Untitled

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 211, 28 October 1859, Page 3

Hatching Fish Spawn.—The science of pisciculture was known to the Chinese long before it was discovered in. Eiiropej but their mode of operation appears different.; The Chinese fishermen,; after careful ly collecting from the banks of the river or from the surface of the water, the gelatinous masaes which contain the spawn, fill with it a.number of hens' eggs, which they have previously emptied for the purpose, and then place them undur a hen. At the end of a certain number"of days they break the eggs by throwing them and their contents into the water which had been gently heated, and the young fry are soon hatched. They are afterwards k«pt in pure cold water until they are large enough to be thrown into a pond with other tish. The sale of spawn intended for hatching in this manner forms a rather considerable branchof commerce in China.—Morning Chronicle. Impressions op Leavks.—Dissolve in a saucerful of water about a tea-spoonful of bichromate of potaslu Pass the paper to be used through this solution, and, whiUVwet, pres3 the leaves lightly upon it, aud expose-it to the sun when.it is shining' brightly. • When perfectly dry, remove the leaves, and" a fac-simile will be left ia a light lemon shade, while the rest of the paper will be of a dark brown. — The Interview. How to Preserve Sea-weeds.-—Some of our readers may be glad to know how these beautiful little plants are preserved and aye spread out upon paper, so that each particular fibre keeps its proper place ; and they may be inclined to think what a labor is it to pick all those fibres out and put them in place! But it is not done in that way or the task would indeed be endless, and the form of the plant would also be unnatural. Take the plant you desire to preserve extended on paper, place it in a basin of water to wash off all impurities and stray weeds: then get'a meat dish, sufficiently wide for the purpose, place in the bottom of it your sheet of paper, (N. 8., make it lie upon the bottom), and, placing the plant upon it, pour in water until it is well covered and the fibres expand naturally in the water. Then with a camel hair brush poke the fibres and branches into their proper position snipping off and removing with a pair of scissors all branches which cross or interfere with others. When the plant ia in the position you desire to preserve it in take a piece of sponge, and gradually witli it suck up the water from the dish until, your plant be extended on the paper high and dry. Care must be talcen in suckling up the water that too strong a current is not created, or fibres Will become de ranged by it.. . - Italian Brigades op the Last Century.— Wha"t think you they did three weeks ago at Somara? A travelling company of players coining through the town obtained leave from the delegates to give a representation. The theatre was crammed, as you may well believe, such a pleasure not being an every day one. Well, the orchestra had finished the symphony and up drew the curtain, when instead of a village fete, with pea sants dancing, the stage was crowcled with savage looking fellows, armed to the teeth, everyone of whom held a blunderbuss levelled at the audience. Meanwhile the doors of the ; boxes were opened, aud the people inside, politely^ requested to hand out their money, watches, jewels, in fact, all that they had' of value about them, the pit being treated in the same fashion, for none could escape, as all the doors were held by the bandits. They carried away forty-seven thousand francs' worth for their night's work.—" Gerald, Fitzgerald^ the Chevalier," in the Dublin University Magazine. Dependence is a poor trade to follow. The success of the ship lifting apparatus at the Victoria Docks has induced Messrs. Bruruless and Webb to propose that the problem regarding the vSuez passage should be solved by the abandonment of the canal scheme, and the construction of a ship railway between the two seas. According to their views piers of piling would be erected at each port, ships would be lifted and lowered by hydraulic power, the transit would be effected in cradles resting on five lines of railway, any one of which would be available for ordinary traffic. A speed of 20 miles an hour, it is believed, might be effected. The estimated cost would be £4,800,000, against the £6,400,000 demanded by M. de Lesseps, which many engineers assert would be swollen to £30,000,000. It is also pointed out that the vessels while on their cradles- could be examined or even repaired as if in graving docks, that their sails would be of better use on the railway than on the canal, and that the constant dredging and clearance would be wholly avoided