The Sun.
London, England, 1870-12-27 00:00:00

SEASONABLE INFORMATION.

We find in the columns of a Manx contemporary
a remarkable contribution, and one which, moreover,
reveals the philosophical character of the editor of
the journal to a large extent. This gentleman, it
would seem, being aware that Christmas is to the
majority of the general public "a time of
wholesale feeding," resolved on having an
inquiry instituted as to the supply of food
obtainable in the capital of the Isle of Man. The con-
sequence is that Saturday's copy of the Mona Herald
contains a descriptive account of all the meats, fruits,
and baked food, ready for purchase in the different
establishments of the town of Douglas. At one
house in Duke-street, we are told with a pleasing
complacency, there were three "splendid" pigs
"home fed," At a Mr. Twigg's premises there was
a huge heifer the kidney alone of which measured
4 seventeen inches in length." When the reporter was
asked to measure as well as to describe the joints in
the butcher's shops, we may see the care and anxiety
of the editor of Mona Herald for the wel-
fare of his subscribers. In some cases the history of
the stock supplied to the. meat market is given, we
presume, as a guarantee of its nutritive qualities.
We are told, for example, that at one shop "thirteen
mountain wethers," fed by Mr. Chague, two fine
pigs, fed by Mr. Ward ; a prime calf, fed by Mr. T,
Moore ; "together with fifty-two turkeys and forty-
nine geese," were prepared to tempt the purchasers
of Christmas dinners.
THE MONT OEMs TUNNEL.

The greatest engineering feat ever attempted i❑
respect to the boring of tunnels has been accom-
plished in the completion of the Sub-Alpine Tunnel,
connecting Savoy and Piedmont. The work has
been in progress since 1857, and at that period it was
truly estimated that the whole passage under the
snowy Alps would be finished in the present
year. There has been a railway in existence
for ascending the Alps since 1865. By means of an
invention of Mr. Fell, a climbing locomotive and
two carriages were enabled to reach a height of 6,700
feet over a very steep gradient. This railway was
only designed to carry passengers until the
boring of the tunnel was concluded, and it will
now of course be demolished. The unlertalting
of the Mont Cenis tutnel is entirely Italian work.
The gifted race who of late years were thought in-
capable of any solid achievement, alone and unaided
have carried it out. The result of many years' perse-
verance and toil is proof to the world that Italy may
still be distinguished for high scientific genius, and
that she has not been blind to the fact that to throw open
every facility for rapid intercourse with other
nations, notwithstanding the most difficult of impe-
diments, affords the best means of securing the
advantages of civilisation and peace. Through the
agincy of the tunnel the railway journey between
France and Italy can be now made without a
break.

LETTERS FOR ITALY.—POSTAL NOTICE.—On the
Ist of January next, and thenceforward, the weight
allinved for a single letter, addressed to any place in Italy,
will be increased from a quarter of an ounce to half an
ounce ; letters above that weight being charged with an
additional rate of postage for each half-ounce, or fraction
of half an ounce. In exception to the above rule, the
weight allowed for a single letter, addressed to the Island
of Sicily, specially marked to be forwarded by French
packet, rid Marseilles, will be one-third of an ounce only,
and the scale for charging heavier letters, so addressed,
will advance by steps of a third of an ounce. In either
case no alteration will be made in the rates of postage in
consequence of the augmentation of weight, the single rate
of postage remaining sixpence.

xril„
4
Tun (undo: