BACKBLOCKS TELEPHONES.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 509, 16 October 1912, Page 4

BACKBLOCKS TELEPHONES.

Telephone communication throughout the district has come to be recognised as indispensable to the back country settler. In such a district where for years to come the state of the roads must constitute a bar to ready intercourse between town and country the telephone fills a want that could be filled in no other way. To tho credit of the Postal Department be it said that every effort is usually made to meet the requirements of settlers in respect to telephone installations. There are one or two localities, however, to which the attention of the Department might profitably be turned. The linking up of the lino from To Kuiti which end at Mangaohae with the line from Marokopa which terminates at Moeatoa is a highly important connection,which the persistent, efforts of the hott 1 era have hitherto failed to effect. It is to be hoped the authorities will be induced to put in hand the necesary work during the coming .summer. There ia no sufficient reason for delaying the work, which must be undertaken sooner or later, and any minor difficulties due to tho remoteness of the district and tho usual baekblocks condition, which may have to be surmounted, arc of infinitely less importance than the service which will be rendered to a large number of Bottlers whose luxuries are few and whose difficulties are legion. This is a matter which might well be taken in hand by the townspeople and we trust definite action to achieve such a worthy object will not bo delayed.

Attention i 3 drawn to an advertisement appearing in this issue notifying tbe fact that a general meeting of the Te Kuiti Horticultural Society will be held in the Chronicle office on Monday evening next. All interested are requested to attend. The Times' reports on ths British wheat crop states that it is 81 bushels to the acre, being 11.4 below the average fur the past decade; barley 85, oats 78. The gold export from New Zealand during September are shown by the Government Exports Leaflet just to hand, to have been 27,5070z5, value £106,665. This is lesa by nearly £60,000 than in September of last year, due probably to the Waihi strike.

According to a return furnished to Parliament the amount of totalisator revenue collected from racing clubs for the twelve months ending October 3rd, 1912, was £75,611 15s lOd. Mr J. R. Graham offers at Saturday's mart sale four useful farm horses, several other also a lot of furniture. Being anxious to clear consignments for annual balance, reserves will be fixed at low figures, hence bargains. The Rev. R. B. Gosnell will preach at both services in connection with the Methodist Church next Sunday, 20th inst. The collections are in aid of the Home Mission fund of the church.

Fruit formed a very large proportion of the cargo brought to New Zealand last week by the Tahiti. From San Francisco the steamer carried 4650 cases of apples, 13,192 cases of canned fruit, 10,375 caseß of dried fruit, and 10,657 cases of onions. She also brought a big assortment of fruit from Rarotonga. For many weeks complaints had been received that the milk sold by a Paris dairyman was too thin; samples were taken by the police, and on each occasion the milk was found co contain a large proportion of water. Despite this, the man protested his innocence, and invited the police to visit his dairy at any time to see the cows milked. Two inspectors did so, and after witnessing the milking carried away the milk, which on examination was found to contain a large proportion of water. The visits were re-•! peated, but each time the milk which came straight from the cow was found to be too thin. The police were much puzzled until one day Inspector Debout noticed that the milkman, who was very fat, milked with only one hand. Another curious point was that he also seemed to grow thinner as the milk pail grew fuller. Inspector Debout at once ordered the milkman to undo his waist coat, when two indiarubber bladders and a system of piping was revealed. One bladder contained air and the other water. By pressing the air bladder the milkman caused the water to trickle out of the water bladder through a pipe into the milk pail, the operation being concealed by his artificial obesity.

In order to ascertain the extent to which the reported drought in the Philippines would probably_influer.ee the hemp market —that, is, current values are likely to be maintained the Secretary for Agriculture caDled to the Consul at Manila to the following effect: —"Sharp rise in prices of hemp in London, said to be due to decreased output from Philipines. Kindly reply causes, and whether likely to continue." To this the following reply was received: ISlo shortage arrivals hemp here at present, but eventual decrease of possibly 100,000 bales this year, owing to drought last spring is anticipated, provided the present demand continues."