Shannon News TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 1923.

Shannon News, 24 April 1923, Page 2

Shannon News TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 1923.

According to the Southland “Daily News,” Sir Joseph Ward will in about a fortnight’s time initiate a series of addresses at Invercargill, on the state of the country’s finances.

On Friday evening next the Shannon Athletic Club will hold a dance in the Druids Hall in aid of funds for the Club. A good floor and excellent music will be provided.

In our advt. columns the Mayor (Mr Murdoch invites residents to observe Saturday next from 12 noon till 4 p.m. as aTiolday in order to give opportunity to attend the Athletic Club’s sports.

A painful accident happened to the one-year-old child of Mr and Mrs Ransfield at Mangore on Friday, it appears the child was crawling about the floor when a door slammed, jamming the child’s fingers, almost severing the middle finger and badly crushing the other three. Dr. Macdonald attended the child, afterwards ordering Its removal to the Palmerston North Hospital.

A tribute to the service rendered the public by Mr A. R. Blackwood, lately engineer-in-charge at the Lake Coleridge power station,' and now at the Mangahao electrical works, was paid by Councillor A. E. Steer at a meeting of the Riccarton Borough Council. Councillor Steer said that few people realised the work of such a man as Mr Blackwood. A motion was passed, thanking Mr Blackwood for his services, and wishing him every success in the future.

“There should soon be a reduction in the retail price of butter,” said Mr Justice Frazer during tlie hearing of the dairy workers’ dispute by the Arbitration Court in Auckland (states the “Herald”). His Honour had referred to the most recent movement on the London market, and said he had ,noticed that our retail price did not go down in sympathy with the Home market so rapidly as it went up. Cater in the hearing the employers were trying to show why it was -necessary to provide for a 60 and 65liouir week in the butter and cheese factories when his Honour said:

“•Surely vou are not. comer by tell u.s the bottom has dropped out of the butter business.” Counsel for the employers denied any such intention, but said that the majority of the suppliers were farmers, and the bottom had fallen out of farming. “Yes, through land speculation," was the judge’s rejoin-

er. An official of one of the large concerns said that a fair season was expected, huit that conditions were not too rosy for the farmers. A Woodville settler, Mr W. Gosling,

lias discovered a new blight on one of his stringy hark trees (states the Paniatua Herald). At first sight it looks as if the stalks are all scaly, hut close examination discloses tiny shell cases, like small siea shells, closely packed together, each containing, numbers of eggs. The cases are soft

and exude a vermilion coloured matler which leaves a stain. So far the blight has not affected the trees. A branch, has been forwarded to the Agricultural Department for further information.

c Owing to Wednesday being Anzae Day n'o ; pictures wiJl be shown at the Maorijaijd Theatre that evening. There will be pictures on Thursday night. At a meeting of the Shannon Athietic Club on Saturday evening it was decided to erect a rest tent for tire use of ladies with small children at the Club’s sports on Saturday next.

;«.«The**Methodist Sunday School anniversary on Friday will open with a tea at 6 o’clock, the concert programme beginning at 7.30. Will friends please note the alteration.

We regret that several letters dealing with the Mayoral election came to band, mo late this morning for insertion. Copy tor the ‘News” cannot be accepted on the day of publication though, where possible, we endeavour to publish it.

Anzae Day will be celebrated tomorrow in Shannon by a combined church service in the Maoriland Theatre at .11 a.rn., when the ministers of the different churches will conduct the service.

" •iT'he Mayor '(Mr Murdoch) to-day 'distributed ' . a 1 "number of poppies aifto\ig the school children, to dispose of. Buy a poppy for Anzac Day and belli ,to raise funds to get work and .food for tlie ex-soldiers who are unemployed and help to keep fresh the memory of those, who> fought for us in the great war. That lemons can be grown to perr J'ecliun in Shannon was amply demonstrated by samples shown to our representative and grown by Mr R. Laurvig, of Vance street, the fruit being Mange ond well-shaped. ago Mr Laurvig planted a couple of lemon, trees, but unfortunately one was accidentally destroyed shortly -;alT</r /planting, tlie other came away splendidly and commenced to bear fruit at three years’ old. To-day it is just smothered with blooms and fruit of all sizes. Within the last three weeks about ten dozen lemons have been picked and yet one would think to look at tlie tree that it had not been touched. Mr Laurvig states he always makes a practice of pouring the washing-up water around the root of the tree and he considers the productiveness is the result of this as a tree near his place which receives no such treatment, has only half the yield. As there is always a demand

for lemons there is no reason why lemon growing should not become a profitable side line in Shannon. Although considerably sums have been spent in the Pukeatua district in combating the rabbit pest, the Herald’s correspondent writes that one settlier recently trapped or poisoned 2000 rabbits in 10 days, his catch being 460 in one da.y and night. Another settler took over 1000 in 10 days. Thie revenue from the skins is very acceptable as an adjunct to that earned by legitimate farming. The exceptional return of 19 tons of onions to the acre has been secured by Mr Hector Goodwin, Halswell, from a five-acre field (says the Marlborough Express' l . The crop was free from blight, and presented a good illustration of what intensive farming will do where the soil permits it. The present price of onions is low—£3 2s 6d per ton—but even at this figure the five acres have yielded a value of £344, or over £6B per acre. Particulars of the distressing fatality which occurred on St. John’s Hill, Wanganui on Monday morning, by Avliicb a boy named Thomas Vincent Ballingall, aged 91 years, was iv ltd instantly, show that he and his younger brother, Alexander, aged 6 years, 'was l'iding a bicycle to sen ml, too older bov steering and the yom-gfr sitting on the bar. They we’’e co ining down a steep side road and o’ossed the main road, at right angles right in front of a car driven by Mrs Mcßae of Palmerston North. The boys evidently lost control of die machine, and Mrs Mcßae, seeing tne danger, swerved the car sharply up a t-i(-f-p , bank where it overturned, the driver having a narrow escape, fortunately sufOering only from shock. A <• fill*ton however, was unavoidable, ond the elder boy was killed ouitright vb! l * s tiic youhger lad was bruised an.l render- ; ed unconscious, buT is not seriously | injured. j A scratch match was played in the j Domain on Saturday afternoon, be- ! tween the Rovers and Koputaroa foot- , ball teams, the local team winning by

25 to 3. Koputaroa opened well, scoring the first try five minutes after the opening of the game. The shot at goal failed. From the half-way line Koputaroa. pressed hard and kept play in the Rovers’ 25’s for the next ten minutes. They were obviously out of condition, however, and for the remainder of the game, with the exception of one or two short breaks, play was confined 'to the Koputaroa territory. For the Rovers Synnott and Daly showed up best, being always somewhere about, the ball. Short, played a; good game as wing three-quarter, and on his showing should develop into a good man. Tantrum’s goal kicking was always sure, two of his goals from difficult angles abeing particularly good. Both teams showed a lack of combination which is to be expected,at the beginning of the season, but with the material at their disposal should improve considerably.