DISTRICT PARS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 95, 14 August 1908, Page 2

DISTRICT PARS.

Two sections of land in the Ohura Survey District are gazetted to be opened for selection under the optional tenure on September 23rd next. The sections are situated on Kururau road, 14 and 17 miles from Taumarumui respectively, one containing an area of 373 acres, the other containing 638 acres. The land is valued at 26/- an acre. The members of Parliament leave Auckland for Wellington on Monday evening next, and will run through the King Country shortly after midnight. Improvements are still being carried on at Te Kuiti Railway Station. At present a gang of men are en- ' gaged in putting in an extra shunting loop. Further additions will be necessary if the Main Trunk expresses cross at Te Kuiti. The Parliamentary train which went through to Auckland on Saturday last, had eleven cars, including a dining car. The engine was one of Prices' new compound engines, which are. to be used on the Main Trunk line express between Auckland and Taumarunui, so that the train was practically the same as will be running when the line is opened permanently. On the run from Te Kuiti to Te Awamutu, a distance of 26 miles, some fast travelling was 'done, the journey occupying 40 minutes.

Up to the present lime the grain carried over the Southland railways this season totals just about half as much again as last year's total for the same period. The shipments from Bluff to the North Island, Melbourne and Sydney, have been fairly heavy, and plenty of storage room is now available at the port. It is said that several dairy factories in the Hawera district have disposed of their output of butter for August month at the satisfactory figure of is 3d. This figure was pn offer to the Eltham Dairy Company on Saturday, but was not considered tempting enough. Day classes for the sons of the farmers are to be held in the technical schools in the northern territory of the Wanganui Education Board. The ,course will embrace : Theory and practice of farming, dairy work, agricultural zoology--useful and injurious insects, bee-keeping, and woodwork for the farm.

The mortality among ewes in the Masterton district has been very light up to the present, and the early lambs now that the fine weather again prevails, arc coming on well. The question that is now disturbing the minds of the farmers is, " what will the spring weather be like in the face of such a mild winter? " If a wet spring follows, things in the opinion'of'one stock expert, will go bad for the farmer, but should the weather be seasonable the outlook for stock is the best for years past. Everything now depends on the weather for the nexttwo or three months. 110-gels in the Forty Mile Bush (INliiet are said to be in splendid condition just now, and far better ill an thev are usually seen even in the spring, (ieneraily speaking all classes »( slock are looking much better in that district than around Masierton, and the indications are for a good spring. In connection with the running of I lie Parliamentary train between Wellington and Auckland, last week, there were no opening celebrations. Sir iuseph \\'a'"d slated the formal tvi\n!"in ui'hld not lake place for .-,, ; K ~i' ■■;*.> \-. vh. n tin event would p, ,\ i. Iv.p d 'iiiingh at Auckland ■;n,| W, j 11, i••i. > i •■. Tlu line is to be p;ken<ovr by 'die Uailway Department before November Ist, though it is opu'lel thai ihe trains will be running regularly before that date.

Tlu' li.-i!y ■-!" Hi,- inii" Mr. W. Bredcnlwk \\ as iToni-lit to Te Kuiti on Thursday mT List w\vk, and was convewii i" i I.: i nil ton on Friday, the tuiuM-ai ;.i!-.in;:' plaiv after the arrival oi' ih,' Irain. Woods' Cvcui Peppermint Cure for (\nn;hs and Colds never fails.' Is 6cJ &2s6d. -. '

A stock agent informed a Wairarapa Daily Times reporter last week that there were plenty of buyers for / all kinds of stock in the district just \ now. Breeding ewes are selling well, and there is any amount of trade to be done in hoggets, only the vendors' prices arc considered too high. Sheep all round have made a wonderful recovery during the past two months. During next month several large areas of Crown lands will be thrown open for settlement. Pastoral run No. 63, comprising 16,920 acres in Taupo County, will be offered by auction for a 21 years' lease on September 18. Three lots at Rangaroa settlement, near Taumarunui, will be offered for application for village homestead sites on September 16, and in addition, a number of areas of second-class lands, most of which are in North Auckland, will be offered under the option tenure on the same date. Many of the latter sections are partly improved. A most ingenious method of growing early strawberries has been lately devised'by a specalist, and there may be a small fortune for the market gardeners who-first practice it. The strawberries are planted in the open in lines, running cast and west. On cither side of each line a low wall, consisting of a single' plank, is fixed, lower than the other. Over the top loose glass is laid when forcing time comes, and on warm soil the fruit can be ripened many days before the season This cheap and most effective method of forcing has still to be \ tried by the professional growers in England, but its value is beyond question, and every market gardener should make the experiment. , The traffic on the railway for, the past few days has been greater than at anv other previous period, far exceding the Christmas holiday rush. On Saturday last abont3oo passengers were booked from Te Kuiti, and the express train left with eleven full cars. At Frankton it was found there was no room on the Rotorua train and King Country train was sent right through to Auckland as an extra express.

We have pleasure in drawing the attention of our readers to the advertisement of Miss Handyside who has taken over the connection of Miss Heswich, music teacher, of Te Kuiti. In Miss Handyside the district has secured the services of a highly cultured and valued teacher, and we trust the. best support of our town people will be given to enable to re- ■ tain her services for the> general benefit of the dtstrict.

An incipient fire occurred at Te Kuiti on Wednesday night, at the residence of Mr. E. A. Power, the schoolmaster. Forutnately the blaze was discovered in time by Mr Power, who quenched the flames with a few buckets of water. Considerable damage was done to the room in which the fire occurred.

If anything injuriously affected farming interests every other industry in New Zealand would suffer. All the gold mines in both islands might peter out, and the community would not be so much affected as if dairying ceased to be payable. A drop of a few pence per pound in the price of wool means a greater loss than if all our export of manufactured goods and all our flax were shut out of the world's markets. The absence of statistics dealing with the local consumption of agricultural produce makes it difficult to form any comparison as to its relative importance to other local industries, but it is evident that the raising of foodstuffs means more to New Zealand than all other local industries combined.— N.Z. " Herald.'"

The Parliamentary train from Wellington to Auckland passed through the King Country on Saturday. A short speech was made at Taumarunui by Mr W. T. Jennings, M.P., and cheers were given by the residents for the Premier and party and Mr. Jennings. The train stopped at Te Kuiti to water, but did not pull up at the station. The arrival of the train at Auckland was witnessed by a large concourse of people, and an official welcome, was given to the party by the Mayor.

Some months ago the Lands, Department at the request of local bodies and private citizens decided to experiment with lupins as a means of stopping the sand drift, which is such a menace to a large amount of valuable property in Kawhia County. About that time Crown Lands Ranger Jordan superintended the planting of about five acres of Government land adjoining the Parangi Lake which work was carried out in a systematic manner. Rowb of seeds wer- 1 put in at right angles a few feet being left between each row. When Mr Jordan was in Kawhia last week he paid a isit of inspection and found that the plants were showing up nicely, some being two and three inches high. He was very pleased with the appearance of the lupins and predicts success for the experiment. At the last meeting of the Kinohaku branch of the Farmers' Union it was decided to invite Mr Massey, M.P., leader of jthe Opposition, to visit the district.