RURAL RAMBLES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2894, 1 September 1909, Page 83

RURAL RAMBLES.

By CobntßK. j Dear Dot and Little Folk, — Since the powers that be h*ve decreed "that Falmerstoa shall, be my haunt for. a time.r -t-Sen hart* turned 1o took around" n>a> that; I may make an invaniory of the merits of "this fax , from uninteresting country town. I have made several voyages of discovery seawards . and inla-nd, and just to ask attention for j topics near our doors, snd maybe ignored ; for fheir very nearness, I plead a concession. The lessee of the Government lime quarxies having kindly volunteered to enlighten me in the mysteries of lin*e .production, I - eagerly closed on so generous an offer, and one fine morning, with every known factor j conducive' "to-" an enjoyable spin, I 'com- ; nisnced my eight miles' journey to the lime i quarries, which, to use an ambiguous term, ' •are situated the larger half of' the way to J Dunback. Methoughi, *s I journeyed on, of , . my old-time' endeared comrade Harry. The j ■olji motion bad" recalled old memories, and I -it did "not seem a far cry back io those "bj- i gone days when Harry and I were wont to cut high capers on the Main South rroard r from Dunedin. However, as thoughts would not ' lestore my. desired chum to my side, I discarded memories, and made v, closer inspection of the avenue -of hills which the Shag* Valley River divrdss. What though a motor , or two did pass me' by, with their horn ' sounding mere fearsome than my modest bell, ' and though 1 had to sidetrack- several times to give them undisputed right of way, still I did not feel as though 1 was a belated ancient left in the rear of up-to-date ismJuet here. Dot? I an* going to advance c hitherto unrecorded necessity which all cyclists must have, steed to lose by in the up 3 and -downs'of ,, tKeir bird-of-passage-like career.. It is tin additional sense — the sente of Rrcality, for lacking it means many a long mil^" unwittingry traversed. I w&s not certain ot^ the way, and inquiry elicited: "Make' for tha4 smok*; it rises from -the kilns".; so the eon I placed" all" my faith in \ he.ia.r-,cff- whrfe -wreaths of smoke, -and never piade. .allowance, for 1 tbe vwnd - that- spread ft. generousfy around the neighbouring terraces. I remember once being amused by the account of a- hi and new farm band's first attempt to v.rest- from a' plough the secret of its navigation. His tutor took a. cow in the* fame field as an object for his pupil to sleer towards, tnd when he failed to appear viifh, . tha 'return, furrow, search discovered him several miles -away, still laboriously, driving his .pjocgh, in' t^e wake «f the new -greatly wonderjn^-7 v "" I played a like game -with variations), anti-made for what I thought srlationa.ry smoke- I have heard old Australian bushmen tell of th« shadow creeki-of Australia, .which cruelly lure many a-v-ttroat- parched man to death, a.B-3 ha&9 i-lie myWterious^ characteristic of apjseaeigg within easy.reafch-, yet are never . attainable. Likewise, when f made for my smoke landmark vja a short cut, I learn I with not a little mortification that things are not what they seen*, particularly short cu:s and smoke, for when I travelled to meet that smoke our positions were suddenly reversed, and we were vice versa. Despairing of solving this alaxK spheric phenomenon I resorted to the human factor, and' finally j arrived at my host's home. Should my esteemed chum Harry see this I ask him to think back to one of our. catties in the | air — via., "Our bachelors relVeat," and ! thoee marvellous di? ners thsrt were going to . be tbe establishment's masterpiece. Well, • Ctbß^diiq»er awaiting my arrival -was -^just tuph > one. s« ,w« nJght taken our plans and . specification* / fromv bat there, - whore, is .tire- #ain in dwelling oga a topic ' "thai* inspires the wish thai the interpreta- - iaon :,of;«H*4eßce: ,of;«H*4eßce- was- one- long- .series^ of dinners,- tnL'i permanent appetite '-to do ' tfcam "justice? " ; Bmner over, -trader able, guidance I wa* " shown -the various '"rrea4mentf the time" rock is subject-ad to ere. it- becomes that indiapen- " eible articles-lime. To describe the vicinity, ■ lowering high above its brethren hills of terser height and worth, as. though in its original state it would assume' the promiaience it eventually receives hf virtue' of it* -usefulness, the mountain of lime rock is an Mnposing spectacle. Veins of white rock girth its base, and higher up the colour varies, not'-EO much evidence of' the changing 1 stratum, as. the result ot passing storm® ■ which have buffeted this exposed formation ince. prehistoric,, days when atorm .- and'mountain first met and tried conclusions. Our first steps were up the hillside, through Ihe power-houf-e, where great winding engines, their latent power stored within, at present silent cylinders, lay Jike giants at rest. On the hillside we came to the initial step in tha production of lime — viz., the severing of lumps from the parent stone in sizes handy for transport. This process of quarrying is just as might be carried on in either the Glen or Pelichet B»j stone quarries. Then it is loaded for the descent to the kilns, and just here I was interested in aa ingenious mechanical contrivance which resulted in a loading truck, descending making good its passage by hauling up . an empty truck on m seesa*- principle. To 1 the kirns I was next taken* and with tbe j frank abandon which curiosity and inexperi- { ence is instrumental in prompting-, I walked unconcernedly to tbe. kiln mouth, but beat a hasty retreat as tbe keen sensible heat of glowing lime gave on* to. understand that CM&nt- mast be - recognised even. in. tha . girnnsk. fox knowledge. "This kiln ha« not j been out fox 10 years," said my host, and i then I wondered no more at tbe vicious heat ■ that made it unaj proachable. Distance ' lends enchantment to the view, particularly when 10 years' heat is radiating around one, •o we descended to the foot of the kilns, where the lime, after doing penance in the

flames, lay in its marketable state, merely awciting the final process of grading, loading, e<c. Before departing my host placed a piece of limestone in a be-sin of water, and quite unsuspected agencies became involied in violent commoticn. The inanimate looking rock, upon being immersed, suddenly became possessed of wonderful activity, and, commencing with a grand upheaval, concluded with a display of miniature explosions, and finally lay a. harmless paste, and the only different in the water that had incited this disturbance was that it had changed from cold to hot Then, a wondering thought claimed attention. Supposing, in a, manner not known to man, this mountain of rock underwent a baking process, and then it rained, maybe the Shag River would run hot lava to the sea for many a day. Well, Doi, my next" jaunt will be to the old Shag Point coalmines, forced to desertion by the intrusion of the sea,, and, subject to your approval, I will recount my wanderings among the ruins of an- abandoned industry.