Shannon News FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1923.

Shannon News, 12 October 1923, Page 2

Shannon News FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1923.

The gfale that has been raging has played havoc with the fruit trees in blossom but no other damage has been reported. A ineeting oi\ the Farmers’ Union will ibe held in Shannon on Wednesday next when important- matters will he dealt with. Tenders for the erection of a cottage for the iHorowhemua Power Board and ialso for sub-station, .which is to be erected in Shannon, close this afternoon.

Mr E. Sp.encer, who underwent an operation tb his eyes in Wellington a couple of weeks, ago-, has now had the bandages removed, but a. furthei slight operation is still necessary. The Borough Engineer (Mr Edwards) is now busy with the final levels before making a start with the reservoir, which work will he put in hand almost immediately. The new telephone charges, accounts, for which have been sent out in Wajpukurau, are a bit of a puzzle to the uninitiated (remarks the Napier Daily Telegraph), in one case a drover was charged the business rate of £lO for his. connection and on inquiry found that, the word “drover” in the list penalised him to the extent of £3 per year. Mr Dawson, senior councillor of the Eastbourne Borough Council t who visited Shannon on Tuesday last after an absence of many years, expressed surprise at the progress made, in the town. He was pleased to hear that Shannon had at last gone in for a water scheme, and a lighting system. He said when the sewerage and street improvement loan which was at present receiving the attention of the Borough Council, was he felt sure rapid progress would be made..

Mr A. /F. Witty, missionary from Ceylon, who is holding evangelistic meetings in Shannon, tooik for his subject on Tuesday, evening, "What i s Man ? ’’ Job 7.17. After referring to man's creation and fall, he went on to show man to he the object of God’s love. There was a good attendance. The subject for Sunday night, “The Dead: Who are they? Where are they?” js of the utmost importance to all. A well-known' resident of Remuera, had an unpleasant experience recently. He came home at night, and saw his mallard ducks wandering around the lawn, and decided to drive them' into, the fowl yard. As he was walking near the hfedge the earth suddenly gave way, and he had a narrow escape from falling down- an old well. Examination of the place next morning showed that a well 27ft deep had been boarded ov'er and a lawn formed over it.

“Many singers think it infra dig to sing in a choir,” remarked Mr Temple White? the vocal and instrumental judge, at the Wanganui Competitions. “But the only harm done is when a choir singer tries to make himself heard above the other members. True blending is only obtained when a singer cannot. hear himself.” Mr White was of opinion that no harm could come to the voice through choir singing.

There wias a good attendance at the euchre and dance held In the Parish Hall on Tuesday evening which proved equally as enjoyable as its predecessors. The euchre prizes were won hy Miss E. Davis and Mr J. Feetham, the consolation prizes going to Mrs Mudgway and Mr EVians. At Tuesday’s meeting of the Thames Valley Power Board, Mr F. M. Strange stated that it had been reported to him that the borer was to be found in certain imported poles erected in the Waitoa district. After a. short discussion it was moved that samples of the defective poles be obtained and sent to the Government Laboratory for a report.—-The motion was carried.

Mr 'Dawson, bon. secretary of the Wellington Centre of Jhe N.Z. Boxing ouncil, sifted at the meeting on Tuesday night, that after October 30, ■the North 1 Island championship will be abolished and replaced by centre championships, the winners of which will contest the New Zealand championship. The centre championships will never be held! in the four centres, the New Zealand championships being held there. Therefore Shannon would receive its turn with the other Associations in. the centre in respect" to having a championship meeting/ A Napier Press telegram states that derald Edjwardl (Knowles, managing director of G. E- Knowles and Co., Ltd., paper merchants, was charged at the Magistrate’s Court with making a false document, to wit a promissory note for £321, purporting'to be signed by Kerslake and! Billens, proprietors of the Levin “Chronicle.” He was remanded till Friday on substantial bail. '

On being; asked his opinion of the theory that the South Island of New Zealand would become influenced by an age of ice, Mr J. A. Colquhoun, M.Sc., when addressing the Lunch Club at Palmerston North yesterday, said that at the' present time there was no scientific kn&wledge to point to an age. of ice here. In fact, it was .quite a debatable point as to whether the earth was getting hotter or colder.

The New Zealand Times states that a discovery has been made in a Government department, as a result of which it is alleged that a sum of money, approximately £IOOO, is missing from the department, which has a large business connection with the general public, its ramifications extending to all parts of the Dominion. Some sensational developments are anticipated, and an official statement on the subject may, it is said), also be expected. • .

A story was told by Dr. p. H. Buck a.t the Auckland Museum on Monday evening of an apt answer given at the recent Pan-Pacific Science Congress held in Australia. Dr. Haddon, of Cambridge University, had told/ the congress that nature had played, a dirty trick on the Australian aboriginal by placing him in’such, a country. When the outburst of protest had subsided he justified his view by asking what native plant there Was that the aboriginal could cultivate, and what native animal he could domesticate. “Who,” asked Dr. Haddon, “could ride a kangaroo or milk a wallaby?” ; Paltea has discovered “gramophonic” wireless. A local enthusiast of wireless in this centre was, entertained recently to a concert, when the use of earphones was not required. “Wonderfull” was his comment, but his subsequent remarks, when he learned! that this latest local contrivance was a muffled gramophone in an adjoining room, are unprintable. The hoiax was neatly carried out., much to the disgust of the. enthusiastic, “lis-tener-in.”

How finely pulverised is that useful fertiliser basic slag, was indicated ip the. Arbitration Court in Auckland on Monday, in a dispute in regard to “dirt money” for handling this product, I't/ was stated that the slag would pass through a sieve .with a mesh of - 1200 to -the square inch. As to Its penetrating qualities, the ienncM'K w'as made that it would go through so closely woven a textile as silk.. The point was raised as to whether slag had ever been carried in ships as a bulk cargD, and Mr Jusuue Frazer jocularly suggested that if it had been so loaded it would probably have found its way through the ship’s plates.

A well-known wool /broker expressed .the opinion to a Wanganui Chronicle reporter that it was remarkable the number of farmers in tihe district who have been working their sheds for a lifetime, and yet do not know the different qualities of wool that are present in "their flocks. If they had the knowledge, they would take the trouble to class their wool instead of lumping it in one of three sorts—ewes, wethers and hoggets. With tuition a farmer would soon learn 'how to class the clip, i.e., how. to keep each distinctive spinning quality separate. By so doing he would get better prices, because buyers can see that the wool has been classed prioperly, and then there is no speculation on. their part as to the contents of the hales.

The Engineer to the. ManawatuOroua Power Board claims to 'have t established a Dominion, record yesterday in the erection of poles. The staff set out to put dp 100 poles in 81 hours, with the travelling crane. Three men only were, employed on the crane, arid by the time they stopped for lunch, ’at 12.15, 58 poles had been put up. At 3.45 p.m. the 100th pole was put up, while at 4.10 p.m., after 7 hours 20 minute?}, 105 poles had been erected when the work had to stop for want of more holes. Including the cost of benzine and. oil, the cost of erecting was about 9d each. The holes were dug on Saturday by the pole gang, at a cost of 2s each. 'while the ramming costs about another 2s, making total cost : per pole approximately 4s 9d, which is a remarkably low figure. Tim erttne proved itself to be a wonderful lab-our-saver, and was fully described m our columns recently. Testerday’s test time averaged 4.19 minutes per pole, while the poles put up along Rangmkei line reached a distance of four miles.

By a majority of 48 votes, the Te Kuiti ratepayers yesterday carried a poll in favour of a loan of £6OOO for street improvements. “Is there someone in, this room?,” ‘‘No, 'sir,” answered a voice. “Strangle,” murmured the absentminded professor as he walked away. “I could have been sure I heard someone moving in there.”

“What is, the scientific explanation of earthquakes?” .was a question asked of Mr J. A. Colquhoun at Palmerston North. He replied that the scientific belief was that earthquakes were caused by weaknesses in the crust of the earth and the movement of either side of the. crack or faults which are the inevitable consequence of those weaknesses. -

Keen rivalry 'apparently extends even to dairy companies, according to Cr. Boyce, who stated at a greeting of the Manawatu County Council that in his district no less than five different factories were running , creamcollecting lorries. It was his opinion that these lorries should, be licensed and thus assist in a small measure toward the upkeep of the roads they so freely used.

With coming ai the warmer weather a limited, number of shorn sheep are making their appearance in paddocks locally, and are in 'all cases dry sheep shorn to promote quicker fattening. As is to be expected they are shearing light; the yolk not having risen. Th© main shearing will not take place until the end of this month or early in November. On a recent Sunday in Stratford (relates the local .Evening Post), the padre wa's se- a problem. He informed the congregation that he had been asked to -publish the “bonds” of matrimony. He gathered from a letter the young man wrote that what was wanted was the usual publication of the “banns”- -of marriage. Those among the congregation who had entered the married state smiled cynically as. the padre observed that there was a good deal of difference between the “banns” and the “bonds” of matrimony.

As a rule the average shopkeeper does not appreciate going to , the trouble of having his ‘scales tested, but one in Oamaru at any rate should be grateful to the Government for its new regulation. Far the last ten years one Oamaru merchant has been weighing all his sales with a spring balance, and much against his inclination owing to what he considered th© was f e of- time- involved, took it to be tested by the Inspector of Weights and Measures.. To his annoyance he discovered that it weighed 61bs overweight in -each 56, and the fact that he had, (been giving 621bs for 561bs for the last 10 years dawned upon him. His comments when he thinks of the lost profits are illuminating. He is still cudgelling his brains as I 'to how to get even.—Mail. A Dunedin man who recently visited Wellington says that flower raising for the market is carried on at Lower Hutt on a surprisingly large s oaie. At ond “flower factory,” as the proprietor jokingly designates it-, he saw ill one large glassiiouse six doulne rows of nippeastrum (amaryllis) growing in the ground, and fully ,4000 of the bulbs were in flower. Magnificent they were in size and richness of colouring', the scarlet and orange “seifs” being perfectly dazzling. Freezing now covering a great range of shades in their colours were to be seen in their tens of thousands under glass, where also were great quantities of swe9t peas in full flower. In the open borders tulips in their thousands were coming into, bloom- (another delightful-surprise), and anemones and narcissi blooms had been cut in great quantities for many weeks, with great numbers still remaining. The owner is also a keen admirer of peony ro-ses, and his collection must ea.s% Jbe the most comprehensive in the Dominion. New season tomatoes were colouring, and grapes swelling fast in one vinery and being thinned in another. , “He who- hesitates is lost.” But not so the nxan who- gave the fire alarm from Dublin street, ’s.ays the Wanganui Chronicle. He wa-s not quite sure how to give the alarm, and so, while the fire wa-s beginning to make a bit of a headway, he called to another m'an from across the road to “show him how to do it.” Then no time was lost in smashing the glass of the alarm box, and in exactly three mm-' utes the Brigade had -opened a successful attack on the outbreak, thus effecting ai brilliant save. But no thanks to the man who was ‘alarm shy.”

“Seeing the fish and successfully angling loir them are two very different things,” said the secretary of the Wellington Acclimatisation Society, Mr G. I. Da s ent, to a Wellington Post reporter, when referring to the opening of the fishing season. Mr Dasent remarked that fish and their haunts were quite uncertain, and in proof of the glorious uncertainty of fishing related the experience of a resident of Wellington, Who had been a licenseholder for many years, and who some years ago was fined for taking fish from, the Wainui Stream by hand. When asked to explain why so experienced an angler had committed a breads of the regulations he said It had been .his wife’s cuslom when he went away fishing at the week-end to prepare the 'frying-pan so that, she I would be ready to cook the fisb on his return. He went out on, three occasions and returned home with an empty creel —he could not get a, bite. On the third occasion, on reaching his home, he slipped quietly into the washhouse and. hung up his empty basket, and said not a word about his non-success, hater in the evening his wife remarked: “Why don’t you take up something von can do?” On his next trip he determined to get some fish. He tried all. the flies in his collection without success. Rather than come home again with an empty; creel, lie yielded to temptation, and secured several fine specimens by hand. Whilst so engaged he was caught, and was duly prosecuted and | fined. He admitted the justice of the i fine, and, in addition, gave the society a donation.

There tare still about .1100. uncertificated teachers in New, Zealand, according to a statement of the Minister of Education. The percentage had gone down, he added, from 34 per cent, to £5 per cent, in his period of oince; and the department ought to improve upon that considerably in the next three or four years. ,

Despite the recent rush of feed, the milk returns from local herds is considerably below -the 'average. Although there is now in -most instances ample feed, the shortage in the spring resulting as it did in the lowered condition of the cows is still having its effect, and no great improvement can be looked for until they first regain condition.

'The New Zealand Expeditionary . Force left- 12,153 dead, in France -aim 2081 on Gallipoli; the resting place of over 6000. ot these is unknown—and in the ,geat majority of cases never will be.known. The Government has now decided that a suitable, memorial to these unrecovered dead will be erected at selected cemeteries in- the various theatres of- war.

The Salvation Army training farm at Putaruru, where there are- .100 orphan boys from Britain, younger ones going to school and the eluer ones learning farm work, was visited by gir William Wyndham, of the Overseas Settlement Delegation. He made a comprehensive inspection of the farm, being personally much interested in this form of overseas immigration.

“Never trouble, trouble until trouble troubles you, is a. good motto.” This was the selection lor the impromptiu speech at the Wanganui competitions on Wednesday evening, and it troubled the competitors very much, in fact overwhelmed' one of them. Usually the selection has something to do with love.or matrimony, but rather a surprise was sprung on the amateur orators.

A particularly jo.vial judgment debtor was being! examined wnen in the witness box at the Auckland Magistrate’s Court and was asked by counsel for the creditor what his earnings were each week. “Not much, old man,” was the reply. “Mr F. K. Hunt, S.M.: “Look here witness, don’t you speak to the solicitor like that. Behave yourself, do you'hear.” Yes, sir,” said debtor, who continued giving answers, under cross-examination to the Magistrate’s satisfaction.

.During the, past two years 7458 fuses have 'been manufactured in the workshop of the Christchurch City Electricity Department. Comparing the cost (7s 6di each) with the average quotation for the imported article (11s), the saving to the department had been £1304. In a report submitted to the. City Council, the Electricity Department stated that the home-made article compared favourably with the imported one, an'di the department had been able to supply to other electrical undertakings in New! Zealand.

Mr Mr. R. Findlay, Inspector of Stock, Kurow, Otago, says longevity among our domestic animals is not often brought under notice, unless it is fchje age of some faithful horse wnicin has served ai shepherd or a family for life, or perhaps, a pony which has carried all the junior members of a household to school, while the ripe old age of some of our faithful canine friends is also at times commented upon. It is only on- rare occasions that old' age m-ong sheep calls particular attention. A ewe. the property of Mr James Menzie, of Rosehill, Hakataramea, should just about be given pride, of place in this respect, for, as the saying gjpes, she is “old enough to vote.” This animal was born in January, 1902, from a Merino ewe by a. Border Leicester ram and was raised as 1 a pet. She has reared seventeen lambs, but for the past three seasons has not been bred from, her owner wishing to see how long he can keep her alive.. - Unlike most pet sheep, she was never , a fencer, a. fact which no doubt saved her from the. butcher’s hook years ago.

An interesting experiment with whitebait was suggested by Mr E. F. Stead, at a meeting of the council of the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society. Mr Stead expressed the opinion that one of the chief reasons for the .great increase in the number of mosquitoes was the decrease of whitebait in the streams . around Christchurch, ahd he wondered whether the society would not be justified in getting some whitebait and turning them into the head waters of the Avon. Then next season they would try to the Avon closed to whitebait netting and endeavour to get the fish back into the river again. If the experiment did nothing else, it Would provide food for the trout, But he felt certain around the Fendalton district, together with, .the diminution in the number of native birds, 'had been responsible for the number of mosquitoes about. It Was decided to hold the matter over until the next meeting.

A paragraph has been going the rounds of some newspapers in which it has been stated that blankets produced at the mills for 35s per pair wore being retailed, at 77s 6d, . and “somebody” was charged with making “a nice little profit.” A representative of one of the Dominion’s leading woollen mills, who is'at present, in New Plymouth, in conversation with a Herald reporter recently, took the opportunity of emphatically contradicting the suggestion contained in the paragraph. While blankets are made for 35s er pair, the manufacturers’ -prices also range for varying quantities from! that figure up to 86s 9d. It. was stated that this season the prices of such woollen goods have been “chopped about” and reduced more than at anytime within the knowledge of this firm’s representotiA'o. Some lines Which are produced for 40s (manufacturer’s price) have been retailed as low as 425, which plainly would not yield a payable return to the shopkeeper. The 35s blankets are a specially made “low cut line,” and are not 'the blankets sold for £3 17s 6d.