LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 14 February 1911, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Makorua swamp is said to be afire, .nd it is stated that scores of men ■re engaged in beating out the ames in an endea.vour to save the reat areas of green flax which give lie swamp its groat value. "We are to have our ladv playors t last, writes the. Foxton' 'Herald, heir enthusiasm has been gradually 'orking >up, and readied its enlminting point after the match with h aim on on "Wednesday, when quite ■number notified the secretary ley were prepared to play. A ladies' rowing race is being aringed by the Horowhenua Boatinolulb, to take place on the same day lat the pair-oared race eventuates ?twee,n the fortunates and unforlates. Tlie benedicts pair are urge and R. Carruthers; and the ugle men's representatives are an ton and; D. Anderson. The flax swamp fire at Weraroa, fronce to which was made in yesrday's Chronicle, occasioned a lot damage. The origin of the fire not known, but it is presumed' to ive been occasioned by the careless Iri etches by some wayfarer. . the present state of the weather. • £ rass like tinder, it is sirax>l© for everyone to be extremecareful with any fire started; in e 'open, and to avoid the use of J open fire whore such is not a.'bsotoly necessary. A warning to ildren to avoid all use of itches would be exceedingly timolv st now. ' '

Efforts are being ma do to secure the presence of the Hon. Dr .Findx 1 b ?' n( l«et in conuecVAT n'a i •? branch of the Mo ?"4"/ rh r 51 be lielcl on ! i It Hal1 ' ancl ll is f'dly anticipated that two hundred tindi fifty will he present. The banquet is the third of its kind, the first having been initiated by Mr F E Parker in 1910. The Ladies' Auxis ,' lnders^ ) . have ?+ W, i arrangements, which carrieS „rf TOyS TCTy

At Grey month Nat Williams defeated Tim Tracey in three hurricane rounds. The annual meeting of the Levin bTWdh of tli© YM.dA wil rn all probability be held on March 9th. Some of the herds in Manakan are suffering from mammitis. fortunate lv the outbreak is limited to a few' herds only. The last highest test at the Lovin Creamery was 5.1. The new factory in the Rimberley road as working very smoothly. The Rev. F. L. Jones and: Mrs Jones are still in Auckland, whither they have gone to stay with Mrs Shorland, mother of Mrs Jones, who is very seriously ill. Several good burns are reported on the hillsides at Manaka-u. It is very rough country, but it will be massed down and: perhaps next year will be fit for grazing purposes. A loss of about two - hundred pounds' worth of fine rata firewood is reported to have been occasioned on the hills at the head of Queen street through a fire which was inadvortently started by a settler on liis own lands during last week. Messrs Field, M.P., and P. Bartholomew, who have been visiting Gisborne, were unable to return home to-day, as arranged. The storm of wind and rain prevented their progress and necessitated postponement of their departure. The secretary of the Taranaki Farmers' Union forwards conditions attaching to a prize essay competition on "The achievements tof the Union, its position to-day, and its prospects for the future." First prize £10, second £5 and third £3. Mr T. Ash ton, of A lien ton, has caught over one hundred blackbirds during the past few weeks with ati ordinary rat-trap. Mr Ashton baits the trap with fruit that has a!, ready been partly eaten by birds, while on the trees.—Dannevirke Advocate.

The Rev. D. C. Bates' weather forecast states: Present indications are for mild, hazy, and changeable weather generally, moderate to strong easterly winds in the North Island, and north-westorly in the South. The barometer has a falling tendency, but there is little movement at present. Mr T. Sevan, ,j un., was amongst the sufferers by Sunday's grass fires at Weraroa. The flames spread to a tract of green flax in the vicinity, owned by him, and before they could be got under a wooden tramline was considerably damaged, besides a wide area of the flax. Rehearsals of the double bill to bo presented by the Levin Amateur Dramatic Society are proceeding steadily, a.nd the various performers are now letter perfect in their parts and considering the finer touches of movement and intonation. The public performance is underlined for Wednesday of next week. Harvest festival services in connection with the Levin Methodist Church will be held on Sunday, March 12. On the following day there will be a Bruce fair, and a meeting of the trustees and stewards will be held o-n 'Hmi'sdny to make further preparations in connection with the matter, The prolonged spell of dry weather lias had a remarkable effect on the Ohau river. At the present time there is not a spot of water in that part of the river under the bridge on the main road. An Ohau resident told a. Chronicle reporter yesterday that unless rain soon comes it would go hard with the small man. The milk supply has been considerably affected in Ma.nakau as a result of the hot weather and absence of feed. It is stated, however, that owing to the land being more soilv, things are not. so bad as tlie.v are farther north in the county. Those farmers who have grown maize in large quantities are now finding its great advantages as a feed for dairv cattle.

Dr Kennedy has recently undergone a very serious operation at a private hospital in Wellington. The operation was performedi by Dr Collins and was entirely satisfactory. Tt will take some weeks before Dr Kennedy j >s sufficiently strong to resume duty, but wo are glad to learn he is making steady progress towards recovorv. Dr Traill will act as locum onens during Dr. Kennedy's absence. -

Visitors to the lake shoro on Sunday. it. is stated, started fires wOrHi, fanned, by the wind, reached Mr Kirkcaldie's land and caused him a very anxious time. Sunday was spent in fighting the flames. ' Some trees on Mr S. Hooper's land were burned and several acres of grass "'ere destroyed both on his land and on that of Mr Kirkcaldie's. Lighting fires in the open,_ when the grass is as_ dry as tinder, is a most reprehensible and foolish practice.

•It is not always the composer who reaps the golden harvest resulting from a song's popularity. For the evergreen "Come into the Garden, Maud," Balfe received no more than £100; for "Kathleen Mavourneen" its composer was rewarded with a . £ r ; note ; and the immensely popular "Cheer, Boys, Cheer," was sold by Henry Russoll for sixty shillings. In recent years, "Some Day," credited with having yielded £10,000, was parted with by its creator for ten guineas. Market reports from Pa-lmerston Xorth, under yesterday's date, give the following details of produce prices in Palmer's mart Potatoes £6 to £7 per ton; pig potatoes, 2s Gd to 3s 6d; cabbages, 2s 6d to 3s Gd; carrots, 7s to 10s; green peas, Is 3d to Is Gd case; onions, 7s cwt; pig meal, lis; wheat, 15s 6d. Fruit— Ogon and Burbank plums Is Gd to 2s 3d ; English varieties, 2s to 3s; tomatoes, 2s to 4s 6d; peaches, 5s to 7 s 6d; nectarines, 4s to 6s; grapes, Gs 6d to 7s 6d iliaJf case; fblaekberries, 2s Gd l half case; quinces, §d to Id per lb; cucumbers, 2s Gd; .pears, 4s to Ss 6d; apples, dessert and cooking, 2s 6d to 4s 6d ease; prime factory bacon and hams from /di to 8d per lb; farmers' euro, 6d to 7d. A very pretty demonstration in maize growing for fodder is to be seen at the present time on the property of Mr J. C. Neill, at Weraroa. Roughly speaking tlhore are two sections of maize, viz., sweet corn and the ordinary mealie. In each section are a number of sub-varieties. Sweot corn is largely used in Amenct as a table vegetable, and very succulent it is. This section has been developed to produce a maximum number of cobs on a minimum amount of space. The plant is dwarfer m growth than common iriaize, but branches with some freedom and produces fully treble the irum'ber of cohs, which are of goo-d sibc in some varieties. Mr Neill is

growing a variety "Countdy Gentleman for fodder, alongside a breadth of a selected variety of ordinary maize. _ This latter'is from lort to 18ft high—more than twice tne height of the sweet corn. Yet despite that fact, the veriest tyro can see that the dwarfer start is affording most fodder. Every particle is eatable, there are more soft cobs, and more offshoots. There is ■green foliage right down, to the ground.

Pin kfhaa no "jales," and no regrets; through loss of trade he never frets; his patrons always keep him busy: and never grudge to spend a "tissy." nor leave him with* a. vexed air. Year in, year out, Pink sells good stock, from 8 a.m. to 6 o'clock, at prices fair to all; and every man who one oa'l comes back to buy noxt ;>air.—Advt.

The death occurred yesterday at "Wellington, of Mr A. A. K. Duncan, •Deputy Public Trustee.

A cablegram received to-day announces that the Welsh Church Disestablishment Bill will not be introduced to the British Parliament this session.

At a congregational meeting last o veiling, at tli© Levin Presby'teriaii Church, it was decided to give the Jlot. A. C. Randerson a call to tlu church. Mr Randerson preaclioc! for the last two Sundays at tin church and created a most favourable impression. , At a bush camp in Roikorangi, i yesterday, Robert Bell was arrestee on two charges of alleged forgers and uttering—(l) That on Decern, her 29th, 1910, at Wellington, Ik forged the name of N. Williams tr an order for £40 10s. and uttom the same to Charles Bird; ami (2) or January lltli, 1911, at .ellingtnn lie forged the name of M. Baigent of Upper Butt, to a. promissory note for £84, and uttered the same tr Gliarles Bird. Prices said to have been given foi Jersey stock in Australia, by Mi Prysdale, manager of the Weraron State Experimental Farm, were set out in a paragraph from the Sydiney Mail reprinted in the Horowiionua Chronicle yesterday. These, wr have good reason for saying, were placed too high by the Svdney newspaper. The prices paid by the representative of the farm were much less than those quoted. At a later da to we will publish in The Chronicle the actual sums given for each beast. Details of a fine record for milk made by a Holstein row on the State Experimental Farm at Weraroa have, been supplied to The TTorowbenua Chronicle by the manager of the farm (Mr Drysdale). wlio had tbcm compiled by special request of one of the Scottish Agricultural Commissioners now touring New Zealand. The cow, if is worth while to observe, was the mother of the Holstein bull which was sold for 75 guineas at the last A. and P. Show in Pa liner,stem North. The cow's last calving was on 2fith August, 1910, and up to the 7th February, 1911, she had yielded 11.10011 is milk, with an average test (if 3.8. which gives about 421 lbs butter-fat. Yesterday her .yield was oOlbs of milk —2olbs at the morning's milking and a like amount in the evening. Tn such extraordinarily dry weather as we have been having in Levin for two months past this is a very fine record.

A serjous trap accident occurred to Mrs Hitchings, wife of Mr Val Ilitchings, yesterday afternoon. Accompanied. by her mother, Mrs Howlc.v, and two children, .sihe returned from town to the house, where the two children alighted and Mrs Hitdliings and ]Slrs Howley proceeded to drive to Mr W. S. Park's residence. There is a large number of loose rough stones at this piece of the road, and against a particularly large one tho horse stumbled and threw both occupants violently into the road. Mrs Howley was fortunately not badly hurt, and though suffering from severe shock she manfully held on to the horse and prevented its further progress. Mrs Hitchings was found 'o ho partially stunned and was immediately conveyed to her house. Medical assistance was at once summoned, and Dr. Trail, who is acting as Dr. Kennedy's locum tenons, was promptly on the scene. Examination showed that- Mrs Hitchings had sustained a broken leg ("the right) just above the ankle, while the ankle itself was dislocated. From further inquiries we learn the unfortunate lady suffered severe pain during the night, but was sufTiciontlv strong to be conveyed by Mr Val Hitchings, in motor car, to Palmers ton to-day. where she will be in a private hospital. It will be onite six weeks before she will be able to get about. Tt was providential that the children were not in the trap at the time of tho accident which otherwise might have terminated' with fatal results. li'l'Wll HI lllllij I'l H I iHlllllßJjgfe,