GENERAL NEWS ITEMS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 2259, 5 April 1921, Page 1

GENERAL NEWS ITEMS.

Rain lias not fallen in the Morrinsville district for over four months, and the milk production has fallen away to almost vanishing point, it is stated, on the majority of farms. One farmer —a returned soldier —said he was • not getting sufficient milk from a herd of 35 cows to feed a baby.

From the north comes a story about a pushing land agent who had a prospective buyer of some gum land, and assured (he latter that the land had a carrying capacity of two sheep to the acre. The farmer was not satisfied with the agent’s assurance, and said he would like to see the place.. After inspection the agent asked him if he was not now satisfied that the land was as good as he described it. “Well," he said, “I’ve seen the land, but: before I decide 1 would like to hear the evidence of the two sheep."

Speaking at the Producer.''’ Conference, the Prime Minister stated that wheieas the price of coal at Home was £7 per ton some months ago, the Government had recently purchased 150,000 tons of coal for railway purposes at Cl 7s lid per ton landed here. Sir W. Buchanan : “Has (he (lovermnent been offered Newcastle coal at £8 per ton, delivered in New Zealand?" Mr Massey: “The offer has not been made to me; it may have been made to the Railway Department.” Sir W. Buchanan: “1 am in a portion to say that the Government can gel the offer if it wishes." Mr Massey said he would be very glad to get such an offer. Of late Newcastle coal had been very uneven in quality, and some of it was very inferior, and it. had not been able to keep steam up iii consequence.

A Wanganui lady, who has ju.-t ! returned from a visit to Australia, i stall's that the cost of living across the Tasman appears to be declining more rapidly than in New Zealand. She was naturally keenly interested in clothing, and gives one instance of where she priced some costume material before leaving New Zealand, which was ticketed at this per yard. In Sydney she could have bought the sain*' class of material ■ for 2fs. Material for blouses was also selling at rates considerably ; lower than in New Zealand. This | applied both to Sydney and Melbourne.

Conditions in the Waikato are thus described by a farmer. -Thin**.-? up here are only passable, the whole of the Waikato has suffered a very severe drought, and is not out of it yet. We have had only about two hours’ rain, one hour per day, this last week, and that is really the first rain for the last four months. People are driving cows four miles for water, and generally dairies .arc getting milk by the pint, where they were getting it by the gallon Otis time last year. It will he a verysevere winter up* here, no feed and no chance of easement in the money nut rket.

An amusing women’s boxing bout was described at Tottenham Police Court recently, A husband said that on hearing a noise he went upstairs, and found his wife and another woman having “a little scrap." He was amused, and took a seat to watch the light. Soon the other woman’s son came into the room with two pairs of boxing gloves. He told him to go away, and as soon as lie left the room the woman’s little girl came in wearing boxing gloves, and was going to join her mother in the attack. “I then called ‘time,’” added the husband, “and the fig-fit ended.”

'Branded as a witch, blamed for sickness, death and misfortune in her neighbourhood, and threatened with burning tit the stake, Mrs Augu.stino Catario, 75 years old, has appealed to the law for protection, says a Pittsburg message. In the meantime Antonio Capriano, accused by Mrs Catario of starting the witchcraft story, is under arrest. Mrs Catario said that women avoided her in the street, that ehildren lied in fright, and that she was ostracised b,v neighbours. Threats had been made, she said, that unless she left Eilwood city she would be tied to a stake and burned to death.

Before the great (ire of ItiOti, a sort of syringe or squirt was the only mechanical contrivance used for the extinction, of fires, although it was immediately after the terrible event that the fire-engine was introduced. In 1668 London established a "Fire Police” —certain citizens being provided with leather buckets, judders, pickaxes, sledges, shovels and brass hand squirts. lire escapes were not introduced till 1836. In that year the Royal Society for the Protection of Life from Fire was founded, which institution first provided fire-escapes,