THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WORLD.

Waikato Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1626, 5 December 1882, Page 4

THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WORLD.

(< C'i\iV' the clever contributor of " I'asbin« Notus'" to t!io Otm/o Witness, writes as follows concerning the piobable tlcsti notion of the euitli by the comet :—: — Tlie tlicoiy on which the woild is going to bodcstioycd in October next is intelligible enough. The comet now visible is the comet of ISSO — Proctor's " menacing comet' 11 — cooti b"il, minni i/m/s bcft»t its fuiir. It now professes to be again in retreat, but, instead ol going oil' to the J)og Star, as in decency it ought to do, "Will tm n hhaip round and make direct ior the stui. At poLilichon a, few weeks ago. this comet in tinning the solar coiner almost (/)<';<</, and —if its period is, decreasing — miisl take the fatal header on its. ne\t leturn. Result : The .sun will become a good deal hotter than is necessary, and all the planets will be burned out. Imagine a train of cannon balls fifteen miles long rushing into the sun at the rale of a million miles, an horn. Arrested motion p.isses into heat, and, iv the circumstances supposed, the sun would probably throw out heal enough to calcine the whole ol his, unfoitunate family of woild into ashes. The possibility of a eatassrophe of this nature is an old speculation with astronomers. Thus Newton, as reported by his nephew, remarks :—": — " I cannot say when the comet of JGBO will fall into the sun ; possibly after five or six revolutions; but, whenever that time shall arrhe, the heat of the sun will be raised by it to such a. point, that our globe will be turned, and all the animals upon it will pemh." This goes on the supposition that comets are composed of matter more or less solid, a supposition still entertained. Thus Mr .Beverly recently said in the Witness that comet 3 consist of " stones, .rocks, sand, and other rubbish." Now on that supposition I want to ask Mi- Beverly, with all respect for his age and acquirements, two questions, ancl°l hope he will answer them :—: — 1. "Is it not a fact that stars have been seen through the densest parts of comets ? How does that happen if the comet is composed of ' stones, sand, and other rubbish ?' Do we see the stars through the Mfnluo'! 2. Jfc is not a fact that a comet always presents its head to the sun, so that, during perihelion, the tail is swept round like the spoke of a wheel, ami travels bioad&ide on through space at a rate fifteen or twenty times faster than the ht'iui ?, If composed ot what we understand by ' matter,' ought not the filmy extremity of tl\e tail to sag to leevyai\l during this stupendous sweep? If it does not sag*, can it be composed of v mutter?"' ' - Bending Mr Bivevly's reply, I shall Relieve that all the sand,, stones, bvick>ln»td, and other rubbish contained Jn a ,com.et could ,be earned in a ,goqd sizfyl CHWBt-J W>;4 nf i oju. jhat „y,ifyk itfgtiHftj),

comet pitch itself into tlie Sun if it wants to, nobody will* be one penny the worse. At .any r.ite those aye my sentiments,.>ai)d I shall stand by them till confuted by the event. "When confuted by ,the event I will acknowledge my error should opportunity offe '.

TirjEKE arc many farmers think it unUfcCxJflSSavy to give a drink of A\ator to a pig, but who consider the alop it receives as ample for its needs, or that when a pis' is fattening dry food ouly is needed, and' that water makes soft pork. There are many more \\ ho aie hardly so ignorant us this, yet actpiecisely as though they were, and neglect to provide any water for their stock but what they can procure from pond holes or ploughs. The consequence is disunsc and death. Puic water is indispensable to the health of all kinds of stock. How To Livji yon Evek.— A Frenchman named Langer luis recently been engaged in tlio comparative analysis of human fat at different ages. He iinds that infant tat i& hauler than that of adultb and old men ; that there are oil globules in our fat, but none in that of babies ; the miscroscopn shows one or two oil globules in every fat cell of the adult, while vciy few have fat crystals. The fat cells of the infant contain no oil globules, and nearly every cell contains tat ciyntals. "Infant fat forma a homogeneous, white, solid, tallow-like mass, and melts at 4.xleg C., while adult fat standing in a warm room separates into two layers ; the lighter and larger is a transparent yellow liquid which solidities below the freezing point of water ; the lower layer is a gianular crystaline mass, I inciting at .Sb'deg C. Infant fat contains (i7"7<~> per rent of oleic acid, adult fat 8!) \S0. Infant fat contains 28*97 per cent of palmitic acid, against S^IO in the adult, and 3*28 of stearic acids, against 2 "04. These hitter tho palmitic and steal ic acids, aie the harder and less fusible while the oleic acid is the softer I and moic fusible constituent of iats. No attempt is made to explain tho reason of these differences, or to suggest any means by Avhich we may re-harden or re-pal-m.itisc our fat, and thus regain our infantine chubbiness. Old age is evidently due to changes of this kind, not only of the fdt, but also of the other materials of the body. The first step towards the discovery of the elixir of life, the tiuritm patubilt of the alchemist, is to determine the nature of these changes, tho next to ascertain their eiuses, and then to remove them. If, as we are so often told, there can be no effect without a cause, there must be causes for the organic changes constituting decay and old ago. Remove these and we live for ever." Great changes are taking place in Auckand, new buslines, premises ot various kinds arc r.ipidlv improving the appearance ot the city; sever il fums ,ue extending their premises, and the keen competitive spirit of the Old Country is now apparent amongst tho city tradesmen ; the wholesale warehousemen, ironmongers, and banks, au> extending theii boundaries : and not the le.ist impoit.int amongst the local industry establishments is the completion of a large concrete building three stoiejs high, 7."> feet long, and ."i 0 wide, erected in J,orne-stieet ,as a cabinet factory to i Messrs. Garlick and Cr.mwell, who li.nu eiected machiner) with tho latest unpn^ements, e>i iblmg them to turn out their work econonvc.illy and e\pediiiously. Ibis hrm are now giving up their diaper) and clothing business in order to secure more sp.ice as show looms for their itiiniture, and, to effect a speedy clearance, have 1 educed to .1 \erv low price all their draper) and ilothmif, whi< h will be sold (for cash only) for one month. 'Ihis is a splendid opportunit) for thritu housewives not only to secure clothing but all kinds ot Manchester and furnishing goods at rates that will pay to lay goods by till they nrc reall) wanted