LAND AND WATER

Otago Witness, Issue 2507, 9 April 1902, Page 53

LAND AND WATER

Wl-on tl>-> New Z:i>!a id Kiffc A«ocat on c<m rifd out ihc aunuai prize fir.ng, menib'rs of priwre rifle clubs, and p\ hi Civilians, were allo.'cd *o ccn^pete. Thi> year tl:cpii/.p p-.aq; .w-s i^;-ri d o.i und'-r Goicrumtnt „ u-pii- . ai.u a ?ood deal of disappomtrnf-nl \»a- f"lt wlien it wa< found that members of j r:\a:p nfie c'.ubs were prevented from Ukirg part. The matter hn\ ing been brought undei the nofce <A Mr E. V,. Allen, M.11.X., thai p"iiti°man v. lote io t\-o Ilight Hon. Mr S'cld"n. LW^i'to M ; u>ter, on the subjclc. :uh( ii,i= received tho f 'How nig r^ply, tl-ittc 1 Mu'.ch 7: -"I lia'v c to acknowledge receipt of y.mr lcti.Pi- elated the 10th u'timo v.'th iofi iciic2 to ni' nibera of private r fie clubs '.■•jing ali)«c:l to compete at th 1 jii.nut'l meeting of thp Rife A>« -eistioi', and in leply to cxnrcs-, regret tint it cam." 1 to liand 10-i I'ite for tl'f* msitttr to be cl'alt v. itl-. brfore the lii-eling at Trcnlnam ihiv car. I have. hnwe\er, with a \ic\\ to 'eeing wi-at can be tljne m the direction indicated, biought your letter under the net ice of the Crmmander of t u e Forces." A coiro-pomlont of the Prps» says that, as th'> jf-u't of experiments lig has made tmcji r careful timing, he finds that the greybound i- the fzstest of all four-foot r-d an:n- il-. When going at full gallop it can cover ?.oyd^ a -ecbnd, or about a mil" m limn 235. t- a -oc-'d that come» \f>ry near tii«t of a can it i pigeon. Thore ar.' 'cvv ihejiOi'^hbiril hor-C' i''at can ( xccc^l lSyds a k cnnil. <Jn j lviniicl- have been known to b t>T .lint b> 4\ii-. Wolvis can run at tli" i-ofc "i a in:\o !• 7 mm. Nunsen hays tiK't Sibe-i'-.tn <!oj; can travel 45 mile-, on ice in five !ium< '!■.(- .Suatl.c.u Si-i.daiil !epo:u. tl-.at in ihe Here eh-tr.cl on enormous amount of -heeling of eri'ir.e look jjlacf befoie the '■it'iot.'i'r ■•Ku^itn opeue('. A nui.ibe't of (<-. ays th.^ Tapauui Coui.i 1')1 ') v ,'it tbiving the Ka'tcr bo 1:elav-. :<i!'l a g:eat many liccn-eho'dei s wcjo on tlif mnantaSn-. Tl.e-re weic rot many 'JTooJ li^ael-. b'oiKMit in. but Mr Vv*. W. Mi»ckiC. of Clinton, was fortunate in obtsinii'g one o f the bc-r sets of antleii that ever Calm. 1 ott the hills. The stag was well grown and 'ii fin- 1 co'idit on — :n* fact, the deer are al' in -n'oMl.'l order this «.pa^oii. Mr Mjckio l>.s stag: in the Kankhbuin bu«!i. and thr :ui'!(i- v, pre very even, with a ma^sivp bluel I. Mr Arthur Hancox abo -!iof a fnic vvh.rj '.t-xg m the Rankleburn !<-p?hty ia-t w e^k Tlic bu^ks are beginning to rno\" about, and whin thp next few u(rk-> thi-re .'•hou l '! bc^ fr.-qucnt kills. Hinds ate \ciy mimnoib on tiic fac>> bchsncl Bn.ok-da 1 • « tat". .ii,<l as manj a- 15 and 20 Wt.rc counfed in a -mj;le giiilj-. .Subinair'C , liver- have not >\ t '•uccpi'itd in lvatliin:; 200 ft below the surfae p with all the advantage of armour, air supplied, with WP'ght.s te> -ink them. The effort ho? bp c n made to leach a wreck in 240 feet of water. The accounts state that al 130 ft the diver 1-e^an to experience sciious trouble. At 200 ft. after suffering terribly, lie If .-t con-suou-ii'" 1 !!, and via? haulod up. Diver-, can not v, oik iti-K-h helov.- ICOft. When the wind blov^s a heavy r ;alr\ 63 mih^ an hour, it exerci-p- a pushing fe>ue f)f 161b to e.tiy s(j Ua ic foot of s U if aC( .. The Hayv < a F!at c orre-poiidt nt of the fYoinvvf-n Arjits iruo't- rh;it Lake- Ha-.vca is .-imply tofMTiing with beautiful fi-h. ftomp big hairs of pjpeoiib and kakas were obtained at Catlm\ HuAi on the L-t Fully 50.0C0 uo.,p, will bo under canva = at thf> tim-- of tho King's Coronation Mr F. M'Grath. tho w fii-know n .SouthLuid liuidk ue'er, lcfi v.itli the Ciorc s-cctioii of liic Touth Coiitmcfnt to make up one of the vacancies m the Seventh Contingent. Mr S. H. (iiavp, of Christchurch, on Thursday saw a white crane on the New River, In ing tlic first .-eon on the We-jt Coast for many year 5 . It seemed \eiy tame, and allowed the paity to approach quite close. The Evening Post says. — .'The excellent deer shootins which can hn had in New

Zealand is proving a distinct source of attraction to sportsmen from other parts of the world. Among those now in the colony for that purpose are sportsmen from India, England, and Australia. It is understood that Nos. 1 and 2 Service Companies of the Permanent Militia in the colony will j hortly have their designations changed. No. 1, which now comprises the Permanent Militia Artillery, will be known as the Ne»v Zealand Royal Artillery, and No. 2, hitherto known as the Torpedo Corps, will be designated the New Zealand Royal Engineers. Liputcnant-coloncl Messenger, who at present commands the Permanent Militia in Wellington, will be appointed to the command of the whole colony, under, of course, the Commandant, and all recruit's for both branches of service are to be enlisted by him. A Welln.g'.on teVgram states that at ihc Tei nis Championship tournament the final of the Combined Championship resulted ir. Miss Gore ar:d H. M. Goi-o beating Miss Kennedy and Lai'hley, 9—7, C— 7, 7—5. In the final o"f the Men's Doubles Championship, Laishley anrl Adams b»at Gore Bros., a — 6, 7—5.7 — 5. Sv. anston (S) h?at Laishley (owes 5) in the final of the Men's Handicap. S—o,S — 0, 7—5. A "Wellington telegram, states that at n pro'•inc.il tennis to.unament the Men's Cha<npioiship Singles was won by Cox, who defeated L-ushW rather ecsily in thr final. The Men's Handicap Doub'es fell to Vincent ?iid Williams. At Oaaiaru the Ladies" Tennis Charrpjcichip was won by Miss Van Asch, of Christchinch, and the Men's by F. Newton, of Onmaru. A Wcstport telrgiam <=lat?s thnt a half-mile lace for £50 aside between T. Sherlock (of Wes.tport) and A. Gordon (late of Dunodin) ws« won easily by Sherlock at Waimiuignroa on Satiuday. A Wc-lhnglo.i tele-Tram states that Mrs Payne won the Ladies' Tennis Championship of Wpllington provincial district, beating Mis" O. Gore, 6—2,6 — 2, 6—l6 — 1 The cup now becomes Ivlr ; Payne''; absolute pio'^erty, she linking won it tuic? in "ucce s.on. A Wellmgto i tnlegiam says — " The Managing Committee c" the "\'ow Zea'pnd Amatcu; Rtw r.g A'.--j.Miit.o'' has oecidod to l'.fomi thp Cant', bin. >■ rJo.ving Club that coxswains are rot c ,t' f Ud to championship caps end bpdge=. I Th» acsociation has appo.nted a committee fo j piepaie :.™ ruks providing for the establishment of local as-ociations ' The Futurity Stake; of the- South Ibland Coursing Club, to bo run in Oawaru on the. 30th April, promi-es to be a very importiut fixture. Eighty-four dog= a-e loft in. Vrhich wll necessitate thrco day--' coursine. The stakes, too, which weie worth £100 last yecr. have been raised to £150. and when we mention that dogs from all over Ihs> colony, and even as far as New South ! Wales and Victoria, will compete, it will be cisilv understood that enoimou, I'iteres 1 " is being taken in the meeting. The manageI ment of the club have spared no pains cr c.\pj!iFe to ipake tl.c conditions of cour-inj sportsman 'ike and in every way sat'sfactory While the ci'c!o.-i;re has hcen made \erv liaicb tma'ler. the e-eape= have boon made conii(l r idb'.y Liver. The distance now fioni the slips to the c-cape= is 550 yards, and ihe hares should thus take much more kiudlv io the c-capci ia.<), be- ides, the licit doc;, v i'l have amrjle opportimny to -.1 oh r->< nf!e\erne-«-. About 50 hares have already ani\ed, Mr Bull (Peel Fo»e-.t) -upply ; n » them, aid other 50 should be on the ground j almost immediate^'. The \v<ath c r ha- de- j l.yecl this part ot ths preparations There i- sulend'cl clo\er in the enclosures and other f< od is regularly supplied by the club, so the hp.tr- should be in c p!^ndid condition at the meeting. Ccit.unlj- if the club goes on as it has done it will, and that vciy shortly, be the most important ours-ing body in the co'ony. — Oaiiiaru M.til. Grey duck= aic to be seen on the Washdvkc 1-igoon in -ome number-, and flocks of pakaki are- to be seen round the margin Sportsmen tra\elling; by train ca-t muulerouc>p- upoa the poor birds, and wi.-h the «»ason began on April 1, instead of the 1-t of May. — Tnnaru Six red d< er fawns- ha^ c arihed at Taiianui from Victori.i. They will e\oiitually be mrned out on the inouutaiii» in the \ic;nitv The .-ea^on for duck shooting opened on Ap-il 1. As u s ual the lagooii* on Tapanri Flat have been shot o\ cr f!ready b;' po.'.< her--, wlio cpc the ctcmiii rf the jianK 1 out of sea-on. It is a pity that .in t\amplc (ould not bo made of -'jrsir of tlu-> immc> r </in band of poacher* Thr> Acclimatisation So < lety"-- langii was in thi-. ch-trict roi cntly. but lio did not i-ecuro any offenders, lie liiteiids paying co-i^ideraljlc attention to thib di-trjct in future. — Courier. The annual meeting of the Alexandra (iolf Club took place on the 21>r nit., Mr 1. B. nrimitolip in the chair. The fund Ishow a '■mall c'cbi r halanco. The pre=ulent (Mr (i H. Smith) pro\idcd a gold medal, to lie pluy^J for monthly on the iwial con dition-. Tiic tMinpetit'on-5 for this medal were the event* that proied most intcre.-tm ,' to membei>, some of the mntche, hi-inguii; out over 20 playcis The club has lost -ome 10 lnuinhc'ia -mca la»t f-eason, but with new playr-i s v. r.o are coming in v ill >-lill ha\ io\ei 30 gentlemen aud sc-\en lady ipe-mbcr-Twelve new mcmbcih were elerti d, mi hiding thie^ ladies. It was decided that the «.ua<-on be opcitd on the lOtli April. The '•hooting season opened at Ri\ei-dab oh the 1-t m-t. The h-ghrst talln > put up were tho^e of Mc=-rs "M'DougaH an<l X ■ lopp. 47 ckuks and 10 pukakis, and Mr W N. Wake'iug, 14 div k>. Duck- arc repoit-d to be fait ly numerou-, but are \fiy wild. o\\ui;$. no doiiht. to thi' amount of shooting r.idulgt'd in b' fore the 3 <a-o!i opcuetl The -hooi.nq soa-jii uj> -i i-d on the Ut ni il.il Cii iif-t 'Jht Lncl- thi- jtar aif \ciy plentiful, and they aro more "-cattciod than u-ual. Thi' !>• accouiitvd for by tlie recent ilcocU. There :tio patches of water lying about the plains. The ponds and lagoons, especially in West T.ncii. u rc pll £v\o'lcn. f.>xid feed is plcntifu'. E»crj' ri'oiiimg. from 4- o'clock onw aul-s. the no.-c of Lhc gun-> from the '■wampb and lagoon 1 ! around (Jutram would put the sham fight at Forbury Park m the -h«t!f. The M\.iiup turkr\= oi pukakis ha\e evidently be-,ofitc'l by the la-t two c!o=e -caseins, and thry aic \e : -y nuni'.'ion 1 -. Some big bags aic icporli d — Taicri Achocate. At the liiv^M.u fill Magi-tratc'-s C'omt !d-t wck, Lcfojp Mr M-Carthy, S M.. C. F. M\(M-- (Waikiui) was charged with iliootinjj U il thick- out of !-t^iOii. He pleaded guilty, and v.a. tiutd £2, w.th co-ts £1 8-. Mr K. Ru--cll pio-rHuted on behalf of the South land Aeclimati-ation Socir ty. Gcie pioduied the- Southland champion uilo ,-hot. and the fir.-t. bccond, and thud pnzetakers at the Gun Club's meeting. During the last week mmc very gool rabbit shouting has be< n obtained on Mr O. H. HubbaulS Rakaia Inland. On Thui B - daj la^t Mes.-rs W. A. Nixon, G. Andrews and a friend shot 357 rabbits in seven hours, whilst another party consisting of Messrs T. Williamson. Goodman, Sherris. Puck.

King, Tinsley, Free (three), Jones (two), Recce, Shearman (two), and M. ltiordan got 1229 rabbits as the result of two days' shooting. —Lytteltou Times. A shooting match was fired between a visiting team from the Hampden Rifles and members of the Palmerbton Rifles at the local range on Good Friday. The weather proved tine and some jreiod shooting resulted, the 'visitors being the winnejs. The ranges were 10 shots at 300 and 500 yards. Scores: Hampden Rifles 454, Palmerston Rifles 388. The members of the /-.-ow Lawn Tennis Club journeyed to Queenstown on Easter Monday to try conclusions'with the local club. Although the Queenstown players won somewhat easily, some v.cii contested games wero played. Rc-autiful weather favoured the Invercar3111 Homing Society for the decision of the Oaks race fe)r hen birds, which resulted in p win for CJ. Mackay's Bluebell (bred by ovvnei). The race was from Mosgiel (air "iinc 103 miles) and the speed was by far the best yet recorded by the youngsters. The winner rakes a handsome trophy provided by the clubs. Following are tho placings :—Ci Maekay'a Bluebell. 1323?3-cb : H. De.uole'i, Dell, 1525 yds; W. Noble's Naivete, 1291 yds; R. H. Joyce's, 1287 yds; (i. Dunlop's, J2B6yds; R. Blackham's, i2Ssjds; R. Diy's. 1284iyds. Eight lofts vvcie rcpre .sented by 23 bird*. Th' re was a fair muster of marksmen at tli" Invercargill Shooting Club's meeting on March 28, when the Trial Stakes, \a4ued at 20=0's, was competed for. The day was very hot aud many of the birds were reluctant to rue The shooting of T. Irving and E. P. Graham was exceedingly good; the latte" grassing 29 consecutive birds. Of the unplaced competitors Geo. Weavcis. a comparatively young shot, did lenurkably well, killing six- birds in each nomination. Messrs J. Brcv and Richard Clark shared the position of ref< ree. and the secretary (Mr D. Bnin) superintended the match in bib usual capable manner. The conditions w1 re se\rn 1 biids e-cii ; -ccond miss out. Aft;r 14 lou'ids Isncl been completed Bain and E. P. (<rah;tm had I\wj iiomiuat'on-s f<>»od, and frying, Gorton and Brey ore ench; thera bcinc nl'o 12 n<>miuationi wit'i si\ each fn ths tuM lound of tho tic= Broy fell out. followed ni the thu-d by (4orton and Bain ( econd uom.) ; eight more and the latter mi-j-etl a:i ea»y biid; Graham Uceond noin.) I doino; likewise a round later. Five more renui'U le)!lowed, when tho supply oT pigeons beeam.- p\hausted and compul coiy decision had to b-a made, leaving Irving a'ul E. P. Graham to divide, fir^t and soc'jucl i.ior.ey: the lyttcr al=o securing th.rd money on his sce-ond nominotion. Ocuhir demoiutrat'on of tlie style in which the warfare n^p-ns} rot=! i- c-fried on by w ousels at Lyfti'itou was afforded on We<:uesc.lay !-i-l. when a wpa-el was observed at tlic aid of the cistern bieakwalc-r eagcrlv huntiii" the Aidents ai. '-v<x the rtoji-.,, wrii>gliii^ in find out the liolej and keeplv pur.-uuiß its pr?y The Bnv'iwood liunt C'nS I eld 'ts *p\cr ttenth ii'iiius! iiiCPtinsr at Pivertnn on Marc-li" 31, when Mi J. B. Sutton presided and there wa* a large attppdnnco e>f meml'crs. The ba'air-e -licet showed a balance in hand of £5-7 9s 4d, agaip.-,i wh'ch the>r<were a few -mall outsfraiid'nj? accounts. The am iKil report s-howed that tho hounds had run a -ea^on of ovei four months, during v. hi h \itnc the field of followers had olway-, boen large. The race'meeting at Otaut:>u, .it the close of the season, largely eiue to the cxert'ejiir. of Messrs Maopher-on. M'Ga< oek. ard iS.viiuler=. had rcsr.iteel in a nrofK e>f £26 15-. Th" report concluded with thanks to rho^e who hod placed their lands and fai- m-< at Ihe club's dir-po-vil. Mr James I-titc-lne^ v\as elee ted master and Mr B. Richnrdson .'p-.-retaiy and troi-urer. The annual suh-criytion was fixrd at £1. and the fir^t mcetin<; feir the* 24t1. of May. Me ?i- Krfirbairn. Dowclill. aiui Kooney v:=ite-cl L-ike On-low em the fir-t clay of the fho'iting se;i-on and had come good sport anmna: the due-k=, which they report as b"uig very immcrou* Kach of the sportt- ' men got a g'>od baa. 'Ihev did not get near the geese en the lake, but thfesc were 1 evidently jm rra-nij? in number. | t