A Good Colonist. — An "Old Soldier" writes to the Southern Cross as follows :—": — " Ye see 1 was just a Glasgow chappie, and in cbe year 1812 I enlisted in the92nd Gordon Highlanders ; faiih fully served their Majesties George 111. and IV., William IV., and her most gracious Majesty Queen Victoria, God bless her ; was discharged in 1840 on a small pension ; joined the local force in Scotland ; and iv 1847 volunteered uny services in the New Zealand Fencibles, and was under arms daring th,p whole time of the last Maori war. On coming to Aucklaad, I brought my wife and four daughters, and one son born in New Zealand. My four eldest daughters are married to small farmers in tho district, and have born fifteen boys and thirteeu girls. Two boys and one girl died, and one of my own boys died $ so 'you will see, Mr. Editor, that my produce consists of twenty two females and fifteen males, or thirty-seven all told ; and I have three daughters still left to dis pose of iv holy wedlock. What I want to know is, is it likely that any Scandinavian, German, or Greek will beat this ? There are several families in Taranaki that can beat it, for they number from 90 to 150 children, grand children, and great grandchildren. - Decrease in the Supply of Wool. — Some additional light is thrown by the Bradford Ob. server upon the question of the supply of wool. There has daring the last four year 3 beon a steady decrease in the weight of clip in the United Kingdom. This decrease has amounted to no less than 14 per cent, in the course of thre e years. The figures have falleu from 165,549,000 !b. in 1868, to 144,985,000 lb. in 1871. In tl.e latter year there was a positive decrease in tie weight of individual fleeces, and although the aggregate of the clip has been gradually de creasing for the last three years, irrespective of de mand or price, there is as likely to be an increase as a decrease in the clip of the present year. The tendency has latoly been to compel the manu facturers to use fine colonial wool for the common kinds of British wool. 