SPORTING MEMORANDA.

Waikato Times, Volume XVIII, Issue 1503, 21 February 1882, Page 3

SPORTING MEMO R A NDA .

The winners of tho CJcclong (Jold Cup and the Handicap "\\eie steeied pas>t the post by Hales, who has been very successful in liis mounts during the past season. Ouiuea, the winner ot the Cup, started at 10 to 1. Progress heads the list of weights for the Australian Cup -\\ ith 9.st olb on the Newmarket Handicap, Liv lines thice-year-old son iXuebin lias Sit 12lb, nnd our Nmv Zealand horse, Billingsgate, Sst 101b. £43 have been subscribed by tliu bookniiikcra and owneis for the lad Monacrhan, who received severe injuries while tiding King Quail at the Wauaiapa laces. Catnballo lias already made his mark in India, having won the Uovernov-CJcneral's Cup at Calcutta. Laycoek is now the .sole possessor of the champion belt of Austiaha. From my Ktiglish files I find that the principal winning owner during tho past season was Mr YY. ft, Ciawfoid, who in stakes secured €17,919 — principally with the aid of Thebais. The American, Mr Lorillard, came close on liim with ,-C1 7,914, nearly all of which is due to Iroquois. Lord Falmouth Mas well up with €14,104. Mr J. R. Kerne secured with Foxludl the &urn of €499(5, independent of the Fiench (Jiand Prix. Of m inliinsf hor.se&, Iroquois headed the list a\ ith €16,805; Thebais coming next with £10,30/ ; J hitch Oven thiul v ith €9429 ; Kermessee fourth with C7H7- Petroncl won seven races, with L 2677. Of w inning .stillions Hermit came first vith L 27,000, Leamington (sire of lio(juois) feocond m ith L1(3,940. Sec-saw thiul with Ll(5,o00, Cremorne fouith with LI 5, 000.

'"AiHiUB," when out Fleinington way, near Melbomnc, lately, had a look at the Champion winner, and thus speaks of him and another some of us New Zealantlera take an inteiest in: — "I found the son of Tubul Cain just getting through his physic. He is looking remarkably bright and healthy, and I could'nt help ad-nhiug his beautiful temper. Like all the produce of his sire, lie submits to the caresses of atraugcis without any attempt to lesent them, and one could do anything with him without fearing the slightest attempt at a kick or a bite. Davis is anxious to have him cherry ripe for the St. Leger, and he dosen't seem to be very anxious about the Geelong Cup, though he may start for the Mare's Produce Stakes, and as Mr Gardiner would like to add the gold cup to the trophies won by Lurline and Aldinga, perhaps he will be anxious to run for the big event at .Geelong. Although on the leg Cariolanus is a grand-topped horse, a glance over his back and quartets would surprise those who consider him a non-weight carrier. His relative, Golden Butterfly, by Tubal Cain from Calumny, is one of the graudest two-year-olds ever seen. He stands quite 16 hands 2in, and though a year younger than Cariolanus, he is far more powerfully built, his back and loins being something to remember. With grand shoulders, a wonderful middle piece, and capital legs and feet, the only fault with him him is that he is too big to knock about as a two-year-old, and I am glad to hear that he is not likely to appear in public again until next season, when the visitors to Fleinington will see a magnificent horse. That he has plenty of pace I'm perfectly satisfied from ocular demonstration, and he requires time only to ripen into a great racehorse." Blue Gowx.

We are glad to hear that steps are about to be taken to push on the works j?n tUe new KantfUon-Wllftfavvhata road,

Our Cafe is to be pulled down, or at any rate the front portion of it, and to be re-built. What is to become of us diners at the Cafe -while the re- build ing is going on, I do ufit know. Perhaps some of us will fall victims to Dallen, the purveyor of the " fresh-fish" banquet to Tawhiao. At any rate, whatever may become of us, Capt. and Mrs Ashby, who own the building in which the Cafe" has its local habitation, have come from the old country and are going to have the present one and a half storied wooden front of the building pulled down, and a handsome throe-storied brick front built in its stead. Times are changed since, about a quarter of a century ago, that same one and a halt storied wooden building was one of the finest in the city of Auckland. Others of the old wooden buildings are being pulled down, besides our Cafe". On the opposite side of Queen-stieet three old -\\ ooden shanties, adjoining the Herald office, are being improved off the face of the earth, and a new banking house for the Bank of Now .South Wales —a brick building •with a stone fiont — is to be erected in their stead. Higher up Queen street, on the same side as the Cafe,. " four wooding buildings,"' as they were desciibed on the bl.ick-board of the auctioneer who knocked them down to the highest bidder for £H>, are to be pulled down and substantial buddings are to be erected in their stead. "^.Still higher up Queen-street, tho building owned and occupied by the Auckland ■Savings Bank is being taken down, and a new building of brick with a handsome stone fiont is to be elected on the site. What ■with the le-building in the city and the erection of new houses in the suburbs, all who aie connected with the building trade here arc luuing a "bully " time of it. I am losing my faith in proverbs, and will .soon believe in them as little as did (Jhai les Lamb, " Poor Richaul" or Loid Dundreaiy. I am becoming "as unbelieving as a Juw." By the way, that is a proverb in which I lost my faith long ago. I know a good many Jews, some good, some bad, and some indiflcicnt, and my experience is that they arc not more unbelie\ing than Christians. Indeed, I am inclined to think that their belief in their own religion is much more firm than that of the majority of well, I will not say Christians, but Gentiles. However, it was not of the proverb, " unbelieving as a Jew" that I intended to write, but of another which says that " the devil takes care of his own." Labt week thcie Avas a fire at Napier, and the week before one at Gisborne. Among the losers by the former there was one, and among the latter theie two, ot the " devil's own," i. c. the lawycis Thus my faith in one more proverb is gone, never to come again. The Ho aid \3 the proud possessor of an " own correspondent" at Timaru, and it has to pay pietty dearly for the privilege. The worthy in question sent up a telegram of three-hundred words, containing a good deal of information about the Tnraui bieakwater — information quite valueless and devoid of inteiest to anyone except a Timaiuiliau. The best of the joke is that ho appeals to think that theie is some affinity between harbour matters here and those at Timaru, whereas there is nothing of the scat. Hcie nature p\o\ided us with a splendid harbour, which some of those w hose duty it was to preserve and improve it did their level best to destioy, but, fortunately, they were unsuccessful, and have had to give place to men -who know what they should do and are honestly stiiving to do their duty. At Timaiu, on the other hand, nature provided only an open roadstead, and a paternal Government gave a considerable ]}oxtion of our borrowed millions to enable the harbour board to construct a breakwater. Wherein consists the analogy between the hat hours of Auckland and Timaru is a riddle, and I give it up. [St Mungo is a little out hcie. The Tunaru Harbor Boaid tire building their bieakwater out of a loan laised by them m the London market on the seciuity of certain endow inents. — Ed.] The mnjoiity of the Parnell people ha\ c been for a long time afflicted with hydrophobia, and, in consequence, some ot them ha\e died of seal lot fever. Some dine ago an attempt was made to obtain a water supply for the boron urh. In order to asceitain the -wishes of the burgossej on the subject, a poll w.is taken, when it was found that the ma joi ity of those \\ ho voted were opposed to a watei supply. They pieferred to use water from wells made poisonous by the drainage ot adjacent cesspits, rather than pure fioh w, i tor bi ought from a distance, because the Litter would entiil an additional expense of a few shillings per annum on each householder. 1 hey preferred to allow the diainagc fiom their houses to teinain stagnant in the open gutters, rather than incur the trilling expense of bringing in clean water to flush their diains, cany away the impure matter, and make them clean and wholesome. "What is the consequence ? Just what might have been expected, Scailet fever has bioken out in the borough. Two deaths from it have already occurred, and how many more will take place no one can tell. In all probability the money spent in Parnell this summer in doctor's fees, medicines and undertakers' bills, ■would be nearly sufficient to pay for laying on the water. Tuesday avis S. Valentine's Day, and thci c a\ as the usual amount of sentimental or comical missives, called after the saint, sent out. I do not know much about Saint Valentine, but, Avhen I was a boy, one of my favourite heroes was Sir Valentino, whose life and adventures were recorded in a ballad aflmcli I lead and re-read until I almost knew it by heart. I cannot remember the ballad iioav, but I can remember the story, Avhich may perhaps interest some of the juvenile readers of The Waihdo Times, so I Avill tell it briefly for their benefit. On one St. Valentine's Day, about a thousand years ago, Pepin, King of France, and his courtiers Avenfc out hunting. In a lovely dell in a foiesfc they " found a new-born child," his beautiful face, scarlet kerchief and golden mantle, " pinned with a silver pin," conviuced them that he Avas of noble blood, "perhaps some prince's heir." The royal party called and searched for the mother, but called and searched in vain. The king ordered one of his servants to take care of the child and he avs.s cared for, and brought up at the Court of France, and as he had been found on St. Valentine's Day the king had him christened Valentine. When he grew to be a man he aams noted for his gallant feats of arms, and was knighted by King Pepin. One day there came to the King " three palmers clad in grey," who said that they came from Artois foresb, where there lived a savage youth avlio had been bred among bears. " With bears he lives, with bears he feeds, and drinks the blood of men.'* Sir Valentine asked and reoeived the King's permission to go to Artois forest and capture or kill the savage youth. He went; they fought; they bled; they struggled long ; skilful and active was the knight. ' - The savage ho was strong, But brutal force and savago strength To art and skill must yield ; Sir Valentino at length prevailed, And won the well-fought field." The knight took his, captive -to the , 'fciugj w h.o allowed Uiih to keep him 'as, a

servant, and, as lie grew tamer, he became his trusty friend. " And 'cause he erst with bears was bred, Ursine they called his name." One day a youthful knight, jealous of Sir Valentine, taunted him with being of base and doubtful birth. He immediately vowed to find out his parents, and, accompanied by Uisine, started on his quest. One day they came to the castle of a giant, who determined to kill every one else who had come thither. Sir Valentine fought with him, and would have been killed by him, had not Ursine come to the rescue and killed the giant. They went into the castle where they found a beauteous lady, who proved to be their mother, the sister of King Pepin and the wife of the King of Gieece. A monk had accused her of infidelity to her lord, who drove her away from Greece. On her way to her brother's court, her sons were born. One of them was seized by a bear, which she cha&ed, but could not catch, and when she returned to the place where she leit her other son, he was gone. The giant found her and kept her in captivity in his castle until her sons killed him and released her. Sir Valentine told her that the priest who had accused her was dead, but that he had confessed his gmlt, and that her husband had sought everywhere for her. Her sons took her to hei biothei's couit, whither her husband soon came to claim his long-lost queen. He took her back to Greece, where they lived happily for many years. " To them Sir Ursine did succed, And loiiij the sceptre b.ue Sir V.ilcntinc ho stayed in France, And was his uncle's heir." Tims ends the story of Sir, not Saint, Valentine. Sr. MnxGo.

How he got along with Arthur. — 'How did you got along with Aitliur ? asked a constituent of his senator. ' Piist rate,' 1 How does he talk ?' ' lie don't talk at all. He always lets me do all the talking.'

Poll li> Cattle in* Ameiuov. — Mr A. B. Allen writes : — For nearly forty years past I have advocated polled in pieferencc to horned cattle for beef, and am rejoiced to sec them at last beginning to appear in the New York market. Thutysi\ head of the polled Angus grades were leccntly slaughtered here, and they are lcported as being of as excellent a quality as ever came to the city. Their average live weight was 1,340 pounds, and they dressed bO pounds to the 100. They yielded in fat 140 pounds each, and 106 pounds of hide. The above cattle, says Wallaces Monthly, were bred by Mr Thomas E. Clark, of New York, city, upon his ranche at Victoria, Kansas, in the following manner : — He picked up Cherokee heiicrs (pretty much of the sanio style as Texas cows), and put them to his Angus bulls imported from Scotland. The pioduce partook strongly of the characteristics of the sire, were of a black colour, had no horns, awl were of good size. He then ci ossed the females of this produce alternately with S hoi thorns and Angus bulls. The calves diopped grew up almost invariably without horns, and are vciy hardy thrifty, and early to mature. It was fiom shorthorn bullb crossed many years ago on Hack polled Angus cows that this breed became so highly improved, as I first saw them in the London maiket in IS4I, and subsequently these grazing at pasture in Scotland and England in large herds in 1807. Polled cattle are destined to be immensely popular hereafter with j bleeders and giazieis, and the sooner all embaik in them the better. — Farmers Gazette, April 0, ISSI.