The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1869-07-31
NOTES OF Til WEEK.

ON a heavy truck, from the Iron Works, through Merchant an,
Fort streets, To the Esplansde, where the Peie was lying As
the boiler weighs some nine tons, the process oil hauling !.
iy in the vessel, hut is made, as " e understand, OF much heaSi
been made at The Honolulu Works.
The above item from the Gazette affords a charac-
teristic Illustration of the way things are done here.
The workmanship of the boiler is evidently first rate,
and will bear comparison with any job of the kind
done at the best boiler works in other countries but
the " process of hauling it through the streets u ex-
hibits the stupidity of those who had the job in hand.
The foundry where the boiler was made lies within
n stones throw of wharyes to which the Peie might
have been brought and the boiler hoisted in, without
the labor and expense of hauling it through the
streets - a third of a mile by ropes and hand power,
when a few yokes of oxen, even on the round
about road, would have done it in a quarter the time
occupied. 1t is only another example of the old saw
that time and money are of no account, when Gov
eminent pays the bills.
CONCRETE SroNE.-The new government school
house, now being erected on the corner of Fort and
School streets, has concrete stone for its door and
window trimmings, which is made on the spot, out
of cement and sand. How durable it will be, re-
mains to be proven. The same kind of stones were
made for the Suez breakwater, but of enormous
dimensions, several tons in weight. We notice that
they are coming into use in England, and so far as
is known, give good satisfaction, as the following
item, from an English paper. shows:
CoNcRETE BRIDGEs-The new concrete structure recently
dington and Brompton, London. has been tested to ascertain
its tensile strength. The structure is an arch entirely of con-
ieet 6 inches deep al the crown, and has a uniform width of IL
feet. The materials and proportions employed were 9 OF
was placed rather upon thoroughly mixing the materials than
Running. In making the test, ITO tons in weight were equally
distributed over the surface, and a tram OF several freSnt-
cars, weighing so tons, passed over it. Under this weight
this favorable result will lead to the more extensive use of this
artificial mixture Us a building material.
A SINGULAR PHENoMENoN.-A few evenings since
a gentleman went into his bedroom, where a lamp
was burning ON the bureau, and noticed a large
number of what, at first, appeared to be mosquitoes
flying about. On looking around he found the
bureau literally covered with large Winged ants,
from one half to one inch in length, of a light red or
rather flesh color. He set to work to destroy them,
and killed over two hundred in ten minutes. They
exhibited none of the viciousness of the small red
ant, which will bite ferociously, but so far as was
noticed, were entirely harmless. On examining
where the insects came from, he found them crowd
ing through an aperture in the wall, evidently
driven in to seek shelter from the rain which was
then falling quite freely. The next day he found a
picket which exhibited the mischief done by these
ants, which are a new variety here, so far as we
know. The inside of the picket was entirely eaten
out, leaving a mere shell, which can be examined by
the curious ut our Office. 1t will be seen that great
damage may be done to houses by these winged ants,
wherever they obtain a Judgement.
death OF A NATIVE ORAToR.-On Tuesday of
last week Rev p. Kapohaku, pastor of a small church
at Kalihi, and formerly a missionary at the Marquee
n 1ial from ;n,nriaS raoaiyoI rom hainn GnnnGa1
down by a vehicle. He was crossing one of our
streets a few weeks since, when he was struck in the
chest by the thill of a buggy or carriage driven at a
furious rate by a foreigner. Perhaps the latter was
not wholly to blame, as Mr.. Kapohaku was blind
and unable to see which way to escape danger. The
wound he received resulted, however, in his death.
He was one of the most eloquent native speakers we
have ever heard, and had the gift of entertaining
his hearers as very few preachers here can. Thus
the hcarse, which daily passes through our streets
once, twice or oftener each days bearing to their
long rest. the good and useful as well as the less no
table of the people. -
II We have " had the privilege of receiving
the following communication from " that pen ="
One of the nobility called to-day to inquire into
the merits of the served pen-handle noticed in
the Gaseie, as he wished to secure the benefits of it
for his hard-worked private secretary. He was in
formed that the principal object of the service is
to enable : the pen to maintain a worthy indepen-
dence, without the usual shifts resorted to by the
unified for neutrality-suspicious. class of persons who
on the public treasury. He was further informed
of the true reason for the employment of the india
rubber coating, which the itemizer for the Gazette
may also learn if he will see > the pen in q legiti-
mate way" -
- Tho reporfer for the official MINER IL would
seem from the following, either writes too late in the
day, or does not revise his manuscripts and proofs.
In his report of the Dukes visit, he says L" His
himself was also present, as were their
Queen Kalama and Queen Emma With
nil due respect for the parties referred to, we would
like to ask the writer of the above sentence, if he
intended to convey the idea to the outside world that
His Majesty was accompanied with His two Queens?
We protest against the publication of such a state
ment, even though in the official organ, as grossly
libelous. People here may understand it, but abroad
the language conveys q double meaning.
STEAM PLows I'm the proceedings of the New
York Agricultural Society, it is stated that there are
three thousand steam plows in use in Great
Britain on the Fowler plan, and four hundred in
Egypt, on the level plains near the Nile. Each of
these plows ~cultivates 100 acres of land. Our farmers
will see from this what changes are taking place in
The mode of farming which was ~practiced when they
left the old country, twenty or thirty years since.
HoMEwARD ~BoUNp.-Don't forget the old folks at
home, when the mail leaves next week, but send
hem generous files of the ADVERTISER, with all the
news about the Duke and other interesting
events. Papers as well as letters are now delivered in
San Francisco, twelve days from Honolulu in New
York in twenty days. and il London inside of thirty
days. Our papers are more interesting to home
than 'st'ers-at least t1sS'ei us So
July 31sr.-This once notable holiday, which for
merly enlisted the combined efforts of all classes to
it fame and renown, has now fallen into disuse
and it is doubtful whether even one flag
will be hoisted to memorize the day. 1t seems to be
the general desire to forget the day and the events
which gave it notoriety.
A BEAUTIFUL PREsENT-Capt. VIM. Babcock, of