Scotchmen can no longer say that Otago is the home of the thistle. The Lyttelton Times says : Showers of thistle down, resembling a snowstorm, were seen at Christchurch one day last week, during the prevalence of a high wind. An Auckland correspondent says that an English company have started a flax mill upon an extensive scale at the Northern Wairoa, on theKaipara estuary, and have leased 45,000 of land from the native owners for this purpose. The yak, a singular animal 0 f the bovine family, whose habitat is the moun tain regions of Thibet, has lately been subjected to a series of experiments in France, for the purpose of ascertaining whether its propagation can be made pro fitable. Some years since the French Consul General of Shanghai brought homo a flock of 3 T aks, which were placed under the charge of the Societe d’Acclimation, which at its last silting offered several prizes for rearing and training this animal. The yak combines some of the character istics of several domestic animals. It resembles the ox, but has a bushy tail like the horse; its hair curls like some kinds of wool, and it indulges in a pecu liar grunt which might easily be mis taken for that of a pig. The wandering tribes of Tartars hold the yak of high value, because it is a sure footed beast of burden, and the fpmale yields a rich milk, the butter from which has become quite an article of merchandise. The hair is made into ropes and cloth, and its skin is converted into clothing. The bushy tail is extensively used in India as a brush. Its horns curve outward from the occi pital ridge, and are sometimes as white as ivory. The meat of the yak has a flavor somewhat resembling that of venison, which is not diminished by domestication and acclimatisation. The wild yak of Thibet is found near the snow line of the mountains, and it is not improbable that this animal would be found useful if in troduced into the mountain regions of other countries. The domestic animal is generally about four feet high and seven feet long.
