GENERAL NEWS ITEMS

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 2265, 19 April 1921, Page 1

GENERAL NEWS ITEMS

Within flic last three or four months one gum digger struck particularly good fortune near Kaitaia. He had bought a certain area of land for £6OO, and within the first three weeks of his ownership, while turning over the ground for the sake oi‘ tlie gum. he happened upon three holes from which lie extracted black gum of the old-time description which realised about £BOO, thus repaying him the cost price of the property and leaving a substantial balance. It is also, stated that he is still working upon highly remunerative deposits of gum, The annual flight of the curlew, or godwit, from the shores of New Zealand has taken place within the last few days, and only casual /locks of stragglers now remain on the coast. Settlers in the vicinity of Spirits’ Bay in the extreme North —which is always the point of departure for the visitants —discredit the theory that the birds leave in one great contingent. On the contrary, they have been observed to set out in several strong divisions at inlervals of many hours, and sometime." days.

A potato called the ‘‘Burlmnk" i> now said to be grown almost exclusively in America, hut, strangely enough, does not appear to he known very well in this country. It is said to possess every good quality, and also “to have conquered the earth.” Burbank himself, the raiser of this remarkable production, estimates that .sufficient of it has already been grown to pave a street 200 ft. wide at Ihe equator, and last year no less than 1-1,000,000 bushel* of Ibis variety were produced.- Why do not some of our grower." take it up.’ However, it must lie remembered that many things that give "plendid results in America are of little or no use here.

A remarkable experiment lm." been conducted by Dr, Batten, Bur-geon-Superintendent of Hobart General Hospital, in transplanting a gland from a woman to an insane woman, with a result that the patient became normal, and has remained "o "ince the operation was performed a month ago, states a telegram to the Sydney Morning Herald. Dr Batten declined to say wheftier the gland was from a living woman, or wlmt sort it was, and added (hat though more than satisfied with the result, it was too-early to make prophecies. Four doctors had examined the woman and agreed that failing a cure by operation she would have to go to a mental hospital;

Strong condemnation of any attempt to keep down the price of butter was made at the meeting of the executive of the Auckland Farmers’ Union recently, when a motion favouring a free market for this product was carried. The subject was brought up by Mr A. D. Duxtield. ‘*We have always been agitating for a free market,” he said, “and were told that when.the period of control had finished we should get it. Now we have this agitation, and as the result oJ: outside inlluencc being brought to hear our representations have been turned down.” When the producers’ interests were at stake, he said, they were always sacrificed in favour of (he consumer. When prices were at flood there were many fingers itching to participate in the good things, but when times were adverse the producer was Hirown upon his own resources.

The Premier, he thought, was too conciliatory, and he moved a motion requesting a free market. The farmer, contended Sir C. C. Munroe, in seconding the motion, should not have to suffer longer than was absolutely necessary. After further discussion the motion was carried unanimously.

Authority has been given for the maximum Victoria Cross anility, which may be granted where the exsoldier is incapacitated by age or infirmity, to be increased from £SO to £75 a year, and for the grant of the annuity up to the same maximum to be extended to ex-officers. Since .1884 the annuity granted with the Victoria Cross has been £lO, increased to a maximum of £SO where the recipient is incapacitated. An officer winning the Cross does not get the £lO annuity. What he called a bottle of special rum was offered for sale by Charles Needham, of Manchester, to a police officer off duty. “I’d let you have a taste, only I’ve got no corkscrew,” said Needham. “That’s all right,”

replied the officer. “We’ll "ample it at the police station.” The bottle was found to contain cold lea, and al the City Police Court Needham was sent to prison for one month on a charge of attempting to obtain money by false pretences.