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Southland Times, Issue 1311, 23 September 1870, Page 2

We understand that the Invercargill Amateur Dramatic Club intend giving a performance in conjunction with the BellringeM next week. Two thousand acres (more- or less), heing allotments numbered 13 on the plan of the Waimumu Hundred, and 225 on the plan of the Hokanui district, have been reserved under the provisions of the "Native Reserves Act, 1836." It is rumored that the liquidators of the Pioneer Steel Company (Taranaki) have entered into negotiations for the formation of a new company in London, with a cipital of from £80,000 to £120,000, to work the iron sanl. Shortly before the Assembly wa3 prorogued it' wa3 intimated by Mr M'Lean thac the Maori members would vacate their seats in the same manner as the other members of the Assembly on the dissolution of Parliament ; and, when reelected, would ait the full term of the duration of the neit Parliament. The Timaru papor of Sapt. It learn 3 that several stations in the Mackenzie Country have suffered severely during the last few weeks through the heavy fall of snow. In some cases it is said hundreds of ahe^p h ave been found dead, and men have been employed for several days in skinning them. Writing frooa Clutha, under date, the 14th instant, a correspondent states :— We are glad to see a change in the weather for the better. Farmers are full ot work, and are making up for lost time. Carpenters are busy. Road contractors have seized an early opportunity for putting our noted swamp road, &c, into a passable state, and ere long we hope to see a fine piece of road. The flax mill at Kaitangata creek, at which is engaged a good number of hands, is turning out large quantities of very superior fibre. The temperance movement in Tuapeka is improved by a local publican, who writes to the district journal as follows :— -" On reading your issue of the Ist inst., I was proud to see that the Teetotal Abstinence Society was taking such a firm hold on the inhabitants of Lawrence, and only hope that gentlemen, or at any rate the majority of them, will be induced to call and pay their hotel bills, as I feel a great depression in trade since the movement was started, and am consequently in want of cash." A freight and passenger train left the Railway Station, Invercargill, for -Winton, yesterday, at half-past one. The trip was not announced until during the cour3e of the forenoon, but notwithstanding that a goodly number of people took the opportunity for a rido into the country. The train consisted of five goods truck 3, each loaded with about five tons of general merchandise, and one passenger car well filled. The goods were nearly all for the Likes district, being the loading of draymen whose teara3 ware in waiting at Winton. This is the first occasion on which a train has been run right through. . ' . . The meeting at Mr Pelling's Hotel, Wallacetown, held on the 21st, relative to the formation of a Volunteer Cavalry Corps in the district, was attended ,by about twenty gentlemen, amongst whom Were" three members of the newly-formed Invercargill corps. J. M. M'Clure, Esq., Rjal Bush, wa3 called to the chair, and after a vote had been passed affirming the desirability of forming a corps, fifteen of those present were sworn-in as members. At present it is intended to constitute the new corps a troop of the Invercargill corps, but it is expected that sufficient numbers will soon join its ranks to enable it to take an independent footing. It has been frequently remarked (says a Tokomairiro paper) how indifferent the most of our settlers are to the advantages to bo gained by the growth of forest trees near their homesteads. A capital illustration came under our notice lately of the quick growth of blue gum trees- in this country, and the profit derived from them. ' Mr John Darling, Inch Clutlia, when he settled on his present farm, about eleven years ago, had planted a belt of tli9se tree 3, and a3 they were in too close proximity to his house, he recently cut BY THE E. P. BOUVERIE,

! down a portion of them, so as to form a semicircle j in front of hi* residence. From the timber contained in the fallen trees, lie was enabled to erect cattle shnds and other convenient and useful buildings for the farm. The Melbourne Argus lias the following : — " A sample of syrup undo fro:n beetroot, boing in the stage one remove from sujar, from the works of the Agricultural Distillery and .Beetroot Sugar Company, was submitted for our inspection the other day. It is a portion of 271 b. weight made from 2fccwt. of roots, according to the process patented by the company. We hear that the roots grown in the colony exhibit great richness of saccharine matter, to a decree romarkab'e when it is rememberel that they were exposed to a very severe trial by remaining in the ground during the late wet weather. The result is considered to prove the thorough adaptability of our soil to the culture of beetroot. The syrap in the next operation ia refined into sugar, the residuum being distilled into spirits. The proposed new line of telegraph to Riverton has been surveyed and pegged off in four chain lengths. The number of poles required for completing the work will be 464. The renewal of the Bluff line has been commenced from the lower terminus. So far as it has gone, the work has alLthe appearance of being a decided improvement on the old line. It will follow a much more direct course, conspquently it will not be so liable to accidents, arising from breakage, a3 hitherto. During the transmission of the last English Mail intelligence, considerable delay was occasioned in consequence of an interruption between this and Balclutha. We have ascertained from enquiries made that such an interruption is not at all to bo wondered at. The line from Oamaru to Balclutha has all boon relaid, but nothing at all has been done for the branch further south. Along many parts of the road men on horseback can touch the wires, so that the only surprise is that the interruptions are not more frequent. The Wairarapa Mercury communicates the following as a hint to dealers in horses : — At a sale at the Masterton pound on September 3, there were two . horses sold ; one realised £3, the other was knocked down for four shillings ! The buyer of the latter sold it for £1, then it was rasold for 30s, then exchanged for a donkey valued at £5. The donkey was exchanged for a horse valued at £8, and the latter was " swapped " for another pony worth about £10. All these various changes wore made within a week. Another instance of the shrewdness of Masterton "jocks" was in the case of a horse purchased at an auction sale, where a gentleman made a purchase for £6 ss, and sold him the same day for £3. The buyer exchanged it with the Miories for four acre 3. of land, situated below Mr Masters's homestead, and for which he has since been offered £35. From these facts we judge that if any of our readers wish to learn a " wrinkle " about horse dealing, they might go to worse places than Masterton. ■ . , The following arguments are advanced by a North Island correspondent in favor of boilingdown establishments : — All connected with sheepfarming must know that, durin? thc> summer months, when sheep are fat, the prico obtainable at market is not remunerative to either the grower or grazier. Sheep, when properly fat, ought to be turned into money as soon as possible, and I assert the establishment of boiling down will enable the farmer to do so, and, in many instances, allow of his fattening, before winter, a second flock. The price he would receive from boiling-down would be about equal to 3£.l per Ib. ; scarcely the half was oblained last season. Our Lincoln and Leicester cheep are not a- lap ted for butchers' at that season, and are remarkably so for boiling-down. As an instance, I will give the results as stated by a gentleman who witnessed an 80 Ib. Leicester boiled down at Wellington, viz. — tallow, 15s ; le?s, 4a ; skin, 3s ; kidneys and tongue, 4i ; equal to 22s 4d nett,; within 5s of that price could not, be got from the butchers. The labouring class need not be afraid thar, butchers' meat would be increased beyond ■what they can afford to pay, as there would be a large sale of legs, &c, at about 2s each.