King Country Chronicle Saturday, Feb. 4, 1911. THE DUST PROBLEM.

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 334, 4 February 1911, Page 4

King Country Chronicle Saturday, Feb. 4, 1911. THE DUST PROBLEM.

i Dunng the past month Te Kuiti | and othre centres in the King Country ; have been suffering from an almost j complete absence of rain, and as a ■ consequence the dust nuisance in these ' pumice lands has become a positive I curse to all who have occasion to use i the town and its business streets. In January .98 of an inch of rain, falling on really only four days, was all that : was vouchsafed us by nature to water our streets, slake the dust, and keep : the atmosphere clean and clear. The dust, like the poor, has been ever ; with us. It penetrates every .vhere, ; and probably three men out of four comment on it in passing the time of day. One serious aspect of continuous dusty days is the risk of infection that is run through the drying up of insanitary matter and its circulation through the air in minute particles. ; The mild attacks of enteric disease i which have been noticeable lately are i probably traceable to this cause. | Shopkeepers, on the other hand are at I their wits' end to keep stocks clean,

windows attractive, and appearances generally inviting. As for the housewife —we condole with her in her trials. The subject lends itself to endless comment and speculation, but

in the long run we are reduced to this: What are our authorities doing to cope with the difficulty? From

some quarters we have the suggestion that a borough water cart should be purchased and be constantly employed in perambulating and sprinkling Rora, Taupiri, King and Sheridan streets. Reflection, however, tempts one to doubt whether that form of artificial rain would do more than damp the surface of the three or four inches of dust lying on the road bed. In Auckland tar sprinkling has been taken into favour, and a machine is being purchased for the purpose of spreading a thin film of tar over the dusty roads. In other quarters oil sprinkling has been suggested as a method of overcoming the difficulty. Probably the most satisfactory solution, even if an expensive one at the outset, would be a macadamised and tarred roadway, from curb to curb. This has proved satisfactory in Hamilton, where the main thoroughfare has been treated in this fashion. If Rora street were so formed, and the half chain of land lying within the railway fence grassed and planted with trees, the impression made on the mind of visitors would be a pleasantly powerful one, and shop- ; keepers on the route would rise up and call the Council blessed.