MISGELLANEOUS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1926, 15 January 1891, Page 15

MISGELLANEOUS.

, The Slack's corre^onderffc of the Meant Ida Chronicle whites :— Mining id &t & isftafldstill all over the district for Waiit or v,*tbt t cotise* quently the miners are enjoying an enforced holiday with very little of the needful to' spend. The .farmers afco are in a bad Way— no crops last year, and with no prospect of any tnia year. Take from Baklhill Flat to Palmereton, I do not think the whole of the farmers, one with the other, will grow enough to supply their \ own needs, neither is there any prospect of a turnip crop. There may bo some turnips if we get a few showers from this out, but then it would be but a few. We shall have to import the whole of our flour into this district, and then have to buy our seed wheat for next year. This, no doubt, is a bad state of thiDgs, but 1 am eorry to say it is a true one. With it all, how*" 1 ever, the people do not appear to lose heart — that .is, judging from the crowds that attend ouf spoi'ts and horse races. I perceive no diminution froih the. attendance of former years, and they are all dressed as well and aie quite as jolly as ever, but no doubt do not spend quite as much as formerly. The price of wool is also low this yeair, so that it would appear nothing is in a flourishirig state in Ofcago Central just now — unless we except the rabbits. A deputation of persons interested in gold mining at Reeffcon, together with the members of the Wes bland county council, met Mr Greenfield, commissioner of Crown lands, on Friday last, 9fch inst., relative to the reservation of lands in the Inangahua county from selection by the Midland railway. The council previously, after conferring with a body representing the inhabitants, had decided upon selection of the lands to be reserved and marked upo'u a sketch map. The selection wad approved at a public meeting, and it was now proposed that the project be reconsidered by the council with a view to withdrawing from selection the lands, and leaving applications to be dealt with by the Government, either directly of as agents for the Midland Railway Company, until such time aa the latter are in a position or choose to exercise their rights. Selection would be a great advantage to the inhabitants in the direction that lands recommended to be selected should be thrown open to the public on the same terms as subsisted prior to the Midland railway contract being entered into. The Bank of New Zealand shipped 70120z of gold, valued at £28,000, from Hokitika last week. The other banks returns are also very satisfactory. A large quantity of the material for the Millers' Greek Gold Dredging Company's steam dredge, which is In course of erection by Messrs Kincaid, M'Queen, and Co., is now being removed from the Lawrence railway station to its destination. The dimensions of the dredge are as follows:— Length, lOSffc; width, 20ft> depth, 4ft 6in. The motive power will be steam, the dredge having been fitted up with two sets of compound surface condensing engines, which have been entirely manufactured By Messrs Kincaid, M'Queen, and Co., only the raw material for .their construction having been Imported. The dredge will be fitted with blanket tables and a revolving screen for gold aaviDg, and have a shoot 50ft in length for discharging the tailings. The winches for operating the dredge will be all worked from the dredge engines ; and the dredge, which is constructed of steel throughout, is fitted with all the best appliances that experience has shown to be essential for convenience and efficiency in working.— Tuapeka Times. Two important inventions are described in the European Mail of October 3 which are well worthy the attention of miners. The first Is an ore concentrator, by Clarkson, Stanfield, and Co., on the centrifugal principle, by which pulverised ore it treated and sorted into three or four different grades, according to specific gravity, In a dry state. The machine is said to be capable of treating 50 tons per day of 21 hours with a three-horse power engine, and an example is given of some Welsh ore, the concentrates from which yielded an assay of 560z lOdwfc to the ton (top compartment); No. 2 compartment, 4dwt to the ton ; Nos. 3 and 4, barren, showing how completely it does its work. The second invention is Jordan's patent centrifugal gold process, which consists of a pan set in an incline with three revolving balls and a special amalgamator for extracting the gold. The material enters the pan affeer being crushed into pieces the size of hens' eggs, and it reduced to the finest pulp. A machine has been working in London for 14 months on various descriptions of gold ore, and results are given showing its efficiency. No particulars are given of the quantity which can be treated, but the coßt is stated at from 4s to 5s per ton. The Mo-ho gold mines in China now employ over 10,000 men, mostly Datives of Sbangtung. There are four mines. The Government takes four-tenths of the gold extracted, the remaining six-tenths going to the miner. Sometimes a man will get none out of a -whole dav's work: at other times several ounces will be obtained. The regulations are very strict, and any theft Is severely punished. The machinery employed iB not got from abroad, but made in a factory near the mines. It is thought that with European machinery the output would be much larger. The following items are by tho Eae's Junction correspondent of the Taieri Advocate :— Messrs Kirkpatrick and Edie, of the Undaunted claim, are working away with great energy. They have now a splendid Bupply of water, thanks to the improvements they recently effected to their race. The party have shown rare pluck and enterprise, and are deserving of every success. I hear they are now on a splendid run ot gold.— l hear that Messn Cowen and party, who have been dredging on the Clutha rivei between Beaumont and TuapeUa Mouth with vnrying success for some years back, have sniffed tho scene ef their operations, having taken up a prospecting claim on the Fomahaka river. They have lately gone to considerable expense in improving their dredge, which will in future be driven by steam instead of the river current. May good luck follow this plucky party in. their new venture. — I hear that the Island Block Gold Mining Company are about to ereot a very comfortible residence for Mr C. C. Rawlins, their general manager. That gentleman is expected to reach here in the course of a few weeks. Ha is to be complimented on the success of hi? mission to London. The new Back Creek lead on the West Cca«t apaoars to bo a promising field. The Brunner News is informel by one who bos visited Back Creek that men from all parts of New Zeal.uad are on the ground , and the crov/d is swelling rapidly. His opinion is that if two or three mere sir-Its stcika gold, the biggest rush the West Coast has evf r seen will ba immed'ately on. Personally he saw a dish washed from Jones' paddock, which went. Jdwt. Tbare is a great scope of oounfry yet untouched, and if n le.'.dia tract d for even a short distance, the whole terrace on tho line, or supposed line, will be a scene of iu-dosti-v not witnessed for many a day. Rather discouraging news reaches us from tbo FaiboTß* field. We heir that one or more shafts bottomed in the "Eldorado" claim discovered no prospects worth mentioning. — CYomweJl Argus. Acco'diaa; to Mr John Rober' =on, a O»r<?rona miner. \3bo writes fn ths Oromvi ejl Ai-jrus f'om tho new rush at l'acl: Oiseu, near UoUtika, only trvo parties have got gold, frUo best prospect !>{:ing one

Ijtraiu to the dish-. The shaf to have all to be timbered, VThere are somu .shafts down 120 ft and no gold h&» .ibeen found, and n groat many duffers have also beets sunk. About 850 men'Rfe on tire field, and over 20ff are shepherding. He pronounces it a storekeepers l'acb, and nd vises minera fco wait a while before going there. Mr Jiobertuou did not think it wosth his while mark/iig out a claim. A. Nelson telegram sta(ea that st the half yearly meeting of the Johnston United mine the directors deferred to tho great difficulties experienced in the. padt.-nnd congratulated shareholders on the reeulfr of the last six months, during which alienabilities, were provided for and a dividend of Srt paid ; lOMozr retorted gold was oMaiued in the period from 3JOO> tons of Btone. The ta!ne manager reported that there was sufficient stone fa the stopes to Ke«p thebattery going till the tunnel ie oxtended, whion wilt be three or four months. , f . The mine manager of the Commissioners Flat Gold Mining Oompauy reports :-" The ftter is going floVn fast. I will start Bluicing on Frida> , wh inst. The wstor Is folding out well. Everything .« going on all rignt, and we will be in full awing" next The Dunedin Gold firedglng Company obtained' 33ojf Bdwts for five days dredging last week. At the Warden's Court, Biverton, an application was heard to fcave a partnership diesolved. H. «• Port and Jo Park, a Chinese, own a water race, and not aertfcfofc- v<ry wesl, 3o Park wished the partnersbi a'csclved. Port offered to sell his share (twothirds) to Jo Park for £4320, exclusive of £800 or £900 which he owes him ; but ha was not prepared to bny Jo Park's share at any pricU. "Whereas the latter ofiered to sell his third to Port tot £800, or to give him £1(300 for his two thirds. Warden Bawson, in giving bi» decision, said partnership waff «om&thfng like matrimony, very easily contracted, mt not to easily disoolved. Before a partnership coriW be compulsory diesolved very strong reason would have to 0e shown in support of it. It was ihown that it would fee a serious injury to one of the parties to force a sala at the present time. He did not Shlnk there was sufficient evidence to justify the court in ordering that the partnership be dissolved. He would" suggest that if Park wanted to have tno partnership dissoir&l he should dispose of his interest in tho race. Costs on both sides wonld be costsagainst the estate. . . The Barewood Quartz Mining Company havo just finished another crushing, with a yield of ratber over" )odwt of gold per ton of quartz. Tftey have in addftfon tho «o!d coming from the pyrites concentrated therefrom. These, judging from previous returns, will give afc addition to the 16dwt per ton o* from 4dwt to 6dwfc. The Eoxburgh correspondent of the Tuapeks Times writes :— The Commissioner's Flat Company have at length got a fair start. There ia an abundant water supply, and the plant is working splendidly, fhe river still runs pretty high, which will prevent tbe richer layers of drift bslow tbe present sluicing level being operated upon for a while,— The* Amalgamated Company are working away steadily* I hear there is a probability of the management being entrusted to Mr ffm. Peters, than whom oD» mote competent it would be hard to find. I predfctjthafc this company has a biff future before it.— The Hercules No. 1 is ntill working at a disadvantage owing to the river being so high. Mr Butler, the manager, is confident that the shareholders will again be In receipt of steady dividends ere long. Mr Nicoll Ib pushing on well with the worUa in connection with the Hercules No. 2.— Tho Dunedin Dredging Company have not been doing to well lately. When th« river falls to its ordinary ievol, tbe dredge is certain to get on the old lead, which gave the company mch hmdsome returns.— The No. 2 dredge belonging to the aforementioned company has, 1 henr, been successfully piloted to M'Cunn's Beach, where she will shortly be in full •rrork There are a number of miners In this district who oling to the opinion that this beach will give big rdttirfia. °'he Bruce Herald is informed that «old in payable quantities hat been found at Measly Beach, just where Shaggerly Creek runs Into the sea. A party of four have been prospecting there for about two yean, and the result of their re searches baa been very encouraging. They touched bottom with the boring rod at 40ft and over, aud found Bin of solid black sand. By the aid of the glass, 180 specks maybe counted in a handful of the material, so there i» every indication that ifc will prove highly remunerative to work. The promoter!, several Milton gentlemen, have secured a Irate from the Lund Board oi 2f miles of the foreshore couth of Shaggerly Oreek. They do not intend to float a company, bu t work the claim themselves, with Mr Walter Cookburn at manager. _,