COUNTRY NEWS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXV, Issue 16486, 27 February 1914, Page 9

COUNTRY NEWS.

[From Our Correspondents.] RANGIORA.

Tho Borough School excursion took place yesterday, the picnic being held at Sunnier. The children were accompanied by about a hundred and thirty adults, including members of tho school committee, and the day was spent very happily by the seaside. At the Police Court on Wednesday a first offender charged with drunkenness did not appear, and his bail of 10s was estreated. Mr C. I. Jennings, J-P., was on the Bench. About two hundred ratepayers and others interested in the welfare of Itangiora met last night at the Institute Hall in response to an invitation from the Borough Council to discuss the question of rating on unimproved land values as applicable to the borough, in view of the poll to he taken on Monday. The Mayor, Mr J. Sansom, occupied the chair. Mr A. Withy, of the .New Zealand Land Values League, was one of the audience. The discussion was largely one-sided, those advocating tho change from the present system reserving their arguments for their own meeting, to be held this evening. The principal speakers were Messrs 11. Boyd, E. R. Good, 11. C. D. Van Asch and the chairman, all of whom were opoosed to any change from the present'system. The main argument of the speakers was that the borough, on account of its small size and large amount of agricultural land, was not adapted to rating on unimproved values. Mr C. W. Bell criticised some of the speakers’ arguments, which, he stated, would prove of value to the speakers on the other side. The meeting closed with, a vote of thanks to the chairman. ASHBURTON. On Saturday, Mr'J. Davison, of Newlands, had about 250 bushels of Algerian oats destroyed by fire. The bags containing the oats'were stacked in the paddock, and were discovered to bo on fire by a neighbour, who quickly got help, and 600 bushels of tho 850 which were stacked were saved. Mr James Cairns, of Wakar.ui, who lias just finished' threshing, reports that from sixty acres of Velvet wheat ho secured fifty-two bushels per acre, while his average yield for the whole of his wheat crop was thirty-three bushels per acre. From a fairly large paddock of Garton oats he had a return of seventy-five bushels per acre. QMrai. c A farmer named Honisch, residing in the Omihi Valley, had the misfortune to lose three valuable dairy cows on Wednesday. Some wheat'which had -been recently threshed was covered with straw, but the cows horned this on one side and ripped open the sacks containing tho wheat with their horns, and made a fatal meal of the contents. , W" AIM ATE. ■ • Heavy rain fell during Wednesday night, and.o.66in was registered. A fine drying breeze was blowing yesterday. Ten days will complete the well-saved harvest. The Waimato Hospital Committee decided on Wednesday, after inspecting the buildings, that the Central Board should be asked to provide for the erection of a-morgue in the hospital grounds, the room used hitherto being considered unsuitable, as it is under the same roof as a super-heated laundry and drying-off room. The animal meeting of the Waimate Technical Association was held on Wednesday night, Mr E. Hassall 'presiding. Messrs R. Nicol, C. Jackson and IN. M. Orbell ■ were elected subscribers' representatives,>. Mr Hassall was reelected; chairman. The report showed that during-the year a substantial addition had been made to the school building, that the dressmaking, cookery, shearing and woolclassing classes had done good work, and that the financial turnover had amounted to £285. Next year it is proposed to add a class for dairy science, provided sufficient interest is shown.

A meeting of the AVaimate Cemetery Committee- was held on Wednesday afternoon present—Messrs A. J. Manchester (chairman), A. Garland and J. Black. The Minister of Internal Affairs wrote in regard to the nomination of the Rev J. Audrey Julius by the vestry of St Augustine’s Church for tho seat on the Board vacated by the Rev M’K. Gibson, stating that the appointment- lay with, the Lands De-. partment. v The chairman was granted leave, of .absence to visit ■the Old Country. ........ . ... ... WAINUI. Having hnd a long spell of fine, dry weather tho grass seeders in the Wainui district have been able to get their harvesting done with scarcely a break and by how the . work is practically finished. The yield is much below expectation, v.. ... . ■, A rather serious accident happened on Saturday to a young man named Percy Arnold. He was packing grass seed up a hill, when the horse bolted, knocking him down and breaking his collar-bone. . He was taken to the Akaroa Hospital. - The new tennis court is now available for use, and some preliminary games will be played this week. The formal opening of the. court will take place later on. v DARFIELD. Throughout the Barfield and surrounding districts of l Greendale, Charing Cross, Aylesbury, Kirwee, Courtney, Kimberley, Raceoourse Hill and Hawkins harvest operations are now reaching completion and within a week’s time very little stacking will remain unfinished. On several farms stook-thresliing has been going on apace and yields for the most part are very satisfactory, with the exception of a few, where the caterpillar has unfortunately made its presence felt. Some of these crops will probably not yield more than about halt of the estimated crop. Rape and kale are standing heavy feeding and several large consignments of store lambs have been into Darfield during the past fortnight. In this connection it'is to be hoped that the purchasers will not ultimately suffer from the present indications of a decrease in the. price of lamb. It is found that as a green feed, kale is not taken to as readily as rape, that the fattening process is slower, but that tho mortality is infinitely less. Turnips are looking particularly well and at present give evidence of an ample supply of winter feed. Potatoes too, are promising well and should market values prove satisfactory good monetary returns may be anticipated. In the orchard tho season is at its maximum. At the commencement of tho season cherries suffered considerably from a continuance of showery weather, and just recently S’ s, particularly the greengage, sufsirailarly. At the present time a good deal of stone fruit—peaches and apricots—is arriving from Teviot. There is little reason why it should not be grown profitably much nearer at hand and thereby reach the consumer in a fresher and more wholesome condition.

On Friday last Mr C. W. With ell, master of the Mayfield school, accompanied bv Mrs Withell and son and daughter* motored through to Darfield via Methven and revisited the district

after an absence of nine years. Mr WithelL previously taught at Darfield for a period of fifteen years.