The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-03-13 00:00:00

THE RACooN, says Lawson, the surveyor-general of
North Carolina, is the drunkenest creature living; if he
can get any liquor that is sweet and strong. When
wild, racoons are very subtle in catching their prey.
Those that live in the salt water feed much on oysters,
which they love. They watch the oyster when it opens,
and nimbly put in their paw and pluck out the fish.
Soinetimes the oyster shuts and hold fast their paw
till the tide comes in, so, that they are drowned,
though they swim very well. The way that the animal
catches crabs,, which he greatly admires, and which are
plentiful in Carolina, is worthy of. ,remark. When he
intends to: make ,a prey of this fish, he goes to a marsh,
where, standing on the land, he lets his tail hang in the
water. This the crab takes for a bait, and fastens his
claws therein, which, as soon as the racoon perceives,
he on a sudden springs forwaid a considerable way on
the land, and brings the crab along with him. 'As soon
as the fish finds himself out of his element, he prespntly
lets go his hold? and then the racoon 6*i:inters tlinq by
getting him crosswise in his month, and devonrs
There is a sort of small land crab which we call. a
Fiddler, that runs into a hole when anything pursues,
him. This crab the racoon takes by putting his fore
foot in the hole, and pulling him out. With a tame
racoon this sport is very diverting.---Cassell's Popular
Natural History.

PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE OF ALEXANDER. `'ON
HUMBOLDT.—BERLIN, March 6.--The' great literary
novelty or the day is a think octavo voluni9 of ‘, Letters
from Alexander von Humboldt tot Yarrnh4gen yon Ense,"
pnlii4hed 14.• Brockhap, of TAipsig, and ,edited by
a Aliss Ludmill4, Asiiing, of .thiS.oty,,,,a, :mece,of Varn-
hagenis,
,amrongat whose , papers (he died in October,
1858,) these letters were totind. Anything written
by the great Humboldt is sure to attract general
attention ; but 'in this case public curiosity WAS morethan usually excited ' when .it transpired WO the
eirenlatien of the work wasprohibited in the Prussiandomin'im, and all copies found had been seized by file
police. The reasen assigned for. this severitytiviNiLtng
thO . letters contain many satirical things
of Prussia, General von Gerlach, and the
numerous i remarks
1 of the Kreweitung
_party, with nMr_pierists in
an the heroes
I tending to throw ridicule on the , is_ciiiise
sent
PrUssia. It speaks well for the goVriivewg,ent that
straightforward impartiality of tee -v.t.atlle, was made
as soon as the ohne)iiegs iPle'iit 8,11 or e 1 the Pre'
lmown to biM, he iipmedla.t4i)dtv4 the prohibition and
Sident of the police t'cl vfel;usal of the work. It was at
p erniit the free sale an.... p
im.47l:ictOerrre,osr-
impression that these letters were of a
rapid skimming of the work is
first the general
but a
Scientific nature,
LiedTebi9thefgrCthyit'thtell enough to refuten evtlpiratinidtee
ponellefrir publication.' ,It is ' reported t'hit ' the
rPd6geY: received fioin the firm" Messrs. Br kb
4, . 0
C 4
lis
• •cr three thousand. dollars for the orioi i'
;,,,f •T.,eip4T
and _ ../it - has.been Kith;
raaniisArip s tile copy ri, . • .'here
out doubt a great want of judgment ai4d discretionsome:
where to allow of the' publication of 250 private letterS'
and notes extending. over a period of thirty years, and..
commenting in the free,t and most unconstrained. man ner on passing events and private coirvers;ttiong w*ltl
illustrion s and dfs: inguished personages. rt has
14e
' '' 1
reMarkeil here flu,t iti Engla_ndr, where the liberty oftl'eric'
press is' as well or' better understood and respected 'in
any ..other country of the' world, 1306. an -las'
would be very unlikely to oecor, aid allusio4.llag heal
made to the analogous case of Lord. Byron; who left all. his papers and private correspondence as a legacy to his friend, Thomas Moore, who had the tact to suppress the
greater part of i-.