LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 6, Issue 239, 5 January 1917, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A list of "reported wounded" issued by the Defence Department yesterday includes the names of Rifleman W. G. Ferguson, of Hunua, and Corporal E. Lees, ui Onewhero.

Enlistments this week inclide <h? following;: Messrs J. J. I. Fowlie. K. C. Bates, T. Campbell and A. B. Hunt, all ot Fapakura; A. J. Weston and W. McSheen, of Pukckob°.

The New Zealand Dairy Association, Ltd., paid on the 21st ult to its suppliers £108,546 6i Id. Tnis represents the advance payment for butterfat supplied during the month of November.

In consequence of the business of the Te Aroha Bacon Co. having been sold, Messrs F. Perkins and Co. will not be buying pigs at Pukekohe next Monday as previously advertised.

The NZ. Farmers' Co-op. Bacon and Meat Packing Co. will be buying pigs at Onewhero next Monday, at Tuakau on Tuesday, at Papakura and Bunciman on Wednesday, and at Te Eauwhata on Thursday. Particulars of special quotations for the month of January for the benefit of their numerous customers are announced in our advertising columns by Messrs P. Henry and Sin, proprietors of the Patumahoe Store.

The railway engine which ran into the landslip near Paerata just prior to Christmas was on Saturday hauled out from its resting place and was taken to the Newmarket railway workshops for repair. Gangs of men are now bu&ily employed on the work of clearing the line.

Three teams of Pukekohe bowlers took part in the New Year tournament at Te Aroha, the respective skips being G. Armstrong, M. Wright and R Fitness. The first - named tied in his section with a Te Aroha rink, but was defeated by one point in playing-ofi for the right to compete in the semi-finals. On behalf of Mr Ernie Henry, who is leaving the district, Messrs Alfred Buckland and Sons are to carry out an important clearing sale on his farm at Puni on Monday next. The stock to be offered includes 78 young dairy cows and 14 grade Ayrshire heifers Particulars will be found in our advertising columns.

The Postal Department have advised the Pukekohe Chamber of Commerce that owing to only a limited staff being available they cannot for the present delay, as requested, the closing-time of the last outward afternoon mail, but they have acceded to the suggestion that a pillar-box should be erected in East street, at the corner of Nursing Home road, the same to be cleared twice daily, viz., at 930 a.m. and 4 30 p.m.

Through the agency of the £. and F. Piano Co. a handsome decorated grand piano, valued at £750, has been presented by the makers, Messrs Pleyel and Co., of Paris, to the Auckland Patriotic Association. The instrument is to be disposed of by an Art Union to be drawn on the 25th inst. Tickets, 1/- each, can be obtained of Mr S. Ooldicutt, manager E. and F. Piano Co., 191 Queen street, Auckiand. The Misses Ramsay, who are specialists in the latest models in hats, cater at their establishment in King street, Pukekohe, to suit all tastes in millinery and drapery goods. Hats are remodelled and retrimmed or made to order to suit any costume from dove grey to cerise. Children's frocks and hats are also designed, whilst ladies' and children's ready-to-wear dresses, hosiery and undergarments are all largely stocked.

There was a large assemblage in the Premier Hall on Friday night of last week, when, by the courtesy of Mr J. J. Coady, tho proprietor, Pte. W. Wilson, of the 23rd Reinforcements, was entertained at a social held under the auspices of tho Pukekohe Rod and Gun Club. Mr C K. Lawrie, president of the Club, occupied the chair, and, on behalf of the members, presented Pte. Wilson with a pipe and tobacco pouch Mention was made of Pie. Wilson's skill as a shot and hopes were expressed that such would stand him in good stead on the battlefield. The banks of the Waikato proved a very pleasant rendezvous on New Tear's Day for the members of St James' (Pukekohe) Young Men's and Young Women's Bible Classes. Whilst some drove in vehicles, the majority of the members travelled by the 9.15 a.m. train to Tuakau, and from thence walked over the bridge. After partaking of a hearty lunch prepared in true picnic style the party spent a most enjoyable afternoon, the time being occupied in boating, fishing and shooting. At four o'clock the gong sounded for afternoon tea, after which a start was made for the railway station. Pukekohe was reached shortly after six o'clock. All concerned were unanimous in the opinion that a more enjoyable day could not have been spont. Upwards of 30 members took part in the outing.

Pukekohe and district will be strongly represented in the 25th Reinforcement Draft, who go into camp next Tuesday. Pte K W. Dili, of the Wellington Battalion, who was last week reportel wounded, is a nephew of Mr Henry Dell, of Pukekohe The quarterly meeting of tli9 Pukekohe Methodist Circuit will be held in the local Methodist Church at 1.30 p in. on Saturd-ty. It is anticipated that representatives from all parts of the circuit will be present.

The N.Z. Loan and M.A. Co. will hold their usual monthly stock sale at Pukekohe next Tuesday, when sim? 800 head of mixed cattle will b2 yarded, including Mr R. J. tfrownhe's herd of 17 grade Jersey cows.

Major S. C. Schoiiold, formerly ol Pukekohe, n on his way back to the Dominion. He left with the Main Expeditionary Force and was wounded at Gallipoli. Aft-r treatment at Malta and England be took part in further operations io Egpyt.

Just to show the amount of money that passes through the hands of bushmen, the " Wairoa Guardian " mentions that a Gisborne bushfaller called in at a Wairoa hotel and casually asked for a drink for himself—the anti-shouting lary preventing him from doing anything else—and he tendered a cheque for £I2OO.

The Kev. S Nixon intends leaving Pukekohe on Sunday night for Christchurch. where he will spend his summer vacation. Labour is so scarce in Canterbury that a number of professional men are lending a hand with the harvest. Mr Nixon will spend his annual holiday " doing his bit" in the wheat fields of Canterbury.

Id a lit of temper, aggravated bv drink, a working man, a resident of Pukekohe, last Saturday used a bottle SS a form of rai-sle at his wife, who was struck with some turce o.i her body. This little epissde led to a charge of assiult being preferred by the police against the bottle-thrower at a J.V.'s Court yesterday, when Sergeant Cowan i< formed the presiding Justices, Messrs J. I. Setmbndge and R. F. Webster, that complaints of ill-usage by her husband had been of late frequently made by the wife, and bis (the Sergeant's) suggestion was that a Prohibiten Order would remove the root of the trouble. Thus in the year that haa just started licensed premises will know the erring one no more.

A capture of a seaman who had deserted from the Shaw, Savill Coy's s.s. Waimana on November 18th was effected by Constable Thornell last Wednesday evening in Pukekohe. Brought up at a J P's. Court yesterday the sailor was given a good character by Sergt. Cowan, who stated that he had beeu for some weeks engaged in potato digging in Pukekohe and his conduct had been exemplary. The Sergt. added that he had communicated with the Shipping Coy. and as the ship had now left New Zealand waters they were agreeable to the man retaining his liberty if he paid the sum of £2 10s, the costs incurred by the Coy. in securing the services of another sailor to take his place. An order was made for payment accordingly and the accused left the Court a free man.

We are indebted to Mr Btanley Sinclaire, of Rosemont, Pukekohe, for the following particulars of the rainfall in Pukekohe. viz. -.—Although December opened dry, and with the threat of an early summer drought, the rainfall in the latter part of the month more than compensated for the previous lack of moisture. During the first fifteen days ouly one-tenth of an inch of rain was recoided; but for the rest of the month 7*B inches fell, making a total of 7 9-10 th inches. Rain fell on 11 days, the two most notable falls being 3 49 inches on the 20th and 2-3 inches on the 21st. On the latter date 2} inches were recorded in 8 hours, the fall representing about 225 tons per acre for that period, while about 580 tons per acre fell during the full 48 hours The following shows the rainfall for the past seven months : June 3 - 9 in, July 4 Bin, August 7 Sin, September 2 4in, October 6 3in, November 7 3in, December 7 9in, total for seven months 40 285 in. It is interesting to note that the annual average rainfall for Auckland is only 42in.

A couple of firemen who deserted last Saturday from an English liner whilst tbe boat was in port at Auckland were arrested at Drury on Wednesday by Detective Uourley and were located for the night in Pukenobe police station. The Detective happened to be at Drury on other business, and as the two men passed him he identified them with a pair "wanted" for leaving their ship. Tbey had tramped from Auckland and thought it rather hard luck that their attempt to eacape from irksome duty should ha«e been frustrated atter a bng journey by road. One of the twain was a fireman on board ;:ne g.s. Lusitania when that vessel was torpedoed in the Atlantic Ocean in the early part ot last year. When the order was issued "Every man for himself" he jjmped into ibe sea and managed to keep afloat until he got on boaid a raft in company with fourteen ether persons. It was some six hours before the party were picked up by a tramp Bteamer, by whi?h the? were tals n to Queenstovn, Ireland. The njan in question detailed his thrilljng experiences of the Lusitania qj s . aster, and uart:cularlv alluded rto the loss of life t.lat rt suited irw,, the fall of the ship's two funtem as the outcome of the vessel's excessive list before she sank. His idea waß that but for sjim*— 9t the Lusitsma's boilers "not being in operation through Admiralty instructions to economise in? use rt coal the boat's superior fpeed would have enabled her to have outdistanced the submarines that waylaid her. Ihe excise given for the desertion was that owirjg to the war the c mplement of Bremen was short and that work was accordingly unduly laborious. They were brought up at aJ.P.'s Court at the Pukekohe Courthouse yesterday and were remanded in custody to appear 1 at Auckland to-day in order that in the meantime the captain ot the boat, which was now at Wellington, should be communicated with for his wishes to be ascertained as regards his absentees,

The siaa foJi'tan recently inI stalled at the Carnival Tea Kio ns, I Pukekoh ; continues tu be in great demand by patrons and the eitablishment is also doing bis business with 1 inches and morning and afternoon teas.

The rights for tb? pihhcan's booth and the luncheon and light refreshment booths at the forthcoming shn» of the Franklin A. and f. Society are to be submitted to auction by the N.Z. Loan and M. A. Co. h their Pukekohe saleyarls next Tuesday.

The shortage of labour tor necessary industries, particularly farming, may possibly lead to the con scription of labour for home purposes. Such is the oshion of Hon. Dr McNab, Minister for Marine and Justice. In conversation with a " Waikato Times" reprtsenta'ive on Tuesday, be said be thought that should conscription of labour come about, everybody wo id be liable far h'-me s= r vice, and not marely those rej cted for active service, and ps'ed for duty at home. The reason a conscription age was inserted at present was because the men were needed for a special class ot work, but fur home labour t'ere was no reason why all ages should not be conscripted. All these things became more practicable aB time went on, and aB the community recognised the ne:e*sity. Just as at first the Government could cot have carried conscription, it was o ly now beginning to be realised that farmer compulsion was necessary. The Govement had already act'd on it is 9 measure in preventing people leaviog the country. The next step waa to direct their attention, compulsorily, to the labour nquired. Dr McNab said he had a case on his own farm where a ploughman, failing to qualify owing to a physical defect, was under instructions to go tu any farm to which he may be sent to relieve a man to go to the front, the Boa d thinking that a pi ughman could be more easily secured tban a man to manage a farm. The Minister added that a system was wanted in which everybody would be placed in the same position.

A large company of local residents assembled in the Carnival lea Ruoms, Fukekone, last evening on the occasion of a send-off social given by tte Pukekohe Military Farewell Committee to several local members of the 21st, 22nd and 23rd Reinforcement Drafts, who a e on thHir final leave, viz., Sergeants R. Scblaepfer and Lockley. and Privates S. Mitchell, J. Stee.son, 1. Haywarc*, R. Gibson, W. Mclvor, W. Wilson and Richard Bilkey. A supper of dainty light refreshments, serve 1 by the lady proprietors of the Tea Rooms, having been partaken of, a short musical programme was rendered, Messrs J. Biown and L. Wil.ion giving vocsl selections and Miss N. Williams contributing a musical moool)gue. The accompaniments were played bv Mrs Tomlin and Mr L. Wilson. Speeches appiopriate to the oc:ajion were delivered by Messrs C. K. Lawrie, K. Allan and R. F. Webster, and the first-named, on behalf of the committee, presented each of "(he boys" with a safety razor. In the name of the Exc lsior Lodge of Oddfellows, Mr W. L. Jones also asked Sergeant Schlaenfsr's acceptance of a set'of military hair brushes as a small token ot esteem from his brother members. Sergeants Scblaepter and Lockley suitably responded on ben?lf of the recipients.

A novel means of eradicating (be LalifufQian thistle bas been brought to !i»ht in quite an unpremeditated manner. A Canterbury farmer, whose farm is more cr lets infested with thistle, laid a small putare down in lucerne, with some misgiving!, be confused, ia view of its conditio! o~iog to the prevalence ot thistle. Ibe district being one favourable to the growth of lucerne, there was a good strike, and to bis satisfaction he noted that the thistle seemed to be held tborougMy in check As the crop thickened, establishing itself more firmly, and several cuttings were takMi cff the held, there was no mistaking the fact that it was gradually crowding the thistle out, plainly showing that the passing of another year or two would see its complete extinction. This belief, as sabs.quent events have proved, was not ill-founded, and at the present time be is unable to find any of the patches that were once so noticeable. This discovery should prove extremely useful in cleaning small paddocks where anything in the way of intensive farming ia undertaken. Where the soil and working conditions of the farm admitted of this course bring taken it would save a tiene-dous amouot of labour, and, while being a simple expedient in coping with a difficulty, would encourage the growing ot a crop which would be of inestimable value ti the farm.

It we were anxious to embark in th 3 business of prophecy, and were asked (o begin bv suggesting toe surest way of making a fortune in the next few years, we are inclined to think we would say "Buy young cattle." If the prese-t indieatiori are to be trusted, it is certain tbat the prices ot all great cattle are going to jirop up bv tears and bcdnds. Fat steers are now selling up to £25 tor the very primest, and they are not likely to fall in value for many a lung day. Undtr these circumstanc.s it might well be asksd whether the People, with a capital l\ will continue to allow the slaughter of female calves to continue. It only requires a continuance of this policy for a tew years to make the price of the prime «tee: co much huher, and • --aJuaii; put the buying of Leef out 0 f reach of the lower-paid workt-rf. So importai.t has this suojecS. been deemsd in the Old Country, that for some time the killing f ,f young female calves bas been Prohibited by law, and the importance of the cattle industry tu this -country is now sufficiently great t>, warrant similar action being tat en here. In this connection we n, as mention that many farmers wj, 0 n ave already foreseen that cattl ? are likely to go to phenomena!; prices have began to utilise or tough makers tor calf iea r i nKt One farmer we have hesrtf 0 f DBB already succeeded in rearing i ?u , ca lves on one cow this season. - Ihl , , 8 an example that might L e followed generally, but in the meantime the killing of heifer calves abonld be stopped at once.—"N.Z. Dairyman."