14 



FOREST* AND 



Fa.llaoy or the Pad Reoobd of Penbtra.- 

 tion. — We give below some extracts furnished 

 us by a correspondent, from a private letter 

 written by an experienced gunmakcr of Eng- 

 land. They substantially confirm what we 

 have long ago asserted — that the pad, as a 

 test of penetration, gave the most varying 

 results. Some months ago we gave an ac- 

 count of the O'Neil system, which seems 

 identical with that employed in this instance. 

 Mr. Dennison, the well known paper manu- 

 facturer, told us himself he was not satisfied 

 -with the pad system. We. believe with our 

 correspondent that the method of trying guns 

 with boards of paper, one placed behind the 

 other, will only give philosophical results. 

 The method is not only certain, providing 

 paper of the same thickness and texture is 

 used, but, in addition, penetration can be 

 determined at a single glance : 



"I constructed alongish box, with grooves 

 at irregular intervals cut perpendicularly on 

 the inner sides. I fitted into these grooves, 

 at such distances as prevented all possibility 

 of their touching each other under the shock 

 of the pellets passing through them, carefully • 

 Beleoted Bristol board or drawing paper— a 

 thin, fine, regular paste-board in fact, all of 

 one thickness. * * * By charging a large 

 number of cartridges With various loads, so 

 widely different, as to prevent all possibility 

 of arriving at erroneous conclusions, even if 

 the evidence of our senses did not tell the fast 

 and slow shooting by sound, etc., and by 

 firing the whole out of one barrel, we arrived 

 at the two loads, giving, respectively, the 

 highest and lowest velocity beyond cavil— the 

 highest penetrating nearly one half more 

 boards. Tried by this proper test, the pene- 

 tration was found to correspond with the 

 amount of powder, in proportion, of course, 

 to that of shot ; a heavy charge of powder 

 with a light charge of shot giving the highest 

 velocity accompanied with the highest pene- 

 tration, a foregone conclusion under a proper 

 test. * * * * Having then got at the 

 highest and lowest velocity-giving charges, I 

 proceeded fearlessly, yet on mere theory and 

 observation, to demonstrate the fallacy of the 

 pads. I used the Field paper, forty-five sheets 

 stitched, and prepared by the maker as for 

 the Field— in a word, identical. At forty 

 yards the lowest velocity gave the deepest 

 penetration 1 My friends stared. Again and 

 again this was demonstrated. One of the 

 eentlemen challenged me to go back to fifty 

 yards, so as to give a kind of L reductioad 

 absurdam.' ' This is too severe,' said I ; ' say 

 45.' He threw out a hint that f was afraid", 

 which fired me, and I replied that I accepted 

 the challenge, adding, 'I'll stand or fall by 

 my theory.' Result, penetration exactly 

 equal! Both of the gentlemen present are 

 men accustomed to sift evidence, one being a 

 magistrate in India, the other a solicitor, and 

 one of the most acute men, if not the most 

 acute, on guns I ever met with. 1 placed 

 myself entirely in their hands. * * * I 

 am not aware that such crucial testing was 

 ever actually carried out before; certainly 

 not in this country. My fellow gunsmiths 

 have been consulting me about it. They now 

 see that even by the Field trials my theory 

 is correct. The penetration at fifty yards, I 

 recollect, was fifteen sheets. I think the 

 respective penetration of the two at Bristol 

 boards was sixteen and twenty-three, nearly 

 60 per cent, m orel" 



Oystbk Ctotoeb in China.— Nowhere, 

 probably, in the world is greater attention 

 paid to the cultivation or "water farms" 

 than in China, where, the teeming population 

 develop to the utmost every source of food 

 supply. Where birds' neBls, seaweeds, fish 

 of every kind, from the goldfish to tbe shark, 

 are used as food, it is not to be expected that 

 the excellence of the different species of 

 shell fish would be overlooked ; but it is only 

 lately that the fact has been observed that 

 the Chinese practice oyster and mussel cul- 

 ture on a system not so very different from 

 that adopted in France and England. In the 

 southern piirts of China "collectors" of bam- 

 boo are placed in the oyster beds, much 

 after the same fashion as the elaborate tiles 

 and "hives" employed in France. These 

 bamboo oyster catchers, however, are pre- 

 pared in a vi ry curious manner. The canes 

 are exposed for about two mouths to the rays 

 of the sun, and then placed for the same pe- 

 riod in salt water, after which they are again 

 dried for several days. Notches are then cut 

 in the canes, into which empty oyster shells 

 are fixed, and thus prepared they arc driven 

 into the sea shore between high and low 

 water mark, and left standing to catch the 

 young oyster spat. Those localities are -con- 

 sidered the best where the rise and fall of 

 the tide is the greatest, so that the bivalves 

 may be alternately covered by the flood and 

 exposed to the air, on the ehb tide. A. large 

 trade is carried on by these simple collectors, 

 and successful oyster eullurists are known to. 

 have amasstd considerable fortunes by the 

 sale of their produce. The young oysters 

 seem to develop very rapidly, for they are 

 ready for the market when two years old, 

 whereas the Thames " native" is not fit to be 

 eaten till it has passed at least four summers. 

 Large quantities of oysters are dried instead 

 of being eaten in a fresh state. For this pur- 



pose they are removed from the shells, sim- 

 ply plunged into boiling water and removed 

 at once, after which they are exposed to the 

 rays of tbe sun till every particle of moisture 

 has evaporated. They will keep for a con- 

 siderable length of time in this state. The 

 finest and fattest oysters bred and fattened 

 on the bamboo culch, are selected for prepa- 

 ration after this, method, those taken from 

 the natural beds being inferior in quality, and 

 not sufficiently fat to endure thfe operation. — 

 London Globe. 



The Fail of a Mountain in Savoy. — An 

 interesting account of the recent falling of 

 a mountain in Tarentaise, Savoy, causing dis- 

 aster to two flourishing villages, has been 

 communicated to the Cimrrier dez Alpes by 

 M. Berard. The phenomenon has been in- 

 correctly reported as instantaneous and the 

 destructive effect complete, whereas the case 

 is that of a mountain which, for twenty days, 

 without cessation, has been dismembering 

 itself and literally falling, night and day, into 

 the valley below, filling it with pilled up 

 blocks of stone, extinguishing all sounds by 

 its incessant thunder, and covering the distant 

 horizon with a thick cloud of yellowish dust. 

 The entire mass comprised in the slope forms 

 a multilated cone 200 metres broad at the top 

 and 600 at the base (the slope being about 

 50 degrees) ; this is composed of hard schist 

 lying close together, but no longer united ; 

 and it is united to the body of tbe mountain 

 only by a verticlc mass of 40 or 50 metres 

 thick, which already is fissured and shaken. 

 Periods of repose occur, lasting only a few 

 seconds, or a minute at the most ; then the 

 movement recommences, and continues about 

 500 hours. Blocks of 40 cubic metres 

 become displaced with no apparent cause, 

 traverse the 1,800 metres of descent in thirty 

 seconds, leaping 400 to 500 metres at a time, 

 and finally get dashed to pieces in the bed 

 of the torrent, or launch their shattered frag- 

 ments into the opposite forest, mowing down 

 gigantic pines r.s if they were so many thistles. 

 One such block was seen to strike a fine fir 

 tree before reaching the bridge between the 

 villages ; the tree was not simply broken or 

 overthrown, but was crushed to dust (vo- 

 latilise) ; trunk and branches disappeared 

 in the air like a burning match. Rocks are 

 hurled together and broken into fragments 

 that are thrown across the valley like swal- 

 lows in a whirlwind ; then follow showers 

 of smaller fragments, and one hears the 

 whistling sound of thousands of pebbles as 

 they pass. M. Berard reached the edge of the 

 rock (2,400 metres high), on one of the sides 

 of the falling cone, and ventured along it, ob- 

 taining a good view of the "terrifying" 

 spectacle. He reaffirms his conviction that 

 the phenomenon is inexplicable by any of the 

 usual reasons that, account for Alpine disturb- 

 ances, such as penetration of water, or melt- 

 ing of snows or inferior strata in motion ; 

 nor does the declivity of the slope explain it. 

 His hypothesis is that some geological force 

 is at work, of which the complex resullant 

 acts obliquely to the mountain and almost 

 parallel to its sides. 



A Human Hog.— The Whitehall Time* has 

 given publicity to the subjoined challenge. 

 There was a terrible explosion at White- 

 hall on the Fourth of July if the match came 

 off: 



The following has been handed to us for 

 publication. If the challenge is accepted, 

 great sport may be expected on the ever glo- 

 rious Fourth of July : 

 Eoitob Whitehall Time. 



Sir— I have been tole by my freus that ilr. 

 Teff of the Chronikle can eat more than I can 

 at a single feed, and that Mr. Teff made little 

 of my effort on the foot bridge friday last. 

 Now, sar, I will send this, my chalange, to 

 mr. Teff, and I want you to print it in your 

 paper so that all peples ma now that mr. 

 Teff can't eat me. 



ohalangb. 



I, Eli Paquet, will eat Mr. Teff of the 

 Chronikle for 1 hunder % dolar a side on the 

 4th July, 1878, at noon of that day, pay or 

 play, good day and good track. Mr. Teff 

 may have the choice of the vittels, which 

 may be either coked or raw, and waid out in 

 quantitys of not less than five pounds each, 

 and repeat, and the match to be the best in 

 three with only 10 minutes rest between 

 heats. Iaint any objeckshins to Mr. Chancy 

 F. Bates bein steak holder, but the steak mus 

 be all up on the 3 of July, at noon, all pre- 

 limry arrangements can be made through the 

 undersigned. his 



Eli X Paquet 

 mark 



George Marcoo, witness. 



Since the above was in type we have been 

 informed that if the match can be brought 

 about the Opera House will be given free 

 for the occasion. No doubt much money 

 will be staked on the result, as both men 

 have records as eaters. 



The Alligatoks and the Ox. — It is the 

 Tallahassee Floridian which takes the respon- 

 sibility for this ox and alligator story ; all of 

 which must be taken with much salt and 

 more discrimination : 



"The ox went into the lake to drink, and 

 was attacked by the alligator, whose mouth 



closed on the foreleg of the animal, crushing 

 the bone. The ox started immediately out of 

 the water, draggms; the alligator. Enraged 

 With pain, the po< i ninal reared and plunged 

 wildly, endeavprii to bora his antagonist. 

 Meantime the edge of the lake was black wi!h 

 the snouts of alligators which had smelled the 

 blood that ran from the ox when first struck 

 in the water. Four or five of the monsters 

 crawled out, and with wide "pen mouths 

 started for the atpaclc Meanwhile the ox 

 loosened the hold of his antagonist, and 

 smarting under the wound, went in with in- 

 furiated ardor to the assault of the reinforced 

 assailant. lie caught one of the alligators on 

 his horns and threw him high in the air, the 



ml. 

 by 



in 



npeded, and 



clumsy thing falling hea' 

 where it lay stunned. Ai 

 far into the lake. But the 

 a false manoeuvre, again 

 which element his activity _ 

 being surrounded by his foe-, one of Which 

 caught him by tbe nose and pulled his head 

 under water, he soon fell a victim by drown- 

 ing." 



A Boy's Lkttrr from Colorado.— The 

 following racy letter from a lad has been sent 

 us for publication. The writer is at Bell's 

 Ranche, Colorado Springs, and the date is 

 July 8 : 



"I am going to ride into town and buy 

 some meat. We raced our thoroughbred 

 mare, Meta, against a very fast horse belong- 

 ing to a man named Gilpin, and Meta beat by 

 three or four lengths. Charles rode her. We 

 raced for a keg of beer, and we had a tough old 

 house-warming, thero being a crowd of cow- 

 boys on broncho ponies. The beer did not. last 

 long. The climate is very nice and bracing, 

 but most of the water has alkali in it. This Is 

 said to be a bad place for any one with any 

 heart trouble. We hear the coyotes bowling 

 about the place in the night, but they are shy. 

 I got a shot at one tbe other morning, but did 

 not kill him, he ran so fast. We have seen 

 several antelopes, and as we were riding on 

 the prairie tbe other day a large eagle swooped 

 down and killed a jack-rabbit", which she left 

 when we rode up, and wc had it fur dinner. 

 From your affectionate son, John E. S. 



A Pic, to be Peoud Of.— One of the most 

 remarkable cases of instinct thau we ever 

 heard of came under our personal observa- 

 tion a few days ago. Sir. Deveanx, the 

 county jador, was presented with n small pig 

 by a friend living about four-miles from town, 

 and it was tied by him in the Court-House 

 yard. The pig was not over four weeks old 

 and was brought the whole distance in a 

 sack. On Friday morning last. Mr. Deveaux 

 untied it and did not notice it particularly. 

 In the evening he discovered that it had 

 strayed off. On .Saturday morning his friend 

 informed him that the pig had returned to his 

 farm and was with its mother, it having suc- 

 ceeded in making iisway from town to the 

 place of its nativity. The journey was the 

 more remarkable as the way to be traversed 

 was first across Briton's Bay, which is a half 

 mile wide, and thence through the enclosures 

 of three different farms. The pig was seen 

 by some colored men wtile crossing the bay, 

 who tried to intercept it, but it eluded them 

 and escaped to the cornfield in the direction 

 of its home.— St. Marjfs (Md.) Beacon. 



Veteran " Jack."— For many years a low- 

 sized brindled dog, named "Jack,'' has been 

 tbe pet of the First Precinct, New York City. 

 He is so sagacious that he will not follow a 

 patrolman belonging to any other precinct, 

 and makes his headquarters on the Battery. 

 With all his sagacity, however, "Jack "could 

 not escape the ubiquitous dog-catcher. While 

 taking shelter under a tree >h the Park, some 

 days ago, a wire noose was slipped over his 

 neck and he was jumped into the wagon. The 

 news of Jack's capture spread rapidly through 

 the precinct, and Officer Cotter rescued him 

 from his traveling prison before he reached 

 the Found. The next day Jack paraded the 

 Battery with a large plated collar bearing the 

 inscription : " Old Veteran Jack, the Pride 

 of the First Precinct. Leave him alone!" 

 The collar is the gift of the police and the 

 Battery boatmen. 



The Chiobten Torpedo.— Here is a u«.w 

 infernal machine, described by the Griffin 

 Xeu-s. Woe betide the unfortunate culled 

 person who comes afoul of it i 



"The invention consists iuplacing a torpedo 

 charged with powder, slugs and bullets in the 

 interior of a prepared fowl. 'Ihe chicken is 

 placed on a perch as natural as life, and the 

 explosion occurs immediately on its removal. 

 The balls within are so arranged that they tly 

 in all direction's at. the instant that the fowl is 

 removed from the perch or roost, and the re- 

 mover is certain to he instantly 

 around in small particles. This ingenious 

 contrivance, the inventor claims, i 

 harmless so long as it remains undi 

 and no nne is responsible for tbe sudden 

 death of the party who tampers with it except 

 the parly himself." 



Seth. — Everybody in this hemisphere has 

 heard of Setb Green, our principal fisherman ; 

 but few are aware that he hath a merry wit 

 which cometh out on occasion. A few 

 weeks since, at the celebration or the com- 

 pletion of the new State Line Railroad, Seth 



was invited to join the excursion. Scarcely 

 had the well tilled train started from Ro- 

 chester when the fisherman began his tour of 

 salutation and hand-shaking. He had passed 



through all but the last car, when Jack 



said to him- "Seth, you are out of place; 

 you should be in the ear where the Fish is" 

 (referiug to the Hon. H. Fish, who was in a 

 forward car). 



Setb, after surveying those around him, 

 and noticing certain red noses, replied ; "I 

 guess I'm iu the right place, as there Seem to 

 be plenty of wickers here I" — Harpers Drawer 

 for August. 



The Ihate Editor Again. — We have al- 

 ready referred to the enraged Western Editor 

 as a naturalist. Another "member of the fra- 

 ternity, the editor of the Omaha Herald, adds 

 his contribution to editorial zoology in the 

 following allusion to the editor of tbe Omaha 

 £ee, whom he otherwise designates as a 

 "Bohemian baboon : ' 



This is the bull ring into which we jerk 

 the stub-nosed and web-footed creature who 

 defies all ethnological classification, and ask 

 a civilized coomvun.. to the perform- 



ance of the thing for whom a United States 

 Senator is playing the part of unwilling spon- 

 sor and reluctant stool-pigeon. " 



Tiffany & Co., Silversmiths, 

 Jewellers, and Importers, have 

 always a large stock of silver 

 articles for prizes for shooting, 

 yachting, racing and other 

 sports, and on request they pre- 

 pare special designs for similar 

 purposes. Their TIMING 

 W A T C H B S are guaranteed 

 for accuracy, and are now very 

 generally used for sporting and 

 scientific requirements. TIF- 

 FANY & CO. are also the agents 

 in America for Messrs. PATEK, 

 PHILIPPE & CO., of Geneva, of 

 whose celebrated watches they 

 have a full line. Their stock of 

 Diamonds and other Precious 

 Stones, General Jewelry, Artis- 

 tic Bronzes and Pottery, Electro- 

 Plate and Sterling Silverware 

 Tor Household use, fine Station- 

 ery and Brie-a-brae, is the 

 largest in the world, and the 

 public are invited to visit their 

 establishment without feeling 

 the slightest obligation to pur- 

 chase. 

 UNION SQUARE, NEW YORK 



HlfflYADI JAI\ T 0S. 



The Best Natural Aperient. 



THE T.ANCET.— 



"Uunyafli J alios.— 

 Baron Lieoij; afluins 

 tii.t. lt» richness In 

 npc-rlenr salts sur- 

 passes that of all other 

 known waters." 



THE 'BHITTHH 

 MKUICAL joint. 



NAL— " linnvotl! Ja- 

 noa. — The most agree- 

 t, and ni'-'Si 

 pill actons aperient 

 water." 



" In variably good 



ave pre- 



te, "I prescribe 



PROFESSOR LAUDER BRUNTON, M. D., P.E.S., 

 London, "More pleasant than its rivals, and Bur- 

 passes tbem in effleacy." 



PROFESSOR AITIiENT, M. D., V. R. S., Royal Mili- 

 tary Hospital. Nutley. "Preterrefl to rultna and 

 Friedrlehsha.il.' 



A \VINE<4I.AHSFin. A DOSE. 



INDISPJSXSA ELK TO TIJK TRA YELISO PUBLIC 



FREDERICK; DE BARY & CO., 



41 and 43 Warren Street, New York. 

 Sole Agent*, for Wnttd. States an$ Canaaan, 



