CROMWELL

Otago Witness, Issue 2200, 30 April 1896, Page 25

CROMWELL

AwnsSST.—l am glad to say that theaccidenttoMr H. Mountney was not. so seriousr as it' was at. fim thought to be. He waa breaking ia a horse to harness,, and had it in Mr M'Nulty'e team. Xne ■.-•inkers came off, and young Mountney Went forward and replaced' them As he, was going: back to the dray the horse lashed out and' caught him on the side of the head below the'

corner of the oye-, ibflictiu&anasty gash. Whoa Dr Morris had attended- to. the wound it was 1 fouud that although a deep gash was madV, no | serious harm was done. M>- Mountney whs about. ag»in in a day or two, looking a little"Vbite and Bh»ky. An inch or two higher, and the resulif | toirflt have been far more serious: .• W-riiThbr;— Present appearances' are indicative 1 , of a. severe and? early winter. For th» last: fortnight or so the weather has been quite, cold, with frosty" nights: Un Saturday night,, and for the beat. part ef Sunday, it rained hard,.tuid'the moun- ] tains are covered with snow balf way- down. The Water of the two rivers is much discoloured", showiug that the rain has been both hdavy and general:

•-UGGB3TION.— I have often thought that correspondents of the Witness,, who hail, from every little-town, hamlet, and district in. tbe province, would f 1 rru a capital corps for meteorological observation. Suppose each correspondent were to" give in-each letter the following facts— viz., direction of wind, temperature, height of barometer, and etite of westfier^ — on some particul»r date, a mass of data would be available from which an exp. it like Mr P*ulin > would be able to construct & nesHij* perfect, weather chart. The matter might Dersu ranged thus 1 As each correspondent doesn't write every week, let him or her take a mettorologic.il observation on %ny prearranged day, and forward it as part of his news. The result would be that a year'g-issue of the Witness would contain

a. lot of very, interesting information about our opri ious climate, from which an expert could deduce the laws governing thia seeming caprice, for the capricious .in nature is simply the inexplicable. Most Reople po«ess a thermometer and ft-'compass; by the aid of which instruments the temperature and direction of the wind could b« (given The state of ther weather at the time of the. observation can be noticed without the aid of instruments. I throw out the sugge*tion, and would like to hear what other correspondents tllnk of tlie proposal.

Arid OrAGO.— In your last issue you comment ■trongly on the remark "made by Mr Larnach to bis constituents at Clyde about the Government taking steps for the conservation of water in arid Otago. You >tmark& on the political aspect of the business are quite pertinent and' quite correct. -The proposal is kirn ply what might be termed the 1 ghost-of a Ministerial carrot, to dangle befoxe the noses of the few electors who are simple enough' to ! pay any heed to ife. It is evident the veriest flap.doodle for a Government that gan afford but a few paltry thousands a year to further the progress of the Otago Central railway to talk of conserving water, for the purposes of furthering the fruit in* duatry; What the fruit industry wants is an outlet for Us produce. If that be provided, and the industry- turns 'out profitable under the more fayrmrsbleF circumstances thas brought about, water' conservation and" scientific irrigation will follow as a matter of course. If there is money to bk made in the fruit industry capital will ba forthcoming to carry it on without eny State aid, wlficlt would' only pamper" the industry. Tha jxiinfc I wish, to refer to. was the remark you made •boat tU«. icrigaiion colony of Eenmark or Mil- [ dm-a (I forget; which), which under a burning, sky ' proved? jr failure. Now, Sir, the burning iky v, Aocdrdißft to Mr Boucher, the trait axnert. * cause

of failure | for a spell of hot weather early in the season ruins- tho crop. The olimatio conditions of arid Otaro arq, according to the same authority,, simply perfect, and no matter what the season' may be the crop may be depended upon. Thiß oertainty will eventually be the great factorin. the ERicoeSß of what will yet be a vast industry, which Will' tarn the' bare and burnt plains of Central Otago into fragrant orchard* and smiling' meadows. When one read* about the changes mada In arid America by irrigation, one looka round and wonders, " Hbw long II 11I 1 How long 1 Football —This good old winter game has sprung up again in this- di&tt ict. First of all the Cromwell Club was resuscitated, then a club was formed at Lowburn, and finally the two clubs united to form a dub to be known as the Upper Clutha football Club ; colours, blue with white boopi. Mr J. Swarm, a player of the old Cromwell Club, has been elected captain, and Mr Marshall, of Cromwell, secretary. The Bannockbura Club is also afoot, and intending great things* The Clyde Club has come to life again, and altogether there promises to be an active season. Coal.— poodger and Co.'s pit is now in good working order, and. is> patting out coal at a great rate. The coal i» of good- duality, aud as it i» sold ss- per. ton cheaper than the previous ruling rate,, the opening of, the pit is aboou to the people of the town. Lbctokes.— The Bey. Mr Morley,. who is a leading light in the Wenleyan Mettiodißt bodT,,vinted here last week. The rev. gentleman, who is a fluent and eloquent speaker, gave a lecture on "What I Saw and Heard In America" in the Wedoyan Methodist Chapel here. The lecture, was highly appreciated by all who heard it, and was universally regarded as a treat. Unfortunately,-, the attendance wa* not such as: the lecture desenved.- Frofeasoc Lio Medo, the- phrenologist, is at present in the district lecturinv^.on phrenology and kiedted' subjects. He has. the name of baing. a goad, speaker, but I cannot express an opinion on the point from experience-. Brunner Relief Eund. — The result of thecanvass of Cromwell is as yet unknown. Mr War.bur.bon, I hear, collected over £8 on his trip round the outlying, districts. Some people are chary; of giving untilr they know exactly how the funds are to be managed.