LOCAL AND GENERAL

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 2945, 6 October 1925, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The s.s. Kennedy loaded fat slock at the wharf yesterday tor Addington. Hon. Crawford Vaughan, educationist, ex-Premier of South Australia, Lowell lecturer, etc., will speak at Eoxton on Tuesday, October 13 th.*

There was quite a fresh in the Manawatu River yesterday.

A vote of condolence with Mr. F. A. Mason, headmaster of the Foxlon School, in the death of his wife, was carried at a. meeting of the Manawatu branch of the Teachers’ Institute held in Palmerston North on Saturday.

During the recent electrical storms on the West Coast a settler at Karemea had a unique experience (states an exchange). He was milking a cow, out in the open, and during the process of the operation the cow was struck by lightning and dropped dead.

The Foxton-Lcvin road is now clear of water again but there is still a good deal of land inunduated on either side of it at Whirokino. On Sunday a large number of black swans were to be seen swimming around in close proximity to (he road and taking very little heed of the taffic along the highway.

Whitebait have been running strongly the past few days at Hokio, and exceptionally large catches were made on Friday and Saturday last (says the Chronicle). Supplies have been so plentiful in Levin that the seasonable delicacy has been retailed at 2s per pint, half its usual figure.

The friends of Mrs Baker, of Union St., will regret to learn that she is at. present an inmate of the Palmerston North Hospital. She was admitted to that institution on Saturday night suffering from appendicitis, when it was found necessary to operate immediately. She is making satisfactory progress.

It was reported at Saturday’s meeting of the Manawatu provincial executive of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union that the Rangiotu bridge, the scene of the recent motoring fatality, bad been repaired, the wings on both sides having been considerably strengthened by the inclusion of iron rails, which had been painted white. The repairs were considered likely to prove highly satisfactory.

News of past prolitie runs of whitebait in Mo'lvneanx would seem to lmve penetrated pretty far afield, says the “(Hugo Daily Times.” This season a man from Canterbury lias been camped for some weeks near the moulli of the Konu branch of the river wailing The run of the little fish, with a view to sending bis ealch to Dunedin. Rut so far very few whitebait have come up I lie river, and the vigil of the man from Canterbury appears likely to I urn out unprofitable in a commercial sense.

A Napier business man had a handsome gold pencil given him four years ago in recognition of public services. When at Tanpo on a. fishing excursion lie lost the pencil in the waters of Acacia Bay and efforts to recover it failed. Months afterwards, however, an acquaintance halted him in a Napier street, and gave him the missing pencil. A party at Acacia Bay had seen the pencil shining under the water on a bright day, and had dived for it ■ nccessfully. It was little the worse for its long period of immersion.

It was reported at a meeting of. the Baton-Waitolara Rabbit Board that rabbits had been noticed on the Belmont and Springvale Golf links, at Wanganui. The question was raised as to whether the golf clubs contributed rates to the board. The secretary explained that as the golf club did not own stock they could not be rated under the system under which the board was operating. Inspector Mnnro pointed out that the board could go on to the property and any work executed would have to be paid for by the two clubs.

The scene of the railway smash at Opapa has been visited by hundreds of curious sightseers armed with their cameras, and the road has carried a continuous stream of cars, states the “Hawke’s Bay Herald.” Souvenir hunters, too, have been in great evidence, picking up nuts and bolts or small pieces oi the wreckage. The engine which featured in the smash, locomotive A (JOG, which also drew a special train on which the Prince of Wales travelled when in New Zealand, was taken to Napier, and now stands in (he railway workshop yards. Apparently there is nothing seriously wrong with the basic struelure of the locomotive, and it was brought in on its own wheels. It is crusted with clay and grass and [he boiler casing is crumpled and buckled. The superficial fittings on Ihe side which struck the bank are lorn off or twisted, and evidently the engine has been affected by the furious beat of the fire which blazed over it.

Many laics of wonderment have been written about the extraordinary “homing” instinct of the domestic eat, and a Dunedin resident relates one that certainly shows that puss possesses a very remarkable I anility of finding its way back In iis human friends even utter the lapse of many months. About fifteen months ago the cat was placed on hoard a steamer at Bluff, but evidently finding life on the ocean wave not to its liking, it “deserted” the ship in Dunedin a few days afterwards. Nothing more was heard of the cat until a week ago, when, to the astonishment of a local household, which had shifted to Dunedin from Bluff three months ago, the animal, with feline casualness, wandered back and was found stretched out on its favourite rug, just deigning to bestow a few “mews” of welcome upon various members of the family.

A sharp shock of earthquake was felt locally between 4 and 5 o’clock on Monday morning.

Coming: Hon. Crawford Vaughan, ex-Premier of South Australia. Foxton, October 13th. * Hedhogs are now making their appearance again after their hibernation and it appears that they will be fairly numerous this summer.

A good quantity of whitebait ivas caught in the Manawatu River on Saturday but the bait has disappeared again as a result of the Hood water that is at present coming down the river.

As a result, no doubt, of the continuous wet weather, frogs are very numerous around Foxton at present. Croakings can be heard in all parts of the borough at night and quite a number of frogs have been killed on the roads by vehicles. Hear the orator, educationist, South Australia’s ex-Premier. Founder of the Australian cotton industry , etc. Hon. Crawford Vaughan, at Foxton, Tuesday, October 13 th.*

Farmers along the Coast Road, Thames say (states the Thames “Star”), that the kiwi is not dying out in that locality. Every night their cries are heard, and they are frequently seen in the vicinity of the farmers’ homes.

During the past few weeks, as a result of the very wet weather experienced, a great deal of surface water has been lying about on the low-lying land around Foxton. Sheets of water were to be seen on (lie railway side of the„road between Foxton and ITimatangi and at times the water rose so high that it flowed over the railway line and across the roadway. Portion of the road between Foxton and Taikorca corner were inunduated and several culverts washed out. Old identities state that they have never before seen so much surface water lying about.