LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Franklin Times, Volume 9, Issue 643, 21 June 1921, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Mr Jtiey\yorrn, wno was too late to alter his standing advertisement for this issue, wishes us to state that Goodrich tyres quoted in his advt. at £6 10s should now read £6 16s and 4" single cases of benzine should be quoted 335, five or more 32s 6d.

Little girl (to Scottish housewife): Please mum, ma mither has sent me to see if ye would lend her yer beef bone to make broth wig Scottish housewife: Well, my lassie, I canna jist do that. Ye see, we made broth wi’ it oorsels on Monday, and we lent it to Mrs McAllister to flavour some hare soup on Tuesday, and we be using it the day for cockieleckie oerselves; but ye may get a boiling o’ it or Friday, for Mrs Jamiesn lias the promise o’ it the morn for some time strengthening; soup, for her best man’s an invalid.

“But are you a British-born subject?” demanded the passport officer “My mother was British—” began the man. “Yes, yes.” “She married a Frenchman.” “Yes.”/ “In Italy.” “Yes, but where were you born?” “I was born on a Spanish ship whilst she was lying at anchor in the Cape of Good Hope, but my parents died at Brazil when I was only four years old and I was adopted by a Chinaman, who took me to Russia—” ‘^3top,” exclaimed the official, “ you’re a blooming League of Nations!”

Our lady readers will be pleased to know that we have completed arrangements to publish weekly,, commencing on Friday next, a ladies’ page. The articles and recipes will be original mid the recipes will be nl! tried and tested. The lady editor of the page has taken the pen name Ru-ru and # will be pleased to receive lettei’s, etc., addressed to her care of this office. It is expected that this new feature will prove immensely popular and every lady will wish to cut out and preserve the various' recipes. Casual readers should, therefore, order the Times from their district agent or direct from this office.

Mr Sinclair, assistant manager of the New Zealand Co-op. Dairy C.o, said at Te Awamutu last week that the butter manufactured during the past season put up a record, namely 10,040 tons as against 8,717 in the season before—an increase of 1323 tons. This represented the output of the'" amalgamation of the New Zealand Dairy Association and the Waikato Dairy Co.; But they had now to add the output of the Thames Valley Dairy Company, which had also amalgamated, namely, 2620 tons. This made a grand total output of 12,660 tons of butter. The year’s total output of the whole of New Zealand was only 36,000 tons, so that their company made 35 per cent, of the Dominion’s entire output. They also made 5678 tons of cheese, 485 tons of casein, 500 tons skimmed milk powder and 2998 tons of glaxo. Their suppliers numbered 6500, and it was expected to open the new season with over 7000. Their totai turnover in money amounted to 4% million ' sterling during the twelve months, and they now had the honour of being the largest co-operative dairy organisation in the world.

It may surprise the general reader to know that there are two chapters in the Bible which are identical, these being the 19th chapter of the Second Book of Kings and the 37th'-chapter of Isaiah. There are 929 chapters with 592,493 words in the old testament, and 2GO chapters and 181,253 words in the New Testament.! Asked offhand one would probably say there were more words in the Bible than in Shakespeare's works, but, as a matter fact, the balance is in favour of the Bard, who has the respectable total of 814,780, or 41,317 more than the Bible Altogether his plays have no fewer than 1277 characters, one of whom (Hamlet) has 11,610 words to deliver “Hamlet,” indeed, is the longest play, containing as it does 3930, while the “Comedy of Errors” is the shortest, with 1777 lines. The longest word is “honorificabilitudinatibus,” which is certainly a tongue twister, and might Kike the place of “truly rural” as a test" of sqbriety, always providing the police officer was able to pronounce the word himself. The curious can find all the letters of the alphabet in the 21st verse of the 7th chapter of Ezra, while reference to tile 117th Psalm will show that it is not only the shortest chapter in the Bible, but also the middle chapter of the Book.

To-day. June 21, is the shortest day in the year..

A meeting of referees in the Franklin Rugby Union district will be held to-morrow night in the A. and P. office.

During the progress of the football match on the Domain on Saturday between Pukekohe and Nfewton, the latter’s left wing threequarter spurted up the side line. He had so much pace up that he failed to stop when pushed out and continued his career bumping into a well-known local dentist football enthusiast. Both went down, the dentist underneath, and the ground fairly shook with laughter. Fortunately neither was injured and after the dentist got up and found his hat he continued barracking and thoroughly enjoyed the incident.

Four charges of having obtained goods and money by means of valueless cheques were admitted by Alfred Crossey, aged 54, before Mr J. W. Pcynton, 5.M.,, in the Auckland Police Court yesterday. In a statement made to the police, accused said that on May 18 he obtained «two tins of sweets from Harrison and Osborne’s factory by means of a valueless ■cheque for £B. ‘The charge for the goods was £1 4s 5, and he received the change in cask On the followingclay he obtained a further quantity of sweets from the factory by means of a valueless cheque for £lO drawn on the Bank of Australasia at Te Awamutu. On May 31 he obtained £ls in cash from another person by means of a valueless cheque drawn on the National Bank of New Zealand at Kailcoura South. On the same day he obtained a pair of boots by means of a valueless cheque drawn on the same bank. Accused, who expiessed willingness to make restitution, was remanded for a week for sentence. He is well known in Pukekclje add Tuakau.

Expert opinion ""in America and other countries does not support the theory that newsprint and other paper can be made satisfactorily from hardwoods - (says the Melbourne Argus) but Mr T. H. Boas, who was for some years in charge of papermaking experiments at the Commonwealth forest products* labatory in Western Australia, disagrees with that view. In a lecture delivered before students of chemistry at the Working Men’s College in Melbourne recently, he said that tests Rad shown that excellent paper could be made from Australian timbers. Mountain ash, which grows extensively in Victoria, and Queensland silkyoak had given the best results., Samples of paper made at the laboratory were exhibited by Mr Boas, who expressed the opinion that Australian manufacturers shouid be able to compete successfully for the home trade. He admitted, however, that the economic possibilities of making paper at a profit had not been fullyinvestigated.

“There are enormous quantities of coal in New Zealand,” said the Minister of Mines at Auckland recently. “It is unfortunate that the geological structure ofthis country is very much broken, and that the coalfields for this reason have very many has been made for this trouble, there is abundant coal for ail our requirements. The Dominion ought not to suffer from a shortage of coal.” The Government, added the Minister, did not wish to import coal if enough could be produced within the Domniion to meet the reasonable requirements of the community, but the country must have coal, and if adequate supplies were not produced here, they must be imported. He thought it just as well for everyone to know that the Dominion could not be held up for lack of coab . The Government would be glad to give what assistance it could in placing coal production on a satisfactory footing.

Details of a thrilling duel' to the death between a crocodile and ah army mule, in which the quadruped was defeated, have been received from the Panama Canal zone. It was in the Cragres River, and the mule, named Dempsey, after the boxing champion, waded half across at a ford. A squeal from Dempsey was the first sign that the fight had started,, He squared himself for battle, and the squrian made a dart for him. Dempsey whirled, and for the next five minutes his enemy dodged a drumfire of kicks, and was sent hurling out of the water. After contact with Dempsey’s hoofs two or three times the crocodile became more wary. If the mule had possessed any horse sense, he wou(d have fallen back towards the shore, but being an army mule,- he obstinately stood his ground. The result was that, handicapped in the swift-flow-ing water, his rapid kicking tactics gradually weakened him. At length the big crocodile, watching his chance, forced the in-fighting, got a

ii: grip on one of Dempsey’s legs, and broke it in the mule’s struggles ito throw him off. Before the yelling . labourers and drivers could rescue 1 dragged away in the deep water.