Local & General

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 88, 31 January 1947, Page 5

Local & General

Food for Britain Campaign The value of coupons for rationed commodities handed in for cancellation at the Post Office, Whakatane, for the period 20th to 25th January 1947, was as under: Sugar nil; tea nil; butter 61bs; meat £4 6s 2d; fats nil. Total to date: Sugar 17 lbs; tea lllbs; butter 2081bs; meat £202 19s 9d. *v£\sbßL" v »•'" * : "' * ■**" »•■* '" ~~_'J_ '• _" "'T3 Improved Returns Returns of the Auckland Herd Improvement Association for last month showed an improvement in. Waikato butterfat production compared with December, 1945, which was a poor month for dairy farmers. The figures for last month, with those for the corresponding month the preceding year in parentheses, are: Herds 2104 (1902), cows 115,719 (106,682), milk 757-(723), test 4.87 (4.77), fat 36.8 (34.5). s Paper Famine The shortage of brown paper and paper bags has developed into a major problem for business houses in Auckland, particularly those dealing in commodities which cannot very well be taken away unwrapped. At least one large store has exhausted its stock of paper and the counter assistants were impelled to present customers with the ultimatum of "take it unwrapped or leave it." In other establishments girls were struggling to parcel up bulky articles with short pieces of paper that defied all their ingenuity. ~ ~ .

Social Security Tax In this issue appears an intimation from the Commissioner of Taxes that an instalment of the combined Social and National Security charge on income other than salary or wages derived during the year ended 31st March, 1946 falls due on Ist February, 1947 and that a 10 per cent, penalty will be incurred on amounts not paid within one month of the due date. Attention is also directed to the fact that employers who fail to deduct and duly account- for wages-tax in respect of all wages paid, including amounts paid to casual employees.engaged on a time, piece-work or contract basis, render themselves liable to severe penalties.

JPeace Stamps Towards the end of next Februiry stocks of Bd, 9d and 1- denominations of Peace stamps will no longer be available. The other denominations wiil be withdrawn at various dates, subsequently and the Peace series will be replaced by the 1935 pictorial or the current King George VI stamps. The remaining denominations of the pictorial stamps will be withdrawn from sale on April 30. They will be replaced on May 1 ,by King George VI stamps of the following values: 2d, 4d, sd, 6d, Bd, 9d, 1/-, 1/3, 2/- and 3/-. Consequently a complete set of stamps bearing portraits of King George VI will then be on sale. A new value of the King George VI series, 1/3, will replace the current duty stamps of that value. The 1/-, 1/3, 2/-, and 3/- denominations will be in two colours, and the other values will be single colour stamps.

Poor Honey Season For the third season in succession. Taranaki bee-keepers are facing a disappointing honey crop. There are, however, dim prospects that because of the late flowering of clovers, pohutukawas and blackberry plants, as well ase the delayed blooming of i flowers, a moderate yield may yet be harvested this year. In a normal season the honey of Taranaki is gathered in January. The adverse spring of this season created such, backward conditions that the usual routine has had to be put back sev- • eral weeks, and optimistic bee-keep-ers hope against hope that some sort of a routine will be available in February. Another factor that has tended towards a reduced yield. this season is found in the experience of many beekeepers, who have suffered considerable losses in the bee population of their hives. Bees have ranged far to collect honey, and in some cases have been swept away by winds to such an extent that they have been unable to find their way back to the hives.