LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Putaruru Press, Volume II, Issue 55, 6 November 1924, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The rainfall at Putaruru during October, as measured by the school guage, totalled 5.33 inches. Timber having arrived on the site,; the erection of the Bank of New* Zealand building at Putaruru was' started some days ago. That second grade butter should not be exported from New Zealand was the contention of Mr. A. J. Sinclair, at a meeting of N.Z.C.D.C. Morrinsville suppliers’ committees last week. The opening of second grade butter in London had a detrimental effect upon other brands. Definite progress has been made toward the erection of a vicarage at Putaruru, a meeting of the local committee of the Church of England on Monday deciding to acquire the site in Kensington street near the church for the purpose and appointing Messrs. F. C. Barnett, W. Yandle and J. R. O. Lochhead a building committee. The scheme is to be outlined to the meeting of parishioners this evening. The Ladies’ Guild of the Church of England holding a “ gift afternoon ” -on Saturday of next week, November 15, all ladies being invited to attend and bring a gift for the annual bazaar on December 5. Competitions, musical items and afternoon tea will be features of the gift afternoon.* The Putaruru Rugby Union’s annual presentation social to be held in the Town Hall on Friday evening cf next week should prove a popular function, the officials of the union arranging to make it a good entertainment and a fitting termination to the past season. Admission prices are, gents 2s 6d, ladies Is 6d.* A splendid programme has been arranged from the requests handed in for the Glee Club’s popular concert to be held on Friday evening, November 21. Miss Nixon will assist the club on this occasion and in response to many requests will sing with Mrs. Alcorn the “ Jehlum River ” scena given previously in one of the club’s early programmes and also other character songs. Tickets now available, Is each.* A well-known firm of nurserymen, Messrs. West and Foss, Rotorua, announce that they have opened an agency at Putaruru with Messrs. Teller and Smith, who will be receiving from them regular supplies of vegetable and flower plants to meet the requirements here throughout the year. Such a service should prove a boor, to home gardeners in the district, as not only will a comprehensive range in all nursery products he open to them but also success should be assured by the fact that the plants are grown at Rotorua, which is higher in altitude than Putaruru, and that the train trip is a short one, permitting of their delivery in the best of condition."*

A choir for the Putaruru Methodist Church was formed at a meeting held in the church on Monday evening. Mr. H. Snaith was appointed choirmaster and it was decided to hold weekly practices. It is understood that Putaruru has been transferred from the itinerary of the Thames magistrate (Mr. J. H. Salmon) to that of the Rotorua magistrate (Mr. W. G. K. Kenrick). It is expected that Mr. Kenrick will preside at the sitting- of the Court this month. The Registrar-General has intimated that he proposes granting the request of the Putaruru Chamber of Commerce for the appointment of the postmaster at Futavuru as a registrar of marriages, as well as of births and deaths. He has forwarded a map showing the boundaries of the present Tirau registration district and asks the chamber to mark boundaries for the proposed Putaruru registration district. Thirty-six boys from England are due to arrive at Auckland on November 25 and at the Salvation Army Training Farm, Putaruru, the following day, to be trained as young farmers for the Dominion. This is the first draft of a total of 200 boys from the Old Country, of whom 100, between the ages of 14 and IS years, are to go to the farm, where the building of accommodation for them was started on Tuesday. At present there are 71 lads of school age and six farm trainees there, the former being pupils of the Patetere school. If the dairy farmers wished to get the best prices for their produce they would have to organise on big lines, was a contention of Mr. A. J. Sinclair (general manager of the N.Z.C.D.C.), when speaking at meetings of suppliers’ committees at Matamata on Tuesday. He treated with ridicule the assertions, which he said were often made, that if a small dairy company’s output exceeded 200 tons a year it was getting too big. He said that the trend of the age was that in any line the tendency was for the organisation of large concerns and as an instance of this he stated that one dairy factory in England cost £4oo*ooo and employed 800 hands.

Little business was forthcoming at this month’s meeting of the Putaruru School Committee, held in the school on Monday evening, and attended by Messrs. F. C. Barnett (chairman), H. C. Wheeler (secretary), C. H. Woodgate, E. Nicklin and J. Gasparich (headmaster). It was reported that members had completed the fencing of the enlargement of the school grounds and the planting of a live hedge on the new boundary, besides also repairing the inner fences. It was fesolved to advise the Education Board to this effect. The headmaster reported that the boys had held a very successful “ bottle drive,” securing about 100 dozen bottles for sale to provide them with funds to purchase cricket gear.

A warning has been issued to dairy companies to be very careful in making their advance payments during the next few months, and in repeating this warding Mr. A. J. Sinclair (general manager of the N.Z. Co-op. Dairy Co.), speaking at meetings of suppliers’ committees at Matamata on Tuesday, stated reasons why this warning had been sounded. Mr. Sinclair said that each year for the past four or five years there had been a slump and the speculators were no doubt endeavouring to effect another slump, and which was expected about next February or March, before the Contral Board effected any improvements in the marketing of New Zealand produce. All dairy companies should therefore be very cautious with their advance payments during the flush months if they wished to come out right at the end of the season. Dairy companies would be very foolish to make large advance payments in order to secure a temporary advantage.

“ Dairy farming is not a payable proposition in New Zealand, or in any other part of the world,” declared Mr. A. J. Sinclair (general manager of the N.Z.C.D.C.) at a meeting of suppliers’ .committees at Matamata on Tuesday. This, said Mr. Sinclair, was on account of the high prices for commodities as compared with the 1914 level. While prices in many branches had gone down those with which dairymen had to contend had not decreased in the same proportion. He quoted as an instance the freight on butter and cheese, which, even with the reduction just effected, would be 60 per cent (for butter) and 81 per cent (for cheese) above the 1914 rate. The farmers, he said, should not look for more than Is 6d per lb for their butter-fat. It was no use waiting for butter-fat to advance to Is 8d or Is 9d, because it never would. The only way to obtain better conditions, therefore, would be to cut down manufacturing costs, to improve the system on their farms, and to milk a better grade of cow.