SOUTHLAND NEWS NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2250, 15 April 1897, Page 30

SOUTHLAND NEWS NOTES.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) Invercargii.l, April 13. The weather has changed this week from bad to very bad. Since Wednesday we have had a sue cession of heavy downpours, with gales of wind r intervening, culminating last night in a stil], B I warm, heavy rain, accompanied by most vivid 3 lightning flashes and tremendous peals of thuuder. It is still raining, and we are looking out for a floods, which are sure to come during the next 24 hours. Not a .sheaf of grain could be stacked the past 1 thicc weeks in anythiug like good condition, and c uiobt of what was theu out remains ther« still. 2 Consequently, this district's production of good, ' marketable grain this season will be curtailed by 3 fully a third of our estimates a few weeks pgo. 1 Sooner or later, and in moie or less damaged cou1 dition, I have no doubt the balance will be i got in, bun it will he much discoloured aud\ery i, inferior in quality. I Th^re uas a vpit maikea rise in value of gondconditioned oat? in Jnverca gill lasC Saturday, and Is lOJd was freely offered for lots delivered at 1 country stations withii 1 50 miles of the Bluff An ' especially fine lot of " 000 sacks wji< .-old la«t Wed1 ne^day at Is Hid on tiuckK at Wnikaka aiding, i 1 The nuiubei of sacks of grain carried over the ! Southland slc'ioh of the New Zealand railways . j last week was 33,235, as compared with 3-3,752 for j the con esponding week last year. I At yesterday's meeting of the Bluff Harbour - j Board the harbourmaster leportert the return of r . shipping f'>r the past mouth to have been : In- » w*rds— 23 vessels., of 21.057 tons; outwards— 22 vessel*, of 20,715 tons,— an increase over the > ' corresponding month of lust yuar of C 62 aud 21tiS j j tons respectively. About 120 etib'c yards of ' material" were removed from No. 2 berth duiiug I the month. i Tbe ju.iges appointed by the Otago A. and P. Absociition toviward the two challenge shi-Ms 1 (each va'utd at sik;i) presented by Sir John , 1 JJcnnett Lawes, Bait , for the best managed fnims in Otago and Southland were in this <iiati;ct last, week. Onr of the prices is for farms under 4 0 acies, and the other for f.iims of -100 up to 4000 acies. Theie arc only two Southland far us com1 peting in the larse--iz • classification — viz , Messrs : John Keid and Son, of Monte Chmto, and Mr : William .M'Gilwray, v a wager of Ahnoiuiel the ; psoperty of the txeeutor^ of the Lite Mr Scjular's O3tate. Both of these gentlemen have bsen sue- ' ( cen'-ful competitors in previous years for this valuable piize. I was over The Monte Chritto ; ! estute the other day, and it was 1 real pleasure to ! • \ see tha cnpital condition evciything, including j ■ stock, wns in. 1 The Southland Metropolitan A. and P. Society is making active preparations for its winter ■show, and at the last meeting of directing the judges were nominated and the class stewards appointed. With rcgaid to tho field turnip competitions, it appears that there has \>°nn some misunderstanding as to the aiva from which entries will be received. It was proposed that the competition i should be open to all fanners within 1 the land district of Southland, but for various reasons it was ultimately resolved thab the area from which entries would be received fchould be restricted to a radius of 25 miles from Invercargill. The hope was, however, expressed , that a wider district could be arranged for next year. The question of sending Home an | expert iv connection with -the flax trade was also I taken up, and while ihe importance of assisting 1 native industry in every form was clearly realised, i yet it was considered that there didnot seem to I be any Rufficirtnt reason why an association which 1 has for its object the development of ag'icultural aud pastoral pursuits should expend it.- funds for the advancement of an industry \S'hiefi can hardly ! be aaid to benefit the farming community, at least in the southern districts of the colony. Tho warm rains which have followed an unusually long spell of dry, warm weather have been productive of a record growth of mushrooms in the Southland district. A week or two ago they could have been gathered in some localities by the cartload. Mr John Feldwick, ni the Southland News, is leaving here by the Tarawera to-day for Melbourne, whence he take 3 a trip to Europe. He intends making an extended tour of it, and will be absent from the colony about nine months. So many people are travelling the same way just now that Mr Feldwick has found it impossible to engage a passage Home in either the P and O. Company's or Orient Company's boats, and until he gets to Melbourne he does not know by which line of steamers he will be able to complete his journey Home. The Invercargill Garrison Band proceed to Melbourne to-day in the Tarawera to=take part in the band contest at the Druids' Festival in Melbourne j during Easter week. The following bands have ! entered for the forthcoming contest : — Melbourne I Brass, St Arnaud, Eiglehawk, Bendieo City, Victoria 2nd Battalian, Newton, Glebe Borough, Knterprise, New South Wales Railway, Launceeton City, Invercargill City, Wellington Garrison, and Invercargill Garrison. Two members of the Southland Mounted Rifle 3— ,viz., W. O. Knnis aud W. F. Boyd — have been 1 .^elected to accompany the contingent to England. ! The Southland County Council have decided to purchase a traction engine for pile-driving and plant-hauling purposes It would have been well if they could have combined with it a (steam road roller. I saw last month in Canterbury, by the use of one of these rollers, newly-m -tailed roads putinto excellent order, good enough for bicycling on or any other traffic, within 24 hours from the , time the gravel and broken stone were spread on , them. Competent authorities, too, declare that v. road will last twice the time without repair if well pressed with a heavy roller directly after formation and gravelling. An alternative would be for the council to lease the Dunedin City Council's steam road roller, which I understand has not been in use for some time. I Mr James Gordon, who holds a lease of the ! Campbell and Antipodes Islands, on which he 1 I is now running about 600 sheep (allowing for the | j increase), was in Invercargill to-day. He intends 1 visiting both islands within the next fortnight. Weather parmitting, although late iv the season, from unavoidable circumstances, it i 3 intended to shear. The Hiuemoa, which is coming from the north, will leave the Bluff for Puysegur Point on Sunday, April 18. A mail for de patch by her will > close on Saturday evening. | "Pretty smart clups some of the rabbit < trappers in these parts," writes the Wyndham Farmer. "We could mention more than can be counted on the fingers of one hand who are making over £1 a day at the game. Only last night we saw a cheque that Mr \V. H. Lambert, of the Wyndham Rabbit Depot, bad just made out for one of these ' ringer.-,' who is still in his teens, and works lone-handed. It was for 10 days' woik, and stood for £11 Is." A correspondent says :— " Dynamiting ia very prevalent in the Aparima River above Otautau. At Opio last week in one hole were to be seen 21 dead fish, averaging 31b each. Along by Wrey's Bush dead fish are often picked up floating down stream. The poachers are said to hail from Nightcaps, where dynamite is largely used It is a pity that this wholesale slaughter cannot be checked, as it is spoiling the river for fi-hing." On Sunday forenoon R. Bissett, aged 20, who was out rabbiting on Mr A. Carmichael's farm at Strathmore, met with a serious accident. Whilst in a sitting posture he reach ad for his gun, and aB he dragged it towards him it fired and shot him through both thighs. Being a mile and a-half from auy habitation he had a terrible taßk to painfully drag his way along. On Monday morning he was conveyed to the Southland Hospital, where Dr M'Leod extracted the shot, and he is progressing satisfactorily. At the request of a number of citizens and visitors from Duuedin, the Bluff Harbour Board has decided to cancel the usual Wednesday run of the Awarua to Stewart I&lan - this week and to substitute a Good Friday t:ip instead. The Awarua was recently thoroughly overhauled aEd the passenger accominod«tion considerably improved, so that an enjoyable trip may be expected if the weather is fine. The vessel will also make an excursion to the island on Easter Monday, and on each occasion will return to the Bluff in ample time to permit passengers catching the 6.0 p.m. , train to Invercargill.