NEWS AND NOTES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3672, 30 July 1927, Page 4

NEWS AND NOTES.

People should, as a general rule, according to medical men, eat less food- when they are approaching the age of seventy. What’s in a name? The Power Boards’ Conference at Wellington last week elected Mr. Watt to the executive and Mr. Cable to represent the supply authorities. A Glasgow man who abused a telephone operator because he could not get his number was switched on to the Central Police Station, subsequently arrested, and fined for using bad language. A swag of 89 opossum skins which received the official registration mark at the Hawera police station the other day (says the Star), gave evidence of the good fortune in trapping experienced so far this season by a local resident in the Ararata district. Commencing on July 1, the opening of the season, ‘the trapper bagged the total given in fourteen days, and the pelts being valued at 13/- to 19/- each, he should have cause for satisfaction with his success. During the year ending December 31,1925, New Zealand exported 151,280 opossum skins, valued for export purposes at £86,358, or 11s 42d a skin. During 1926, the quantity exported increased slightly to 151,519, but the export value fell to £72,801, or 9s 7d a skin. Wcl-

lington province headed the list last year with a total of 58,868 skins. There were 407 trappers at work. In Auckland only 1706 skins were taken and only one trapper’s license was issued. There was born on Mr. CnrwellCooke’s farm, Hautnpu, states the Cambridge Independent, a monstrosity, in the shape of an animal that was apparently partly calf and partly pig. This unique freak, born dead, the progeny of a three-year-old heifer, presented a most remarkable appearance. The top part of the head was like that of a calf, but the bottom jaw, eyes and ears were those of a pig. There was no neck, the head being set direct on the body. The front legs had no shoulders, and the tail, like that of a pig, was attached to one of the hind legs. The strange animale possessed both male and fern a.l possessed both male and febonrs who saw the freak state that they had never before seen anything like it, and it was an object of interest to all who saw it.

Statistics published recently show that there is clanger of a very serious shortage of horses developing within the next few years. The matter is being viewed with some concern by a section of the farming community, which considers that its operations might be seriously affected. A speaker at a meeting of the North Canterbury Farmers’ Union said it would appear that at present about half of the horses in the Dominion were over ten years of age. The effect of the decrease would be that shortly it would only be the wealthy farmers who could afford to breed horses. In his opinion farming was economically impossible without horses. Something was necessary to restore confidence in horse breeders. He thought that in five or six years there would lie a decrease of •50 per cent, in the horses in New Zealand.

This is a sample of the fare provided in geography books in the Old Country and sent for use in secondary schools in New Zealand, remarks an exchange. “Maoris live and work .among the New Zealanders. The Maori has progressed so far that he cultivates the ground and can build boats for fishing.” The more modern editions will probably inform us that the Maori girl has advanced so far as to wear the latest European fashions in dress.

A neat piece of financing was brought to-the notice of a Taranaki Herald representative, the truth of which can be vouched for. A farmer who had interest payments to meet in two places in the course of the next few days, was in the position of not being able to meet his obligations without recourse to an overdraft at his bank, to obtain which there would apparently have been no difficulty, as the amount was quite small and the time for which the accommodation would have been required was short. To avoid paying interest on a small amount for six days he offered the solicitors concerned in one case, in payment/ of an amount of £5, a post-dated cheque for £B, and collected the £3 change. In effect he raised a loan of that amount for six days from the solicitors, without interest, instead of by wav of overdraft from the bank. A clever piece of finance, when an accommodating firm of solicitors can be found!