NEWS AND NOTES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 958, 23 February 1911, Page 4

NEWS AND NOTES.

In referring to a Maori korero which was held in connection with the Mormon mission at Whangarei, and at which he was present, Mr Bowles told an Auckland reporter that “ the doctrine of plural marriage has not been taught since 1890.” This implies that the custom has been abandoned. •Mr Bowles is in error. Polygamy has just been resumed, and this fact is causing considerable friction between the State of Utah and the United States, which embraced the Mormon States in the union on the understanding that the custom was to be discontinued.

Some large cheques have been made by agriculturists at Pukekohe this year with potato crops, says the Auckland Star, and a record season has been experienced. It is estimated that the local growers have accounted for approximately ,£15,000 for potatoes. The nature of the soil is such that an earlier crop than elsewhere can be obtained, with the result that Pukekohe-grown potatoes reach the market in the early part of the season, when high prices prevail. At the beginning of the season growers were netting from ,£8 to ;£xo a ton, and the crops ranged from nine to twelve tons per acre, so it will be seen by these figures that a handsome return was being obtained. At the present time about ,£5 per ton is being obtained, and some of the later crops are working out at 12 tons to the acre. The district has been tree from blight.