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Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 16, Issue 874, 23 November 1870, Page 2

W. Cook, jun., ha 9 recently played two. billiard matches, of 1,000 up, with W. Woolridge, who received 300 points start. In tho former Cook scored a break of 82., and eventually won by 2\ points, after three hours, and a quarter play. In the evening, the. " spot" having been moved further from tho cushion, and his favorite hazard rendered easier, Cook was in great form, and madebreaks of 116 (22 spots), 87 (20 spots), and; 316, including 10$ spots. Woolridge only reached 704. A simultaneous ride match has been fired between the Dunedin Artillery and the Perth* shire (Scotland) Rifles. The match was fired on the 27th August last, and the score of thePerthshire men arrived by the last mail, and the result leaves the Otago men winners by- 83. points. The conditions were —eight men a side, to fire simultaneously i distance, 200, 500, and 600 yards j seven shqts at each* regulation targets j position at 200 standing, and at 500 and 600 yards, any j Government rifles and ammunition; pull of trigger not less than 61bs. The highest scorera on the part of the artillery are Sergeant Muir and Corporal Ogilvie with 67 each, and on the side of the Home Company, Private Stewart with 63. The totals average, 48*75. Dunediu, 478 j average, 59'75»" The following is extracted from a letter just received by the Wellington Independent from an enthusiastic volunteer officer of high standing in Otago :—Dunedin, 10th November, 1870. Yolunteering has made a splendid start here this season—four new companies forqied, viz ; Hampden, forty-one; Clutha district, ninety ; Lawrence, over sixty; Queenstown, or Wakatipu, over forty. I have information that companies are being formed at Kakanui, Otepopo, Palmerston, and the Stag Burn. The companies have settled down to steady training and rifle practice, and I prophesy somo good shooting. The Port Chalmers Naval aud City Q-uards had a match yesterday, 9th No« vember; the Guards were victorious by forty points j Sergeant Wedderspoon, of the Guards, making the magnificent score of fifty-one points. I enclose scores, by which you will see that thus early in the season seven men made the score to qualify as representative* for the Government rifle matches, viz., forty points. I am sorry ai| that quality cannot attend, as we would swamp tue other provinces. lam afraid that many of our best men will not be able to get away to Auckland, as it would keep them a long time away from their business. The cadets are mustering well j the country corps are drilling; theschoolboys at Oamaru, Gum Island, Caversham, and Port Chalmers are all under train* ing. So that with over three hundred under training in Dunedin, we have quite an army q{ cadets in the province.

Sir,_l extract from the Times of Sept. 9, 1870, an account of a new invention for cutting and binding grain, which may prove of immense value to the farmer, and enable him to reap all the benefits of an abundant harvest like last year's. It does not seem quite clear what length of straw is cut with the ear of grain by this machine, which seems well worthy the farmers enquiring about. Your obedient servant, DOUBLE-FUBROW. Mr Carpenter, of Fond du %ac, Wisconsin, has succeeded in putting into the field an automatic machine, which will cut, bind, and deliver its thousands of bundles of grain, without the aid of human hands, and without wasting a kernel. Trials made during the recent harvest showed that, out of nearly 3,000 bundles, not above eight or ten would need rebinding; these had straw so short that it was difficult to get the cutter far below their heads/ Three acres were cut in 2J hours, without a bundle being missed ; and it is believed that in an ordinary clear and level field a span of horses would easily cut and bind eight or ten acres daily," and probably more. One or two small accidents happened, but were speedily repaired. It is not possible, in a new and untried machine, to calculate all the points of greatest strain before they are demonstrated on trial. None of the defects had anything to do with the principle of the binder, but were merely deficiencies in the strength of one or two Republican.

GOOD NEWS FOR FARMERS. 10 THE EDITOR OF THE LYTELTON TIMES.