Year: 1865

The London Times gives an encouraging
account Of the progress of the new Allan
tic Telegraph cable. On the 10Th OF Jan
uary the work of shipment on board the
Great Eastern was begun. The cable is
transferred from the works at Greenwich to
! the hulk Iris, for transference to the Med
way, and final stowage in the tanks OF the
Great Eastern The shipment will continue
without intermission now until nearly the
end of May, by which time it is hoped all
will be coiled away snugly on board the
great steamship. The total quantity of
rope required to connect Valentia with
Bulls Bay Newfoundland allowing for the
"slack" which must run out to prevent too
great strain on the cable, is about two
thousand three hundred nautical, or nearly
two thousand seven hundred statute, miles,
With this length liberal margin is given
of nearly six hundred statute miles of rope
for slack caused by currents possible rough
weather, and the avoidance of anything
| like unusual strain on the cable in the deep
| est water.


! Over one part of the route the depth is
as great as from two thousand to two thou
sand five hundred fathoms, or nearly three
/ statute miles-a depth, however, which is
| only considered ofmOment in case Of rough
weather i'll paying out, the mere strength
| Of the cable being sufficient to bear its own
weight in eleven miles of still water. In
this respect, as, indeed, i'll all others (the
/ Times adds), the new cable has all enor-
nous superiority over the old and ill-used
rope which was first laid, and which, to the
amazemcnt of all those who knew it's real
condition, nevertheless remained in fair
working order for few days If such un-
expected results were obtained from the old
cable, which the advancement of electrical
science since then shows to have baen
| thoroughly ill-adapted for its purpose, it is
not over sanguine 10 expect far more ia
vorablc conclusion to the present enterprise,
every step in the conduct of which has
! been marked with the most jealous care, not
only to guard against the dangers known
! to exist, but against other emergencies
which experience shows may arise, but
which five years ago were unknown. In
| size, III strength, in better condition, better
| insulation and better outer covering, the
new rope is nevertheless than three times as
| good as the old one, while in many cases,
and these the most important, its superior
! ity is four or five times greater. Though
much larger cable, its weight i'll water per
mile is less than half that of its unfortunate
! predecessor.


No final arrangements have yet been
made as to the rules to be followed in lay
| ing the cable, but it will, of course, be COM
menced from this side of the Atlantic and
! carried across to Newfoundland, to get the
benefit of the westerly winds which gener-
ally blow in summer Steaming against
| ha 10 lyy
as a rock The rate of steaming across
will never exceed seven knots an hour, and
at this rate the great object of the expedi-
tion ought to be accomplished in from ten
to eleven days. All will, however depend
on fine weather, which, tickle enough eve
rywhcre, is trebly SO in the North Atlantic,
as the terrific gale encountered by the last
expedition sufficiently proved. Against
this misfortune, however, no care or skill
on the part of the company can guard and
at present this seems the only cloud over
! the prospects of the new Atlantic telegraph.
| CALIFORNIA ANTs.-That enemy of the
boarded sweets of the California house
kheper, the ant, is beyond counting in his
annoyances this year. In the warmer dis
tricts of the state nothing eatable can be
stored without attracting myriads of them,
and the destruction they cause is really an
important item They have never within
the memory of the oldest settlers been so
numerous in the lower levels of the Sacra-
mcnto and San Joaquin as in 1864, and in
the mines, residents inform us, they invade
in armies every pantry, kitchen and closet.
If piece of meat, cheese, sugar, bread, or
what not, is laid down, in half an hour it
will be completely covered over with these
dcvouring little wretches, and burrowed,
tunncllcd and perforated with marvellous
expedition. The miners say they are lay
ing up an early stock of comestibles to pass
a long and heavy winter. In the vineyards
and gardens, as the fruit ripens, the ants
spoil what the rascally birds and squirrels
leave, and figs and soft fruit are their spe-
cial delight. The ripening grapes around
Los Angeles are great attraction to them
and the vineyard men run III distraction
over their raids, and it is likely they will
spoil the making of much good brandy, as
each of their wretched little bodies contains
a concentrated quantity of peculiar acid
sour as vinegar. Here indeed is new
and strange plague, and there is not only
the common little go-to-the ant-thou-slug-



crs, some with wings and some without
One of these, twice as big as flea, bites
like a fish-hoek, while another of his fel-
lows, of blood color stings as he bites,
rousing up the babies and kittens to terri
bic concert of squalls and tears in the quiet
hours of the night,


FRAUD DETECrED-Peter the Great, while
in Poland, visited a statute of the Virgin,
which was said often to shed tears during
the mass. He saw that the fact was, APP
parently, just as had been described but,
while his companions seemed struck with
conviction, he ruminated on the means of
discovering the cause, which he well knew
was not supernatural. The statute being
placed high and close to the altar, so that
no one could reach it from the ground. he
took up ladder which happened to be
near, and mounting it, very closely exam
ined it from head to foot His curiosity