NEWS IN BRIEF.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10081, 17 March 1896, Page 6

NEWS IN BRIEF .

£r. Patrick's Day. Waihora arrived from Sontfa. Harbour Board meets this afternoon# Suburban Borough Councils met) lasfr night. 'Frisco mail steamer left Sydney for Auckland. Nelson Bros', freezing works at Waipukufau have been closed. , Between two and three thousand sheep j per week are being killed at the \\ aingawa boiling-down work?. Important experiments in Queensland have tended to establish the fact that tho tic disease afflicting cattle there is identical

with Texas fever. . ... Owing to the ravages of the rabbits, the carrying capacity of the Fort Grey holding, in the north west of Now South Wales, has decreased 00 per conb. A child of Mr. W. Smith's fell down a 15feat drv well at Clareville the other day, but fortunately only received a few nasty bruises and a severe shaking. At- Bombala, New South Wales, recently, Peter Martell, a miner, was buried by a fall of earth. He was rescued after the most terrible suffering for 26 hours. "Experience makes fools wise, and I've had a lot of experience," remarked a man who was defendant, in a wife maintenance case at the North Melbourne Court.

Coolgardie is becoming more civilised daily. Several cases of sly grog-selling have lately been before tho Court, and in each case a fine of £30 was: inflicted.

A five-legged sheep, weighing 961b, was killed at Longbeach station, Canterbury, last week. The odd leg was a fore one unfortunately, but it was perfectly formed. A horse on a Rangiora farm has been feund to be a sheep-worrier. He killed several slice, in one night, and next day was discovered viciously attacking two or three more.

Irrigation by means of artesian water has been proved of great value in tho Bourko district. Crops of sorghum so treated are eaid to have made the extraordinary growth of lft in four days.

A flock of about 2000 sheep passed through Carterton on a recent afternoon, on the way to Petone, where they will be boiled down. Travelling by road is much cheaper than trucking them. On Sunday woek at the Napier breakwater, a lad named Martin Rowo dived from the top of a large crane into the water on the outside of the breakwater, a matter .if about 76 fee! at low water.

Orchards in the Danevirke district are suffering' severely from the ravages of the codlin moth. In some places the apple crop has been completely ruined by the pests, which are in thousands. The body of an elderly man, found in the Yarra, had a Bible tied to one of the arms with a red scarf, and in one of the pockets of the clothing there was an empty brandy flask. The body had been in the water probably about five days. The Maoris at Waikanae are reported to have refuse! to fill in their census papers or give any information, the chief men there, as in the Waikato, steadfastly refusing to Influence their followers. There are over 100 natives in the district.

On Wednesday lasb Mr. Frederick Siever9, of Makara, was thrown from his horse in the Gear Meat Co.'s yards at Fetone, and dislocated two fingers of his left hand. He was also shaken very severely, and is now in the Hospital. A good deal of hay in the vicinity of Invercargill has been so long lying out in the rain as to render it useless for fodder, and the unusual sight of a quantity being gathered together in heaps to be burnt might have been witnessed on Saturday morning.

Typhoid is reported to be alarmingly prevalent at Wagga. Even the leading medical practitioner of the town is down with the disease. The hospital is crowded, and application has been made to tho Board of Health in Sydney for two large fever tents.

SeVeral settlers in the Masterton district who have hitherto been unable to cope with the rabbit difficulty owing to the shelter afforded the rodent by the manuka scrub, have this year had the scrub felled and burned. The result is that thousands of rabbits have been destroyed and the land made fit for pastoral purposes. The following is the state of Her Majesty's prison, Auckland, for week ending March 14On remand, 5 males, 1 female; penal servitude. 20 males; haid labour, 72 males, 10 females; default of bail, 2 males, 1 female; received during the week, 14 males, 4 females; discharged, 8 males, 5 females. Total in prison, 99 males, 12 females.