NEWS AND NOTES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume L, Issue 3930, 13 April 1929, Page 4

NEWS AND NOTES.

It now takes £1,12/3 to purchase what could be purchased for £1 in July, ,1914. Farmers on the Hauraiki Plains ’are suffering from a plague of circkets and young crops are being damaged. The Feilding Club’s bo-wling green will close for the season, on Saturday, April 27. A Woodville resident has in his possession an original copy of Dr. Johnson’s dictionary. The stonemasons’ strike at the new Auckland railway station -has noiw; entered its 16th week. The 15 men objected to the use of the miacr hine employed on the job. In connection with the posible oil-bearing areas in. 'the Oimata district, near New Plymouth, boring sites have been selected by the geophysical method -and arrangements are being .made to commence drilling immediately. Mr Harry Peters, of Kaimiro, 'has forwarded to the New Plymouth Herald a curiosity in (the shape -of a twin apple. I't weighs just over three-quarters Of a pound, a-nid has one -stalk and two 'cores.

Wild duck are very -plentiful despite the great amount -of shooting done during the past season. The game is especially noticeable in large numbers about 'the Hatumu and Argyll districts, according to opinions expressed by -members of the Hawke’s Bay Acclimatisation Society.

Wllien paying the £1 fee for compulsory insurAnfe in May, says an exchange, midtorislfcs should be careful nt to nolminate any insurance company alt random. Provided that the intoney is nominated for a company in which the motorist now holds a comprehensive policy 'a portion of i't will !be recoverable wheu renewal of the existing policy is affected. 'ln this respect compulsory insurance is not an addition Ifco the expense of motoring. The abandonment of the marriage of King Boris of Bulgaria with the Princess Giovanna, of Italy, has caused disappointment at Sofia. The Pope was iwilling to sanction the union, if Princess Giovanna remained a Catholic, and Signor Mussolini suggested that the heir to the Bulgarian throne should be baptised in the Orthodox Greek Chureh, provided that the other children were brought up as Catholics. King Bo-

ris, however, refused to hind the other children in this manner, so 'the Vatican determined to sanction the marriage.

Reporting on the working of the Sanson tramway at Tuesday’s meeting of the Manawatu County Council, the manager (Mr A. K. Drew) said that the chief items of -traffic for the month of March were —Grain 6J tons, minerals and manure 249 J tons, general merchandise 18j tons, stock 80 trucks, wool 09 bales, eggs 99 crates, timber 7,900 sup. feet., metal from Terrace End 3,480 c. yards, from crusher 725 c. yards. The accounts showed a credit balance of £233 16/9 for the month’s working. So-me difference of opinion took place in the Magistrate’s Court at New Plymouth (the other day regarding the distance at which a defendant shot at a pig. “I -will stand on the spot and you -can use the gun on ime from the same distance. It will tangle me up a bit, but I can stand that,” he said, in endeavouring to impress upon 'the imagistrate that lie fired at a range -which would not have left miiucih anore than a stinging impression upon a hardy boar. The 'challenge at first went unaccepted, but 'counsel wh o -w'as pro - scouting for the Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals attempted to strengthen his ease later by facetiously remarking that he would be prepared to fire the gun if the Court would indemnify him -against a -subsequent ci’ilminal action. A good story of two well-known Hastings professional men, who, during an Easter visit to Taupo, arrived -one morning at the famous W-aitahanui Stream, where they set up their rods -and went down to fish, one e'aeh -side of the stream, is told by an exchange. It chanced that they fished in too close proximity to an angler who had been patiently -whipping the stream since the early hour of four o’clock. The latter retired disgusted, to draw away up the bank some distance. Here lie fished in peace for-a while, but it was not long before he heard a great deal of shouting, with considerable anger evinced, downstream. He reeled in and went down to investigate, to find to bis complete satisfaction that both of the interlopers on his position had hooked the same- fish and Were engaged in heated argument as to whose should be the honour of landing it. After this little interlude, he spent the rest of the day Whipping a much less productive portion of the stream with a feeling of complete satisfaction.

A Blenheim resident who traversed the West Coast road recently relates an amusing incident (says the Marlborough Express). Near Birch Hill, where metalling is in progress, he encountered a wellknown teamster, Mr T. Neil, sitting on the side oif the road nursing his legs tenderly. Inquiries revealed that owing to an unexpected .movement by one of the horses, Mr Neil had slipped under the -cart, Avhich contained a yard and a half of gravel and one wheel had passed over both his legs. By a miraculous chance an inequality in the road had prevented the full weight of the wheel-reaching his limbs so that they were not broken, but were badly bruised and swollen. The motorist brought Mi 1 Neil to town for medical treatment. En route he recognised a near relative and the car was pulled up, and t'he -accident explained. “That settles it,” was the relative's only .comment, “we must not use that young horse in the cart again. He anight have broken the axle 1”