INTER-COLONIAL & GENERAL.

Dunstan Times, Issue 568, 7 March 1873, Page 1 (Supplement)

INTER-COLONIAL & GENERAL.

0 — The last year’s yield of gold in New S-nith Wales showed an increase of 97,000 ounces, and there wore 778,000 ounces coined at the Sydney Mint.

The Tasmanian Turf Club has passed a resolution disqualifying John B Wallis from ever appearing on any course under its management. A nugget, weighing one hundred and fifty ounces has been found at Smythesdale.

The will of the late Walter Montgomery has been proved in the Equity Court. The amount was sworn to be under 2,500/. The sapphire ring given bv His Koval Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, on board the Galatea, to the testator is left to Mr. J. Forsyth The massive gold chain, made to the deceased actor’s order by Mr Crisp, jeweller, of Queen-street,is bequeathed to His Koyal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh. It was offered to him during tho testator’s lifetime, but His Royal Highness declined to deprive the owner of it.— Australasian. A summer storm of unusual severity visited Melbourne and its subur son the Cth of February. The rain is described as a deluge and accompanied at times by very heavy hail. At the time the thermometer stood at eightytwo in the shade Bourke and Elizabeth steeets were flooded, A t the foot of Elizabeth-strcet, near the Hobson’s Bay Railway Station, there was a torrent of water rushing down the spacious gutters. An unfortunate cabhorse, while backing to the pavement, to take up some passengers, lost its footing, and was carried down some distance, cab and all. Three or four men went to the animal’s head, and held it. oat of the water to prevent it, drowning. When it was released from its harness, the rush of water carried the horse right under the foot-way ; but, on coming out below the bridge, managed to get on its legs again.

The following extract from a letter from the National Yaccine Association has been despatched to the Government by the Secretary of State, and is published for general information : The establishment would express the hope that no opportunity wi 1 be lost of impressing upon the Governors of colonies the great superiority of vaccination from arm to arm over that with preserved lymph, and of suggesting that arrange incuts should he made in the respective colonies for maintaining the practice of vaccination to the utmost possible extent from child to child.

The following opinion (from the Wool Committee of the Bradford Chamber of Commerce) may be useful to wool-growers who aro crossing the merino with tht Lincoln and Leicester sheep, for the purpose of producing long lustre wool. It is addressed to certain wool-growers of South Australia, who are crossing a good deal with the heavy-woolled sheep of England. With regard to your query: “Is the English Leicester wool more valued by us than the Lincoln 1 we answer : No; because it is not so bright and lustrous; but we must also add that we very much prefer the modern Lincoln, which, as you say, has a cross of Leicester in it, to (he old Lincoln, as it is lighter, finer, and has an equal lustre. An illustration of some of the preceding statements may be found in the comparative value of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire wool Both are alike in point of lustre and length, but Yorkshire is considerably lighter per fleece, and liner in the hair, and is worth in the market from Id. to 2d per lb. more than Lincoln. The introduction of Cotswold blood into fiue-woolled flocks is generally bad, as it does not impart lustre, and deteriorates the soft qualities o the finer wools, making them rough, course, and heavy. This class of sh<*ep can only be kept to advantage on the high Gloucester hills, and wherever they have been tried in other parts of the country, either pure or to cross with, have proved a failure.

The Iloharl Town Mercury says : “ Mr. G. W. Weaver, the well-known chemist, of Wellington-bridge, brought home with him on Monday, the 3rd lust,, from New Norfolk, three magnificent trout, all shining, solid, and beautiful. There is, as usual, difference of opinion as to the character of the trout. One opinion is that th y were two males and a female, the litter measuring tweutv-four inches and a half in length and fifteen inches and three-quarters in circumference, and turned the scale at eight pounds six ounces. The male fish was somewhat smaller, but the thr°e covered a goodsized tea-tray, and weighed eighteen pounds The third fish was landed by a friend of Mr. Weaver’s, and it is the opinion of some that the fish described as a female is not a female brown trout, but a sea going fis'', M<\ Weaver, "•nth the assistance of Messrs. Roblin and Allport, took a plaster of Paris model of it, and this model will be left in the Museum for inspection. The present is acknowledged on all hands to be the grandest take yet made since the river was thrown open to anglers ; and when our readers are informed that Mr. Weaver hooked two of these splendid fish as far up the Derwent as Charlie’s Hope, they may well understand that the brown trout is thoroughly established in the tributaries of our noble estuary, even if by any chance the salmon proper and salmon trout should prove a failure.”