COUNTRY NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIII, Issue 4480, 23 March 1876, Page 3

COUNTRY NEWS.

WAIPU. Dr. Dalton delivered a lecture on Monday week, in the Presbyterian Church! entitled " A'Trip np the Baltic." The attendance was good, especially considering that these lectures, which are in aid of the church debt, are following each other so rapidly. The Rev. Mr. Mcßae was in the chair, and a hearty vote of thanks was accorded. .Dr. Dalton for his amusing and interesting lecture. - - The Sunbeam, our local sailing vessel, has now been shut in the river for four weeks by easterly winds, to the detriment of settlers' produce. No wonder they are anxiously looking out for the promised road to the Heads. To-day the storekeepers and others are carting their eggs and other perishable produce over the sand-hills to meet the Argyle. Flour, sugar, and other necessaries are used up. Our Money Order and Post-office oavings Bank is in working order, and I have no doubt will betaken advantage of to a considerable extent. Our postmaster and tele-graph-operator, Mr. Jeffreys, is very attentive to his duties and particularly careful in the discharge of them. Some people consider that he adheres too strictly to the. regulations, but X consider him perfectly right, as there are so many of the same name in the district.

Xam sorry to say that a valuable ram, bought by Mr. Campbell, died immediately on being landed. It is supposed to have been injured previously to being shipped in Auckland. It is to be regretted that Mr. John Campbell's attempt to improve his sheep should, for a time at least, be frustrated. The Bcv. Mr. Wallace, from Wangarei, held Divine service on Sunday last in the Presbyterian Church in the* morning and afternoon. The attendance of the congregation was large. The rev. gentleman is very much esteemed by the residents in Waiupu. On Monday last the Rev. John Wallace, of Wangarei, delivered a lecture in • in aid of • the debt due by the Church Committee, subject, " Our Colonial Life," being the third of a series. The lecture .was listened attentively to throughout, and a vote of thanks was unanimously carried- to the lecturer. After a few remarks from the chairman (Mr. H. Rowlands), Mr. Wallace again addressed the audience, which was large, urging them to support the Literary Association, just started in Waipu. The sum of £3 18s was the result of the lecture, making £11 10s from the three lectures.

A public meeting of the ratepayers was held in the Upper District Schoolroom on Tuesday last, Mr. H. McKenzie in the chair, to take into consideration. the building of a teacher's house. . Notices are published calling for tenders.—(Correspondent.)

HASTINGS (TAPU).

Last night we had a concert and dance, in honor of St. Patrick. Miss Murray presided, with her usual-ability, at the harmonium, and opened the concert by singing 44 The Bells of Shannon." She also sang several other songs during the evening, and was loudly and deservedly applauded throughout. Miss Bowdeu made her debut on this occasion, aud sang " Toll the Bell," which was warmly received and encored. In the second part of the programme, she sang, "Maggie by my side," which was also encored? 0 To the surprise of many, Mifes Bowden's debut was a great success. "The male vocalists were Messrs. Murray, Cole, Johnson,: Thomas, and Canty, who .acquitted themselves creditably. The school children sang several songs, and displayed considerable improvement on former occasions. One of the greatest attractions of the evening was the recitations of Mr. Greaves. He gave Byron's " Waterloo, y and "The Downfall of Poland," in *a styie certainly never equalled at Tapu. An amusing scene took place after one of Mr. Cauty's comic songs. One of the audience evidently thought that without inconvenience to himself, he could raise his feet to the same elevation as his hands, and as a sign of approval, clap them simultaneously. To his surprise, however, he lost his balance, and rolled from liis seat to the floor, to the great amusement of the spectators. The concert terminated by singing the National Anthem ; after which, the hall was cleared for daucing. Pour bauds were in attendance, two of which were -stringed instruments, under the leadership of Professors Stephens and Laurie. Tlie other two bands were wind instruments, under the gubernation of Messrs. Thomas and Jones. Monsieur Corney's band was engaged at Howick, or it would also have been in attendance. Mr. Macfarlaue was M.C., the duties of which office were discharged with his usual success. Some forty or fifty couples joined in the merry of the dance, which was kept up till morning. - By to-day's post I learn that Mr. Macfarlane's tender for alterations and additions to the school-room lias been approved of and accepted by the Board of Education.—[Own Correspondent, March IS.]

THE SALMON OVA BY THE DURHAM.

The Eiiroptcui Mail has tlie following respecting the salmon ova by the Durham : — The good ship Durham takes out a large quantity of salmon ova for Melbourne and Otago, but it is only the initiated that know what a vast amount of care, trouble, anxiety, and expense is connected with this brief announcement. This shipment is made at the joint expense of Sir Samuel Wilson, of Melbourne, and the provisional Government of Otago. The building of the ice-house, and all the preliminaries, was intrusted to Mr. J, A. Youl; Mr. Frank Buckland and Mr. Youl having consented to pack the ova, each after his own method. The first thing to do was to obtain a vessel which would sail at a convenient season for taking the eggs from the salmon; the second, to erect an ice-house ; and the third, to obtain the eggs. All those conditions seemed to centre in the date fixed for the sailing of the Durham, i.e.j January 20, and thus it was determined to commence operations scncitfwi. The owners of the Durham were consulted, and readily gave their consent to do all they could to forward the success of the enterprise. Mr. Youl then proceeded to superintend the erection of an ice-house as near the hatchway of the after-hold of the Durham as possible. Day after day he braved the frost and snow to watch its progress, aud to give instructions as to details—for such is the delicate nature of the ova, that the non-observance of the minutest detail would be fatal to their existence. They must have air, and they must be free from decomposing matter of every kind. Thus, in order to carry off the water from the ice, it was necessary to insert a pipeat the bottom of the tank; and as this pipe might attract the rats, Mr. Youl hit upon the happy expedient of surmountiug it with a rose like to that at the end of a watering can. This precaution was induced by the thought that the- rats might seek to find an entrance through this pipe into the tank, and so, perhaps, stop it up. As, therefore, such an achievement on the part of the rats would have been fatal to the ova, the rose suggestion came to i Mr. Youl just in the nick of time. The external dimension of the ice-house are 17 feet across, 10 feet fore-and-aft, and 10_ feet 7 inches high, thus measuring about 45 tons of space. The internal dimensions- are 14 feet 7 inches 'wide, 7 feet S4 inches fore-and-aft, and S feet S£ inches high. It will contain about 200,000 eggs, packed in boxes, and 20 tons of ice. The interior of the house is lined with lead, and between it and the outer lining are placed immense layers of charcoal. The ice-house having been completed to Mr. YouVs satisfaction, that gentleman proceeded on Jan. B—a bitter frosty day, with the wind dead from the north-east, —to pack about 40,000 eggs taken by Mr. Eamsbottom, 3en., from the River Hodder. The operation of packing was carried on in a goods shed, about 200 yards from the" ship, and what, with the ice and the wind, it was awfully cold. Still Mr. Youl stuck to his work with the zeal of an enthusiast, now picking out the least particle of decayed moss from the green and healthy*

[ looking bed he was-spreading oat for the i ova: til en thrusting Ms hands into the icy water, and carefully besprinkling the moss,. I just to give it the proper, element of moisture, and next adding small lumps of ice to keep down the temperature. Ice, moss, water, and box must be free of impurities, and so Mr. Youl watched and conducted every detail of the process until the blooa streamed from his hands, and he was as blue in the face as the liveliest bluebottle that ever came under my observation. The pack-, ing over, the ova were deposited at the bottom of the ice-welL Mr. Youl has since packed about 50,000 more eggs, taken from the Severn and its tributaries, and Mr. Buckland has packed a large quantity which he obtained from below the Totnes Weir, on the river Dart, and other rivers. Mr. Buckland, like Mr. Youl, has worked like a Trojan, never sparing himself, caring for his personal comfort, or estimating the probable amount of liis next doctor's bill, but leaping into streams, diving after salmon, dragging them into shoal water, and there despoiling them of the coveted eggs ; and all for what ? for * the pure love of the sport, aud the hope that he may thereby give salmon to New Zealand. Mr. Youl paid a last visit to the ship on January 17. He was naturally anxious that the final touches should boas complete as possible, and so he had the house filled up with ice and soldered down under his own personal inspection. The whole arrangements are therefore as complete as care aud science can make them, and both Mr. Youl aud Mr. Buckland will be glad to know that the consignment has turned out a success. Altogether Mr. Youl packed 90,000 eggs and Mr. Buckland So,ooo, total, 175.000. It may be as well to state—in order to promote success—that the ultimate issue of the experiment does not rest here, and that much depends on the treatment of the ova on the other side. As anything in the shape of concussion or vibration is bad for them, care should be taken in their removal from the ice-house, and iu their conveyance to the hatching.ponds. The hatching process should of course commence as soon after their arrival as possible, and the temperature of the water into which the eggs are put, when taken from the boxes, should not exceed 47 degrees, though it may be allowed to rise in a few hours to 5o degrees without danger, but not higher.