Manawatu Herald. FRIDAY, JUNE 21, 1889.

Manawatu Herald, Volume II, Issue 274, 21 June 1889, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. FRIDAY, JUNE 21, 1889.

On Monday the tenders close for cutting and carting green flax for the Turakina and Otakapou Hemp mills of the Rangitiki Fibre Company. At present only one horse remains in the pound the others having been claimed. At noon tomorrow the tenders close for cleaning drains of theOroua Downs Estate. Contractors will notice that an alteration haß been made in the Horowhenua County advertisment, and that the one mile seventeen chains of roadwork from Tokomaru roai south to the gravel pit has been withdrawn. The cutting to the river for which tenders are invited by Messrs Osborhe Giesen&Co, is to form an approach to the punt. Tenders must be in by Monday next. Worse accidents happen at sea. A wellknown squatter was driving bis wife along the road to the Wirokino ferry the < ther day, when they met a flook of sheep. These animals have a knack of being always in the way of a horse, so our driver kept getting nearer and nearer to the ditoh to make more room. Just as the mob was tailing off, the last move to the ditoh was the worse, as the baggy slid over the edge, with the result of depositing the lady into it. The driver fearing a total capsize drove ahead, without noticing that he was alone in the trap. The lady was seen standing on the road, endeavouring to make her stoney hearted mate notice her absence. What his feelings were, or what was the subject matter of their- conversation, when he returned and remembered his family is not mentioned, but he deserved to be made to know tha* he had company once more. We ore in receipt of Messrs Baker.s property list. The volume is growing, and new mmkuum important dimvuioßi.

a.Ji *\ B 'lv? suffered a mishap the other oV-jap^th- river, part of her cabin having mysteriously, caught alight. Tie steawewas nod much clamaged, and tJe outlay of a few pounds has made her all ship shape again. We learn that the crew lost the change of clothing tney had on board. Mr Davidson invited the hanCs at Mr Oliver's hemp mill to a dinner on Wedneiflay, and gave them all a ho?id 7, in celebration of Mr Oliver's wedding day in England. J The s.s. Kennedy oa leaving the wiaif on Wednesday afternoon, aaaaßgei 1 to collide with the schooner Opoi,iki, Tv'->ci Watoccupying a berth lower do *ra. T\e i ana^e consisted in staving Li a couple oi v> auks on her port bow. " The lodge of the fAnoient Order of D:-uids s* d, a satisfactory quarterly meeting on Wednesday rngnt, close on £70 being rewaved for &c quarterly payments. i most remarkeble thing nas happened. Sir John G'oode's seieme icr opening the Gippslanf. lakes, which was to cost man.7 thousands of younr.s, haying been carried out by the force of nature. During tie gale a terrific sea broke i 1 and scoured the channel jto the oonjveot depth, thus opening the lakes to navigation. Tuesday's concert was not only a musical success, but a satisiasiory financial one too. Tne amotiivi realised f .'oni the sale of tickets and cash token at i\e doors axaouati-ig to Qiose on twelve pounds. Tue funds for the Flower Queen will thus rsqeive a substantial help. .'' My Joe Tos, wiih the b!anf. rrianne-s credited to the inhabitants o' y>.e Celestial Erapire, has opened a shop Ix iie Main street for the sale of fruijs, vegetables and tea. Albaca or Manilla hemp, is the fibre of a species of plai.iiain of banana (Musairoglodytaruni), a native of the Philh'pLie Isles, where it is extensively cultivated. The leaf stalks are split into long stripes, and the fibrous part is then separated fro a the fleshy pulp. A laborer can in this way produce daily 501bs of hemp. Before 1825, the quantity produced was insignificant, but in 1878 it amounts to nearly 31,000 tons annually. In maniLU, the capital of the Philippine Isles, there is a steam rope-work for making ropes of it for naval purposes. They are very durable, but not very flexible. The fibre of a number of species of Musa is used in tropical countries. The s.s. Charles Edward left Tuesday afternoon and made the run down to Wellington in the short space of eight and a half hours. We notice that Mr J. E McMillan has the agency of these steamers.