THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. MONDAY, SEPT. 20, 1880.

Inangahua Times, Volume II, 20 September 1880, Page 2

THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. MONDAY, SEPT. 20, 1880.

To the agreeable disappointment of every* body there was in spite of the rain a very fair attendance &h the hospital concert on Saturday evening, and the whole affair passed of very successfully. It had been arranged f o have a torsh-Hght procession to the Hall, but the drenching rain which fell uointerruptedly throughout the evening, spoilt everything. Of the concert itself it waß much above the average, the singing, individually and collectively, being highly creditable. It was announced during the eyening that owing to the weather having prevented many from be« ing present, the concert would bo repeated towards the end of the present week, when a number of novelties will be introduced. The extraordinary jump which United ilpine shares have taken during (he last few days created no small excitement. Since Wednesday Jast the market has risen from 27s 6d to 423 6d, and this, sudden acquisition of wealth amongst shareholders has given a great stimulus to investment, Wel» come shares oho preserve their upward tendency, holders now demanding GOs. Taken altogether there is a great all-round improvement in the position and prospects of the field. At tbp Council meeting on Wednesday last a letter was read from the County Engineer asking for a reconsideration of the decision arrived at at a previous meeting in reference to the combination of office. He pointed out that the Council had really handicapped him too heavily, and that the consequence of h ; s endeavoring to overtake the duties w uld be that important work would be neglected The matter was debated at considerable length subsequently, but no decision was arrived af. A motion was made which was tantamount to negativing the application of the Engineer, but the resolution was lost. We resrofc to learn that Mr Franks, father of !\fr U. Franks of the local telegraph office, died »t Nelson on Saturday morning. Mr Joseph Ive?3 advertises that he has newspaper properties in various paris of the Colony for sale or lease. We understand that the bed-rock hns been met with much BOonpr than was expected in driving the piles for the Irangabua bridge The piles for thp northern pier are well pro tncted by ilie embimkmenr. lv.it if the same ob»taclß hiut'ers t!?e driving of the piles fur ihe more exposed piurs, it will be no trifling matter. A meeting was held on Saturday evening last for the purpose of forming a Christy Minislrc) pompary inTleifion. Eleven m'-m---b. n r3 wore enr-o'lrd. and a furrier meeting was fix -(1 for Saturday 'evening next, when nrraiigemen's will be mado for giving an exclusively Ethiopian cnte?tiiinm<* > nt at an early dub. The race meeting convened for Friday evoking lost lapsed owing to a want of punctuality on the part of several members. The meeting w-.is adjourned until 8 30- o'clock this evening. We have been requested to state that unless those interested roll up punctually ibi« evening the present effort tr> gf>t up races will be abandoned by the conconveners of tbe meeting. To me a colloquialism, it. is very awkward to grow £500 richer every day for four duys in fiiicnfl=sion, and this hns been the hard lot of one loe.nl holder of United Alpines. Tbero are numerous other residents in our midst who hv.ve jilbq had to undergo a nearly equal iiT.ount of ngony. Fa>-cy wealth like tin* I btini; pitchforked about in tlioso dull tim^s ? I 1 the 'ortune of shaielioltiing is prcuurioiui i" -iUiifiimca produces prodigious i-i'SuUs. We 'Icn'i pl.iy if. Tl.e nrticlp on the distribution of quarts; lodes, which \va3 jpublubed in our last is-

sue, was written by Mr Theodore Ranffc, for many years resident here, and was kindly forwanled to us by Ifr R. L. Shiel,.olso late of Keeftou, who is navr at (3-oleonoln, N\S.W. It is said that District Judges Shaw and Qavdeastle have received their conge. A writer in the "Scientific American " says :— " It is a well known fact that sawdust by itself alone, has been successfully used for producing potatoes. For this purpose it is only necessary to lay on the open ground, in rows of two feet to three feet apart the potatoes that are to bo planter!, and cover the same with a bed of sawdust, say from 6in to 12in thick. If the season ia in the least favorable, it will be astonishing how this method of culture will prove satisfactory. Anothfv method is to prepare the soil by ploughing and pulverising, to open furrows 2ft to 4ffc npart, to put in saH furrows 4!n layer of sawdust ; on this lay the potatoes that are to be planted, covering them with another layer of sawdust, and over this a layer of the soil." It appears that saw dust nan be used with advantage about frnifc frees. Mixed with the soil, it enriches the latter, and placed on its surface it maintains moisture, and prevents the growth of many troublesome weeds. In vegotnble gardens it ako does very well, especially round cabbage plant. Sawdust will rot as soon as any other vegetable matter, according to the ppecies of wood from which it originates. Mixed with the soil, it keeps the latter more mellow. An application of sawdust — s^y, three oartloads to the acre — during four years of the poorest land, and ploughing and cultivating same each' year, will render it most fertile. Eecent Cablegrams from. London state that the river Nile, in Africa, is rapidly rising, and creating some fear of a serious inundation. The pediodical overflowing of the bnnks of tho Nile is one of the most interesting phenomena in the physical geography of the world, and produces all the fertility for which tho country through which it passes is distinguished. " The inundation of the Nile," says a standard work, " caused by the tropical rains, begins to be felt about the 17th June, and continues till August, when the river is at its height, and all the level parts of the country ore overflowed. From its source in the Lake Victoria Nyanza, to its entrance into the Mediterianean Sea, it has a lesigih of about 3000 miles, including its windings, and is the only large tropical river which, by its periodical inundations, fertilizes a country compassed in a great part of its course by sandy deserts. These inundations have been made tho means of feeding canals constructed by the Egyptians to distribute the water as widely as possible over the country. In I 1863, the waters of the Nile rose to a greater j height than they had done any year since 1829, and considerable efforts were made by the Egyptian Government to turn the surplus waters into the lake Birket-el-Keroun, to prevent in some measure the loss of life and property which would en3ue if no means were taken to lesson the depth and. extent of the inundation through the valley of the Nile, by turning the rising waters into other chans nels." At the Wellington hospital enquiry ' Mr Hagill. the steward, said, under examination, that be was unable to adequately account for the fact that during the eight months prior to the Ist of January last no fowcr than 318 bottles of vrine or spirits were unaccounted for on tho books or cards. The following extract from a letter written by an officer of the artillery on service in Afghanistan to a relative in Dunedin has been published in the Daily Times : — Cabul, 24th j une : — « There seems to be no likelihood of this war coming to a clo3e ; indeed, we seem further off a settlement than ever. This is a wonderful country just now— simply lovely The wholo of the valleys ara one mass of rip*,' wheat, fields upon fields, interspersed with g'oves of cherries, peachers, appicots, apples, peavs, mulberries, &c, &c , and every conceiveable kind of fruit. The crops are the finest I have ever seen, and tho arrangements for watering the fields would do credit to n, first glass engineer. For instance, tit this moment the Cabul River is perfectly dry every drop of the water beinj; utilised for i'ligation purposes. AD through the Charcby $nd other valleys you see streams of water flowing round hills at immense heights for eight or ten miles ; all watercourses taking water to valley*, which wouM, without a vast expenditure not only in labor, but in engineering skill of the firrfc ord.-r, be ! dreary plains. Tho way we have behoved up ' here is sickc-ning. Instead of running through j ll\e country, bring to summary justice the munlevni'9 of our Embassy ; blowing up the Bala lTissiir (which is the citade' of Cabul), and returning, leaving the wrotcho* to their O'-vn resource", here we nre with 55,500 men in the field, afraid to leave our own lines, and b. ibing Abdul Rahman to come in und accept tin; crown. 3Te says — ' Much obliged ; very happy where I am. I am virtually the Ani' ei 1 , and I object to being crowned by a iKick of unbelievers." Then, a<;uin, he wrote Murkin Aleno, the great high priest, who. when he preecn(3 himself at a durbar presided over by the Ameer, is received as his equal. All rise to receive him, Tlio Ameer loaves his throne and moots him at the end of the carpet, and conducts him to his sp»(. We asked him to keep the people quiet till we could put a man on the throrjp. He replied, " G-nd nlone. rule-!, and does not consult with the politicals of the EryhMi Government, and ua the great Grod has puf it into the heait3 of the English to appoint n true believer os Ameer, he will hold uloof for a space," &3., &e. This is really the dirt we are eating, and for what purpose heaven only knows." We pive the following advertisement, en account of its unique character, free insertion. If; is taken from the Dunedin Star : - " Mrlrimonial. — A widow lady (with one child) desires to meet with a gentleman with a vieiv to matrimony. Ia 29 yetu-s old, and pofSßfsed of £1700, Lft by her late husbnnd over which she bus sole control. lis a native

of Guernsey, fairly educated, and prepossessing. Has lived for the lust seven years in the" bu-h. Strictly couGdentml.; Enclose phofs, will ba returned to tho utiMiPcessful. Address E.T.,' care of Manager Private Inquiry Office, 17, Manse street, Dunedin."