The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING THURSDAY ,MARCH 14, 1907

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2029, 14 March 1907, Page 2

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING THURSDAY ,MARCH 14, 1907

C In tho cities of Now Zealand tliero is % a favoi'ite cry of “Go on tlie land, |j young man,” and as a rule, the per'f- son who tonders this advice as well B as the person to whom it is addressed, (3 nro not brimful of information as to what should bo done when tho advico 1 1 is acted upon. If ever those peoplo try the experiment of rooting a garden and trying to grow potatoes and if vegetables the result is as a rule a | costly failure for want of of proper K knowledge, and it is therefore no (i wonder that we see, not only in the (j cities but also in the provincial towns K patches of uncultivated land round I workers’ dwellings, while the wives t : of those workers liaVe to spend a large t ] portion of tho wage-earners’ cash, I that might otherwise have been put | j by for a rainy day, with tho Chinat ! man. There is scarcely a town in f i New Zoaland, large or small, that I does not contain Chinese market garI j deners who grow fat on the trade y : supplied by workers in this respect, v and it is no credit to the worker or | ' to the colony that such is tho case. t ; The colony provides technical schools I in almost every centre of population upon almost all subjects, and we have our Stato model farms, such as they are, and our Agricultural College where farming is taught; but not c ! penny is spent, or an attempt made to teach the art of gardening. It is not so in other countries, and in France as well as in the United States and England there is a growing feeling that gardening . may be something more than a means of improving the earth and making it yielc as much fruit as possible. This feeling is expressing itself in a number of interesting ways, according to Miss Lucy R. Latter, one of a party of English teachers who visited France for tho purpose of seeing what was being done along this lino. Miss Latter is principal of a children’s school in tho Greenwich division of London which besides being a sort of composite kindergarten and primary school, is an experimental station ' | where all sorts of educational ideas ' j are put to the test. One of the ideas ■| in which Miss Latter is particular- , ly interested is nature study for lit—i tie children; another is the development and extension of a system of school gardening. After her visit | to France she made a report of I what she had seen, to the London County Council, and incorporated it in a book “School gardening for little children,” which has recently been published. Speaking of her observations in France, Miss- Latter, says:—“The thought which is stir- | ring tho men and women who are bej hind this workingmen’s garden move- ; mont in France is that gardening may be made a powerful factor for good in tho higher growth of the child and the adult. Broadly speaking, tho plan is similar to that devised by Mayor Pingreo in ; Detroit, and since carried on so successfully

in Philadelphia and Boston. Tho Socioto des Jardins Ouvriors givos a workman with a family of five or moro children a piece of ground about 120 metros in area, near tho factory wlioro ho works. There ho goes with his family aftor his work, ns woll as on Sundays and othor foto days to enjoy pure air and a lioalthy chango of occupation in cultivating tho ground and making it yield sufficient produco for tho noods of his family. At tho snmo timo ho is jirovidod with a moans of recreation and is thoroby holpod to osenpo tho dangors of loafing and bad company. Tho ground bolongs to him just so long as ho koops it in good condition and abstains from ovil ways. About 100 ol tlioso workingmen’s gardens have boon formed in and around Paris within tho Inst two years. I visited ten of thorn in the Boulevard Bruno, near tlio' Quartior Montrongo, and upwards of eighty others at Sceau, ono of tho suburbs of Paris. A very pleasant I'oaturo of them is tho nice littlo arbor, with a tablo and scats inside, which is generally to bo found at tho bottom of oach, close to a littlo strip of land reserved for the use of tho workman’s chidren. Here on summer evenings and Sundays tho wholo family gather and hero tho wilo and mother may often bo seen at noodlowork or busy with tho week’s mending, wliilo her husband and children arc gardening near by. Tho workman’s garden idea has taken a firm root in Lons, ono of the chief mining districts in the north of France, where tho directors of tho mines . are strong advocates of gardening, not oply as a means of reforming and elevating tho adult, but also of developing tlio child. Each minor at Lons is" provided with a cottage of four or five rooms, surrounded by a good-sized plot of ground of about 1000 to 1200 square metres, for gerdening purposes. Tlioro are more than 5000 of these gardens. Each of tho four schools belonging to the company is similarly provided with ground for cultivation by tlio pupils. Tlio soil, as would bo but natural in

a mining country, is poor and quite unsuited for gardening, but so convinced wore tlio directors of tho value of tlio work that they wont to the oxpenso and trouble of having good earth brought into the district. In one of tho schools at St. Piorro I found that both the boys’ and girls’ sonior department had gardens. Tho head of the boys’ department takes gardening with two of liis classes ns part of tlio school work, and' therefore during school hours. He said he began it with trepidation, and now he is so fully convinced of its value, intellectually as well as morally and physically, to tho 'boys, that ho is only waiting to get moro ground to lot the rest of the classes have a plot each year. Tho garden attached to tho girls’ department I found to bo' of peculiar interest. It is in charge of tlio pupils of the domestic economy 'class. In it they cultivate every vegetable and flower they aro likely to require for their work and lessons. This kind of gardening enables them to acquire an intimate knowledge of tlio life and. habits, not only of many of the plants which may help to make their surroundings beautiful and give pleasure to others, but also of many which form their chief daily food.” No moro useful subject than gardening can bo taught the rising generation, and if some such plan as indicated above were adopted in this colony, the invasion of the “Yellow agony” of which we now so loudly complain, would be largoly solved, and cheap, wholesome vegetables would be plentiful in every house, and the Cliinkic’s cart would bs non est.

The Government offices will be closed on March 18tli, to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

A report of the Kaiti-City Foot- „ -*»-P on our front page.

Thomas Phillijis, who has been at the Hospital since Monday suffering from a fracture of the base of the skull, died at the institution at 10 last night.

The Talune brought two stud Lincoln rams yesterday morning lor Mr G. J. Black, and one stud English Leicester ram for Mr. Harold White.

The sale of Mr. W. J. Baigent’s fine Motu property to Mr. G. E. Little, of TJtiku, and Mr. Parnell’s Poamaliaka Estate to Mr. W. Somerville, through Mr. W. Lissant Clayton’s agency, is reported. Arthur Erickson, the jockey kicked by Pink ’Un, is progressing favorably, and passed through Gisborne yesterday for his homo in Auckland, ■where he will remain for about three months.

A list is given in the latest Gazette of the natives nominated as candidates for the committees to administer- the Hauanu, Aliiateatua, Orua sc, and Makarika A, G, H, K, L, and M. blocks.

A man. named Ernest Davies, employed at Messrs Eelson Bros.’ works, was taken to the Hospital yesterday afternoon, suffering from injuries to his head and spine,which were caused by a heavy piece of wood falling on bun The injuries are not of a very serious nature.

In Chambers, in the Supreme Court yesterday morning, the Chief Justice, in the matter of the will of the late Mark Davis, made an order vesting lands in a new trustee (Mr. John Coleman). . Mr. Stock supported the application. Mr W. Maddison, inventor of the new ear-marking scheme, states that the committee sot up at he last meeting of the Farmers’ Union is expected to report on his scheme, when the Union will pass a resolution for or against, it. The meeting will probably be held on next Friday or Saturday. ■

Messrs.-/William Pettie and Coy.arc now opening up heavy shipments by direct-'stemors of autumn and winter'-goods; in all departments; The firm announce that notwithstanding the heavy! advance in prices now ruling, they" wCrc successful in placing

big co'ntfadtS at the right time, and thus with few exceptions are able to sell at last year’s prices. The new goods" are on view and inspection is invited.

A table in the latest Gazette gives figures relative to the conjugal con-

dition of the people of the colony at the taking of the census in April. 1906, and quotes the figures at eacli successive census since 1874. Following are the figures for 1906, those for 1901 befog given in parentheses: Persons—Unmarried 63.72 per cent (65.53), married 32.41 (30.75), widowed 3.87 (3.72); males —Unmarried 66.52 (67.90), married 30.78 (29.45), widowed 2.70 (2.65); females —unmarried 60.57 (62.94), married 34.24 (32.17), widowed 5.19 (4.89). Divorced persons are included among the “unmarried.” In 1906 607 persons (351 males and 256 females) were returned as divorced and in 1901 the number was 404 (255 males and 149 females).

Following is a return of business done on tbo Gisborne-Karaka railway for the four weeks ending February 2nd, the figures for the corresponding period of 190 G being given iu parentheses: —Passengers 4006 (4022); season tickets G (o); parcels 147 (107), horses 1, carriages 1, dogs 35 (15), cattle—(l), sheep 80 (147), pigs—(9), chaff, lime, etc., 6 tons (18), wool 100 (24), firewood 30 (42), timber 22 (_238), grain 8S (109), merchandise 113 (188), minerals — 776 (525) ; revenue passengers £251 11s 9d (£242 0s 10d),

Id (£l9 14s Cd), goods £194 3s Cd (£195 4s 7d), miscellaneous Id (Is), rents and commission £lO 2s (£l4 17s Cd), total revouuo £477 13s 8d (£471 18s od).

Tho representative of Messrs N< 1 sou Bros, is to bo askod to limit ill

1•< rough Engineer for the mirpos

discussing tho position in rogard to the alleged obstruction cau'e-.l to navigation by the lnnnni.r in w.bii h tho Roebuck Road bridge is being erected.

On Tuesday morning a well-known native named Holiepa Waikoro, aged about 60, bolnivcd in an erratic manlier during tho hearing of a case in tlio Native Land Court. Ho was warned by tho Judge (who bad submitted patiently for a timo) that the objoctionablo behaviour must coaso or other action would bo necessary. This warning was apparently effective, but that evening tlio native was soon to fall from bis horse by Mr. Donovan. Ho' seemed to recover from tlio effects of tlio fall. But yesterday morning bo was found lying in Childors road in an unconscious state. Tlio police were informed and hto native was conveyed to tho Hospital, suffering from hemorrhage on tlio brain, liis condition apparently being hopeless.

A tennis tournament is to ho hold on tho Kaiti courts on March 30th and April Ist, at which it is expected that Napier players will bo present. Tho following programme was decided on: Men’s championship doubles, men’s handicap singles (2 grades), ladies’ handicap singles, men’s handicap doubles, ladies’ handicap doubles, combined handicap doubles. ITandicappers are to bo appointed from tlio two local clubs, and a committee consisting of two members from each club will also be appointed. Mr. Blackburn was appointed secretary and treasurer for tho tournament, with Mr. W. G. Evans ns bis assistant. Entries close on tlio 27tli inst.

Tlio Town Clerk, Mr. R. D. B. Robinson has received tlio following letter from tho Town Clork, Wellington :—“1238 Rhode Island street, Laurence, Kansas, January 16th, 1907 : “My dear Sir, —As a great favor I will ask that your secretary bo instructed to send mo papers or any printed, matter pertaining to the groat event of erecting a monument to Captain Cook. I am ono of tho American descendants, not far removed from tho direct ancestry. I am so proud to tell you that with others not of his family that was a fitting thing, and why America has not scon it I cannot comprehend. Some of our coast surveys aro of Captain Cook’s own hand, and but for liis gallantry and intrepidity wo had as well loft Columbus out of it also. I would suggest that you send us a representative for our Jamestown Exhibition in May, giving us a glowing account of your great honor to the brave sailor and discoverer of strange and. hazardous journeys. As a direct ancestry, with prospects of being a colonial dame some day, yours sincerely, Mrs Helen (Cook) Heegan.”