NOTES FOR WOMEN

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIV, Issue 10272, 6 May 1919, Page 7

NOTES FOR WOMEN

The Weedons Methodist Church was on Wednesday morning last the scene of an interesting wedding, wheil Mis£ Doris Ida Gertrude Pearce,. daughter of Mr and Mrs Thomas Pearce, of Eolleston, was married to Mr Ernest Albert'Lowe, sou of Air and Airs Levi Lowe, also of Holleston. The Rev. J. Harris officiated.

A very .ptctty wedding was solemnised on. Tuesday,,- ■ April 29th, at the Homan Catholic Church, Inglewood, by the Rev. Father Long, when Ada \V inifred, fourth daughter of Air F. Fabish, of Tarilci, was married to Air F. Salisbury, third son of Air J. Salisbury, of Inglewood. . Aliss Grace Fryer, Knowles street, Christchurch, returned from England on Thursday by 'the Tainui, after an absence from Christchurch of three years. For the greater part of the time she worked as a V.A.D. nurse at Brockonhurst.

Alias Hope Wood, of Christchurch, .is the guest of the Gnvernor-General and the of , t Liyarpool at Government House, Auckland.

The discovery of a-grave of : considerable historic‘interest’was made recently Iby -Miss B.' M.' ‘Stathain,’ Inspector of Soldiers’ and Historical Graves, in the course of a tour of inspection of cemeteries in the South Island. In-the Invercargill, cemetery, she found . the grave, dated 1863, “William Augustus Gordon, son of Lieutenant-General Gordon, HiA.” That was the sole inscription. Upon making, inquiry, Aliss Statham was informed by , the Mayor of Invercargill that it , was the grave of,-a brother„p£ General-Gordon, of Khartoum. , . Arrangements foi ■ its renovation are, now/-being- made.

Mrs Jan© Buchan, relict of the late Alexander' Buchan; died at Palmersoon on April 30th. Born at ,‘NewV' castle-on-Tyne, seventy-four years ago, the late. Mrs Buchan came out to'New Zealand,,, Jty the Zealandia in 1879. She came ,to Palmerston in 1885 with her husband, and the Jatter, who was employed- hy the Railway Department, met his death in the local railway yards through an accident. Mrs Buchan is survived By one daughter, Mrs C. J, ■Page,' ot ' Wes£ t 'End.,

A very pretty . wedding took place in St. Thomas’.s-. - Church,.:- Woodbury, Christchurch,-on April' 94th,- when. Mr Robert "it. "Hammond, eldest surviving son of Mr Robert Hammond, Fair view, Timaru,- was 'married to Miss Violet Thatcher,- second' daughter ’ of Mrs Thatcher -and - the: date;' 1 Mr :’ John Thatcher,- r of’’ “Riverside.” The Rev.' Canon Hamilton officiated. '

Miss’t; McGregor," second ' assistant mistress,' retired drorii-'the, the SOth ultimo, ’’ after ( thirty years’ service irt'the ’ Master ton" School. In reportinjg'this fact'to'th’e meeting of the school, committee, . the headmaster said: ‘"'l desire to place oh record my appreciation’of her high, character .and, devoted’work! 'and my regret on losing her-services.’” During the , afternoon* tea * adjournment at the. Groybown Rowling Club's green on „. Thursday, -Mr H. ■ Trotman ■ (president), on behalf of the. bowlers, bade farewell- to Mr and Mrs TJrquhart, who are leaving the district, and presented Mr Urquhart with a silver shaving,set., ■ ■> -' ; Mrs .Dampier ..Ciiossley-'.- of, Christ; church, has gone to Auckland to meet her daughter, Mrs Charles Campbell, who ia.'Teturning to New ■ Zealand by the Rom-uera - . : - ~

The -death took place -recentlyj ather Dublin,'" Of 'Mrs Itowan-HtCtmltoh'.' She was” "a ’chaiming-and truly wdifdefful old lady, being in her. ninety-ninth year, and up to the end in full possession of all her faculties, receiving her friends arid" personally attending' to a large correspondence. Lady Plunkot is on* of Mrs ißowan-Bamiltoh’k'grahd-daughtere,-and Lady Munro Fergueon, wife of- the.'*Governor-General -ofAustralia, ik-anothergrand-daughter.

WOMEN ON THE LAND. ~

STATE FARM AT COWRA

There passed t ■ through Auckland a few days ago Miss Hazel Barton, ..student of .agriculture. State farm. Cow-. ra. New'. .South, Wales., In conversation with a . “Star” . reporter, ..Miss. Barton explained , the working,, of -this - State enterprise to teach- women how to- earn their living - on ? the - land, .- -- It - has *• received a good doal of appreciative; notice in the New Zealand Press, and-has drawn to itself women- from, this country hoping' io : learn Scientific' agriouL ture. Miss'Barton. Said she .had always wanted dp , go. on the land/ and as soon as opportunity’ came she took‘advantage of it," and: joined* the -first farmopened for the instruction of women at' Windsor!’New South”'Wales.” This was two years ago. She Was there _ for seven months,'when all the women stii-, dents who wished to continue their training were dispatched to Oowra, and here she finished her course in February last. After Mi&s 'Barton had been trained for a yekf’hhbwas offered the’ position of stock' ah'sistaht^tdThe State. Farm, and continued “KeF studies particularly along stock Koej!', A| present there are sixteen students gt .Cowra,. two of whom went from New Zealand to obtain instruction. , These. students, after finishing -their course, intend m some cases to start forms of their own, to take employment oil farms, or to manage land which -they have: inherit* ed. Questioned tas. to- th ©.chance'.; of' women . obtaining,, employment;; on farms, Miss ■ Barton, who- is - an Australian, said t sne.,,thought that in the present "state of : public : opinion it was very sinall. 'lf..a girl had money enough to start a farm: aho would be able, with her training,, to ruri a small agricultural property*)-if' eh«' had it in' her and was capable enough, but. she must love the land. The present manager of the-’- Cowra State Farm for women did not think it was fit work for women, and* with such a man at the head of the enterprise the chances of women were not very-bright.--But,; in the opinion of Miss Barton, if a girl had a small ffarm* she’could- do all the work,- The girl; who took ,up .the, work without- capital would have r no chance, -because there was a lot of work on the-average :farm that a- woman could -not -do.-—-The girl students at Cowra adid-all .•thc : 'harvesting, which consisted of - SCO- acroa-- of bats and wheat, besides a certain amount of experimental plots growing 'cereals, which increased the- laboiii*.'’ Thfi- girl ' stn-' dents db the orcharding work and the dairy work, which is in charge of a woman. The herd consists of twenty cows, and the girls find the work hard. Work begins at a quarter to 5 in the summer mornings and 0 o’clock in the winter. The middle of the day was their free time, except when butler was made, twice a week. The smaller stock carried by tho farm con-

slated of 300 sheep, crossbred. Ilf this connection experimental work was undertaken. Nearly all the work was done by the sixteen students, although they did not do the shearing; they yarded and drafted, and handled the wool at shearing lime. Wool-sorting was not taught on the farm, as the Technical College held courses in Cowra on this subject, which was attended by any who wished. In husbandry, the girls were taught _ ploughing, but ) only after a fight with the present manager, who said that field work, as it is called, was not fit for a woman, and when the students insisted • that it was part of their course, he set them to grub Bathurst Burr in ■ the paddocks all day long in the fierce sun. Hut, despite this attitude on the part of the manager, who objected to the women learning what they had loft New Zealand to learn, and which was part of their course, they eventually, took ploughing lessons. The first manager, who was in charge when the girls began their course, encouraged the students to study everything, and they appreciated him, although, ha was not popular, because of a Hectoring manner. The girls were taught work amongst horses, and once a week the foreman gave a lecture on harness and the use of its different parts for the benefit of the students. For wintoi feed hay was used, which was out into chaff with the aid of an oil engine. All this work was done by the women students. Questioned as to what knowledge was imparted in plant breeding, a work lor which women should bo particularly fitted with their love of growing things and. inttmto patience, Alias Barton explained that part of the experimental plots were at Cowra and part at the women’s training farm; . but as the course was limited to a year in, most cases, and the plant experiments took lour or five years before complete, the girls shoved little interest. Air John Frioham was chief plant breeder for th« Agricultural Department •of New South Wales, and had built Up two or three .new sorts of wheat which wero proving very successful. Alisa Barton believed he bad been very sue- : oessful likewise with barley, but as ' little was grown near Cowra she hadi only hearsay evidence. The orchard of the farm had originally been laid down to demonstrate what i kinds o( fruit best suited the Cowra district, and consisted of only three acres ot every kind of tree, chiefly apples pears. The place also possessed canning plant and part of a driving plant,’’ but iio instruction was given id either. Last year was a bad year for, fruit because of the drought. Tho ( r, work of the State harm for Women 1 [ had showii that the women were very keen of acquiring knowledge, and caind even from New Zealand for chin purpose, but found the farm was run. entirely on unscientific principles, and 1 that the man placed in charge did nearly ' everything possible .to discourage tho . wbmen students; neither did the farm compare in management and up- . keep with a good class commercial venture in New Zealand.

Miss Barton, who is on a pleasure trip to England, where she will join her brother, who is a member of the A.1.F., expects to be gone a year, . CTpon her ; return she intends to take .lip her own farm, which she inherited from her : lather, and which at the present time is a grazing property, and bring her experience to bear in following mixed larming on scientific unes. ' 'LADY PLUNKET’S “FAMILY.” ' Thirty tiny girls and boys came bounding into the house, or we carried in:: by pretty girls who, had been wheeling them in the park. ■ '“This is my large daily family,” said Lady Plunket, who organised the Basil Blackwood Day Nursery to aid the wives and children of professional men killed or disabled in the war (report! the “Weekly Dispatch''). “The children are brought here at eight "by their mothers, who are employed in Government offices, and w« keep then) till six at night. We have two or three trained nurses and a group'.of splendid voluntary workers. Our house here in Cornwall Garden* has been loaned to us. We have the voluntary services of a doctor and a dentist, and, 1 may add, a dancingteacher for the older children, which means those from four to six, for our youngest guests are one month and our most aged six years.” _ If you want to see healthy, happy British childhood, visit this day nursery founded in memory of Lady Plunket’s brother, who was killed in action. The boys-and girls who are cared for there are the children of doctors, artists, solicitors, writers, etc. The war has made' all the difference in thq world to their prospects, but not- to their enjoyment of merry games and fascinating: toys or the jolly walk ia the park.- “I,believe that, best of all, the children love their dancing lea'sons;” said Lady Plunket, smiling at a golden-haired little girl who clung to nor hand. ' “After all, there is no use in calling dancing a craze; it is an instinct. It is" horn with us. Children show that. These kiddies need very little teaching. They dance as naturally as they walk.” While the little dancers were going through their steps the babies upstaire were having a midday nap in dainty little' cots in a room all white paint and bright”’ sunshine. “Wo have'hot been open very long,” explained Lady Plunket, “but we hare had 130 applications.”