Shannon News TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1923.

Shannon News, 16 October 1923, Page 2

Shannon News TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1923.

The postmaster, Mr Baxter, commences his. annual leave to-day. He is being relieved by Mr Ahern,, of Palmerston North. While a dray was being loaded with gravel in the Mangore stream yesterday morning it tipped up with the result that the shatter had a narrow escape from being strangled.' It got hung up by the collar, which had .to be away to save it. . Mr Clutha Mackenzie, chairman of riie Sir Arthur Pearson Memorial desires to thank those who have cunuiouted towards the cause m Shannon. Mr Mackenzie’ was appointed a Director of .the Jubilee Institute m August last, which includes the administjration. of ithje P : ear>j:i Pond arid the general supervision of the Blind of the Dominion. The I unu how stands at £37,000, leaving £BOOO still to get.

At the meeting of 'the Shannon Cricket Club on Saturday night it was stated that there seemed to be an impression that the Shannon Club had won the Hugh Hall Shield on four occasions and had to only win it once again .to mJake it their own. Mr Randall said such was not the pase as on one of the four occasions it was won by Whitanui; therefore Shannon wias a long way off winning it outright. * The Sports .Committee has been very fortunate in securing a squad of Levin Y.M.C.A. Seniors and Juniors to give a (gymnastic display in the Maoriland Theatre on Friday, October 26. This programme was given in Levin to a packed audience who were surprised and delighted with their achievbmen,tß'. The display; will be interspersed with musical items etc., the programme of Which will be published later.

■At Moutoai on Friday evening a send-off was tendered to Mr mid Mrs Blair and, family who are leaving the district to reside in Palmerston North. There was a large attendance of residents at the schoolhouse to bid them farewell. During the evening Mr Aitken, on behalf of the settlers, in an appropriate speech presented Mr Blair with va well filled wallet at the same time expressing regret at the family’s departure and wishing them good, luck in their new home. An enjoyable evening was spent in song and dancing, the music for which was supplied by Mr Just. With the coming of spring), activities in connection with farm work have commenced at the Central Development Farm. The main crop of potatoes are now being put in and include Maori Chief, Vitality, Up to Date, and Commercial. They are being put in in ridges, the procedure being to first make up the ridge with a ridge-plough, then plant the seedpotatoes in between, and with a ( plough split the row down the middle, turning the drill either way on to the seed. Three and a-half cwt. of manure is used comprising 3 cwt. of super, and a-half cwt. of blood and bone manure.

Thirty-three purebred Friesians at the Central Development Farm, Weraroa,, last year averaged 5031bs of but-ter-fat. Four of the cows were two-year-olds. That he had heard on good authority that there were 1000 applications for new 'houses in Wellington, was a statement made by the Mayor, Mr. It. A. Wright, M.P., last week. He said he did not know if they would be able to get the money, but the people were there and ready to go on if the finance could be found.

In reply to a query whether the increased telephone charges had. nojt caused a loss of subscribers the district Telegraph Engineer at Dunedin staged that, -at the end of the last four-monthly period 118 subscribers had discontinued in the southern city but, after each such period, there were about 40 such discontinuances, eo that, at the most, 80 Amuld be ascribed to the charges. a lomng'ni agio vue Timar.u Borougn uounuu ciecuieu to place on sale to me general public debentures to the .value oi £4Uoo, ine interest being 5 per cent., and uie term oi the loan eignt years. The Mayor reported to tne council that all the debentures nad been taken up. His Worship auued that it was very satisfactory to nnd that the borough’s credit stood so high.' Danish co-operative dairies are gomg into tne condensed milk business, and are beginning to; supply world markets .yviui great quantities oi tins article., While Denmark, prior 10 the world war, exported .very little condensed milk, the last two years have witnessed - exportations reaching into millions of kilograms. In 1921, 17,000,000 kilograms, or 37,600,001 b., of condensed milk left the. Danish kingdom, the bulk of which was. taken by England. The English prefer the Dutch condensed skim-milk, while other classes x of condensed milk and cream go* in considerable quantities to Germany, Austria,, and also England.

■•Staftisijics,” says the Auckland Star,- referring to Archbishop Julius’ recent homily in New Zealand morals, •‘are dull things, to most people, but it is almost terrible to think where the unfettered anxiety and prejudice of -man would land him if he had not figures WMI which to check them. There is the, classic instance of the man who discovered that in a ’ year 50 per cent, of the total abstainers in an English regiment in India died. This lo,okecl impressive until it was pointed out that the abstainers numbered two, and that- one bad been killed by a tiger/’ The sowing of soft turnips has been commenced at the Central Development Farm;. Weraroa. Grey Stone and Pomeranian varieties are being sown as early, quick developing crops, and will be followted by Red Globe as a slower growing, better lasting turnip. The crop is being sowed after wheat, the land having bean ploughed in the autumn and left to fallow through the winter, being ploughed a second time in the spring. The manager of the Farm (Mr W. .T. McCullough) explained to a “Chronicjie” representative that ’the benefit of fallowing could not be overestimated, and where turnips were being put in from, pasture,, it paid handsomely to skim-plough in thie autumn in preparation for the crop. “The province of Canterbury must retain a very active interest in the tunnel, arid keep a sharp eye on the business end of it,” states the Christchurch Star. It is strange, but true, that in certain instances it is cheaper to rail from Christchurch to Lyttelton and then ship to, Greymouth than it is to rail from Christchurch to Greymouth direct.' A case in point has just been brought under our notice, and the lesson it teaches needs no elaboration. A Christchurch consignee wanted to send a number of packages, weighing 3i tons, to Gr,eymouth. The railage,, freight, wharfage, and insurance cost- him. £7 12s 2d, the’goods being landed on the Greymouth wharf. The direct railage by the tunnel route would have cost him £lO 15s ldj, or £3 2s lid more than by sea- carriage. The lesson is so plainly I writ that ~he that ruins may read. j

The possibilities of the Red Polled breed lor milk and butter fat production is exemplified by the herd at the Central Development Farm, Weraroa. Opticia, an 8-year-old cow, has this year in 326 days produced 13,5001bs of milk with 558 ibs of butter-fat. Last month’s production was 341bs of butterfat, and as she is still milking well it is expected that she will approach the 60l)lbs mark within the. 12 months. Tiie thirty c.ows which comprise the herd averaged 342.621bs of butter-fa.t, and this in spite of the fact that the. herd has not been culled since it was started at the Farm. Records are kept of each cow’s production, and nad four and five of the low production animals been taken out, £he average would have been very close to 400 lbs. An important fact, algo, in connection with the a.verage, was there were 8 two-year-old heifers included in t.hp number tested.

The deterioration Of trout hulling in the EkeHahun'a district has led to a number of explanatory theories being advanced (says the Express). One is that the increase in the number of small birds has so diminished the surface feed of the fish that they now feed on the bottom and will not readily rise to a fly. Another erstwhile angler expressed the view that a mistake had been made in imposing bait restriction by the Acclimatisation Society. The result was, he said, that the number of big cannibal fish which v'ould not. take a fly on any account was being greatly increased, and these devoured no end of the younger fish. He considered that if baft restrictions were removed these big fish would gradually lie caught, and the .fishing would soon improve.

The committee of the Te Aroha Bowling Club who initiated playing howls at night, by electric light, have made further improvements this »ea~ son. The powerful arc lights have been taken more to the centre of the green. Night play last year waa popular with bowleTs of both iexe«.

A pathetic memento of the Great War was exhibited 'at last meeting of tile Wanganui Borough Council, being the war medals and plaque of a Wanganui soldier, whose relatives, if any, cannot be located. The soldier in

question was Gunner Roland Lee, who served in the artillery and was killed in action in 1917. The Mayor spoke feelingly and accepted the trust on behalf of the citizens. The medals and plaque would be placed in the Sargeant Gallery, and he hoped that the Council would some day be able to hand them to some relative. This is the third trust of its kind that the Council has accepted through the Defence Department’s inability to locate the next-of- kin. Tile agricultural editor of the Waikato Times gives sage advice on the prophesies •of -a dry summer. “The l'ate Clement Wragge,” he understands predicted a dry summer for this and next ,season. Whether the guesses of the prophets work opt or the predictions of the scientist are correct, it is as well before approaching the summer season to prepare for the -unexpected - . If the summer proves dry. the farmer who has an area -of mangolds, a. field of lucerne, and some sorghum (provided his cron has a sheltered position, in the Waikato), he will be much better off than his neighbours, who have not included these crops in their special fodders. Those who s’ave ensilage will have an additional string to their bow. It pays to prepare for probable drv' shells, just as it pays to insure, one’s life or property against mishap. /.line of two hundred Polled Angus bullocks that had been, advertised to be sold at the last Feilding sale did not reach the market. It is reported that they were bought this side of hho Manawatu Gorge by a well-known Hawke’s Bay cattle grower. Mr Horatio Dumville Nelson, for many years leading, tea merchant in New Zealand, died rather suddenly at Wellington on Monday, at the age of 68. He came from England about .40 years ago, and soon after established the business of Nelson Moate and Go. He retirjed from j business some time ago. At last meeting of the Waipa County Council the. Bank of New Zealand notified the .Council that the bank’s cheque forms are now being printed on sensitized paper, so that any attempt made by chemical aid to alter the writing -would be easily detected, as Uie parts treated will become white. The bank asked that customers who have their own special cheque forms arrange to use similarly sensitized paper. : The thickness of a penny standing between life and death is a smaller margin of safety than most people would desire, yet a penny reccing saved the life of a young man not far from Dunedin. The young man was driving a motor car on the Outram road, and without any warning received a severe shock by being struck’ by what proved to he a bullet. Luckily he bad a penny in one of the lower pockets of bis waistcoat. The bullet struck this coin and crumpled it -almost out of recognition. TV party in the car heard no sound which would indicate the discharge of a, rifle.

The 19523-24 season on the Caledonian Tennis Courts waß opened yesterday afternoon when there was a good attendance of players and their friends., The president, Mr J. W. Bishop, i-n declaring the court open for play gaid jhe ■ hoped the members would find much enjoyment and

j healthful recreation in the game during the summer and that the young players would show much improvement *8 the season progressed. The opening set was played by Mr Leslie Harris and Miss. Biritland versus Mr J. Logan and Miss Tressider and resulted in a win for the former by 6—3. Afternoon tea was dispensed by a bevy of youngladies and play conjtimied until dusk. ; Free grazing on public roads seems to have 'become a fine art in one particular part of Waitotara County and there appear to be difficulties in the way of solving thg problem. It was said at the Waitotara Council meeting that* one settler was grazing 42 head of cattle on a, back road* overnight, but as they were removed to

the right side of the "fence -at daylight. each morning it. was difficult for the ranger to take the necessary proceedings. It was mentioned that the, ranger had little chance of reaching) the locality in daylight as the practice of settlers was to telephone ahead the news that he was in the district,, and that the only time a. prosecution was secured was on one occasion the ranger managed to tap the district from the back end. One suggestion made was that a moonlight night should he selected for a tour of the district, and one councillor remarked that it seemed nearly as hard as running down a whiskey still.

It has (remained for Dr. Oliver, a religious lecturer who is travelling in title Dominion, to explain the real dangers of wireless. In a recent lecture at Invercargill Ihe predicted that a great enemy of God 1 , the Antichrist, soon to take his seat in Jerusalem, would be able - to broadcast his wishes all over the world, and demand instant obedience under Pain of the death penalty. Exactly how the. gentleman in Jerusialem: will force os to obey bis orders w&* not explained.

It has been remarked that the most dangerous position in the world to nn is that of Bulgarian Cabinet Minister. Of the Sti who have been in office since 1911 five have been killed, 64 have received long prison terms, and eight were exiled. Only nine mail: aged to get through the political ordeal without being injured or losing' their liberty. Since 1912 an appointment to become a Minister has almost been equivalent to a death sentence, subject to commutation as the political fortunes of the country wavered

A line of lambs. 10 weeks old, and

averaging 361 b. weight each, were sold at Ruahura recently. The lambs were bred on tile Government Experimental Farm, and their weight, is said to constitute a record for lambs of that age.