Local and General News.

Feilding Star, Volume XVII, Issue 237, 11 April 1896, Page 2

Local and General News.

Tenders for public works, as detailed in the advertisement, are invited by Mr Charles Bray (junior) the Engineer of the Kiwitea County Council. Mr J. S. iMilson.of the Manchester Bazaar, draws attention, in a replace advertisement, to the new books he has ju6t received. A billiard match was played at Danevirke this week between Weiss, the Aus- ! tralian champion, and J. Jackson, tbe former conceding 600 points start in 1000. Weiss won by 116. In our advertising column appears a letter over the signature of Mr H. R. Murton, on the subject of " Sheep Dip Trials," and well worthy of the attention of sheep farmers. At the Wesleyan Church to-morrow services will be conducted in the rnornfng by Mr Low and in the evening by Mr Williams, who will preach for the last time before leaving for Christchurch. At a meeting of the Public Works Committee held last evening, the tender of Mr Jos. Belfit, senr., was accepted for the supply and delivery of maintenance metal, at 1/3 per yard. On Tuesday afternoon in the Drill Hall an exposition of the now famous Columbia Fitter will be given. The teatimonials we have seen are very numerous and bear strong evidence of the utility of the invention. Tbe wealthiest xairaDie-vporkiEg Madonna has been stripped of her jewels by thieves who entered a Palermo church. The statue wore twenty pairs of diamond earrings, and dozens of valuable bracelets, her robe being a-blaze with precious stones. At Ben&igo a young man named Chesta was 6ent to gaol foe three months for inserting bogus advertisements for miners for Western Australia, and keeping the postage stamps they enclosed for replies. Over 90 letters containing stamps were sent to him. Says the Ofcago Daily Times :— A citizen who last Saturday invested the sum of 8d in purchasing a plate of necks and gizzards from a well-known poulterer in Rattray-street, was rewarded in cleaning by obtaining about 15gr of coarse, shotty gold. The citizen is on the look out for more gizzards, while the poulterer has for the future resolved to clean before selling. It would be interesting to know whence the birds {wild ducks) obtained the precious metal. The funeral of the late Mrs T. Hammond which took place yesterday after noon was largely attended by relatives and friends of deceased from all parts of the district. The cortege left the residence of Mr J. Holden, Makino, at two o'clock, for the Feilding cemetery. The casket was carried by six friends and was literally covered with wreaths which were sent from various parts of the Rangitikei district. The Rev A. Innes Jones conducted the burial service at the grave. Mr W. G. Shearer was the undertaker. The Stanway Public Library was opened on the Bth instant. It commenced its existence with two hundred volumes of excellent books, which were purchased through Mr Wheeler from Messrs Mudie and Co., New Oxford street, London, and the subscribers are more than pleased with the excellent selection of up-to date reading that has been made. Endeavours are being made to arrange for six-monthly parcels of books from Home so as to assure a continual supply of good literature. The subscription is 10s per annum, and the library is open for exchange cf books on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It is suggested in a South African paper that pumpkins may be used as food stuff for milking cows. Pumpkins should be sown in rows 15ft apart, with a distance of 12ft between the plants in the rows, The seed is sown by hand, three seeds in each spot, and 21b of seed per acre will suffice. The yield is from 15 to 20 tons per acre on rich vegetable Boil, though the latter quantity is considered an extra crop. Two rows of maize may be grown in the space between the rows of pumpkins. The labour is much less in the case of pumpkins than in that of roots, as the former crop chokes all weeds when once it has spread over the ground. The committee of the Feilding Cycling Club met at the club rooms last evening to transact business in connection with the cycling sports to be held on the Oval on Wednesday next, the 15th inst. The oaptain, Mr E. A. Feck, occupied the chair. Mr E. Haybittle was elected a member of the club. It was decided to engage the services of the Feilding Brass Band to play at the sports. A vote of thanks was accorded to Messrs Fowles and Andrew for successfully interviewing the various shopkeepers with reference to closing at 12 o'clock on the sports day. The committee discussed the advisability of including a veterans race in the program me should time permit. Other routine business was transacted and the meeting adjourned.

Mr R. E. Eeckett will hold his stock sale at Marton next Friday, 17th April. The latest novelty in Sydney is a Chinese solicitor, who is gaining an extansive practice among his countrymen. Our readers are reminded of the excursion to Wangauui on Monday morning in connection with the congregation of thejjßev Father Patterson. At the meeting of the Advances to Settlers Board, which was held yesterday, we understand that over £30,000 was advanced. It is reported that the Minister of Lands was there and had a pair of boots on. — Times. Residents in and around this district are reminded that the census is to be taken on Sunday night, and it is necessary that the schedules should be filled in ready for collection by the sub-enum-erators on Monday next or as soon as possible thereafter. The most successful collector of bad debts is " Billy Bangs," of Philadelphia. He wears a very high hat, with the legend " Bad Bills Collector " painted conspicuously on it, and the " debtor class" are naturally not pleased to have him hanging around their doors. An alarming accident occurred in the Wealth of Nations mine, Ileefton, last week a young man named John White falling with a truck of dirt a distance of 650 feet, from the 150 feet level to the bottom of the 800 feet shaft. He escaped with a sprained ankle. Considerable scandal has been caused in Italian Court circles by the theft of a necklace worth 4,000 lire, property of the Princess Letitia, the gift to her of King Humbert. Several persons belonging to the Royal establishment of Turin have been arrested, but it appears the necklace has been sold in France. Much curiosity and enthusiasm have been aroused in Italy by an announcement by Professor Saivoini, of Perugia, that he has invented an instrument which, adapted to the eye, enables the human vision to penetrate opaque bodies. The Rontzen rays are utilized in the invention, which is called a cryptoscope. The Rome correspondent of the Chronicle says the Professor is perfecting his discovery, which will acquire as much importance as that of Rontzen's itself. One of tho papers read before the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science enlarged on the wonders of modern engineering. Coal was referred to as a fossil, a preserved plant tissue, yet a man can mine enough of it in a day to obtain 133 horse-power for one hour equivalent to the physical labour of 1,300 men. In Great Britain cocil does the work of 100,000,000 men. By improved mechanical appliances, ihe American farmer raises as much grain as 3 in England, 4 France, 5 in Germany and 6 in Austria. In the United States one man can feed 260, whereas in Europe one man feeds only 30 persons. The author predicted that m the end the advance of engineering will obliterate the line between capital and labour in a manner satisfactory to all concerned.