The Swansea Gazette and Daily Shipping Register

m Swansea Gazef JtMd I Bails) Shippina Rea'st.; Swansea, December 21, 1910.

WEEKLY TRADE REPORT. Officially Communicated. The weather experienced during the week was serious, and its affect on the trade of the port was also so. The decrease in the total imports and exports compared with the corre- sponding week last year being 41,000 tons. The import trade, in the early part of the week was satisfactory, and there was a heavy shipment of tinplates, and an improvement in the ship- ments of patenf fuel. The coal trade was, how- ever, dull. The shipments oi coaland patent fuel were 62687, tons. Imports included—Russia 2.046 loads timber; Sweden 220 tons general Holland & Beigium 3090 tons general and 600 tons tinplate bars; Germany 330 tons general; France 2,395 tons pitwood eand 125 tons general; West Coast South America 800 tons copper ore. Imports 16,056 tons exports 73 102 tons, and total trade 89.158tons, compared with 112.331 tons the previous week, and 130,616 tons the corresponding week last year. Shipments of coal were-Russia 430 tons Norway 1250tons; Sweden 3,130 tons Ger- many 1320 tons Holland and Belgium 3735 tons France 25,580 tons; Spain 2.340 tons Portugal 520 tons Italy :10,320 tons Home pors 3,892 tons total 52,417 tons. Patent fuel—France 6,710 tons. SpaiD 1060. Italy 200, tons total 10,270 tona Tinplates and general goods-10,415 tons, the latter were forRussia, Norway, Germany, Hol- land fand Belgium, France, Poitugal, Italy, Brazil and Home Ports. Shipments of tinplate 102.204 boxes, and receipts from works 79.064 boxes. Stocks in the dock, warehouses and vans 170,006 boxes, compared with 193.146 boxes this day week and 104,549 boxes at this date last year. Vessels to load—Collingwood for Antwerp. Jnno for Amsterdam, Dana for Stavanger, Bus- saro for Portugal Kndymion for Nantes: Bres- cia for Mediteiranaan, Bussouis for Alexandria, New York City for NewYork, Sorata for Rio de Janeiro, Queen Elizabeth for New York. and Bngola for Amazon River. Vessels in dock-Steam 44: sail 55 total 99

FOREIGN ARRIVALS. Zeta s arrived Vence 14 Elise Podeus s arrived Hamburg 12 City of Qporto s arrived Cuxhaven 13 Ragusa s arrived St Nazaire 12 Otkmere s arrived Catania Usk s arrived Nice -1 Echo s arrived Stettin 15 Hams Glide s arrived Capenhagen 14 City of Cork s arrived Nieuwe Waterwig 16 Olivine s arrived Legue 12 Dansborg s arrived Leghorn 13 Popear Branch s arrived Arica 14 ciiiar 14 Riga s arrived Wicmar 14 Heledomos s arrived Cuxliaveu 14 Dana » arrived Rouen 14 Stokestcy s arrived Rouen 14 Auu s arrived Nantes 13 Szterenyi s arrived Venice 16

Casualties ♦ During the heavy gale on Friday last the Steamer Beeswing broke adrift, fall- ing on Steamer Apollo. Considerable damage. The Steamer Halnis also broke adrift,- tailing on the French Steamer Renee Marthe, causing latter to damage the Steamer Iron Duke, and the Iron Duke damaging Jetty. The steameas advance, when shifting damaged three plates. The steamer "Ada put in with damage to rudder,*

SCIENCE NOTES D GLEANINGS. PROFESSOR PICK USING thinks the "canals" of Mars, and similar marks observed on the moon, are lines of volcanic action, where the crust has been fractured, and where vegetation is developed. The deepest sounding ever made by any vessal was by the United States ship Nero while on the Honolulu-Manila cable survey, with apparatus bor- rowed from the Albatross. When near Guam, the Nero got 5,269 fathoms, only 66ft. less than six miles. To make rubber tubes gas-tight, coat them with A mixture prepared by dissolving five parts of gum arabic and throe parts of moiasset- in fifteen parts of white wine, and adding, with const-ant- stirring, •ix parts of alcohol in small quantities. Stirring is necessary to prevent the alcohol precipitating the gum arabic.

ROTATIONS OF MARS .i!ND VENUS. Lowell, the American astronomer, has communI- eated the rmilt* of his spectrographic observation! nn the rotations of the planets Venus and M*,r\ They *eno to disprove the estimate of twenty-four hours for th* rouaion of Venus round her axis, aiJ confirm th; 1, f 225 days as given Ly Sehiaparellk They also coninm the estimate of twenty-four GI It 'or the rotation of Mars.

UNCRACKABLE GLASS. tflaae that can be heated white hot and then plunged into cold water without breaking seamt Mt impossibility, but it has now been made an ici-OiTiplisbed iact. It is made from Brazilian quarts pebbles heated red hot and then thrown into distilled water. Then the purest pieces are selected and welded with the oxyhydrogen blowpipe into long stems like straws, from which glass vessels of any shape can be made. Thus far this quartz glasa has been employed chiefly for making laboratory ippara.-us. A test tube in this way wiii %t. break wbl).J;1 a white-hot coal iq dropped iuto it.

A PERFECT LEMON JELLY. For the exquisite flavour of Ripe Lemons there are no Table J ellies to equal Eiffel Tower Lemon I Jellies. Beautifully clear and they always set.-

X'IBH WHICh ?• l*T\ t't8B, Fish, IH1 a. rule are not supp<s.*ed » be gMKSi admirers of Seisin#. With them it is generally » matte? being 4* the wrong .rmd "f the lie*. Sut there are srme curiav'ss-looking Reh wide. 00 a great deal 01 Irving themselves. They ba- Long to the silurus i,,)d their d::iinguia&» ffltg features are the tent auk* appendages of the mouth. For a long time, says Science Siftitigt, this precise object of these tentacles was not wn ierstood There did Lot seem to be NO possible use for thAm. Close observation, ho we- aver, in a tank with numerous other small m «fe«w the sly silurus ising th*ur tentacles as d»- soyri, like the fin ra> s of the fishing frog, to entice unwary little fish within reach of the SJOuth. The long silvery tentacles were wave^f to and fro until some unwise little fieh would approach, either fascinated by th? display on oonsumed by curiosity. When the little fish got dose enough there was a wild rush, a gobole and it was all over. The silurus also usee ifi Ontacles as hands. 'it-* 6sh has been seen to approach some object lJ, the water, and then, in- ttead of getting any closer, it would project the points of its tentacles to the object and feel it wry gingerly, as if sartsfying nself that them was no d&nger before making any olosef ac- quaintance. ————*

THE QUAKER AND HIS WATOn. file following quaint lottor was addressed fef « Doncaster Quaker to his watchmaker a hundred years ago; Friend John,—Oncc moo I send my qttk* aeous watch which requires thy friendW can and correction. The last time he was at thy school he was by no ir-oans benefited by thy in. struction, as I fino by the index of his tongue he is a liar, a,-ii his rnoveitiecci. are watering and unsettled. This m't ke-> me tlaizik he is not right in the inner man. 1 mean the mainspring. leach lum to speak the ,n>th a.nd the equa- tion table, and when thou finds hjrn conformable to these, send him hon.e -ith a bill in modern tion, which will assured!v paid by t-hv trum friend,—OBADIAH PRIKCE. -)

PROVE.tHa ABOUT WOMEN. The Germans say: "Listen to a woman s firsi opinion, but not her second." This pi Y* embodies the world-old theory that a wn„B'r "atuition is better than her reason. trhe French say: A ??? ie. a perpetual too, ?;ent," and A fan of straw is worth a. vvomais ,f gold." The absurd French cynicism, French distrust of womankind, is as wel' r-jv fcrayed in those two proverbs aa in one ot Gtvtj de Maupassant's storiea. The Spanish love their women, but in a light Kid jesting way. Thus their Droverbs sport of her. JFO? instance: Women, wind and fortune are changeable." "If you lla. va an.- Shing to proclaim in the open market you neeti only whisper it to a woman." ",be on your guard against a bad woman and never trust a good one." "There is only one bad vcife, biz ivory husSanu thinks he is got hfec." Bitter and contemptuo is the Italian's idea of woman. They say in t-aly as they euck des- perately on their miserably-made Government tagars: "He who loses his wife It)\J a brasa fsrthing has only lost the latter." The Chinese objection to women is that ehs islks too much. A woman's tongue is hei word, and she never permits it to rust." The American proverbs are kinder- "Women ean keep a secret, but it takes a lot or them to d* ?. ana "Women paint to hide their blushes,* ""w" ■'■■■ ■ HH 1.

JAPANESE LAOQCER TREE. Japanese lacquer ie. a very curious substance. A 8rllple tree sap, like maple sap, it is, yet when applied to wood or metal quite indestructible A coat of lacquer is proof against alcohol ♦gainst boiling water, against almost all known agencies. The lacquer tree of Japan is very large,. It is always cut down at tnti age of forty years, fiB thereafter it begins to dry up. Eacs tee yields on its demolition about six ba.rrels 01 latXluer sap. The Japanese are very careful Mf let foreigners into the secrets of lacquerint;t, • P

QUEER MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, Asaoog the queer instruments in the Metw polstan Museum of Art, New York a.re a earn violin and a }-n& auto. The former is a peculiat. barrow instrument of small size, but perfect in every detail, made in imitation of a walking- $i!ok and furnished with an ornamental knolll j<andle. The strings are held by small iron pin3t¡ Mid are tuned by a kev. When not in use a «na" »pw slips within ilie stick, and a roua# wver, held by metaj. yands, conteals the clevcf Ws instrument. The length of the violin » ri n*' I*8 greatest width is IJin. It Uermaa conceit, and dates from the nineteenth century. Like the cane violin the cane flute jtc also of German make, but it dates from early m the eighteenth century. The flute is in C, and is fflade of light wood, ornamented with turned feands of the same colour and finished wi-i*s R knob. The lower joint is solid. It has six Safe*- holes and one flat brasa kev. Th«5 irjfttrwnwnt a blown at the side- like the trans MS sXAelhin/ feiusidwf.