‘ .p piece.

their attacks on wood, it has been his prac- tice to paint it number of blocks and boxes with variotu compoundI.—I0mﬁ lie '0“ "0- pre red, and some partially painted, and sun tltent in the Elizabeth river, in April. About the ltlth of'June the blocks ttnd box- es were erally lifted and examined, but_ he never ad been able to discover_any ot the anim cults--young teredo-—-until about the 20th of Jane. At this period of the year be generally discovered minute ltoles in the wood by the use of a magnifying lass. After this, the creature daily grows ahead, for it has no powers of locomotion ; it grows like an oyster, and has a cttlcarc- ous or shelly sheathing, which adheres to the surface of its burrow. In Nurfullt har- bour, Va., they row from six to I2 inches in length, and frotn three-sights to ltalf an inch in diameter. The wood excavated by one twelve inches long, in a season, amount- ed to more than a cubic inch, if in a solid No signs of the teredo were disco- _ in wood deposited alter the o ptetnber. In the ltnrbor of New York, Mr. Jarvis supposed that the teredo commences to develop about the first of July,‘ and continues until cold weather ar- rives; in Charleston, S. C., and further so th, they develop during the whole year; w cross, in the colder coasts, such as in the harbors of New England, they do but little injury, because the worm is feeble there, being like a fine thread; it is believ- to be a native of the torrid seas. The teredo is not so destructive on piles sunk under water at the New York city docks, as those on the opposite side of the river, on the Jersey nd Long Island sltores; this is owing, Mr. arvis thinks, to the amount of filth carried down in the city sewers. So tnuch for the good oﬂices of dirt. In Boston, and Portsmouth, Me., harbor piles will stand twenty-live years. any vessels proceed to sea with parts of their bottoms damaged by these worttts, unknown to the captain, owttcrs, or under- writers. One opcn nail-hole itt ll. sheet of copper, will allow the wortn access for its excavating work of destruction. A sheet of copper removed frotn a vessel, will load to a whole plank being speedily ltoncy— combed.

Mr. Jarvis tried all kinds of wood used in shipbuilding, attd he found all attuttltcd.

Mr. Jarvis concludes his p-t|)t'I't1§ follows, and we would invite special attention to his opinions, especially of our friends in San Francisco, the piles of’ whose harbor have been so rapidly destroyed by this destruc- tive creature.

"If the Hon. St‘Cf‘(‘IilI‘y of the Navy would grant me perntission to secure the bottoms of ships frotn the .‘~‘tlll.-\Vlllt‘l‘ worm, and from coral deposits, I would pttt tltrec coats of white zittc paint on the dry bollovus of all ships itt the Navy, then coppt‘I' the bottoms; and, to make the whole invulncr- able to the worm ntttl to coral deposits, I would put three more coats of white zittc paittt on the ntttsitlc sut'fact- ol the copper.

To preserve piles, I would drive all I could with the bark on. There is no tinti- ger whilst the bark is kept on. The b:tr- nacle on piles does no injury. Chm-ring is excellent, provided the ﬁssures are well till- cd with hot coal-tar, or sotne other sub- stance of equal virtue, such as the paints already natned. White zinc paint will be found excellent to keep the shell ﬁsh from the wood whore piles may have the bark broken off before being driven.

I believe that three coats of white zinc

lint are next best to copper as a preserva- tive agsinst the ravages of these destruc- tive evildoers.

In conclusion, I do most earnestly hope that this paper may call the serious atten- tiers of naturalists towards investigating the own of the salt-water warm, to lend their a’ In discovering a remedy to keep the ani- mal that developing or entering into wood.”

Errnviosttcs IN Dttsss.—Irs srnc-r crott 1-as MAlKI‘l'.—-In the city ofBelgiutn, extravagance has assumed such alarming

proportions, that the ladies themselves ,_

ave been obliged to combine for the pur- of arresting its disastrous progress. It spears that extravagance had been for eetne years a source of constraint in fami- Bee. and it was noticed no marriages were natraeted, since the young men, frighten- eiiat the bills that loom up in the distance, preferred to live in celibacy. The mothers

.‘ I

' llAS'/.Aiil)’n‘

lrecognizing the inconvenience of a state of a airs encouraged by themselves, have resolved to bring about a salutary reform; and with this view they hate formed a .comntittce, which meets once a week. They [have declared open war with extruvnganct-., Innd every member announces publicly tltc retrcnclttncnts made in her own household expenses. They say that happy results have already been obtained, attd Iltttl simi- lur associations are to be fortnt.-d in the neigitbouring towns.— Cum-. des Eluls Unis.

The strong figure of speech with which Corncy illustrated the great size of Ameri- ky, has also a hit at the Scotch which they will relish as well as they do punch.

"Where did baccy cotne front?” inqui- red Mary.

“ Why from ’l\Ieriky, where else?” replied Corney. “that sent us the first petaty. Long life to it for both, says I!”

“ What sort of a place is that, Iwon- der?"

“ ’Meriky! They tell me it's mighty sizable, Moll, darlin.' I'm told that you might roll England throttgh it an’ it would hardly make a dint in the ground. There’s a fresh water ocean inside of it that you might dhrown Ireland in, and save Father Matthew a wonderful sight ofthrouble; an’ as for Scotland, you might stick it itt tt corn- er of one of their forests, an’ you'd never be able to find it, except it might be by the smell of the whisky!"

The imitative propensities of Young America are quite equal to those of the monkey tribe. A friend furnishes the

illustration:

“ Johnny, a three-year-old, was at din- ner with the rest of the family, which included an aunt on a visit.

“ ‘ Aunt Ellen,’ asked the hopeful John- ny, ‘ do you ever say tleril'."

“ ‘ VVlty no, Johnny, what makes you ask such it question?’ replied the lady.

“ ' Bt-cause Pa says so. l’u, what made you say drvil the «titer day, wltcn you was looking forthe hammer and conldn’t ﬁnd it?’

“ ‘ Oh!’ said Pa, ratlttn: cornered, ‘did

\\'ell, so as to littd it easier, I suppose.’ ‘ Ilerc the discussion ended, the expla- nation bcing considered as good as could be given under the circutttstattct-s, l)lll Johnny’s retentive mctnory trcnsttrcd it up.

" A few days afterward, Johnny’s cap, as little cups will do, got sotttcltotv out of its place, ttntl Joltnny forgot whore ht.‘ left

it lis tnothcr toltl hitn to look till ltc found it.

“()ﬂ'he stttrtctl, up stairs, tutti down stairs, and soon his trt-blc voice run,-_v tln-onglt the halls, crying ottt ‘tlrt-il.' Dt:vtt.! I)l'lVll.!’

“ ‘ John, my son!’ cnllt-d ottt his fright- ened tnothcr, ‘ wltut iii the world do you mean by using that wit-kt.-d word?’

. “ ‘So as t~.- lintl my cup t-us_\l' cried iJohn. ‘ l’u says tleril witun llL' can't find things, don't lie, tun?’

“ The force of exatnple could not fttl'tllt'l' go. and the an.\'ious tnotht-r had to nego- tiate with Johnny's fitthcr to ho tnorc select in his use of words in the presence of his children."

Tltere is a ltint to parents in that story tvorth tnore than a quarter.

TIIE Gttowrtt or S1‘. P.iur..—'l‘hc city of St. Paul, the capital of Minnesota, which claims an existence of but seven years, secmtt to be advancing in population and wealth at a rate scarcely equalled in the West, except by Chicago. In low, it con- tained hut 500 inhabitants, and two years since 4500; now its population is estimated at l'2,600. Capital, during the last two years, has found its way there from the Eastern States, which has been invested in lands near the city, and in the erection of warehouses, stores and substantial dwel- ling-houses, for all of which there is a good detnand. The Minnesota Pioneer, in speak- ing of the growth of St. Paul,.and the in- crease of population in the Territory, says that " emigration has been steady and in- creasing the whole season, and that the neople are now beginning seriousl to en- tertain the idea of applying for a mission into the nion as a State, its population numberin , it is thought nearly 200,000 souls.—Ili'oridetIcs Journal.

Drawer with the following as the latest I

ti‘ .\ '/. l".'l"l‘lC, DECEMBER 6.

INGINUITI‘ or VVnt1't: Aw ts.——ln nothing is the ingenuity of these little insects to--re remarkably displayed than in the cxpodiettt to which they li't.-qucntly resort to (:toss it little strcatn on the sand-beach ulltrr a shower of rain. Sotttetimt-s their train is cut itt two by one of these little streutnlets. To plunge ittto it t-tingly, they would soon be swept away by the rush of tlto current. ' hey come to the edge of the water, raise their untt-note, point them frottt one direc- tion to another, as if they were taking a scietttiftc view of all tlte dangers of the crossing. They wander up and down the stream with the greatest uneasiness, attd ﬁnding no other way to cross, form them- selves into a compact knot or rult of a dozen or more, and launch themselves upon the stream. They have, by previous observa- tion, madc sure, that they would strike a projecting point or bind on the opposite sltore, and not be carried by the current into the main river. The moment they touch the other side, they use their claws like anchors, and hold on until the wltole company disengage themselves, and march off in single ﬁle itt the track of those that have preceded them. I have watched them for hours together, and have seen raft after raft ofthese little creatures go over in safe- ty, when, if they had attempted to get across singly, they would all have been s\}ept into the river.—Wilson's W'set¢rn

I166.

An OBSOLITI use or run Ktttrs.—In early times, Ingulphus informs us, convey- ances were made by mere word of mouth, without writing or charter, the grantor de- ivering to the grantee some movable which was l'nown as belonging to him, suclt as a sword, helmet, cup, spur, curry-comb, ring walking-staff, a co y of the Gospels, &c., &c. \\'illintn, Earl of VVarrcn, gave and confirmed to the church of St. Pancras, at Lewes, in the reign of Henry III., certain land-rent and tithe, of tvhiclt he gave seizin by the hair ofthe heads of hitnself and his brother. The hair of the parties was cut all‘ by the bishop of Winchester, before the high-altar. After granting, with the as- sent of his fair wife Isabel and his children, to the tnottks of St. Andrew’s, at Rochester, his lands in Sottthwark, callt-d Grimsctolt, ttt pet-pclunl ultns, on conditiott that they should keep an anniversary on the dentlts of their fatlters, and tn--tlters, and kindred —\Villiam, second I‘ittll of \\'nrrcn and Surrey, confirmed the grant by placing his I.na_'/i: on the altar of the clturelt of St An- drt-\v. The satnc potent earl granted to tho priory of St Mary Overy, giving to the cltnreh of.\'t. Mat-_v ot Sontltw.-trk, the tnanor of Kirceslicltl. by placing a knife on the altttr of the saitl church. The in-rtl.-hip cl l3t-oh was <_:ivt~n by Etlwutd the (‘onfcs.~‘ot- to the monks ot'St. l~ldmund, in Sutfolk, by falling [)l‘USil'£‘ilt' before, and ti.\'ing over, the ltiglt-ttltar of St. Iidtnund tr stnnll knife, wrapped up, iii the pI'es(-ttct: ofhis chiefno- ?)l!ll:._ \\’illi:nt llnftzs -_-tnntted to the ab- bot of 'l‘.tvi=t--tzlt, itt 1006, the manor of \V:tt-rington, by an ivory knifc, which knife was laid up in a shrine at that abbey, and had inscribt-d on its hrtft words signify- i"g that donation. Hugh Lttptts, Earl of (Yhcstt-r, also gave his estate itt bcipnnn to the lll}llt'_Y of Abingdon, bv placing with his own hands a knife on the altar. Tlte knives used for this purpose were, in all probabi- lity, the same wlttch the parties had incont- mon usc. Every man then carried such an instrument along with him, agreeably to what Chaucer has told us in his reve’s tale-

A Shellield tltwitel bore he in his boss.

Lambard, in tnentioning the grant of Albe- ric de Vere ofthe donation of Hatﬁeld, des- cribes the knife with which it was effected as a ‘short black-halted knife, like unto an olde halfpeny whitle;’ adding, ‘and such others of which happily I have seen some and heard of nice.’ At the meetin of the Archaaological Institute at Cambri gc, the Master and Fellows ofTrinity Colle e ex- hibited a broken knife of great antiquity, having a hall of dark-brown horn, attached by a cord of crimson silk (not ancient) to a strip of parchment with a Latin inscription. u on it. ‘ The archment is not a grant,’ says Mr. Albert ey, ‘ and the knife can- not be rcgarded as in place of a seal. I consider that the existing parchment is Q

merely rtnetnorandutn to record that it tltt-. veritable kirife. In all likelihood, there . never was any written grant; and thekqlfl was the token of conveyance.’ V ‘ '_‘

: r1,

GREAT Fines in run Mtctttoatt Swntrs. We ll('lll‘ very distressing accounts ofsnﬁ fering itt Michigan, itt consequence of the dense smoke from the marsh and bog ﬁres. , In the vicinity of Battle Creek it is said that consumptive persons have died in spasms, cattle have lteen suffocated, and , poultry dropped dead. Thousands ofacree have been burnt over,and immense damage has been caused to property.

D. Copeland, of Lansing, writes to his father in this city:

“It cotntnenced smoking last Monday, and on Thursday the wind went down, and there was’nt a breath of air stirring. The smoke settled to the grotind and became altnost suffocating Thursday, alter 40’ clock, you could’nt see even the path uttder your feet. About 3 o’cloclr, I start- ed to go to the saw-mill, about one quar- ter ofa mile, and coming back I got lost twice, and over a road I know as well as you do to go to G 's. I passed the boarding-house within ten feet of it, and went to the end of the road, about ten rode and knew not where I was, until I heard the boys laugh in the house. One of our race started from his house to get a pail of water at our well, (the only one near.) a distance ofabout 60 rods, and a straight road, (there are no fences in this coun- try,) he made a perfect circle and got home without the water. The stage on the plank road came in with a men to each leader; another a-head with a lantern, ran offthe plank and tipped over twice at that. About ten o'clock, a man was heard ballo- iog ; one of ottr men went out and ans- wered bim, and there came up two men and two women, and wanted to know where they were. They had been to I neighbour’: to spend the evening, but could’nt find their way back. One riding horseback, the horse stopped, the man got offend found he ltad run against a log ; felt around for the road, found it but could’nt find his horse again until Saturday, when the smoke begun to clear away, and found

itn just where he left ltitn, To-day is the first that we cottld see any distance. The woods are on fire all around, and I hear that the big marsh, about 9,000 acres, is all httrnt up. One man lost I00, tons of hay. \\’e have llV('(I through it, but it did scctn, as ifwe could’nt breathe sometimes.” —RucItcaler .Dt’m0(.‘H1f.

A San: Dts'rstvce.—A facetious Irish barrister, who neither acknowledged ttor tcpudiated the code of honour, sent some ofbis witty shafts so truly ltomc to ano- therbraggadocin brotlter chip of the real ' Cockney school, that u ('lltlll.'l);1e was the resttlt. It was accoptt-tl, and ‘the parties retired to a cotnmon near London to set- tle the matter with the pistols. There happened to be a mile-stone standing on the spot selected, nail the Cocknev, who was lame, asked the Irishman if he would permit ltim, on account of his lameness to rest on tho tnilc-stone while he ﬁred. “ Most unquestionably,” was the reply. The ground was tneasured up to the mile- stone, and the pistols were being loaded, and the Cockney was taking up his position when the Irishman in, the most bland and polite manner imaginable, asked his antag- ottesl if he would not grant him one re-

uest. “ Certainly, what is it ?” “Just that you will have the kindness to allow me to rest upon the other tnile-stone while we are ﬁring at each other.” This disc

, ' huge ofgenutne humour put an end to the duel an they returned good friends.

The " Westtnorland Titties” says:...

A few Sabbaths ago, a party of French. men went out shooting somewhere in the neighborhood of Shediae, towards Point De Clients, and after amusing themselveg for a while, they came in the vicinity of some Ittdittn Camps, when the Indie" came out so stone, and took their fire-qr-mg from t em, refusing to give them back’ un. til the ‘renchmen took their cattle, t y, on the Book, that they would not age

,nnsgms in a similar manner.