THE HOKITIKA.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 7, Issue 340, 23 April 1863, Page 4

THE HOKITIKA.

The following is the account of this river given Mr. Sherrin in his journal published in the Press : About five miles from the Brunner the Hokitika empties itself into the sea. We arrived on Friday afternoon, and, were mnch suiprised and pleased to see. so fine a river. I should consider, its volume is equal to the combined waters of the Grey and the r i aramakau.

The first thought that occurs is, if there should prove a sufficiency of water on the bar it will be a good harbour, and possibly the future position of the. capital of the west. The entrance to the river, which is aboui thirty chains in width, is bounded on either side by a low sandy beach, down to which the scrub and tim her grows, on the northern side almost to the sea, on the southern side to within half a mile or more of the sea. There is a line of breakers extending to not more

than a quarter of a mile from the shore all along the beach, and the surf appeared to be continuous across the mouth of the river. We sounded across the mouth from one sandspit to the other close inside the breakers, and found two channels, in 'which were three fathoms and a half, divided apparently by a spit in the middle, on which there was only two fathoms of watei\ We were unable to sound through the breakers owing to the canoe constantly filling. But from the body of water and the rapidity of the ourrent, which is very great, and from the fact that the bar indicated by the surf is so near the share, and from the great depth of water close inside the breakers, it is not possible that any formidable bar should exist even in the line of the breakers. The course of the channel after coming in through the heads seems to be fairly in the centre of the stream for half a mile, after which it bends somewhat to the south. For a craft not drawing over ten feet of water there is on the southern side of the river what I should call a small bay, perfectly safe for shipping from its shelter, with good holding ground, and perfectly smooth water. It will afford another generation a place for the construction of docks, while the abundance of timber will enable them to build their own ships. A large white pine tree on the southern side of the river, standing in advance of its foremost companions, a mile or so from blie beach, will afford no bad mark tor any person sailing up the stream anxious to keep in deep water. We found two and a half fathoms in the channel for a mile within the heads.

The prevailing winds on the coast are from, the south-west and north-west. A wind froin the north-west will invariably bring rain, while the southern and southwest winds, generally if not always, are followed by fine weather. I have not been long enough in the country to know the prevailing direction of the winds, but if westerly winds are prevalent in this country in winter, the temperature will be less cold on the west than on this side ot the range. The bar at the mouth of the harbor is a sand bar, but from the appearance of the surf breaking over it I should judge that no difficulty would be found in the entrance. About a mile inside the entrance the river is divided in two branches by a large island claimed by the Maoris as a reserve. A narrow channel giving deep water may be found: on the north side of the island, but we had not time to determine the depth. The low hills and the timber would, I should think, afford good shel ter. Old David the Maori, living at the Hokitika, mad application to Mr. Drake, for fifty acres of land on the northern side of the river, close to the bar. It would, however, I think be a pity to ' alienate land so close to a harbour.

A large tract of level country is to be found in the neighbourhood of the Hokitika, but all appearing to be thickly timbered, and showing no indications of grass. The valley of the Hokitika should be properly explored, as it is impossible to form an idea wliat diseovei’ies such an exploration would give. I should think from the Brunner to the southward, as far as the eye can reach, the level or available country bounded by the coast and the dividing range will exceed 1000 square miles. In the distance south, tending coastward, can be seen the dividing pangPj inclosing all this large tract of land, with its heights completely co\ered with snow, rising in peak above peak, till it appeal’s to terminate in the west in one large cone far more lofty than its fellows, enveloped I should judge with fully 3000 feet of snow. The Natives call this hill Houlah (?) Is this Mount Cook ? The dividing range must be fully twenty-five miles from the beach.

The main direction of the. River Hokitika some five or sht miles from the bar is southerly, running parallel to the dividing range, but it appears to me quite inadequate to drain so large a watershed.

A largo lake called Kanere empties itself into the Hokitika somewhere near the point were it bends to the south, the Kokataki and several otli iv streams join it at no great distance from the sea.

BATTLE OE FREDRICKSBURG. The following account of the battle of Fredericksburg is from the special correspondent of the Times, who writes from general Lee’s head quarters:— “ Tlie battle opened when the sun had let in enough light through the midst to disclose the near proximity of the Federal lines and field batteries. The first shot was fired shortly before ten A.M., from the batteries in the Federal centre, and was directed against General Hood’s division. The Pennsylvanian Reserves advanced. boldly under a heavy fire against the Confederates who occupied one of the copsewood spurs, and were for a time permitted to hold it, but presently the Confederate batteries opened on them, and a determined charge of the Texans drove the Yankees out of the wood in a oonfusion from which nothing could subsequently rally them. Simultaneously a heavy fire issued from the batteries of General A. P. Hill’s and General Early’s divisions, which was vigorously replied to by the Federal field batteries. The only advantage momentarily gained by thefFederals in this quarter, and which is noticed ip General Lee’s report, was on the occasion of the collapse of a regiment of North Carolina conscripts, who broke and ran, but whose place was rapidly taken by more intrepid syepesors. The cannonading now became general along the entire line. Such a scene, at once terrific and sublime, mortal eye never restecl op before, unless the bombardment of Sebastopol by the combined batteries of France and England revealed

a more fearful manifestation of the hate and fury of man. The thundering bellowing roar of hundreds of pieces of artillery the bright jets of issuing flame, the screaming, hissing, whistling, shrieking projectiles, the wreaths of smoke as shell after shell burst into the still air, the savage crash of round shot among the trees of the shattered forest, formed a scene likely to sink for ever into the memory of all who witnessed it, but utterly defying verbal delineation. A direct and enfilading fire swept each battery upon either side as it was unmasked, volley replied to volley, crash succeeded crash, until the eye lost all power of distinguishing the lines of combatants, and the whole plain seemed a lake of fire, , a seething mass of molten lava, coursed over by incarnate fiends, drunk with fury and revenge. “ Twice the Federals, gallantly led and encouraged by their officers, dashed against the forces of General A. P. Hill ant} General Early, and twice they recoiled, broken and discomfited, and incapable of being again rallied to the fray, The eager Confederates drove them with horrid carnage a mile across the plain, and only desisted from the pursuit when they cafiie under the fire of the Federal batteries across tbe river. Upon the extreme Confederate right General Stuart’s Horse Artillery pressed hotly upon the fugitives and kept up fire, subsequently understood to been very effective, until after dark. Upon the Confederate right where the antagonists fought upon more level terms the equality of loss upon both sides was greater than on the Confederate left; but even here the Federal loss in officers and men far outnumbered that of their opponents. General Bayard, the best cavalry officer in the Federal service, fell dead almost on the eve of the day which was to have witnessed his nuptials ; General Jackson of Pennsylvania, shared his, fate. Many other general officers were carried to the Federal rear, grievously wounded; whereas, of the Confederates only one officer of rank—General Gregg —fell upon the right, and only one—General Cobb—upon the left. “ Meanwhile, the battle which had dashed furiously against the lines ef General Hood, A. P. Hill, and Early, was little more than child’s play, as compared with the onslaught of the Federals in the immediate neighbourhood of Fredricksburg. The impression that tlxe Confederate batteries would not fire heavily upon the Federals advancing in this quarter for fear of injuring the town of Fredricks-i burg, is believed to have prevailed among the Northern Generals. How biterly they deceived themselves, subsequent events served to show. To the Irish division, commanded by General Meagher, was principally committed the tasks of bursting out of the town of Fredrieksburg and forming, under the witliering fire of the Confederate batteries, to attack Mayre’s Heights, lowering immediately in their front. Never at Fontenoy, at Albuera, or at Waterloo, was more undoubted courage displayed by the sons of Erin than during these six frantic dashes which they directed against the almost impregnable position of their foe. There are stories that General Meagher harangued his troops in impassioned language on the morning of the 13th, and plied them extensively with the whiskey found in the cellars of Fredrickshuvg. After witnessing the gallantry and devotion exhibited by his troops, and viewing the hillsides for acres strewn with their corpses thick as autumn leaves, the spectator can remember nothing but their desperate courage, and regret that it was not exhibited in a holier cause. That any mortal men could liave carried the position, before which they were wantonly sacrificed, defended, as it was, it seems to me idle for a moment to believe. But the bodies which lie in dense masses within forty yards of the muzzles of Colonel Walton’s guns are the best evidences what manner of men they’were who pressed on to death with the dauntlessness of a lace which has gained glory on a thous and battle-fields, and never more richly deserved it than at the foot of Marye’s Heights on the 13th day of December 1862.”

LINCOLN SHEEP OF THE PRESENT DAY, AND THE LUSTRE WOOLS. [From the Farmer's Journal .}

The value of this kind of sheep becoming more widely recognised in England each year, and the demand for the particular kind of wool it yields increasing and being likely to last long, it is for the interest of opr readers that we should keep them well advised of what is taking place, until we have plenty of Lincolns in the country to speak for themselves in the only way they can. Now, as always, the question is, what kind gives the most profit and this the improved Lincoln clearly does. This fleece fetches the most money, and the properties of the modem breed are little inferior to those of the kinds most famous in this respect. But on this point there has been a great change of late, the long-legged, unthrifty sheep of former days having given place to an animal of symmetrical form ; in fact, the Lincolns and Leicesters are now so much bred together that the peculiar merits of the two kinds are completely blended, and throughout many of thefmldland and eastern counties of England, where the Lincolns are most general, the different names are almost used in common. In its own part of tha country the improvement of the Lincoln was commenced long ago, as to. form, byt progress was slow,,as there was no special demand in' those days for bright wool, and this variety of sheep was not then much prized. Since however, the pjyinge in the mode ofjmanufacturing certain sorts of woollen goods has set ii«, and this kind of wool has come to be to much used, of course the number of sheep bearing if lias been vastly increased, and as thy Lyicestpy hys the desired

form, and in some flocks a tendency towards the desired brightness of staple, the admixture of the two kinds quickly became very general, the result being an animal which, as often stated already, is so: much the most profitable when it can be kept, that it is but our duty to harp on its merits to the farmers here, until this particular kind comes to be considered as one of the colonial must be supplied. First, then, as to the feeding properties which, though good, are of only secondary importance in considering the special merits of this breed. The quantity of flesh formed iu proportion to the food consumed, depends, of course, upon the way in which the sheep been bred, but in those'which have a preponderance of Lincoln blood, and are allowed to be justly entitled to the name, the increase of weight is only second to the Leicester among the long wools, and greatly superior to all others. In an experiment tried lately in the north of England far the information of the farmers in the district and where the turnips and oilcake were weighed, and the value of the quantities consumed by each lot of sheep thus ascertained, the Lincolns gained much the greatest weight of mutton, but they also consumed the greatest weight of food, the balance at the conclusion being in favour of the Leicesters, to the extent of sixpence a head, and of the Shropshire Downs to the extent of sixteen pence ; but the difference in favour of the last arose from the higher price the mutton fetched, not from the greater increase of weight, in this trial the Cotswolds showed badly, as they paid less than the Lincolns by nineteenpence a head, although when on grass and on rape, before being penned up, they increased the most rapidly of all. Two other lots of large cross bred sheep were a little inferior to the Cotswolds ; but the lot of South downs tried with the long-wools gave a profit of a shilling a head, as compared with the Lincolns. The time of feeding was a little over three months, and each lot of six sheep had as much turnips as they could eat. with the same weight of oil-cake every day—half a pound each—excepting the Lincolns, which had a quarter of a pound extra for a part of the time, the cost of this being charged against them in the calculations. When slaughtered, the Lincolns were the heaviest by an average of 14 lbs. each over the Leicesters, Shropshire Downs, and cross-bred sheep ; while the Cotswolds and Southdowns were the same weight, averaging 14 lbs. each less than the four last-mentioned kinds. From these relative weights it will be seen that the Lincolns used in this experiment were not very large sheep of the sort, weighing when killed 139 lbs. each, but had, as previously mentioned, a large proportion of Lincoln blood in them.

It was, however, in regard to the that the Lincolns had tjie greatest advantage, as they had fleeces, when killed, of 11 lbs. each, while the fleeces of the Cotswolda. which came next, weighed only 9 lbs. The fleeces of the Leicesters and cross-bred sheep were little over 7 lbs. each, while those of the South downs were little over 4 lbs. During the time of feeding, or a third of the year, the firstnamed lot of sheep grew 22 lbs. of wool for the six, while the Southdowns only grew 9 lbs 5 ozf., and thus the slight advantage gained in regard to the mutton is turned against these last, so that the total profit on the large sheep was nearly double what it was on the small, after deducting the cost of the food consumed. In selling the wool, the long staple fet ched more per lb. than did the short, though the Lincoln fleeces do not appear to have been very superior of their kind, ..as they only fetched the same price as ,'those of the Leicesters and Cotswolds, namely, 18d. per pound. However, the weight was there, and from two to four pound of difference in the fleeces from animals of nearly the same size, is a matter of no little consequence, especially to us out here, where the wool wil always bear relatively a higher value than the mutton. The fleeces of the best flocks of Lincolns generally through England last season were stated, by those engaged in the wool trade, to have averaged from 10 lbs. to 15 lbs each in weight, and to have realised from 20s to 255. Some breeders are now trying for a fine and very bright staple ; and for this they must, of course, sacrifice weight ; but it is the most valuable, and these lighter fleeces, if good, fetch more than the heavy ones.. These sheep are generally kept until they have been shorn twice or three times, none being sent to market before the, third year ; not because they are unfit sooner, but because the wool pays so, well. And it is certainly a fine thing to have a flock of sligep, yielding at least a pound a head at shearing time in money, and these animals are not very great consumers of fopd, for although in the feeding trial referred they had a small quantity of of oil-cake extra, they scarcely eat more turnips than did the Cotswolds. These last are thp raei’o hardy, and thrive on coarser herbage, but the finer grass is well bestowod on the former, which, by the way, are no; at all delicate, having both good appetites and sound constitutions. Still they belong, as . a breed, to low lands, aruf therefore like succulent herbage,, whioh is most, probably requisite for keeping up the pecu liar brightness of their wppl, for this clearness of staple was only fapnd originally belonging to these and the Romey Marsh sheep, whi h last breed has not been so generally improved as. yet. In drawing attention to, sheep of this, kind especially, we do so not only because they are the most profitable just at the present moment, but because the lustre wools promise to remain long, in delnand. They are required by th,e \manufacturers for mixing wi% alpaca, and

the finer combing wools in the loosely woven woollen goods now so extensively used, as they take the brightest colours well, and give a glossy appearance to the whole. The felting wools are altogether at a discount, and are likely to remain so, for the cloths made from them are too expensive, and the sbort-woolled sheep are increasing much more rapidly than the long. Besides, there has been a great improvement of late in spinning machinery, and chemists, are making so many discoveries in the art of dyeing, that showy looking goods can be got up at a very cheap rate, if there is but the raw material to make them of. Now, long* wool is not very scarce, but when fine it often wants strength, and when coarse, if not naturally “ lustrous,” it is only fit to take dull colours. Thus, in selecting sheep for what we may call permanent flocks, either one quality or the other should be looked to. The staple should be either bright and clear, with soinev hat of a glassy look, or it should be fine with strength and elasticity. If the latter is clear and blight also, so much the better, as of course that is most valuable which has both good qualities united ; but they are scarcely to be found together, and among what are beginning to be called farmer’s sheep here, only the former need be looked for. Ihese am mostly a cross between the Merino and Cotswold or Leicester, and bear wool of all sorts between the two extremes, only a very small per centage having such as can be called good of any kind, but there are sometimes exceptional animals worth preserving, and all these should be kept against the time when Lincoln rams are to be bad. The twenty shilling fleeces are worth trying for, and it is only thus that any number of animals likely to bear such, are to be obtained within a moderate space of time. The few Cotswolds have already done much towards rendering familar to us a variety of sheep almost unknown five years since, and it will be safe to predict that the Lincoln will shortly be in more request that even tlie Cotswold Is now, andj, therefore, as numerous. In the meantime much may be done by selection, not exactly towards establishing the knid required, lor this would be altogether too slow a mode of proceeding, but towards making the most of this when it can. All who Intend to breed the best and most profitable kind of farmer’s sheep, must set up a type for themselves, and this should have the form of the Leicester, with a fleece of silky wool—much heavier than that animal carries. With some such picture in his mind’s eye, the founder ol a flock must not be too hard to please at first, but get together ewes with some good points in them, discarding the worst from time to time, as opportunities for improvement offer, and at length lie may have a collection not to be ashamed of. The standard set up will not be rea ched for a long time—probably never ; but it is so that the materials at hand must be rendered available towards the object aimed at, and when the improved Lincoln is in the country the result will not appear quite so unattainable as it does now.

CHEVIOT MERINO SHEEP. By the Creole Dr. Grant has forwarded to Dunedin fifty of his Cheviot Merino sheep : that is, sheep, the lambs of pure merino ewes, by Cheviot rams imported to this colony from the Cheviot hills in Scotland, at a very great expence by Dr. Grant himself. We yesterday saw these sheep and could not but admire them, for, although not m good condition, they appeared fine, large framed and well formed. . It is much to be regretted that only now when these very superior animals are about being sent out of the colony, they are appreciated. At great expence Dr. Grant submitted to the Longford Exhibition of 1860, a number , °f them, but either the stujndity of sheep • farmers ora prejudice taken against them caused them to be overlooked or quietly pooh-poohed. Some from their ignorance believed them to be a cross of the Leices- ; tor. To the value of the Cheviot Merino sheep several gentlemen of experience have now attested. One gentleman, one of our best judges of stock, writes as follows :—“ Dear Grant, —Not having met you for some time, but heating that you were intending to send some half-bred Cheviot rams to New Zealand—which I think will pay well—l give you the following as my exjustience, J found that as an importer of pure merinos to breed for sale, it would be disadvantageous to have two sorts of sheep, I. therefore determined to sell the half-bred Cheviot rams I purchased from you, as well as their increase. A little hofore this time • last year, therefore, after shearing, I sold upwards of a thousand two-toothed ewes and wethers, the produce of your rams, for 10s per head. At the same sale, fine woolled sheep of the same age brought only 7s 6d to 8s The wool of this second cross, Cheviot on Merino, one year old, averaged 4 lbs. weight per fleece, and realised in England from 2s Id to 2s 2d pgr. lb*, which prices we ought nat to 9pmplain of, showing that these yearlin" sheep and wool added together, make from, 18s 4d to 18s 8d per head, wfcjch is more than I can do with fine woolled j also sold fat wethers, two years old, of the same breed, which were much adnrred for their size, symrnetvy, and weight, and although a very dull sale, they brought me 15s per head, when other fat sheep only realised 9s and 10s per head. —Cornwall Chroniele.

Rival Ikon safe Manufacturers.— The one - was a Yankee, the other was’nt. He that was’nt told his story. A gamecock had been shut up in one of hss x safes, an<J then it was exposed for three days to

the most intense heat. When the door was opened, the cock stalked out, flapped his wings, and crowed loudly, as if nothing laid happened I It was now the Yankee’s turn. A cock had also been shut up in one of his safes, with a pound of fresh butter, and the safe was subjected to a most tremendous heat for more than one week. The legs of the safe were melted off, and the door itself was so far fused as to require a cold chisel to open it. When it was opened, the cock was found frozen dead, and the butter so solid, that the man who knocked out a piece of it with a hammer, had his eye put out by a frozen butter splinter.— Builder.