CAVE (Smith Canterbury).

Otago Witness, Issue 1851, 30 March 1904, Page 49

CAVE (Smith Canterbury).

March 23. — There must have been quite 1100 people from ail parts at the sale to-day There was a special train from Timaru, and it was a red-letter day in the history of Cave, as never l>efore was there such a number of people in the place. It was a record sale for this part of the world. Sheap sold from 9s lOd to 20s Id, and the excitement was very high sometimes when some of the buyers could not get as many sheep as they wanted. Cattle and sundries sold well. I was nob at the second day's sale, but sheep sold well- at the Leve's home station, and all the implements and eundries also sold well. On the third dry horses and cattle sold, at top prices, and the !N. and A. L. Company deserve credit for having their stock in the pink of condition. Mr A. Budd, of Timaru, was- engaged to see that no one went hungry, and he had a great staff of waiters to " keep the billy boiled. During the three days there was consumed 50 gallons cf whisky and over 300 gallons of beer, so the company treated the buyers in a liberal manner in the way of food and drink. The first days sale realised about

Agricultural. — The weather has been good thvring the past two weeks, but a white fro3t at night is nipping the growth of the grass and green feed. The harvest is finished, and threshing is in full swing. One farmer in the district threshed out 60 bushels of wheat and SO bushels of oats, selling' his wheat at 3s Id, or £3 5s an ocre, which is a good return for one's labour. This farm°r deserves something for his labour, however, as he farms ■well.

Land Sales. — Mi John Ford, of Mount Neesfiing, has bought 4000 acres of land from Mr Elwcrthy. It is in the Upper Pareora valley, lying near the Otioa River, at Millar's yards. Mr John Elder has bought 500 acres from the same gentleman at the top of the valley on the main back road, and Mr Tasman Smith, of Monavale, has bought 400 acres from !Mr Dougal Blue, so laud is being transferred from one owner to another all over South Canterbury. Some of the new settlers on ths JRoswell are letting their (fencing to be put up, and also letting their ploughing, to get their •wheat in before the winter sets in, so they are losing no time in getting to work. The new settlers are making inquiries about their sections — as lo what the section is best suited ior, etc. I shall give them 6s &d worth of advice gratis : Get Burns's Poems and a Bible and the Otago Witness every week, and they are bound to succeed ; and, above all things, I tell them to get the Witness, and it will make farming easy for them. Some of them ask " How is that?" I tell them that the Witness tells them) what to do and how to do it. ' [It is very pleasant to have such a voluntary advocate as our correspondent. We hope to bo long able to merit his confidence. — Ed.] Weather. — The weather is all that could be ■wished for to get on with the autumn work, and the plough Ims been at work for some time aiow, and the wheat will be got into the ground in good order.

The Town Clerk of Alexandra contradicts the statement made in 'Clyde notes of the 16th that a typhoid patient from Alexandra c!i;d in the Dunsiau Hospital He further asserts that ikere is no typhoid at Alexandra. No doubS Cur Clyde correspondent wiU make further inquiries" into the matter in due course.

On Saturday Mr W. Just, nurcerymau, Palmea-ston N.. shipped the fir^t instalmont of New Zealand tree ferns to a noted Continental house (Waldemai Nicolai, of Saxony). Thirty-one trees, averaging 6ft high, were sent, valued at £20 apiece. There wi 1 be further shipments of punga by the following steamer.