GRAND TILTING TOURNEY.

Otago Witness, Issue 643, 26 March 1864, Page 9

GRAND TILTING TOURNEY.

The Grand Tilting Tourney under the auspices of the Caledonian Society of Utago, which has bpen by many looked forward to with anxiety for the inst two nion ths, was heid on We. ne.«day. at Vauxhall Gardens; the proprietor, Mr h. Parley, hav.ng rondo an ofhir of very liberal terms to the committee to induce them to choose the Gardens for the purpose. The day was the 16th anniversary of the settlement of the Province, and was, therefore, kept as a general holiday.

Tha weather, which wos very boisterous and wet during Tuesday, remained v«ry threatening yesterday forenoon; bub, with the usual good ]uck which Ins attended the Society, there was a change for the better b°fore noon ; and the afternoon was ail that could be desired— junshinj, without being too hot, and there being al-o a pleasant breeze. It would scarcely be possible to find a spot better suited Tor a Tilting Tourney than is the enclosure in Vauxhall Gardens, which was made for the purposa of foot races and general sports. The enclosure is of ample sise for the best display of horsemanship, ami for kerping the rintr-posts wide apart ; and iv addition to the large number of spectators who cou'd nnd comfort nble accommodation round the enclosure, a slight rise in the ground towards the refreshment hou>e gave capital standing 100 m for many more. At tbig point there whs some seating provided. Th« only thing which the directors needed to supply, to ensure a goodly attendance if the weather proved fair, wag a means of conveniently crossing the Bay. This was supplied by the hiring of the two harbor steamers, the Peninsula and tha Betsy Qonglao, to mn constantly Iran the Jetty to the Gardens. No charge was made, beyond 2a 6d, which had to he paid by adults before entering the Gardens. Tie arrangement worked so well, tha.t there must have been, during the afternoon from 1 700 to 2,000 persons present. Flags were displayed in the centre of the enclosure, and at oth\>r points ; and the gardens generally looked cbarmingiy fresh and green. There were two or three refreshment booths, the letting of which was a privilege conceded to the Society. We have already describad the prizes provided by the Committee. I'hey consisted of three handsome silver cups, manufactured by Mr Hyman, of Prin ces street, and respectively of the value of 50, 30. an-i 20 guineas, and two gold medals, one worth twelve guineas and the other seveu guii.ens. They wore all exhibited yesterday, in a glass case, piaced on a stand near the enclosure ; and the cups were generally ndmired for their proportions and artistic finish.

The entrance money for competitors wa3 three guifieas: and the conditions were that the cups should first be tilted for, each competitor having six rounds at four rings ; the medals to go as "consolation stakes" tor the vanquished in the effort to gain the more costly prize*. There were only fifteen competitors, which was a nrc-cb smaller number than we had open led to expect. For convenience, they were divided into three lots of five each. The tilting was on the whole good ; and it was no sscret that a good maiiy were deceived in the result. There was one competitor who was backed freely to win first or second prize, and he had practised sedulously ; buf he wus not iv good health yesterday, and he failed to secure any one of the five priztH.

The following was the order in which the tilts were run, and the result ineach cage : — Ist Divisiok".

This settled the matter as to the first two prizes, which were won by M 'Donald and Lain% respectively. M'Donakl, who is, we believe, a stock rider, rode most dashingly, and caught off his rings in the finest style. S.,aing, it was said, is a settler in the Green Island district. We do not remember that either of them had taken part in the previous tilting matches got up by the Caledonian Society; am? their success was nob anticipated, 'except pcihnps by their immediate friends. Therunnin-i yesterday wns watched with interest, nnd H* Donald was naturally greeted with loud applause, as he went on winning so slashingly. Bat the third prize cup wa3 so far from being wou that there were six ties at 5 ringß each : and consequently there had to be a play off. Ths following was the result :—

This left another tic between Copdand and Calder, who had each secured 7 rirgs, and thair I playing off was dec.dedly the most exciting part of the aft-rnoon's amusements. The jud^ decided that three rounds should be run. In the first. each.gofcarin<r; and when, in thesecond, Copeland secured two, the od Is vreie in his favor. But Cnlder, Dothinjr daunted, dashed round, and came up to the Judg?s with two also. All now '. ested upon a single round : and Copelancl, whose horte was the beat on the ground for the work, went in" with a vengeance, and carried oft aM four ring«, thus raiding his score to seven. Calder started, but missed the first ring, and as he then cou!<l neither win or tie, it was not surprfeinr that he lpft bis score at three. Copeiandwi»s cheered most vociferously ; and he certainly woa most cleverly his position aa third prizeman. Three rounds each were allowed for the " Consolation Stakes"— the two medals. The twelve unsuccessful ones were divided into two lota and they tilted with the fi llowfng results : - / Ist Division-.

The twelve guinea medal was thus won by James Loggir, and the seven-guinea by Mumford. There were subsequently some sweepstakes got up, and the sport was continued until the shades of evening stopped it. The Provincial bra«s band, under Mr l'eury, played at intervals during the afternoon, the stand for the members being erected in the centre of the enclosure. There was a rush for the steamers as soon as the tilting had terminated, the great bulk of the visitors returning at once t" town, uninfluenced by the attractions of the nice quadrille bj>nd in toe rotunda, or by the promised fancy dress ball and display of fireworks. The Tilting Tourney was. altogether, a success: and the funds of the Bocietv must be, we should think, gralifyingly in^eawl as a result. Last evening, there was a "Grand Tilting .ball, at Hildreth's Anderson's Bay Hotel, where there is a fine room for such a purpose. We believe that the ball was well patronised, and was throughout a sncceßS.

Our Creed.— We believe in small farms and thorough cultivation. We believe that soil loves to eat, as well as its owner, and ought, therefore, to be manured. We believe in large crops whicfc leave the land Letter than they found it— makine both the former and the farm rich at once. "We believe in going to the bottom of things, end therefore in deep ploughing, and enough of it We believe that every farm 'should own a cood farmer. We believe that the best fertiliser of any soil is a spirit of industry, enterprise, and intelligence; without tbis, lime nnd gypsum, bones and green manure, marl and guano will be of little use. We believe in good fences, good barns, goo* farm houses, good stock, good orchards, and children enough to gather the fruit. We believe in a clean kitchen, a neat wife in it, a spinning piano a clean cupboard, a clean dairy, and a clean conscience. We firmly disbelieve in fanners that will not improve; in farmers that grow poorer every year; in starveling cattle; in farmers' boys turning into clerks and merchants; in farmers' daughters unwilling to work; and in all farmers ashamed of their vocation, or who drink whisky till hone9t people are ashamed of them,—" Rev W. H. Beecher."

Manufacture op Meat.— Of the relative merits of the different breeds ot cattle, sheep and pigs, as meat manufacturers, strange to say we have no unexceptionable evidence. It is difficult to select perfectly representative animals as specimens of the breed to be tried—so necessary to treat each in the manner in which its merits shall most directly appear— so impossible to draw & true comparison of the causes and of effects whea the treatment differs as it ought to do with age and breed— that such experiments as have been published cannot be trusted as conveying general truths. Mr Laws made an elaborate investigation into the subject— comparing Hampshire and bussex Downs, Cotswold, Leieesters, cross-brefl wethers, and cross-bred ewes, giving forty of each kind oilcake, hay, and swedes during five or sis months, and weighing 1 food and increase. Of the six lots experimented upon, the Cotswolds «rye by far the largest average weekly increase per headindeed, about half as much more than either the Sussex, Leicester, or cross-bred sheep, and nearly one-fourth more than the Hampshire?, which w«4 the second in order of rate of increase per head per week.

Williom toppie Thomas Bailey F. 1). Hamilton James Cope.'and W. H. Mumford 1. L 3. 4. ..0101 ... 1 0 0 0 ... 0 1 1 0 ... 1 1 1 1 ..0101 5. 6. Total 1 0 3 0 0 1 10 3 10 5 3 0 5

William Loggic 1 i" </ Bailey •. ... 01 1 Hamilton 10 0 Sband .. , s . ... ■" 211 Suisted .„ 0 0 1 flildieth 0 0 0 ;Fota 2 2 1 i 1 0 2hd Division. Mumford 2 12 J. Loggie "". 312 0 10 Jones 10 1 Mackie 10 0 Calder 0 15 5 6 1 2 1 3

Mumford Uopeland J. Loggie Moore Jones Oalder 1. 2. ... 1 0 .. 2 1 .... 1 1 ..0 0 .. 0 1 ..2 1 3. 0 1 1 1 2 0 4. 1 1 2 I 1 0 5. 6. ' 2 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 2 2 Tott 5 7 6 4 4 7

2nd Divigionr. James Loßgie ..100130 Caleb Moore ... 1 0 1 1 1 1 M. Jonea 2 0 10 11 Hugh Calder ... 0 0 1 2 1 1 JolmShand 1 1 1 0 0 1 5 5 5 5 4 3rd Division. Allan M'Donald ...113210 B. Suisted 0 11110 F. G. Laing ... 1 1 1 0 2 1 T. Mackie 0 0 1 ,0 0 1 WilJiatu Hildreth ... 0 1 0 0 11 11 4 6 2 3