Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1884-04-25
FAMOUS BOTANY BAY.
Australian "Larrikins".. What Mon.
cure ID. Conway Writes About
ISydney (Australia) Letter

soon loses any illusion about that
famous bay. There never was q con-
vict there. Convicts used to be "ad-
dressed" SO they say, at London, for
BOTANY bay, but none were landed
there. The convict colony was in
Sydney. One of the theories about
"larrikins" is that they are descendants
of the convicts, and the theory would
be practically complete if their orgies
should haunt the spot where their fore
fathers and foremothers labored with
out reward, even as London Free
thinkers used to preach at Smithfield,
where their predecessors were burnt.
But Botany bay, as q penal establish
ment, having proved a myth, am becom-
ing skeptical about the "larrikin" him.
self. He must be q curious creature.
You hear him and her spoken of as the
pest Of society-rude, reckless, icen-
tious, aggressive, dangerous-yety you are
likely to stay here long time without
seeing one. l have been in the colo
nial cities more than two months and
still have to take the existence of the
"lsrrikin" on trust. They say that
crowds of them, between IL and 20
years of age. 60 about the streets at
night and whenever they meet q re-
spectacle man or woman fly at them,
beat them, trample them, sometimes
kill them. But whenever that is said,
some skeptical citizen whispers that you
must not believe all you hear. It is said
the "larrikin" makes enough money in
three days in the week to live riotously
during the other four.
The streets of Sydney appear to me
orderly night and day. The pit and
gallery Of the theatres are apparently
occupied by good-natured crowds and,
on the whole, I cannot help still sus.
pecting that there is good deal of
mythology investing this convention
allied "Iarrikin." However, I shall keep
sharp lookout for him. Thus far
what l have heard of "larrikins' would
lead me to suppose that some of them
are employed on the particularly pious
press Of the colonies which does not
hesitate to knock down and trample
on anybody not of their opinions.
Such violence and vituperation in
print were inconceivable to me until I
came to these colonies. My own repu-
tation of not being sound in the faith
brought upon me q serious experience
of holy larrikinism. I was giving
very innocent lecture on London in
Protestant hall, Sydney, to good audi
ence, in which were the premier and
other ministers and eminent citizens,
when some pious people sang loud
Salvation Army hymns about the doors
and windows, and in an adjacent room
balls were rolled. was told it was to
drown my voice. The device, if it were
such, did not succeed; but it gave me q
vivid impression of the spirit that may
work in . colony distant from the CEN
ters of civilization and give rise to the
phenomenal incivihty called "larrik-
inism."
How Cork II Gathered.
[Chicago Herald.]
The cork tree belongs to the class OF
oaks, and there are two trees, quercus
suber and quercus occidentalis, that
from time to time shed their bark OF
outer coating. This coating is the cork
Of the trade, but the bark shed by ma.
ture is not marketable. because it does
not contain any sap, which is necessary
to retain the elasticity. Cork for in.
dustrial purposes is gained by peeling.
After tree is three years old the peel.
ing may commence, but cork of that
age is Of inferior quality, and the peel
ing would kill the tree. Trees OF
twenty years give cork of fair quail
ity, and the quality increases until the
tree has gained the respectable age of
100 or $50 years, when the bark be.
comes hard aud mwieldy. The circu-
lar incisions are made around the
trunk Of the tree eand connected by per-
pendicular cuts. allowing the two half
circles to be removed. Care must be
taken not to disturb the fiber or inner
bark, which keeps the tree alive.
This peeling process can be repeated
on the same tree at intervals of from
eight to ten years, yielding cork plates
from one to four inches in thickness.
The half-round cork pieces are pressed
into plates while still moist from the
tree; then the rough costings are re-.
moved and the plates are immersed in
boiling water for several minutes and
pressed again. After that they are
piled into bundles, fastened by iron
hoops, and are ready for the market. The
raw material will sell from to 70 cents
per pound, according to quality and
thickness, and is not subject to any i'm
port duty. The full-grown cork tree
reaches q height of seventy feet and
q diameter Of five feet 1t grows in the
almost impenetrable forests of Spain,
the southeastern part of France and
Algiers and Senegambia in Africa. The
quality of the cork depends very much
on the 'ay of the land, that exposed to
the greatest heat being the finest.
Each tree yields cork of two different
dimensions, the bark on the northern
side of tree being the thinnest.
Experiments have been made to cul-
tivate the cork oak in Florida and Cali
fornia, but so far they have not resulted
in success. There is good prospect.
however, that cork of q marketable
quality may be obtained in the former
state as the oak plantations advance in
age.
Queer Little Oranges.
New York SUM-