WETHERSTONES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2356, 20 April 1899, Page 29

WETHERSTONES.

April 17.—Mr J. Donlan, one of the partners I in the Golden Riße, left here last Saturday morning, accompanied by his wife, for a trip to the old country. He intends to be away a. twelvemonth. I heard one of his own countrymen say that Jack Donlan was the only Irishman from Clare who could ever afford to go Home. Mr Donlan's friends and acquaintances gave him a smoke concert at the Railway Hotel last Wednesday night as a sendoff Big Potatoes.—Some of those who have potatoes planted in their gardens here have large crops and large ttibers. I was shown the other duy a sample of eight potatoes which weighed 161b, one of the tubers alone weighing 3lb, while the tops or shaws were 6ft in length. A young man that height held one up, and it topped him. Bunny.—All round here who are trapping are doing well when the weather is fine. Last week, however, gave the rabbits a spell, it being too wet for trapping. Each party trapping have their own block of ground. Sometimes they get more ferrets than rabbits. , One young, man informed me that out of all -the traps he had set he got three ferrets one night and no rabbits. The rabbits had all cleared away. Another young man told me that one day he was watching two weasels playing about in some scrub, and that sometimes they would chase the rabbits. The rabbits would run away, but the weasels would not run very far after them. The man said that he was about 12ft from the weasels, but -they were not a bit afraid of him, but would take a look at him now and again, and then go on with their play. The rabbits are breeding, yet, for there are a good many young ones about. » Weather.—The weather during the past foituight has been very changeable. The first three days were fine, with strong N.E. to N.W. winds, and hot at times. The sth came in dull and foggy. At noon it commenced to rain, and rained off and on for the next two days. The little wirTd there was came from the east. The barometer had been rising slowly all the week up to Friday night, v/hen it stood at 29.65. On the Bth it commenced to fall. The day was fine, with a strong N.E. wind. It was raining next morning, and in the afternoon there waa a rough heavy squall of wind and rain from N.E., lasting several hours. It was showery, but calm, on the morning of the 10th and throughout the day; at night there was lightning in the S.W.; the next morning heavy rain from S.W., lasting all the forenoon. The 12th was the only fine day in the week. There was a frosty fog in the niornine, it was warm throughout the day, and a shower fell late at night. The next three days were a terror. They commenced with rough S.W. wind and rain, whiph increased to a gale on Friday, rain, hail, and thunder, and snow on the ranges; barometer 25.79. The men cutting the race for the Golden Crescent party had to leave and come in, there being too much snow on the ground at present. On Saturday, the 15th, the baroiheter commenced to rise, at noon it stood at 29.14. There wpre cold S.W. showers all day, and the wind was very strong at times. The lowest reading of the thermometer was 43deg at 7 a.m. of the 12th and 15th, and the highest 90deg at noon cf the 3rd. Tho thermometer at noon of the 12th was 7-tdeg. Tho rainfall for March was 2.4 in.