LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 15 May 1911, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

It has been suggested tliat friilttesting assembly of local orchardists slioukl be held in Levin at an early date. The idea is that each participant should bring with him samples of his late-keeping apples, and that the , judgment of the whole gathering be obtained as to the merits of each variety submitted. Accounts amounting t»o £829 3s Bd. (general), and £413 (loan), were passed for payment at Saturt day's meeting of the Horowhenua County Council. At Saturday's meeting of the County Council the following tenders were accepted: Contract 150, E. Simmonds at 3s and 6d per yard; contract 154, George H'a,nlon, at 2s 2d per yard; contract 152, J. M. Jail, at 4s 3d per yard; contract 150, Kilsby Bros., at 3s 3d per yard. Finished doors are still being landed in Dunedin from Sweden in large quantities. The Ota go Trades and Labour Council has forwarded a ■resolution to the Government asking that the import duty of 30 per cen.t. on finished doors should ho increased. The working bee, in connection with OJvau school, met a few days ago. and did some excellent work in connection with improving the playgrounds. They carted a large quantity of soil to the ground for the purpose of levelling off the playground. About a quarter of an acre is being treated, and this, when finished, will he made use of for tennis, croquet, and other pastimes. Among those who were present helping were Messrs F Better, A. Giles, J. Davis, j! Doyle, C. Saint and P. McLeavey. The ladies provided afternoon tea. One 6d edition returned in good °f ±1 &n £ wiH get y° u a new <>n« at the Railway Bookstall, Levin.— Advt. Buy a sample- shilling's worth of Thompson's Book Arcade, Levin— novelettes" for winter reading at

A visit to Levin, by the Irish onvovs, is being arranged. bably they will speak here next Saturday evening. The first match of the hockey fixtures between the local Levin clubs will be played on the domain ground on Wednesday. The detailed fixtures will appear to-morrow. The Land and Income-tax Department gives notice that returns of income must be furnished not later tlian Ist June. Any person failing to furnish the return at the prescribed time is liable to a penalty of not less than £2 nor moro than £100. At Waimate on Saturday, Mr D. Jones, organiser of the Farmers Political League, addressed a meeting of farmers. There was a good attendance, and Mr Garland (president of tlio local brancli of tiro mei's' Union) presided. At the ovl of the address, Mr J. Talbot (Tnnaru) spoke in opposition to proposal, contending that the Political League was being run on party lines and should not be supported. Both speakers received a good hearing, but the onlv resolution carried was one of thanks.

Fourteen, shillings a pound is offerer! for throe pounds of farmers' fresh butter at the National Dairy Show. The money is to he given as first prize, with twenty shillings as second prize, and ten shillings as third prize. Tit addition thero is a silver challenge cup of twelve guineas to bo won three times. The entrv fee is only three shillings for members, and two shillings and sixpence for non-members. The premiums are the largest offeree! in the Dominion, and a hig competition is expected from all parts. A postcard to the Secretary, Palmerstoq North, will bring a copy of the prize list and details of the many other valuable prizes offered to farmers. At Saturday';; meeting of the County Council the following resolution. moved bv Cr. Watson, seconded by Cr. Wine!ley. was adopted: That the Clerk be instructed to write to the Minister of Railways, asking him to instruct the officers of his Department to remove the sand ridge between the main County road and the railwav line, near the south end of the old railwav siding at Had field. The Council have found it impossible to prevent it drifting, ns every time it has been thatched the sparks from the engine have burned it. and that a copy of this resolution be sent to the member of the district. Cr. Watson remarked that he was of the opinion that this was a subject for the Railway Department to deal with. He •had nointed out the ridge, to Mr W. H. Field, and he thought something would he done with the matter. lire a.nniversarv services of the Primitive Methodist Sunday school, at Shannon, were held vcstcrdav. and were verv successful. The chief feature was the singing of the children, assisted by the choir. Thev had been carefully trained by Mr A. Saunders for the occasion, and the result was a great success. The nreadier for the dav was the Pev. T. Coatswort.h. who preached in the morning from the well-known text "Suffer the Children to Come TTnto Me." He dwelt very strongly 011 the great importance of the child life to the Christian Church, contrasting with this the low estimation of other religions, snob as that of Tndia and China. He eloouontlv pleaded that the children should be given a fair chance by careful training in the homes and Sunday schools. At the evening service there was a full church, and a very impressive address was given on the "Call of the Spirit." Tins eventhe prize-giving will take place, and the whole programme will be provider! by the children, with recitations, songs, dialogues, etc. The opening shots in the No-fji-cense campaign may be said to have been fired on Saturday evening, when Mrs Harrison Lee gave an address in the Levin Square. Mr J. W. Gibson took the. chair, a.nd briefly introduced Mrs Harrison Lee to the audience. He said that what the No-License Party wanted was to get the people to put their money in the safest of places—the savings bank. Mrs Harrison-Lee referred at length to the result of the carrying of No-License in Tnvercargill, and argued that all the proprecies made by the Trade about dead business had been falsified. The old licensed houses were now used as temperance houses. They were fully occupied, and more buildings were going up. Since the adoption of No-License rtivercargill was unquestionably a better place. Workingmen throughout the dominion would have more money to spend if NoLicense were carried. Mr Gibson asked the audience to give a heartyvote of thanks to Mrs Harrison-Lee for her able address, and this was warmly responded to. . A Wairarapa agriculturist of considerable experience stated recently that it was a very easy matter for farmers to test the soil for lime. Take a few shovelfuls of soil, •lie said, from different parts of the paddock or garden, and dry, pulverise and mix it thoroughly together. Having done that take a few ounces of the. powder and reduce it I to ashes 011 an iron shovel over the fire. When cool the ashes should' be put into a glass tumbler, mixed with as .much water as will cover them, and stirred with a glass rod or wooden stick, but not with anything metallic. To this paste add one ounce of hydrochloric, which is commonly known as muriatic acid, or spirits of salts. The mixture shomld be stirred all the time and if a fairly brisk offerverscence took •place the soil contained a. fair percentage of lime. Tf, however, 110 effervescence took place there would be very little or 110 lime in the soil. In our mind's eye (says the Hawera Star), we can see philatelists all over the world struggling for the possession of a new rarietv, lacking which! their lives will be a blank. This is a postmark which reads: "First Aerial Post, U.P. Exhibition, Allahabad, 1911," and these magic words surmount the tiny picture of an aeroplane. But for fear the uninformed may think the abbreviated letters have anything to dlo with aviation, or the Scottish Kirk, we hasten to sny that "U.P." means Uniteld Provinces, the central region which boasts the City of Allah as its capital and centre. If this I

cryptic , message is interesting, thestory of its origin is vastly more so. There is an exhibition of Indian arts and manufactures now raging at Allahabad, and to mark the event Captain Winclhanu the well-known aviator, obtained the permission of the Indian postal department for a novel experiment. Those who know the working of that giant organisation will marvel at the captain's temerity, but let that pass. An aviation station was established in the exhibition grounds, a dies was specially cut for the postmark, rmd letters for the outside world were stamped aaid whisked away by areopl'ane en route for the ends of the earth. It ruffles the feathers of pride to have to confess that the immediate destination was merely the post office a mile away, but the fact remains that the first aerial post stands to the credit or India. The finest selection of new sixpenny editions are at present on sale at Thompson's-Book Arcade, Levin. -Advt. Mr P. 0. Remington undertakes Milk Testing, and all kinds of Dairy and Agricultural Analyses, such as analysis of soils, water, butter, manures, etc. F. 0. Remington, Oxford street, Levin.—Adrt.

A letter from Mr Percy T. Eobinson, secretary to the Flaxmals Union, arrived too late for publication in to-day's issue, but it will appear to-morrow. A first-ofTence drunkard, Who created a disturbance in Levin early yesterday morning;, was arrested by Constable Bagrie, aud haled to court this morning. Ho was fined ;i crown by the presiding justife (Mr James McLcavev, .J .P.)