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Tuapeka Times, Volume I, Issue 23, 18 July 1868, Page 5

The Moon.: — It appears, that ourgreat terrestrial time-piece, hitherto, supposed to be keeping most .perfect, time, requires correcting and rating. Jn the course of the. last 2,000 yearsi it has lost nearly an hour <fc a .quarter, and compared with its motion at the' beginning of that interval, it is nowlosing one second in twelve weeks. The day is also, lengthening, and will continue to do so until it is equal in length to, the lunar day — that is our lunar month. The in-habitants-of the earth may console themselves, however, fpr the : rate ,o£ change will diminish continually ; and, even if it did not, thirty-six billions of years would have to elapse before the change would be fully effected. Number of Vocal Sounds. — There, are in the human voice about nine, perfect tones, but 17,592,186,044, 4*l-5) different sounds. Thus four-, teen direct muscles, alone or together, produce 16,383, thirty indirect' muscles produce 173,741,823, and all in co-operation produce the above, total, independently of different de-. grees of intensity. The Iron Crown of ' Lombard. — This famous crown is composed of* a board circle of gold, set with large rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, on a ground of blue and gold enamel. But the most important part of the iron crown, from which it derives its name, is a narrow rim oT band, of" iron three-eighths of an inch broad and one-tenth of an inch in thickness, attached to the inner circumference of the circle. This innerband of sacred iron is believed to, have been made^ of one of the nails^ used at the crucifixion, and accounts for the veneration in which it has been always held Rise in the Price of Precious, Stones. — A great rise has taken place in the price of precious stones ; during the last twenty years. Sorts selling formerly at £3- to £4' percarat now fetch £10 to £12 ; amethysts that were 50s. an ounce, are now worth. £8, and the con- | sumption of diamonds in Birmingham •alone has increased tenfold. Pearls, especially the smaller sorts, are used? largely ; while the pearl oyster shell, or mother-o'-pearl, is worked'up ex-, tensively by the button-makers." A few years ago, a small parcel of shells, was brought to- Birmingham, which by mistake had not been cleaned of • the pearls at the fishery ; one of thes pearls thus found sold for £40, was-, resold for £160, and afterwards held for sale in Paris for LBOO. It is told of the late Sir G-. Cornewall Lewis, that when canvassing Herefordshire in 1852, he was in the midst of an inquiry into*, the truth, of reported cases of longevity. Thi« inquiry was so far uppermost in his thoughts, that when a Tory voter fletly declined to support his candidature, he placidly "responded^ " I am sorry you can't give me your vote, bat perhaps you can" tell" me whether any person has died in your parish at an extraordinary. »ge?"—« Quarterly Ban**,;* *