GENERAL NEWS.

Shannon News, 28 October 1921, Page 4

GENERAL NEWS.

An Ihakara faijner slated yesterday that the fierce gale on Monday again showed the necessity of planting shelter belts lor stock. Every dairyman who had no shelter found a big drop in his milk return on Monday and Tuesday, and as an instance oi the value oi shelter lie said he iiad taken the precaution to rug his cows on Monday, although having a good protection of trees, and found his return had not suffered at all.

The various urphanages of Auckland are to benefit from a gilt of 65 quarters of beef which Mr Bottomley ,of Okoroire,- has made to the Papatoetoe Orphan Home. The Trust Board of the home has decided to share the heef with the other orphan institutions, and it will be kept hi cold storage and distributed weekly among the orphanages until the 65 quarto’s are exhausted. Everyone interested in tiie dairying industry is fully aware, says the Eltham 'Argus, that-this season has so far proved a record in the matter of uiilk supplies. For instance, in September of last year the milk supplied to the Eltham Company was 3,815,1911 b, but this season the supply for the corresponding period was no less than 5,332,1031 b, an increase of i,516,1011b, or nearly half as much again as last September’s supply. Influenced by recent trade reports, merchants now prophesy that there will be no increase in the price of tea, reports the Lyttelton Times. The one event that Mould put up the price of tea locally, declared a merchant, would be the establishment of a stable Government in Russia, where one of the big tea markets in the world, from a consumption point of view, had collapsed. The rehabilitation of that market, would send tea up to unprecedented prices, but there was as yet no appearance of improvement in Russia. In New. Zealand there were still stocks of tea held which the holders are anxious to quit, and while that condition prevailed there was little likelihood of any rise in price.

The prevailing overcast weather is holding back .the season’s strawberry crop, and very Jit tie of this fruit is reaching the local markets (states the Auckland Herald). Only a lew crates of berries have so far been offered for sale, and, Jacking colour owing to the absence of sunshine, the fruit has realised only about one shilling per chip. Growers state that this promises to lje an. exceptionally good. season for strawberries provided warm, sunny weather is experienced during the next week or ten days. The beds are heavily laden with berries of good si/.e, but the lack of colour is against good marketing. The recent rains have greatly assisted the crop, and with.the coming of warmer conditions the fruit should come on 1 lie market very freely.

The ejaaniy of ppnnrd us supplieu by in.tiers is under investigation by the Lmmd oi Trade, samples oj pollard manufactured by various millers recently ..collected by the boards ofiirers, showed wan: dilierence m quality. As a. result oi a conference with produce merchants, a sample was selected from those exhibited and sent to those millers whose product was ol a lower grade, with advice that in future, the quality ofithe pollard must not fall below the grade specified. There has not been in the past any standard established in (lie Dominion for pollard, but. the board is at present engaged on this matter. For the guidance of the board inquiries are being made from those countries where standards have been already set up!

A matter lor serious concern, commented on hi previous years, is revealed, states the Education Minister's report, in the classification tables, which show a great discrepency between the number of pupils in Standard i. and Standard YE Jn 11)15 lb ere Mere 2:1,8% children in siandanl 1., the majority ol .whom, allowing lor various contingencies, should have been in Standard VI. in 1920. It appears, however, that there were only i-4,084 pupils, or 61 per cent of tiie number, in Standard VI. m 1920, so that 39 per cent of the pupils left school without doing the work of Standard YE, and similarly 19 per cent left school before completing the Standard Y. syllabus. The actual number of children who left school in 1919 without having passed Standard Yl was 5169.

A local poultry fancier makes an affidavit and declares as lollows: That, while visiting Wanganui recently he was shown a poultry farm where all (he chickens were reared by male birds. The owner staled that ho found they made tile best foster “mothers.” A rooster of the gamecock breed was seen clucking about wilh 16 White Leghorn chicks and gathering them under his wings. With, the incubator and roosters as competitors, the poor old hen will soon be anxious about women’s rights!

A rather humorous incident occurred recently at. a wedding near Raglan. Alter the ceremony, as the bridal pair were preparing to depart by car, and while the bride was receiving the congratulations of her many admirers, the bridegroom stepped into the motor to arrange for his wile’s comfort on the long run over the country roads. The driver, not noticing the absence of the chief party to the ceremony, put his hand behind him, slammed the door, and set. the car in motion. Not realising the position for a moment or two, the bridegroom was slow in tapping the driver on the back to stop. When lie did so the man at the wheel took it mat more speed was called for to dodge the rice and flying confetti. Accordingly the clutch was opened, the accelerator jammed down and away shot the car in a cloud of dust. Accounts differ as to how far the car went before the agitated bridegroom, by means of a. strangle-hold, convinced the chauffeur something was amiss, and the honeymoon was recommenced.

A protest against the employment of girl clerks at the electric totatsator at LUccarton was contained in a letter from the Returned Soldiers’ Association read at the meeting ot the Christchurch Unemployment committee. The letter suggested .that suitable, unemployed returned soldiers should he engaged lor the work. The chairman (Mr W. Goss) explained that the men on the committee’s books were practically all unskilled labourers, and not suitable lor the class of work, which was very much like typewriting. Mr W. E. Leadley said that he had in rnind the giving ol casual employment to* men who were only in temporary employment. Members of the Committee expressed their sympathy with the association, but it was decided to take no action in the matter.

A story is told ol the headmaster oi a great English school who was a rine classical scholar, but who had not tauen any interest in games in his youth. Moving with the times he began to look on at cricket and athletic sports. One day he came on the field during the. progress of a cricket match, and on asking the score w&s told that it was ill) lor five wickets. “But,'’ he said thoughtfully, “1 thought there were only three wickets.” His education, however, progressed, and he learned that people' took interest in the times in which races were run. Seeing a crowd dispersing - as he came on the ground during the athletic sports,' he asked what had been going on and was told that the high jump had just finished. Anxious to display his new knowledge ho inquired, ‘‘And what, was the time of the high jump?”

The Esplanade Gardens at Palmerston have been at.their best during the past lortujght, and have attracted

many visitors, especially now that ihe municipal motor-buses maintain a .frequent and comfortable service irom the Square. Probably nowhere in New Zealand is such a magnificent display 61 azaleas, boronias and cinerarias to •be enjoyed. The varieties and their development, by cultivation have delighted every horticulturist and have been well worth a visit from neighbouring towns. The mild has favoured the . growth of cinerarias, and every shady . corner has been a perfect, blaze of rich colour. A special object of pilgrimage, and utmost of devotion to Australians, is a splendid specimen of the waratah, now in full bloom and bearing thirty gorgeous heads ol crimson flower. The background of native bush and ferns is one of the most,, attractive features of the gardens, and is evidence of what intelligent preservation can accomplish. The gardens as a whole are a tribute to the horticultural enthusiasm and knowledge of the Curator of lteserves, Mr P. Black, and in his Palmerston possesses a citizen whose achievements! in his own particular line are in a class bv them selves. Mr W. Broughton, late of Levin, is a responsible member of the Esplanade staff, and takes a pardonable pride in the well-being of what is'one of the most notable'beauty-’ spots in New Zealand.

The FeiUling Star relates that recently three local young men, all under 21, .were charged with stealing benzine and were admitted to probation at Wellington Court lor three years. On their return to their home town the police applied for the issue of a prohibition order against the two youngest, offenders, to which both consented. The ordinary decorum of the local Court was somewhat- upset at the conclusion of the signing of ihe necessary papers by one of the rapscallions remarking to a presiding Justice: “By ihe way, Tom, a bird on the Terrace at, Wellington, who is in the cage .for forgery, desired to be kindly remembered to you!" The J.P. was too dumbfounded even to ask ihe name of the gaol-bird. \"C: r '"V *•' ...