HALCOMBE.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXII, Issue 8893, 13 August 1907, Page 3

HALCOMBE.

(^omOnrOwuConjspomUvQt) n-i ~ {Wends oi Mr "Dick" The man ' , a ~n _,„.„„ in frnm that he li.«- j js t 0 ]!;lH(1 , liltov j "? ,10n Tith 1!«>7, «vn<l which conveys m " 1C f ,-t !«■ information-'' Hav in W % #,»"£ iiiiismuch as tho sky is a i and the earth beneath. In Mor respect* there is - distinction ot , a difference. London, tom'r Juivo just read a book that is IloS t interesting to those who love powers, etc., and are interested in their habits and cultivation, and what has added to my enjoyment of its perusal is the fact that the authoress is the aunt of a lady resident of Haleombe. Tho title of the work is "-An Indian Garden," and apart from the information it convex.-; of tho tropical growths of Calcutta, it is one of those simple, unvarnished descriptions of her

home hobbies and beautiful surroundings that is little i - short of fascinating. Writing of tin: almost microscopical division of labour that obtains in the land of myths and Mahatmas, she tolls of many anutfiug instances of the hereditary grooves in which the natives work, not the least of which is the. following : Thoro were ordered to bo delivered a ham, a spade, and a wheelbarrow. Three bearers appeared, one with the ham, the other the spade, and the third with tiie inverted wheelbarrow upon his head. It never occurred to the two to put the articles in tiio barrow and let one man doliver them. The snake hunts awl the inevitable end of their keen, clover canine hunters, are also well described The Transvaal Leader, published iu Johannesburg, and dated June 22ud, contains this interesting matrimonial memo: "Hale —Berry.—At St. George's Presbyterian Church, on the 12th instant, Alice Evelyn Hale, of Raugitikei, New Zealand, to John Arthur Berry, of Northumberland Buildings and Sheffield, England.'' I~ have known cows browse upon frocks, sox, and other things hung to ■wHingiy on clothes lines, and hive thought that the taste for such fjdder was peculiar to "Jerseys,'' bat was not nwaro uutil Mr Diii'ey, of this town, told me that they are also partial to paint, as byone of his purebred the oilier day, which licked off as much of the newly applied coat from tiie cottage as she could reach, and then "cut the painter." This loss to : the owner is all the more regrettable from the fact that the deceased animal was generally admitted to bo "a beauty without paint." When at tho Exhibition I heard Mr Jaques lecture upon fruit preserving, and took voluminous notes of what I considered valuable information for the use of my mate, Who, though regarded as an expert in the art, I was then and there satisfied was in the same position her mother occupied as a butter maker 20 years ago, viz,, ignorant of tho rudimentary principles of the correct and up-to-date process. Having invited and answered numerous questions, Mr Jaques stated that information contained in his series of lectures, together with further dotails, would be published and distributed free of cost to all applicants. Mr Jaques has since told me that the "copy" was in the printer's bauds, so those who ask may hope soon to receive the fruits of the expert's knowledge and experience. Oue of our most industrious settlers lias just returned from viewing the laud open for selection "up the line," and he is very favourably impressed with its quality- and the future of those who are fortunate enough to secure one of tho sections. Tlis wealth of timber in or adjacent i'o the Waimarino block, of which we have heard so much, is not exaggerated. One settler tip there was offered £l2 per acre for J tie trees upon his section. Life along the line, as he saw it, is of the happy-go-lucky sort, and though there was uo "pub." visible there was ample evidence that there was no dearth of liquid refreshment. One '' rollicking roaster" got ou board the tram witn two bottles of whisky. A vigilant official spotted the personal luggage and told its owner char -he would have to throw away medical comforts or rake .himself out, aud ti'.e "boss" being deaf to tho pathetic ■nleaumg o'i tiie passenger, the latter icif the tram rather than sacrifice his ''-water of life. *' Another : ' hard case" arrived at a boiiwlinghouso yrith a case of " the right sort" in his possession, but the proprietor of tiie "hash house" cautiously declined to accommodate the "swag" with the swagger, and tho latter was found outsido next morning in a seminude condition. He was soon fully clothed by the ever kimt hearted' "push" and moved ou to a fresh camp. To this class of hard grafters and" harder drinkers Thatcher's slightly altered lines apply-

Like a lor or horses, they cave not " "how they toil, But, like a lot of asses, their industry tney spoil. Ono week they -work, next week thev play— These "boys of bush and ballast gangs, What reckless chaos are they : ''Mi' adds my informant, ''all workers 'up the.ro' arc not. of this NtnniT), hut riie majority I saw {ire, and when the Hue is completed it will mean hard times or a change of life to them." What an opening for a sky pilot!