and requires not more than one sixth of the charge. The projectiles penetrate into a block of stone of the hardest cement to an extent of eighty centimetres, and an enormous breach is made by the explosion. The advantages of the fourpounder are still more remarkable. It requires but 500 grammes of powder to throw a ball to a distance of one kilometrical league. The precision is such that at the distance of 3100 metres it strikes a single man on horseback, and at that distance would destroy a body of cavalry or infantry, All the pieces constructed on the new system are loaded at the muzzle, the loading at the breech being given up, as many experiments have shown it to be inconvenient, and even dangerous, so much so as to counterbalance the. advantages. Scientific men affirm that these improvements have raised the art of destruction by artillery to all but perfection.— Builder. Hereditary Features. —A peculiar thickness of the under lip has been hereditary in the Imperial House of Hapsburgh ever since the marriage, some ■ centuries ago, with the Polish family of Jagellon, whence it came. In our own Royal family a certain fulness of the lower and lateral parts of the face is conspicuous in the portraits of the whole series of Sovereigns from George I, to Victoria, and has equally been marked in other members of the family. The females of the ducal house of Gordon have long been remarkable for a peculiar elegant conformation of the neck. The Clackmannanshire Bruces, who are descended from a common stock with the famous Robert Bruce of Scotland, are said to have that strongly-marked form ofthe cheekbones and jaws which appears on the coins of that heroic monarch, as it did in his actual face when his bones were disinterred at Dunfermline, about thirty years ago. The prevalent tallness of the inhabitants of Potsdam, many of whom are descended from the guards of Frederick I.; the Spanish features observable in the people of the county of Galway, in which, some centuries ago, several Spanish settlements were made; and the hereditary beauty of the women of Prague-—are well-known facts which have often attracted the attention of chronologists. The Burgesses of Rome (the most invariable portion of every population) exhibit at the present day precisely the same type of face and form as their ancestors, whose busts may be seen carved in relief on the ancient sarcophagi; and the Jewish physiognomies portrayed upon the sepulchral monuments of Egypt are identical with those which may be observed among modern Jews in the streets of any of our great cities.

Curious Effects of Lime Water.-— The Journal de Rouen says :—-A landed, proprietor in the neighbourhood of Yvetos had in his garden some old apple trees which produced no fruit. Two winters ago he took some lime which he steeped in water, and with a brush washed the trees all over. The result was the destruction of all the in-* sects, the old outer bark fell off and was replaced by a new, and the trees bore an excellent crop. Most of them have now acquired such renewed vigour that all appearance of age has disappeared. The Duke of Gloucester, being in conversation with Lord Brougham on the subject of reform, grew so warm in the argument that he observed hastily, that the Chancellor was very near a fool. Brougham replied that he could not think of contradicting the Duke, and declared that he fuily saw the force of his royal highness's position. 4 Takfrig them one witli another,' said the Rev. Sidney Smith, '.I believe my congregation to be the most exemplary observers ofthe religious ordinances; for the poor keep all the fasts, and the rich all the. feasts.'

The most curious thing in the world is a woman who is not curious.