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Gisborne Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1851, 4 September 1906, Page 3

An entertaining story is tolcl regarding the attempts being made to swim the Channel. Mr Jabez Wolfle, a Scotsman, who has beaten the record swim from Dover to Ramsgate, had with him a friend from London, who “ skirled ” on the bag-

pipes at intervals during the swim Deal Pier was passed with the piper playing “ Cock o’ the North,” much to the amuse-

meint of a large number of people who had assembled on the pierhead and waved handkerchiefs and parasols to the swim*mer Ramsgate Harbor, where a strong ebbing current was met, was the most difficult portion of the swim. Wolffe had then been in the water about five hours, but he was determined to swim right into the harbor, and this he did to the tune of

“ The Bonnie, Bonnie Banks o’ Loch Lomond.” The music so wrought on Wolfl'e’s Scottish soul that he refused to leave the water, and it was with difficulty that his trainer and the boatmen per. suaded him not to turn round and swim back to Dover—as he wished to do. He finished triumphant to the strains of “Wha Wadna’ Fecht for Charlie ? ”

The majority of New Zealanders believe that labor legislation has gone far enough for the present, and that the colony might well take a rest to its own advantage. The worker, as a rule is fairly well content with his lot, and. it is only the agitator, who is paid for his agitation, and must make some showing for his pay, who desires to keep things in a ferment. —New Plymouth Herald.

A lecture on the subject of “ How to make poultry farming pay ” was delivered at Auckland by Mr Hyde, Government poultry expert, before a large meeting convened by the Agricultural and Pastoral Association. Mr Hyde said on the average in New Zealand it took three acres to keep a cow, whereas the same area would run 300

head of poultry, and the question of the cost of production of fowls as compared to other stock would leave a margin very much in favor of poultry. Many seemed to think they could make a living out of poultry with one acre of land, and this was just as ab« surd as to try to make a living out of dairy farming with three cows. After referring to the necessity for proper accommodation for fowls, Mr Bode went on to say that even a chicken, when hatched, contained all the ova of all the eggs it would ever lay, and the secret was to get those eggs in the shortest possible time. Left to themselves, the fowls would take six or seven years to produce those eggs, whereas under proper treatment they will produce the eggs in three to four years, and if forced properly the fowls would produce the bulk of the eggs in one year or two years, and after that the birds would not be profitable as liyers and should be sent to the table, Mr Hyde went on to refer to what he described as a most important discovery, and that was a secret system of discovering, at an early stage in a fowl’s life, whether it would be a good or poor layer. As far as he had gone with experiments he was convinced this discovery would prove of the utmost value to the people of this colony. He had selected 90 birds of the same age and breed, and kept them under exactly the same conditions. They had proved the system to be right. He divided them in grades 1 2, and 3, and the manager’s report had confirmed the test as being of the greatest importance. No. 1 pen exceeded No. 2 by double the number of eggs, and No. 1 also exceeded No 3, the hens in which were passed out as poor layers, by 10 to one. This showed that a farmer might keep a lot of drones without knowing it. A citizen, who evidently desires to emulate Mr Andrew Carnegie in the distribution of his wealth, and who obviously believes Borough Councillors do not make enough noise in the world, sent through the post recently a penny whistle to each of them. Councillors were so elated with their gifts that they marched into this office, blowing their trumpets for all they were worth. 1 hey only desisted when they were threatened with our d 1, who is not to be trifled with. —Gamaru paper.