CURRENT TOPICS OF THE BAY.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 4 February 1914, Page 3

CURRENT TOPICS OF THE BAY.

(FEOBI VARIOUS SOURCES.)

Few of us have not the slightest conception of the magnitude of the Orakei drainage works now nearing completion by the Auckland Drainage Board. The Engineer has just announced that the works at Orakei would be ready for official opening during March. He suggested that an opportunity, before a start was made, should be given to the general public to inspect the works should they desire, so that they could see the magnitude of the Board's operations. The members of the Institute of Architects had been shown over the works on the occasion of their meeting in Auckland, and they had been greatly impressed with the magnitude of the undertaking. The Board left the arrangements for the opening in the hands of the Engineer, xxx A Taranaki man recently sold his farm for £80 an acre. Next jhe held-a sale of his dairy herd— just, the ordinary good typical Taranaki dairy breed (with the exception of one Holstein), and no pedigree stock, but several had calves, which enehanced their value. The Holstein cow was sold for £23 10s, one of the others brought £19, others reached £17 each, four £15 each, and five £14 each. The average for the whole forty-five was £14. x xx The latest thing in fly specifies is as simple as it is ingenious and effective. ,It consists of a small, narrow and shallow tin trough* set into the bottom of the upper portion of a window!* Kerosene is placed in it. The sun, which attracts the flies, apparently makes slight fumes of the kero- ! sene go up the window —though they are not noticeable in the room —and directly a fly reaches the window it seems to be unable •to get away, and drops, inevitably to perish, in the kerosene trough. A large boarding-house was cleared of flies in this way in the past weeks 'by troughs on two windows, and no one who was not told about it could have detected the apparatus on the windows at all. °x x x Miss Alice Jacobson, of London, Ontario, recently discovered that the man whom she was about to marry, after a long engagement, was her brother, whom she has not seen or heard of since childhood. Carl Jacobson when a little boy was adopted in England | by a family named Smithson, and I took their name. With them he went from England to 'New York, and thence to Ontario. In Ontario he met Alice Jacobson, to whom he eventually became engaged, and when writing the news to her parents in England Miss Jacobson enclosed her fiance's photograph. Some likeness in the photograph to the little boy whom they had given up years ago, in conjunction with the name Smithson, caused them to make enquiries, and they had to break the news to their daughter that she had nearly married her own brother.

A postman named T.,Anderson, who has had charge of deliveries in the rural area of Carlisle, gave some statistics of the ground he had covered in acknowledging a presentation made to him on his retirement. Mr Anderson stated that during his thirty-six years' service he had walked a total distance of 183,600 miles. His periodical crossing of the wide bridge spanning the Eden at Carlisle had amounted in the aggregate to 6,000 miles.

The question of the constantly increasing rates of pay was briefly touched^upon at the last meeting of the Rodney County Council. One or two riding members mentioned that they had been asked for an increase, and they urged that there should be one rate of pay -for the whole county. Others pointed out that the same wage could not be paid to every man, as some were worth a good deal more than others. "'-I take it " said one member, " that you must give the ruling wage in the district you are in." The Chairman said there could not be a uniform wage for the Country. He endorsed the view that men should be paid in accordance with worth. The ..matter could very well be left to the Engineer, svho knew every man in the County. On the general question of increasing wages and higher tenders members were not quite easy in their minds.