GLEANINGS.

Waikato Times, Volume XX, Issue 1692, 10 May 1883, Page 4

GLEA NINGS.

'AH Tfisluriati has always' ttil answer for anything. A Corkonlan, on being asked at breakfast how he came by •' that black eye," said he "felept on his fist." ,Thk great rage in America during the past season has ' been for Scotch Polled cattle, and although the Polled Angus or Abeidcen breed has met a keener demand, there has also been a good inquiry for the more hardy Galloways, which seem bettor adapted for " roughing it" on the prairies of the Far West, if they do not mature so quickly. A plax in use iii South Australia for leading cattle, said to be very effective, is as follows : Tie the end of the lope around the base of the near horn ; pass the line across the forehead, back behind the horns and under the back of the near ear, thence up between the ropea and the animal's forehead. When hauled taut a hitch is made, which takes in the ear, the least picisuie upon which, by pulling the rone, it is said, prevents the most obstinate beast from hanging back. The value of good unleached wood ashes is chiefly for the potaah they contain, but there is some phosphoric acid, which is as valuable as the potash sometimes. Hard wood ashes contain 10 per cent of potash, 6£ per cent of phosphoric acid, and 30 per cent of lime in the form of carbonate. Ashes arc more valuable than mineral potash and phosphates on account of their organic character and solubility. As English writer suggests the possibility of compressing green fodder into small bales by means of a press, something like a hay press, and piling these bales in any convenient building, filling up the crevices between the bales and the space between the bales and the wall with clnfF. This, he thinks, would be as well as to pack the fodder in an underground silo and press it all at once with heavy weights, and at the same time could be stored away or fed out much more easily. * Do\hS can be reduced in the following manner :— Place at the bottom of a box 01 band a layer of dirt Sin thick, then a layer of bones broken 2in thick, and let the next layer be of w ood ashes 3in thick, and so continnua the layers until the box is within 3in of being full. Pour water in until the. whole mass is well saturated, but do not let it run away to waste. Keep the mixture damp with the water thatiuns off, adding warm water from time to time to supply the loss by evaporation. In a few weeks the mass will be thoroughly decomposed. " Mickey," one of Brother Pickering's pations to another, on Wednesday last, " did yes rade in the paper this marnin' that the Legislatyuro had adjourned sinpy die ? Now phwat the divil do they name by adjournn' siuey die? That's phwat bates me entoirely." " Bedad, Pat," lesponded Mickey, " it's myself th.it can explain it illcgantly. Slnm\ heven't they been sinnin' all along, and now they hey jist died and can sin no moie." " Bad luck to me, "said Pat, " but icldccation is a great thing." P.V7IM implements, as a general thing, aio injured more from exposure than by use. An excellent pieparation for the pieservation of the iron farm implements may be made by the slow mdting together ef six or eight parts of lard to one of rosin, stirring until cool. This icmains semi-fluid, always ready for use, the rosin preventing rancidity and supplying an air-tight film. Rnbbed on a bught surface ever so thinly, it protects and preserves the polish effectually. The woodwork should be well painted and housed when not in use. Money saved is money made. Care of tools is an important matter, and should be attended to. As a rule pigs require very litfclo salt, a small quantity of which acts upon them as an acthe purgative, and more of it as an acrid poiaon. Some persons occasionally have given the biinc from a meat barrel to the pigs, supposing it would be good for them, and have killed them by so doing, the salt causing fatal inflammation of the stomach and bowels. It is quite sufficient to throw a very little b.ilt to pigs iv their teed trouchs once a a week oi iv two weeks, but not mote or oftener. When they do not take it willingly one may be sure they do not want it. The reason why cows and sheep want salt frequently is because tbeio is a considerable amount of j salt m milk, and these animals consume a large quantity of coarse food, to digest which some salt is lequircd. Pigs aicnot that kind of animal, and fo need very little salt. A plastic composition has been designed especially as a substitute for ivory, which is fast jrrowinjr scarce and expensive. Celluloid has attained a wide use as a sub-titutc for making various articles formerly constructed of ivory. Common among these are piano keys, knife and forlc handles, and certain. ldndß of per-on.il ornHments, umbrella and cane handles and the like. It has proved quite acceptable ns a substitute, though in no sense competing with the penuine goods. The new Candida to for favor in this diicction is mentioned by the London I'm mho c Gnzeltc. It is composed of a solution of 200 parts of c.iveiu in 50 parts ot ammonia and -100 part? of water or 130 puts of albumen in iOO of water. To tlu> solution the following are added: Quicklime, "210 parts, acetate of alumina, I'M) p.ut-* ; alum, 50 parts; sulphate of lime, 1,2('0 pints ; oil, 100 ; pait« — the oil is to bo mixed in last of all. When dark objects aie to be made, from 75 to 100 paits of tannin arc substituted for the acetate of alumina,. When the mixture h.is been will knended together and made info n smnofhopa»te, it is passed through rollers to f'Min plates of the desired shape. The^e are diied suid passed into metallic mold", poiviously limited, or may be ri'cl nned to a vciy fino powder, which ii inhorluoed into tho heated moulds and united to a homogeneous mass by strongiwMne. The objects are afterwards dipped into tho following bath : Water, 100 parts ; white glue, 6 parts ; phosphoric acid, 10 part*. Finally, they aro dried, polished and varnished with shellac. — ]irri(htrceti, Tur, Svv Francisco M\il Service. — The Ciilitomians arc awake to the risk of the trade with the Colonies by tho mail route slipping away from them. The concspondent of the Otago Duily Times writes :— "' On learning the intention of the New Zealand Government by last mail icgarding the postal service, Mr Creighton had a memorial adopted by the Board ot Trade of San Francisco adduced to t'ne California Legislature, loqui'stiug it to memorialise Congress in favour of granting ii sufficient subsidy to ensuie its continuance, setting forth the benefits it conferred upon American ti dde, and the injustice of requiring all the subsidy to be paid by the Colonies. He was also authorised by the Board of Tiade to proceed to Sacramento, and take steps to obtain the passing of a concurlenfc lesolution embodying its views. As there were only ten or twelve unexpired clays of the session, there was some doubt of being able to get the business through, but he succeeded in his mission, and the concurrent resolutions were telegraphed to the President of the United States Senate and the House of Representatives by the Governor, in teuns of the instructions by the Legislature. This was too late for action before Congress adjourned, but ,it ■ places the question before the national Legislature in a much stronger way than if an appeal on the justice of the case wcie made by the colony. It makes the Pacific Coast a party in interest, and brings great political weight to bear upon the Administration and Congress. At his request also the California delegation at Washington were telegraphed to requesting their immediate attention to the . matter. I have every' reasoti to believe that the United States will behave liberally in this matter, and that Congress, when it assembles, will give authority to ( the Postmaster-General to pay a sufficient subsidy. Should a special session be called; the business M'QVls be promptly disposed ot," ' ' '[ '' • ,', t