Australia.

Cromwell Argus, Volume I, Issue 11, 19 January 1870, Page 2

Australia.

Steps arc? "being taken to present Professor Halford, Melbourne, with a testimonial, in recognition of his valuable services to humanity in the discovery of an -antidote to snake poison, by the injection of ammonia into the blood. The heat in Victoria and the neighbour* ing colonies has been excessive of late. The Government Astronomer (Melbourne) states that Monday the 20th December, it had reached the highest point—the temperature on the shade having reached 108deg., and 152deg., in the sun. Since 1858 this was only exceeded once—viz., in December, 1868, when it reached llOdeg., which was the maximum for the year. It is stated by a Geelong paper that the trustees of the late J. Calvert, Esq., having offerred a small reward for. every ■rabbit killed on the station, had to pay for 70,000 in the short space of three months. The Joshua Bates has brought, as passengers to Melbourne from the flowery land, fourteen Chinese. Of these two were ‘■•Chinese ladies, youthful and attractive. They were attended by three Chinese damsels as servants. Geologists, who have given in their adhesion to the theory “ that the Australian continent is of comparatively recent formation,” will be startled on learning that a stone hatchet, of superior make to those in use at the present day, has been found in a claim at Ballarat, 300 feet below the surface, and beneath the lowest stratum of the basaltic rock. It was lying in a crevice in the reef on the bed of a tributary •gutter, about eighteen inches below the surface of the reef, the bed-rock being slatey schistose. Immediately above, and lying over the hatchet, was a tree reduced to the condition of lignite, and about three feet in diameter. A little further on, several egg-like objects, supposed to be the heads for other implements, intended to be mounted on wooden handles by means of thongs; were discovered. The theory is, ■that this deeyly buried locality had been a ■camping-place at some remote period of aboriginal existence, abandoned some time before the wave submerged it. The relic has been submitted to the inspection of Professor M'Coy, of Melbourne, and he has pronounced it to be simply waterworn stone. John Boyne O’Reilly, one of the Fenian prisoners transported to Western Australia, sends to the Irishman the following •narrative of his escape from that settlement ;—“ On the 18th February I escaped, seized a boat, and went to sea, but had to return to land in the morning. I then lived in the bush for some time, and eventually put to sea again, and before long ■was picked up by an American whaler. When the captain knew who and what I was, he installed me cabin passenger, and as he was on a six months’ cruise for whales, I remained on board for that time, and every day had a fresh instance of his kindness, and of the officers and all on 'board. I had some very close escapes from being retaken, but the officers were determined I should not; and in one English island at which we touched, the Governor came on board, and demanded me to be given up, as he had instructions that I was on board. The chief mate answered him by pointing to the ‘ Stars and Stripes,’ which floated at the half-mast—in sign of mourning—and said, ‘ I know nothing of any “ convict” named O’Reilly, who escaped from New Holland; but I did know Mr O’Reilly, who was a political prisoner there, and he was on board this ship, but you cannot see him—he is dead;’ and he was forced to be content with that. I am making my way to America.” As a sample of Chinese enterprise in Australia, we do not remember to have met with anything to beat this. It is from the correspondent of the Rockhampton Ridletiu, on the Gilbert;—“ Vegetables are now brought in regularly by the Chinese from their gardens, 55 miles distant, at reasonable prices." Silver-mining in South Australia is beginning to assume important dimensions and a remunerative character. The S. A. Register gives the following as the return from the Almanda mine for the week ending December 18 : —Amalgam, 3681b 2oz ; ore, 119 tons, crushed; 13 bars smelted silver from the mine arrived on Tuesday afternoon, of good appearance, weighing about 4000 ounces. This is equivalent to a yield of £8 sterling per ton. Now that the hot weather is upon us, writes the Kyneton Observer, several house keepers have been induced to try the preservative powers of the bi-sulphate of lime, and the result, as reported to us, has been very satisfactory. By its use joints of meat have been kept perfectly sweet for a month, and even milk has been preserved for eight or nine days by covering the vessel containing it with a cloth dipped in the preparation. As the bi-sulphato is procurable at Is 6d per bottle, and the process of applying it is simply to brush over the meat with the preservative, the experiment is within the reach of everybody. Joints treated after this fashion can be hung as Ion" as required, and thereby the meat becomes tender and palatable. The practice of eating frcih-killod meat in hot weather is verv unwholesome, and can bo avoided •hv tho nso of the bi-sulphato.