MISCELLANEOUS.

Waikato Times, Volume VI, Issue 321, 4 June 1874, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

Tho following is from the Swiss Times : — An f xtraordinary public entertainment has been produced in Lima, Peru, by an Italian named Contarini, who proposes to bring his exhibition to Europe. Ho hus taught and trained by dint of patience and perseverance, an opera company made up of 30 parrots and parroquets who perforn two of Bellini's operas, ' Norma and ' Sonnanibula, 1 on a immature singe, with full chorus- and rocirative. The director and manager accompanies the artists on a piano-harmonium and the perfection with which each bird sings his part, and the excellence of the chorus are prodigious. Tho debut of his lyrico-ornitholopical company in ' Norma was attended by the wealth and fashion of Lima. "When tho parroquet that sang tlifi contralto Uad fimshrd the allegro to the ' Snlutation to the moon,' such was tho enthusiasm, the shouting, and the applause at hearing a bird sing the ' Casta Diva' that the bird company affrighted, took flight, and sought refuge among the side scenes. This interrupted the performance (or fully a quarter of an hour, and Signor Contarini had to tranquilUe the ' artists' by giving them bread soaked in wmo. Thenceforth the expressions of approbation were moderated, in order not to spoil tho play. It nppears that the bird areists haye now become accustomed to the applause. The correctness and propriety with which they give certain parts of the opera are wonderful. The primo tenor pos so-ses all tho airs and graces of the school of Mnrio, and tho ladies of Lima have named the piimn donna Patti. Tho Pall Mall Gazette says :—": — " Woman little knows what a stumbling-block i.) the path of man is her chignon. It is not only that this appendage to t ho head of one who needs nothing to- enhance the charms tliatnaturehaiso bountifully bestowed upon her, divert* man's attention from the duties he is obliged to perform, until woman relieves him of them by assuming her proper position, but he is actually led to commit illegal and unjustifiable acts in order to obtain materials from which chignons can bo manufactured. An instance of this is afforded by a caso which was heard the other day at tho Selby Petty Sessions, when John Shaw alias Bcid, a native of Newniiirket wtfs charged with stealing the tails of fifteen horses. These fifteen tnili, however, are a very small portion of the tails that Shaw is charged with c u l tins oil*. On being apprehended he admitted the charge, and stated that this horsehair was intended to supply the wants of chignon manufacturers and, if this view la correct, it is sad to think that a good and honest man should disfigure one innocent creature to adorn another." 'Ihe unwholesomeness of stovrs:— MM. Morin, Payen, Drville, Bernard, Eusscy, and Eomy, have been commissioned by the Frenoh Academy to investigate this subject. Experiments were instituted with stoves of ca»tand wrought iron, u»ing soft coals, with the view of learning under what condition stoves of roetal became unhealthy, through the piesence of carbonic acid, and carbonic oxide, in the rooms heated hy them. Babbits were made to breatho the air passing over stoves of cast and wrought iron heated to rednrss, und afterwards chemical examination of the blood of the animals was made, to ascertain the presence of carbonic oxide. The following words are used in giving the results of tho experiments :— l< If the luminary of tho experiments mnde upon rabbit * does not permit us to fix with uny precision the proportions of carbonic oxide absorbed by their blood, nor that of tho oxygen which has been expelled from it, tho results nil «greo to show that tho use of stoves of cast iron. Jiontad to a red heat, causes in the blood, by ihe presence of carbonic cxide, a gas eminently poisonoue, chnnges whof« repetition may become dangerous ; while the sumo method of investigation has not revealed analagous t fleets when the heat has been produced from 6tovoa of wrought or ihuct irr,"

It will suffico for present purposes to recognise, says the Broad Arrow, simply three kinds of land Artillery^ namely (1) garrison guns, winch are not intended to be moved at all ; (2) guns of position, which are only morel slowly and occasionally, and which, when used, as in sieaje operations and the defence of lines — are protected by works of some sort; (3) field guns, which nre moved rapidly and frequently, and which, as a rule, are never protected in any way- Now, fanciful although the notion may perhaps appear to some, wo believe that we sliaJl not go vory far wrong if we assume thnt the same- general principles which govern the use of artillery on land also regulate its employment oa watei* in coast-defence vessels. With the first-named kind of land artillery — fixed garrison guns — we hare nothing to do in considering coast-defence vessels simply as a means of moving artillery on walor. But from v careful consideration of the peculiarities and modes of using the second and third-named varieties — guns of position and fieloVguns — it will bo seen that we require two very distinct classes of coast-defence vessels, namely (1) vessels of considerable size, although necessarily of bglit draught, carrying a large, heavy, well-protected battery, capable of being moved, albeit but slowly, to any point on the coast like a land siege train or battery of position ; and (2) small unarmoured vessels possessing great mobdifcy and considerable speed, which can bo collectively manoeuvred in the style of a field battery, and which therefore should only carry one gun each. The ideal of the former should bean armour- pi tted fort, capable of propulsion at a slow rate ; that of the latter Neptune's flying artillery. It is satisfactory to observe that this latter type has been definitely adopted: by the Admiralty, and to leurn that we shall ere long have a consido'uble fleet of s nail unarmoured icrew gunboats, each carrying one heavy gun — m fact, mere floating gun carriages — which, possets'ing great mobility, can be quickly massed on any part of the coast that) may be threatened. Skill, such gunboats are not in. themselves sufficient adequately to defend our large mercantile ports. A new ironclrd frigate was recently launched into the Oder from the Vulcan Wo.'ks at Stettin in the presence of their Royal Highnesses tiie Crown Prince and Princess of Prussia and their two sons. The ve=sel, whi'Ji is intended for the German navy, was christened the Preusien by th* Princess, instead of Borussia, which name it was originally determined she should bear. The Preitssen is designed upon the model of our Monarch — that is to say, she is a cruising turret-ship ; she carries in each turret two 8-inch breechloading step! guns, and fore and aft a similar gun of smaller calibre. The German ironclad fleet, with this addition, now numbers ten presentable vessels of large tonnage and three small ironclad torpedo vessels, while five large turret-veesels are in course of construction and three more torpedo boats. When these are completed the fleet will number, including the Rhine gun-boats, 28 ! armour-cased steam vessels, the largest which has over 9,500 tons displacement, and curries , engines capable of being vrorkod te a power of more than , 8,000 liorseß. The Royal Navy in Commission on the Ist. instant, says , the United Service OazetU, comprises 240 ships, carrying • 1,737 guns, and manned by 25,170 officer and men, 5,981 i marines, and 2,801 boys. Of this force there were on the . Mediterranean station 15 vessels, carrying 98 guns, manned < by 2,642 officers, men, and boyj. On. the North American [ and West Indian station, 16 vessels, carrying 110 guns, ; manned by 2,306 officers, men, and boys. On the South. , American station, 5 vessels, carrying 31 guns, manned by ( 543 officers, men, and boys. On the Pacific station, 10 > vessels, carrying 68 guns, manned by 1,770 officers, men, and boys. On the Ctipe and West Coast of Africa station, | 12 vessels, carrying 75 guns, manned by 1,746 officers, men, > and bo)s. On the East India station, 9 vessels, carrying 74 i guns, and manned by 1,449 officers, men, and boys On the j China station, 20 vessels, carrying 123 guns, manned by ! 4,428 officers, men, and boys ; and on the Australian station, 1 9 vessels, carrying 39 guns, manned by 924 officers, men, 3 and boys. On particular service, which includes the de- . tached squadron, troop ships (not Indian), &c., there were r 17 vessels, carrying 183 guns, manned by 4,642 officers, men, 1 and boys. The Channel squadron comprises 7 vessels, ■ t parrying 123 guns, manned by 3,655 officers, men, and boys. \ The remainder of the force is made up by Coastguard, a service, drill, and other ships. y "Atticus" remarks th&fe.: — It is a compliment rarely. y pail to mortal man to be sworn by. In a case tried befoie 1 Chief Justice Sir James Martin, a female \vitness.did not think the ususnl oath and the kissing of the book sufficiently impressive, for sixe added, as she put down the Bible, "So help me Jimmy Martin." His Honor sternly demanded, an explanation of this blasphemous taking in \ain of his name, and the afl right ened woman had to assure 2 him that it was only a way she had when she wanted to ■ c proclaim she was going to speak nothing but he truth, , " Just as your Honor might say ' btnke me blind if it isn't . so.'" I would like to be piesenfc when a woman v. ould s.iy to our Acting Chief Jusiice, "So help he Reddy • Barry."