GENERAL NEWS.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2262, 8 January 1887, Page 1 (Supplement)

GENERAL NEWS.

Tun yca r ß ago France used to get along with 6000 or 7000 u>n» <.. i,,i i,,.s"uid curruntH in a ycitr ; now shs -ibont 05,000 tons in a year. She mak»s Fivnch wine of them, and tho !iqu<u is pronounced to bo perfectly wholesome, posa sing many of the properties of wine made from the juice of the fresh grape. The Rough. —The rough, of the period is a much more difficult and dangerous personage to deal with than was the typical rough of even five or six years ago. He has been got at by the lowest class of revolutionary agitators ; and to the rough these men speak very plainly indeed. They preach to him that self-help, in its most literal and direct meaning, is the first law of nature. -They tell Inm in so many words that all property is the creation of the people, and by right bc'oiigs to them ; and the roughs, always addressed as *' the unemployed, , ' are the people. Such doctrine as that suits these gentry''down to the ground." Opportunity occuring, .they are quite prepared to better the instruction of their teachers. —St Jrmes , Gazette. From India comes the news of the death of an old lady, Mrs Kennedy, of Benares, whom the Prince of Wales had presented to him by his special request when he visited that city in 1876. Born in 1 788, nhe was married at the age of 15, had eighteen children, eighty grandchildren, seventy-three yrreat-grandchil-dren and five great-great-grandchildren. Her father was a general, so was her husband, so were two of her sons, one of her sons in-law and four of her grandsons. Six colonels and a variety of other officers were included iu the immediate family circle. For tha last forty years she had been the queen ot Benares society and a great friend of the Maharajah. Though in her ninetv seventh year she managed all her household affairs till within a fortnight of her death.

Back from Th-kiulva.— The Argue, of a rccint date, has the following :—Our Sandhurst correspondent, writing last niifht,, Hays :—"A numbpr of Sandhurst miners returned to their hunes to-day, after a brief visit to Teetulpn. They are unanimous in their condemnation of the S-'Uth Australian >f old fluid, and nay that there is very little trold there, and that that little i-< in patches only. They complain of the scarcity and bad quality of the water at Teetulpa, and (-ay that the drinking water was as sali, as brine. Sever:ild' j aths occurred before they left the fi-ld, which they attributed to the effect of the bad wat> r. A serious allegat'on is made by .some of the returned men —viz., that the same nuggets are shown in many itntances as new finds, the ono piece of jrold be.intr made to do duty several timi s. In short, they i-tate that fiotiti-iu-! reports of fina.s arc made in tin: interests of the storeko' pprs." An article under thr hendiny ' Desnisd Wealth ,, in the Wellington Pre ■« -ays : — " Wi'are surprised :ind disappointed at the atmthy, not to say ind'.ttVreix e, of tho Asrent-f4enerai air! his eat iho Exhibition, on t,ho v.-ry important question of bringing New Zealand timb-i into prominent notice. »t, Hmiifi. We trust the Government will not disp) >y iqiml iipjithy or indiffcifii'T i.u thai qui-stim, but will take f(t'"<;rive for developing what uiiyht easily bo ni'-de one, of the most profitable and l-enrfiiual industries of the colony. Some shortsighted people hold that it would Ic> unwise to open ;i trade in Xnv Z a' iid timber with Europe bcc»nse tho forests are passing H way so qtnV.kly ai ready, mid, if that were done, they would soon vanish altogether. It is scarcely necessary to point out, in reply, that the surest way to preserve our forests is to give them such a commercial value that every tree will stand for so much money, as in England, and owners of forest, whether the Government or private persons, will have a direct and pressing , interest in saving them from destruction and hucbandinir them to 'he utmost.

Pkofkssor Huxley on Smoking.-In a recent lecture Professor Huxley remarked :—" For forty years of my life tobacco had been a deadly poison to me. (Loud cheers from the anti-tobacconists.) In my youth, as a medical student, I tried to smoke. In vain, at every fres>h attempt my insilious f'>e stretched me prostrate on the ti or. (Renewed cheers.) I entered *he. navy. Again I tried to smoke, and atiain met with defeat, I hated tobacco? I culd nlnio-t have lent my support to any institution that had for its object th>; putting of tobacco smokers to death. (Voiciferoii" cheering ) A few years ago I was in Brittany with some friends. We went to an inn. They began to smoke. They looked very happy, ainl outside it was very wet and dismal. I thought I would try a eiuar. (Murmer.s) I did so. (Great expectation.) I stno'ced that cigar—it was delicious! (Groans.) From that moment I was a changed man ; and I now feel that smoking in moderation is a comfortable and laudable practice, and is productive of good. (Dismay and confusion of the auti-tobacconists Roars of laughter from thn smokers ) There is no more harm iu a pipe than there is in a cup of tea. You may poison yourselt by drinking too much green tea. and kill yourself bv eattoo many beef steaks. For my own part I consider that tobacco, in moderation, is a sweetner and equaliser of the temper." Total rout of the anti-tobacconists, and triumph of the smoker?.) The nonsmokers, however, contend that whilst the professor may be right in saying that there is no more harm in a pipe than a cup of tea, if anyone were to take as many cups of tea as many smokers do pipes, they would be the worse for them.

New Method of Ventilation.—The compos ills';-room of the New rleans Picayune is situated in the upper story of its publication house, ju*t under the roof, and in summer is extremely hot. An inspiration seemed to have come to one of the oppressed occupants, and in accordance, with it a verticil wooden box was constructed in the corner of room, with openings at the floor and ceiliiii.'. and furnished with a pipe, for supplying water at the top and a pan and draiu at the bottom for receiving the flow and carryin-_' it wifely away. The supply pi|n- whv bout over the uj'pi r ;-i;d c;i the "shiii'i; »i">tl fitted with a ro.-e like rhatof :i wntermgpot, so as to deliver a shower of spray instead of a solid stream. On connecMnc it with the service pipe. the movement of the water was found to e.-iine >n active circulation of the ;iir in that part of the room, wh'ch was d'-nvn in r>t the upper opening of the and issued again, cool and fresh, at level. The most surprising thing aicut the experiment seems W been the effect of thi' water in ooi;lii;g the air t> a degree much b. low its own temperature. With Mississippi water, which, when drawn from the service-pipe, indicated a temperature of S-i degrees, the air of the room in which the theromometer at the beginning of the trial stood at 90 degrees was cooled in passing through the length of the shaft to 74 degrees, or about 20 degrees delow the temperature at which it entered, and 10 degrees below that of the water which was used to cool it. Of course the absorption of heat by the evaporation of the water accounts for its refrigerating effect, but the result seems to have been so easily and inexpensively attained that the experiment would be well wort!; repeating in other cases, Scene--Seaside. Polite but nbsontr.iindrid bather, to friond up to hi , ., wk in water: " Ah, Jones, y.?ry glad to see you ! Won't you tit clqwu ;"