MISCELLANEOUS.

Oamaru Mail, Volume III, Issue 784, 16 October 1878, Page 1 (Supplement)

MISCELLANEOUS.

<, : The Christ.church Star has the follow- | ing :—" At the meeting, of .the Hospital and Charitable. Aid Board, held last even-, ing, Dr. Turnbull said that the system of giving fat to the cook of the Hospital as her perquisite had led., to gross abuses. Joints of meat hud been dried up until the bones projected from the sorry remnant, and all the nutriment had been destroyed in the endeavor to extract as much fat. as .possible. Omslders were accustomed to go to the Hospital cook to purchase dripping. A new cook has to im obtained at the .pr= time, and th*discnssion led to the -determination that if a really first-class one could be obtained, a higher salary should be^given.'' 1 -. ,:.- . Last night (says the Christchurch. Star) two jurymen were holding out against ten, and in, consequence the Judge: directed them to retire to their room. Application was made on their part that they might be.allowed some water. His Honor said, with marked emphasis on tile last word, '' Yes. they may have '.water.". Those who; had noticed the condition of" one of the jurymen believed that there was a very decided meaningin his Honor's •mphasis. ~ --..-, " New Zealand Stud of Draught Horses " is the' title of a work the first volume of which has just made its appearance. The fo,lowing are extracts from the preface :—" The importance of pedigrees in all animals is so univ- rsally admitted that there is no necessity for offering any explanation or apology on oehalf of the C interbnry Agricultural am Pastoral Association for undertaking the Draught Horse' Stud Book. It is somewhat strange that nothing of the kind exists at the present time, either in England, America, or any of the Colonies, and that the example shown by the breeders of race-horses in compiling the 'General Stud Book' had not been followed by breeders of draught horses long ago Although the number of n tries in the present volume tend to nrove that a number of breeders of draught horses take an interest in the present undertaking, it is believed that a very much larger number might have : been entered ; and ia order that those who may have been a little apathetic in the mat'er, but who may now wish to have their stock entered, may have an opportunity of doing so without any undue delay, the Snh-Uonimittee, t" whom the task of carrying on the pnbli cition lias been committed, intend recommending the publication of a second volume, as soon as 100 additional i ntriehave been sent." The Canterbury stockbreeders seem to hold aloof from assisting in making the work as useful as it might ! He made, there being only 72 horses and j 266 mares entered. A. Christchurch exchange savs: "Messrs. Robert Wilkin and Co. have ■eceived per Tarni-ua, to the order of Mr. John D ans, of Riecarton, the short-hnm hull Leo. bivd by Robert M'Dourd, E«q., t Arundel. Victoria. Leo is by Major Booth (26790), dnm Louise, bv Fn=ld Marshal Booth (28595), g f \ L-'r-v Clare. by Count of the E-ynre (21499). gr g d Lucy Dundas, by Dnnlas (12790), <?r gr ■X d Lucy Long, bred by the V.D.L. Company from th ir Fnglish stock. Leo was calved on July 1. 1876, and possesses all the properties that constitute a good sire. His color is dark roan. He is beautifully evenly fleshed from one end to the other, thoroughly muscular in appearance, and is altogether a splendid animal, which must be a valuable addition to the pure stock of this Pr.'V : ncp." Mr. Battley, who, for mauv years, has in the emnb.y of the Bulk of New Z"aland :it Auckland, has bopn presented bv the officers and employe's with a solid silver tea and coff-e service and two elegant on the occasion of his ceasing to be Recount cl-rk. At the late dinner of the NTnpier Agricultural Society. Mr. Rtudhnlrne and Mr. Gray (both of Canterbury) snoke highly of the district, but especially of the sheep amongst which, tiny said. t'->ere were no culls. They, however, added that, if the land were not put into crop, the stock wonll d. t»riorate. Mr. F ,v x. < xensing himself for opposing the " Beer Tax B 11." says that he thinks that the Government are already too closely allied with and dependent on the liquor frame , and to have added neirlv another L 40.000 a year to the revenue derived from this source would have had the effect of strengthening to that extent the warm sympathy which they already feel for the brewer and the publican. The temperance party believe that the main reason why so much opposition is raised against, the laws fhev propose to enact to check the consumption of spirits is that the Treasury is so largely dependent upon this soivc for its funds. Mr. Fox says : nounced I corresponded with several of the leading men in the temperance movement in various narts of the Colony, some of them very staunch supporters of the Government. With exception of one Good Templars' Lodge, their adv : ce in every case was to vote againt the Bill, and that for precisely the same reason I <ave in the House, viz,, that by making the Government more dependent on the liquor trade it would strengthen the position of the liquor traffic and weaken that of liquor law reformers." The founder of " Cobb and C 0.," unlimited and everywhere, is no more (writes in the Australasian). Freeman Cobb came to Melbourne at the end of 1852 or beginning of 1853, with George Mowton, to form a branch of Adams and Co., famed in the United States as express carriers. Melbourne was not ripe for that business, and Mr. Cobb, who had express-waggons with him. hought horses, and c >mmenced that coaching system which has made Cobb and Co. famous over the Australian Colonies. After living in America for some time. *'e old spirit of enterprise was aroused in him. and he went to t>'e South African goldfields. and smarted Cobb mp l "' Co. there—and there he died. Adams and Co. brought «ith them the two first hnggies landed in Australia. The best friend I ever h»d bought one of tf'em, and Mowton kept the other. The good people of Melbourne wer« highly amused at the notion of those light spider-like vehicles travelling over bush roads. But the buggies survived the ridicule.