Please wait. Contacting image service... loading

Article text

TOPICS OF THE DAY.
The quarterly soiree of the Total Ab- <*>
stinence League will be held in the Town Hall
Exchange Room this evening.
A letter to a mercantile firm in Ade-
laide, dated Wentworth, January 14, rtates
that the river is now falling steadily, and will
soon be at its usual height.
On Tuesday morning while a Mr.
Bowles was working in Gibaon-street, Eowden,
ho suddenly dropped down dead. Dr. Mclntyre
having certified that heart disease was the
cause of death, it was deemed unnecessary to
hold an inquest.
According to the Otago Dully Times
New Zealand flax " has attracted the attention
af American ropemakers, and a considerable
demand has already sprang up in Boston and
New York. A large shipment will shortly be
sent from Otago to Boston."
On Saturday evening last, Dr. Robin
son, or Kadina, was thrown out of his trap as
he was returning home from Wallaroo, and sus
tained a fracture of the collar-bone, which did
not however hinder the worthy doctor from
continuing his visits to his patients as usual.
The ship Glen Osmond, from Adelaide
to London, was spoken, ten days out, by a
whaler. The Olen Gsmond reported all well
on board. Letters were given to the whaler,
■which pnt in at King George's Sound, and the
letters reached Adelaide by the mail steamer.
On Wednesday evening Mons. Ver
telli repeated his entertainment at the Town
Hall with continued success. The attendance,
in spite of tha heat, was good, and Mons. Ver
telli's feats of strength and magical exhibi
tions -were mnch admired, Sir. Barry's won
derful feat with the velocipede on the wire
cord was greatly applauded, and the lively and
smart Kapunda mannUdn met with a hearty
reception, and occasioned a considerable amount
of amusement.
On Sunday evening Mr. John Nash,
of Virginia, met with & dangerous horse acci
dent In returning homeward from Port
Qawler Jetty in company with several other
equestrians, his animal bolted, and in taking a
sharp turning, jammed the rider's knee against
a corner post, inflicting a nasty wound, and
throwing him with great violence to the ground.
Dr. Dooner was soon in attendance upon the
sufferer, who is progressing favorably, no bones
being broken.
What iB considered to be another
valuable discovery has been made, states the
Oedong Advertiser, at Bellarine, in the shape of
some vary fine sand, from which glass of a
superior quality can be manufactured. The
sand generally found in Port Phillip is only fit
for making the coarser kinds of glass, and con
sequently|when the glass manufacturers at Mel
bourne wish to make the best article they have
to send to Sydney for sand. That found at
Bellarine is not obtained from the beach, but
must be dug out of the land. It is very fine
and full of minute crystal-like particles, and in
many respects similar to the sand obtainable at
Watson's Bay, near Sydney.
Speaking of the Mount Gambier dis
trict, the Standard says :—" The weather has
been moist for the last few days, light showers
having prevailed at intervals, and caused some
anxiety in reference to the crops. So far as we
have ascertained, no injury has been caused to
the grain, which this year promises to be ex
ceedingly heavy, some samples that have reached
as being extraordinarily favorable specimens.
The rain and the Btormy winds have had the
effect, however, of ' laying' the crops in some
localities, so that very few strippers have gone
into tha field yet, and there is a prospoct of
hand-reaping being employed to a far greater
extent than was at first anticipated."
The state of the crops throughout Tas
mania, notwithstanding the very favorable sea
son is, the Hobart Town Mercury says, be
ginning to cause considerable anxiety, parti
cularly in the midland district, from Green
Pond* to Campbell Town, where the wireworm
has been most active. The "take-all1' is also
bad, and the grubs which created so much devas
tation last season, are beginning again to appear
thickly, especially round Oail&nds. The neigh
borhood of Westbory has also been visited by
the same pests. Fortunately the grasses every
where are abundant, and if there is scarcity of
grain, there will be any quantity of fat stock.
" Some time ago," writes the Yass
Courier, a New South Wales paper, " we re
ported that Boiiift mysterious disease, supposed
to be what is known as the 'English rot,' had
broken out in the flocks aronnd Qund&roo,
and caused a large numbor of deaths. This
misfortune has now happened nearer ¥~ass,
and exists more or less throughout the neigh
boring districts. Indeed there are few nock
owners who have not suffered very serious
loss. We have before as a. list of a. number of
sheepownere in the Yass, Gundaroo, Dalton,
and Collector Districts, and find that the loan
sustained np to Saturday last by particular
owners varies from 70 up to 3,000 head. The
disease up to the present time appears to at
tack ewes and lambs only. In several instances
the carcases have been opened, and ia the
paunch thousands of threadlike worms about an
inch long were found."
About six years ago 3 the if acleay JJtj aid
states that small clay mounds were observed
to be forming at the bottom of the Yarra
bandini hill, on the south side, and shortly
after water was seen to ooze out of them.
From that time until the present the mounds
have increased in size, and appear in great
numbers, being scattered about over fully half
an acre of land. They are so soft and deep
that horses or cattle by any chance getting into
one of them are almost certain to sink over
their heads. Without the slightest difficulty a
pole fourteen feet long can be pressed by a
person's hand down the centre of the smallest
of them, and then no bottom is perceptible.
This was done on one occasion, and on the fol
lowing day it had been forced almost its full
length out of the ground. In pressing a pole
into these holes it invariably has a tendency to
spring back, there being no suotion whatever.
The springs have caused a good deal of wonder
and remark.
The Portland Guardian reports that
"on Monday night, Hugh McDonald, fisher
man, assisted by Thomas Smith, managed to
capture a very large Bhark that got entangled in
a fishing net, and with much exertion they
hauled him to the new jetty, where it took the
united efforts of six men to drag him on the
landing. .Roughly measured, the length was
over 10 feet and the girth rather more than six.
The back fin was more than 12 inches and the
ventral* rather over 24. Measured aoross from
the extreme points of the fork in the tail the
distance was 2 feet 10 inches; the weight was
estimated at 11 or 12 owt. The teeth were not
so formidable in appearance as some we have
seen; one beautifully serrated measured about
one inch at the base and an inch and a quarter
in length. The skin on the back was very dark,
approaching black; light, almost white, on the
lower part of the belly. The tail was more like
that of a whale than the ordinary shark of Aus
tralian waters."
The Mayor of Adelaide has addressed
the gentlemen forming the deputation who
watted upon him with respect to nuisances out
side and inside the city. His Worship says :—
" I have the honor to inform yon that I have,
in virtue of my promise made to the deputa
tion on Monday last, given instructions to the
Inspector of Nuisances for the city of Adelaide
to report immediately to this office the existence
of any nuisance within the city, with a view to
take such steps as may be found necessary to
suppress the same. I have further instructed
him to give information to the office of the
names of any residents within the city who may
complain of nuisances outside its boundary
affecting the health or comfort of such citizens
or their families." Mr. Solomon also repeats
his suggestion for the formation of a Commis
sion, inclnding representatives of the various
municipalities and District Councils, to examine
into and take action on the subject; and he
places oae of the rooms of the Town Hall at
their disposal.
A correspondent writing from the Burra
Oreek Station sends us the following informa
tion :—"On the Uth January, at about 5.40
p.m., this station was visited by a violent shock
of an earthquake, the most severe I have felt
since I have been in the colony—over 22 years.
The day had been very close and oppressive.
Although we had two or three smart showers,
with a few heavy peals of thunder, and some
vivid lightning, yet it continued sultry. Wind
light and variable, but mostly from the S.W.
At the time about stated, I was in a room ad
joiaing the store, when I felt a shock, shaking
me three times distinctly from the back of the
sofa on which I was sitting. The whole place
was shaken, aud the saddles, bridles, and other
things which were hanging in the store, were
observed to be set in quick motion. The noise
was a dead dull sound, as if a heavy bale of wool
had fallen against the partition; it lasted, I
should think, nearly 15 seconds, and appeared
to travel from W. to E. Soon after the above
phenomenon, dense volumes of smoke were
teen to ascend some distance off away to
the eastward, and as the day declined
it was too evident that an immense fire was
raging, bat where I cannot say. On the 12th
the smoke appeared like a large black cloud,
and at night I should think that the fire ex
tended from north to south over 20 miles; the
element was perfectly illuminated. 13th. To
day it has been blowing fresh until about 2.15
p.m., when we experienced a most violent storm
of wind and rain, which lasted about 20
minutes at this place, and which went in the
direction of the fire, and I hope it has put it
ont, as I have not seen any smoke since. Now,
7 p.m , still blowing strong from south-west,
and very cold ; most unprecedented weather
for this aeason'of the year. We are all obliged
to pet on warm clothing; it is more like
winter than summer. J.4th. I hear the fire was
on Mr. Hermitage's ruri, many miles from
here, and I am happy to say the rain dictpnt
it out. Still very cold, with t, f ceBU breeze from
the south-west,"
$