THE Shannon News TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1921.

Shannon News, 27 September 1921, Page 2

THE Shannon News TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1921.

The W.E.A. have (finished Uieir classes lor the season.

Miss Roach, who has been suffering from a severe attack of influenza, has made a good recovery and is about again.

Mr Alt'. Hillier, who has had a long illness and several operations, is making a steady recovery, and at present is staying in Paekakariki. Mr Patton opened up his new premises yesterday, fully equipped with Hie latest appliances in connection with his trade.

“We are paying sixpence per lb lor sugar at the present time, when we should be getting it at fourpenee,” said a speaker at the Farmers’ Union executive meeting at Levin “If anyone has any grievance to ventilate, now is the time to do it,” said the chanrman at the Rongokokaka Dairy Co.’s annual meeting when inviting discussion at the motion to adopt the balance-sheet, “not at the whey tank in the morning.”

The question of disease in turnips was mentioned at the Farmers’ Union meeting in Levin on Saturday, and in reply to a question, Mr W. J. McCulloch, manager of the Central Develop-

ment Farm, stated that the biology division of the Department of Agriculture was conducting research work in connection with this (matter (at the present time.

Mr J. Ryrie is leaving England to return to Shannon on the 20th cf next month.

Large parties jof Shannon sportsmen left for the Otaki races yesterday. The deaths are- reported of two old residents of Levin —Mr James Malcolm, for many years County Engineer, aged 70, and Mr Marco Fosella, aged 75.

The men from the River Camp at Mangahao handed to the Mayor on Saturday a sum of money to be spent in fruit for the patients of the Palmerston North Hospital.

The party from , Shannon who recently visited Mangahao had such an enjoyable, time, and were so keenly appreciated by the men at the works, that they intend paying a further visit at an ehrly date. While the camp is supplied with a billiard room, library and picture show, a visit from the ladies, a dance and an impromptu concert makes a welcome change, .and, is looked', forward to with keen interest

• Excavation 1 work , continued at'the Miranui mill preparing the site for the building that is to hpld the machinery and .plant that is to extract petrol from the refuse from the flax. A large quantity of machinery for the purpose has been at the njill for some time. It is to be hoped that the venture will be a successful one, and there is no reason to believe that it'will'not be.

Miss Kitty Williams, of Shannon, has received advice that she gained her A.T.C.L. in the Trinity College of Music examinations recently held. Miss Williams, who is only 16 years of age, and is a pupil of the Convent at Palmerston, is to be congratulated on her achievement at such an early age.

The area under potatoes at Koputaroa will not be nearly so large dur'ing the coming summer as was the case last season, when a record output was grown. Late crops, however, did not find, so good a market as the early consignments, and growers had indifferent success with these varieties. Local produce, merchants report a slower sale for seed potatoes than usual thlsKyear.

In an interesting article on “Illumination” in the New Zealand Herald, Frank Morton writes: “The most beautiful of all illuminations arranged by man are candles glimmering distantly iiv a great church, hoine-lights m a little hilly town, and any shorelights seen across intervening waters. In that sense Sydney is wonderfully beautiful, but I think sometimes that it is not so purely beautiful as Wellington, a city seldom beautiful by day. Auckland does not lend itself to efforts of illumination, but I have seen good water-effects by night, there. The effect of the lights of Wellington at night, especially on a night of rain, is superb, grander than anything I have ever known the pagan beauty of Sydney to compass. The riight beauty of Singaporf? is also yery appealing, but it is oddly more intimate and human.” i

On Friday last, the Mayor, Mr Thwaites and Mr Gagliardi paid a visit to Palmerston North and met Sir James Wilson, with a view to making a new and more satisfactory agreement with regard /to the local medical subsidy. Several little differences were cleared away, and satisfactory arrangements made, subject to being confirmed by the next meeting of the Hospital Board. A good deal of trouble has “been experienced with regiard to the subsidy, and it. is gratifying to learn that the matter has been not only in justice to the doctor, but also to the men at Mangahao who have joined the Medical Association, and who have greatly appreciated the services of the local doctor and chemist. The doctor 1 was unable to be present at the meeting owing to his illness, in respect to which, we are glad to hear, he is making good progress.

A rather novel “eviction” was witnessed by a local resident this morning. Near his house a pair of sparrows had built their nest in a tree. About 7.30 a considerable rumpus was observed in the tree, and presently; feathers and dry grass commenced to j fly in all directions from the nest, the unfortunate sparrows meanwhile setting up a most dismal chirping on a near-by'branch. Presently a blackbird pbpped his head out of the nest, glanced disdainfully at the rightful owners, and went on with his job of converting the “possie" to his own use. j Cock sparrow then went for rein- j forcements, and returned with half a j dozen sympathisers, who tackled'the intruder. The latter caught one of the attackers by the neck, flew to a neighbouring tree, and giving the indignant sparrow a good shaking, let it go. The blackbird was then joined by its mate, and they returned in j company to the nest, where they re j main in undisputed possession, : |

Mr Kelly, of Mangari, is spending the week-end at Napier.. ;

No dances or parties have been held in the schoolhouse at Moutoa recently owing to the Iruilding, as well- as the schoolmaster’s house, being in course of repainting, but the residents of the district hope to hold a dance in about a week’s time.

! Draining is converting what was previously a large swamp into a useful grazing area on the farms of Messrs. Graham and Rose, on the Koputaroa Road, and the labour expended is bringing the best results.

Dairying has made substantial progress in the Koputaroa district during the past season or two, and. the output this coming year should be the highest in the history of the industry there. The great bulk of the output is handled by the Levin Dairy Company.

“I am opposed to sending very young children to school,” said the headmaster of the Te Awamutu school on Monday, “and I specially disapprove of kindergartens. For young children the best school of all is the mother, if she has. the time and opportunity to look after them. As a general rule- at l seven years of age is soon enough.” ~ A glut of cauliflowers on the Auckland wholesale market has resulted in a reduction in the price to as low as 3d per doz6n, and the best, at 3s per dozen. Sydney oranges are also to /be had at cheap rates owing to the fact of a shipment arriving in bad condition. Unless they are disposed ,of within the next few days /they wall he unfit for humarn consumption.

Some time ago a regulation was issued that pigs, and in fact all foodstuffs, being carried on the railways*, should be entirely covered and not exposed to the dust. Recently, however, says a southern exchange, the order was cancelled, and pigs are again being exposed to dust ajid dirt. The regulation, when it was issued, was considered a move in the right direction, and was widely commented on, and the cancellation is causing even more comment, but of an adverse nature. It is not & nice thing to/Jee a pig being unloaded from* a truck and clumped on a not too clean barrow, or perhaps dropped in the dust. Gisborne evidently has a reputation * for growing pumpkins according to a story told at the meeting of the Farmers’ Union on Saturday. The Waikanae delegate stated that he heard of a case* in Gisborne where a farmep'-had a large paddock of pumpkins and turned in 300 hoggets to feed off the grass. Next day he visited the paddock and could see no sign of the sheep. Presently he heard a noise inside a pumpkin, and looking inside, found one of his hoggets. (Laughter.)" The sheep were all recovered. Another delegate: “All in the one pumpkin?” “Oh no, one pumpkin each.” (More laughter.)

j The man, Charles Henry Roxborough, who was recaptured at Bainesse on Wednesday, had had a bad lime since he escaped from custody a week previously. Constable O’Donoghue, of Foxton, who effected his arrest, was informed by a settler that an old coat had been taken from his farm the night previous. Picking lip this clue, the constable made his way into the hinterland, which is thickly covered with lupin. Aftfer searching round, he picked up footprints on the sand, and followed the tracks till They vanished. He made for an eminence, from the top of which- he espied a whare, which he had not previously seen. Retracing his steps, the constable stealthily made Sis way to the shelter, and, peeping in through the .doorway, saw the wanted man lying down on some sacks. He was imme- [ diately arrested and handcuffed. Upon being searched, Roxborough asked the reason, and was informed that he was armed. The prisoner denied this, and said if he had been, he would not have been captured. He informed the constable that he was starving, and had had enough of it. He also said

he was making his way to Feilding. He said he had spent a very miserable night in the open on Tuesday, and looked knocked up. Constable O’Donoghue retraced his steps across country, and with the assistance of a settler’s motor car, brought his charge ‘ to Foxton.