THROUGH OUR EXCHANGES.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1783, 7 March 1888, Page 4

THROUGH OUR EXCHANGES.

VJO>ICDLT--B«S IN ALO RIA.

Great t .tuu'ta* .c u^inK lv.do iv Jlpei» I trUb the wioe t:«o«?i'g industy. 1 . 1878 there were ooij 37^0 -'ere* under culuv.*tlon for wt ii-a. At preaeut tht-ra are no le«m than 210 000 acrea, yio di<i^ upwards of 31 miliio.i gailorm of wuid. la quality this ia Bad to resemble tuat of ezcalleut MacoD, with a dash of tbs flivor of wmes grown on the bankß of the Rhine. At the as ma time the varieties are as numerous as they are m France, the gtneral classification b«in-> what ia kuown In the Bordolaia aa bourgeois. Tin products of a large vine-yat'i established hy Cardinal Laln^erie at X üba serve to provide an annual dowry for 200 young girls, whilß those of another vineyara suffice for the maintenance of come Ohiliiian missions m <hn heart of Africa THS ITALIAN FLEET. Italy ia reported to be m a position to fulfil what it is aaid Prince Bismarck demanded from Slgoor Grispi at their last Interview, namely, m the event of a war wich Ffanca, to li flict a nudden ami deadly blow npon the French fbet In the Mediterranean. That of I'aly wtll shortly comprise upwards of 60 ironclads, soma of them — the Lapanto, for instance — of enormous power, and 96 torpedo veaaalß Taranto, at the head ot the gulf of that name, has been transfotmea into the third m importauce of the great war porta of the kingdom ; tho little island of M&ddileaa, off the north-eaat coast of Swdinlh. has been so fortified as to shelter m fleet destined for offensive operations against Marseilles, A'geria, or Toulon ; and the harbor of Meanaa, defended by powerful batteries of Krupp guns, will alio fulfil a aimilar purpose. BIR JAMBS HECTOR ON RABBITS. In the course of a chat abouc ibe Melbourne Centennial Exhibition. Sir J«mea Hector ia reportei to have eaid :— " We can exhibit everything and make use of everything. We may even turn the rabbit to account. There is a tremendous demand just now for rabbit &klna for fur gloves aud felts ; and m Marlboroui^h the export of canned rabbits is quite an extenalve trade. In fact my prophecy is that m a few yeara we shall be importing the rabbit instead of cudgelling our braina for tha beat rat ana of destroying him, In Europe tbe principal warrens have been decimated by disease, and m Canada, from the itme came, the rabbit h*a dia appeared to Bach an extent that it afforded the ludioroas picture of Mr Allbones contracting on the one hani to supply ua wita ferrets for rabbit extirpation, and on the o'hur hani o .)t.t<-aot.ing to Bend rabbtta out to r<* »fuck V»nc<<rer. The fact ia ti.at * noo-i d-a'i <f our county wi.'l ba f und ra-rt- pr 6tab:y ocoupitd by rakb.ti ih ■<.-■ ny »r)-«p ' BITING A MAX T • DEATH, Ocean ii-a> O- u -ii-eae. tra>.;.e- uuf-ns er -• f^rc^ 'heir -tcr.es u> a tumble minu r 'ih>i G idßateta' Union of Soich°»v — tho Ath dh of i htf.a some tiu.e ago wreaked a teirltili vuauvaucid on nue (il the-r cr-ift. Goid .e.«f wai needed lo an unusual itmou'ii tor tht> JLnip>jror. One o' ttlH cn:fc reyn suited t» h« ma^itft'a'ti that if iie were abuwed to t-.?ke » num^r of apprentices th» work wou d be greatly exp uitrd, aiid hdviug obt nurd permi-a on ha pr-. ejected lo emi^e a g^eat uim.y apprentices, violatiug- therapy v luiv of the trade Which oia.ilinved aa tmpioyur (o trtke more 'hau dno apptetitio-i at v time Hu CiQi'ict mfortattid ttie cr^ft, and tatword pa eed rjot d " Buiog <o death ia nut a capital uffooce." One buudrod and twenty-three of them ruahed on the miserable man, each taking a bi:e. Death soon relieved tiievictimoffiendiuh rancour To make sure that oone eU'rked duty on that occasion, no ons waa allowed to quit the shop whose bloody lips and gutna did cot attest his fidelity. The murderer who took the first bite was discovered f»n<J beheaded. A TOWN DBBTBOYKD BY A MOKK'Y A ciicamstai.cd proijubiy wrb^nt a parallel, even iv the history "f theUoiied states, is just reported m advices rtc;ivdd from Ashland, Wisconsin Territory, viz , the destruction of the town of Wakefield by fire through the Dmchfevoußneaa of a monkey. The animal was kept In the Vaudeville Theatre, and had tbe freedom of the plaoe. During the evuiing of the 25th December, the animal got to some kerosene, covering itself with the oil. It then set fire to itself with a lamp that waa burning m the room, and then appeared at the wiodowof tbe theatre, its an ncs whilst there amusing the people. P/eaently th) building waa m fl tinea, and the monkey, running about m its fref zy, astfire to other places. The buildings In the town were of wood, and the coufl<gration spread from place to place until the whole of the town waa m ruin?. Gangs cf roughs, during the progress of the fire, commenced looting the stores, and -m Borne instances the flames had scarcely reached the respective places before the robbers commenced sacking the premises The owners tried to protect their stores, and In tbe encountera many pistol ahota were exchanged. The owner of the theatre waa a man named O'Brien, and between him and a storekeeper named Lewis, whose premises were destroyed, an altercation took place, Law (a blaming O'Brien for allowing the monkey to be m the theatre O'Brien became enraged, iihot Lewis twici with a revolver, w ur>d. ing him mortally. Tho damage to pioperty id ?aid to ba about 75,000i015, only about gQQOioIs of it beir-g covered by lotarsoce,