Shannon News FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1923.

Shannon News, 2 November 1923, Page 2

Shannon News FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1923.

The vital statistics for the month, of October are:—Births 4, deaths and marriages nil.

A large number of lojcal residents attended the Palmerston North Show yesterday. '> The first round of the .cricket season will <op,en at tha Recreation Ground on Saturday with 1 a- match between Shannon and Wer&iroa.

In keeping with other towns, Shannon is experiencing qjiite an epidemic of canvassers and scarcely a day passes without a visit from, several who have .something! special to offer.. Surely it. is a sign of hard times in tine cities when so many take to these means for a livelihood. Reference was made at the Council meeting on Tuesday night by Cr. Garter to the. bad state- of the road Tom the Shannon bridge to the Borough boundary. He said it was in a; dilapidated condition and if we should have a week of wet wea-ther it - would be come impassable for vehicular traffic. It Was resolved to write to the Boro'' whenuia County Coarncil ; i and ask them to give some -attention to their portion of the road. The following was the rainfall, in Shannon for the month of October as kindly supplied by Mr Sinclair, 'of Vance street:—Rain fell on 16 days with a total of 3.77 inches, the heaviest rainfall' being on October 20th, when 1.19 in. fell. For same niornth last year 3.04 inches of rain fell o»u 11 days, the heaviest being on the 12111 with 1.16 inches,,

is probably a record for calving in New Zealand -has just been established by a 5-year-old grade Short-' horn cow owned by Mr M. A'. Devcich,. of Hikutaia (North, Auckland). Last I year, this cow gave birth to three calves, all of them, dying soon after. At the end of last week this cow produced no fewer than two bull and three heifer calves. Unfortunately four of the calves were_ very small, and have subsequently died, but one bull calf was of norniial size and is very much alive at the present time. The cow, it is .staled, is. milking well, and is in a normal state of health.

Howard Andrew, Ltdf., point out, it will pay reader?, to watch their space on page 2 in the next; issue of the “News/*-

.Whooping! cough is prevalent among the children of New, Plymouth at present. The growing total of unpaid fees is giving the Wellington Hospital Board, some concern. The amount outstanding is now over £75,000.

In the Juvenile Court at Masterton two boys were fined £2 and costs for catching trout in the Waipoua river with, a wire. snaTe, and for fishing without a license. A third boy, for having trout in his possession, was convicted and ordered to come up for sentence if called upon. j The State Forest Service notify that j the payment of a bonus of one shil- ] ling per snout on wild pigs hilled in 1 the Taranaki district will he discontinued after October 31. It is interesting to note that the payment of'this bonus resulted in over 4000 pigs being killed during the last five 'months, and this has been a very real help to those settlers who live in the pig-invested localities.

One night this week Mr Mark Jurakovich caught a.hapuka at the Poor Knights which is. the largest he has seen during the past 15 years of fishing, and the biggest that 1138 been taken to Whangarei for . a vary long time. Cleaned, the fish, which was little under six feet in length, weighed 140 pounds, so that it was estimated that its ‘ full weight must have approximated 180 pounds.

A well-known Masterton building contractor, Mr W. J. Wise, had 1 a very narrow escape from death while engaged in the work of demolishing the old Tinui Post Office, tie was undermining the chimney with ,a crowbar when, without warning, it collapsed and the falling bricks; struck Mr Wise on the back and head, causing severe injuries.' Mr Wise was admitted to the hospital and is reported to he making satisfactory progress. One of Mr Wise’s sons had a miraculous escape, a large, block of the falling chimney grazed "the brim of his hat. A Rapanui man who advertised for farm labour got one response—from a girl. It was a genuine application as she was used to farm work in England. She is, however, at present in domestic service, and not yet available to show Rapanuians that a woman can do most things that a man can;, and just as well, if not better. There is a farmer in the Wanganui district who has a lady, ploughman, and the furrows she ploughs are straight enough to - please the 1 most fastidious farmer.

For about, six years .past Archbishop Julius has been , giving half of his official income as Bishop of Christchurch to build up a special fund for religious education. This fund now amounts to £4528. The Diocesan Synod requested the Archbishop to modify, the gift, and the latter in reply said it might be that he would have to reduce the amount of his gift considerably for a little while, but he hoped later that the reduction would be a small one. He..very much desired' to leave behind him a fund which , could l>e used for educational purposes in some way to be determined. >

A lew days ago 1 visited the, headmaster of one. of the largest public schools in the city, and found him engaged in making up returns and in doing detail work which" in'a business office would be done-by. a'junior clerk,” said Mr H. Amos, addressing the Chamber of Commerce in Wellington. ‘‘Although our headmasters are still receiving only a clerk’s salary, are tfot their positions exactly similar to that of the manager of a business? Would' a business manager waste his. time in doing a junior’s work to the neglect of the proper superintendence and control of the many departments and ramifications of his, business? Even if it costs the country a little more to free a headmaster from an office boy’s work, would it not be worth while?”

While returning from the races at Claudelands (Hamilton) a large motor bus Teturing to Piako had a very narrow escape from a serious smash. In negotiating the sharp incline alongside the Claudelands public school, owing to a motor car in front, a halt was called. On starting, . the motor bus refused- deity and its brakes apparently failing to hold, the bus started to go down hill. Its progress was stopped a little by the Cambridge motor bus, which was travelling immediately behind it the driver of which promptly reversed his engine to get out of danger. The Piako bus driver failed to keep his vehicle on the road, and in its continued career backwards it crossed over the road and crashed into a wire fence, which fortunately checked its further progress and a drop down a steep gully of about 20 feet. Several of the passengers were thrown down the gully, one of the party 'being injured slightly. It was indeed fortunate thajt the fouTw'iijel fence held, as it was discovered on investigation that the two rear wheels were right through the fence suspended in mid-air over the. gully.

Referring to a ihsignis pine (radiate.), Mr. A. H. Messenger writes in the New Zealand Life and Forest Magazine: “At 18 years this tree will supply 4300 cubic feet of timber, a rate of growth whioh stands well ahead of ainy other species of .pine introduce to New Zealand. Quit this period down by half, and you have lhe close-bark willow attaining a heig;ht of 50ft., with a good solid hunk of 13i inches in diameter, clear of branches up to 30fjk., and, providing a timber keen in demand tat the present time for food containers.” The above figures refer to English experience with the close-bark willow -which experience, Mr. Messenger hopes, will be equalled or bettered in New Zealand.' He adds: “The wood

of this tree, white, tough, and odourless, is much used in the manufacture of butter firkins for Continental trade and its cultivation is being widely taken up in Holland, Sweden and Norway for this special purpose.” A .fastgrowing tree that “provides a beautiful clear, white timber eminently suit- ■ able tor butter'containers is one that is worth serioiuS j attention in these days when the visible supply of our unrivalled white pine, kahikatea, is dwindling rapidly. to vanishing point.

A herd of about 70 cows arrived in Morrinsville on Thursday, after a two weeks’ journey frohi Taranaki, all animals arriving in good condition The drover wlio tii&ni ttirougii n,tis ■this year brought 60Q head of cattle from Taranaki to 'Morrinsville with the loss of only one animal.—Star. The big hydroelectric scheme of Southland, known as the Lake Mono-wa-i scheme, is expected to be fully effective in March of next year. There is ,-a million of loon, money, raised under Government guarantee, invested in the venture, but already the results are said to be fully justifying the expense.

“My dear, I had just got the. mirror,”, wais jthie absent-minded reply made by a well-dressed female .witness to a solicitor in the Auckland Police* Court. “Oh, don’t please, call me ‘my dear,’ ” said counsel, who could notr continue his cross-examina-tion for some moments owing to the laughter in .which the whole court joined.

Speaking at the farmers’ banquet at Cambridge, Mr A. J. Sinclair . (acting manager of the N.Z. Co-op. Dairy Co.) stated that his company had established quite a promising market for dairy produce in the Far Easty. and duringy the previous six weeks had forwarded there some 6000 boxes of butter.

Another transmission victory for the radio. J. W. Phillips;, of San Franciso, told the. police he was peacefully listening-in on a radio concert when a gentle knock came at the door of his hotel room. “Come in,” he called She did, a most winsome miss, and asked that she might listen-in. with him. He consented. During the business of listening, Phillips maintained, the girl tuned, in on his pocket book and departed with£22. A German catalogue received in Levin this week wrestles hard with the English' language. We .are informed “that this edition will grant to its. receivers, a special interest on being' looked through page by page very carefully. When, in need of anything, they may then be sure of the advantage they will have by inviting our advertisers to enter into competition with one another. . .. The insignificant subscription price : will soon make itself paid, for many a stimulation and instruction; will be derived from their pages.” On several occasions recently references have appeared in the Press to employees who have remained long terms with one firm. Probably Messrs E. Porter £nd to., hardware merchants, Queen street, hold ; the record in this matter (states 'the Auckland Star). The total time of eleven employees of this firm is ' over 500 years. No less than five employees of E. Porter and Co. have each been with' the‘firm for over fifty years. Another five range over 40 years each, and the eleventh man has touched 38 years’ service. Besides this team there are other employees who have been with the firm over 20 years. We received by the last European mail a' German printers’ trade magazine, the. “Deutscher 'Buch-und Steindruckdr,”; which indicates fth-at the Germans are most afixious to do business with other countries (“territories especially preferred: India, Egypt, South. Africa”). As showing the collapse of the money market in Germany, and the fact that the cablegrams’ are not exaggerating things in connection wih the fall in value of , the mark, the postage paid on the catalogue was no less than 48,000 mairks. Seeing that the .value of the mark in normal times was 11.747 (approximately a shilling),, in ordinary times the value of the postage paid on this catalogue would have amounted to almost £2400.

“The first Rugby football match, to be played in New Zealand,” said Mr F. Simpson at the Wanganui Football Association smoke concert on Saturday night, “was on the occasion of the visit of the Duke of Edinburgh to New Zealand in 1869.” Mr Sampson went on to ,say that' the New Zealand team consisted of university students, many of whomi afterwards became prominent in public life. He mentioned Douglas McLean. W. P. James. Allan McDonald, Peter Webb, and Captain Isherwood. The opposing team was formed from officers of H.M.S. Blanche and the. game was played on the old barrack reserve at Thomdon. The first “soccer” game of note to be played in New Zealand "was also contested at Wellington, "on Newtown Park in 1880, between teams representing Christchurch and the Empire city.

Auckland, is over-run with hawkers, house-toJiouse canvassers and people of that ilk, and - long-suffering housewives, to say nothing ol their hushands are becoming more impatient over ytho constant efforts made to make them purchase 'articles for wfiich they have no need .(says the local Herald). In any street and any suburb on almost any day except Sunday pedlars may be found plying their business, and, on the principle under which dropping water wears away stone they .apparently succeeded in making a living. As far as most householders are concerned, the reception these hawkers receive often depends upon the state of one’s liver and the state of the family exchequer. One should imaigine that 'a Monday is no good for the. doorstep warehouse, and pobably Friday afternoon finds most houses with very small reserves oil coin of realm. The past couple of years has seen a, wonderful development of motor transit between Wanganui and adjacent districts, particularly in regard to the carriage of goods. Wool is now brought by motor lorries to Wanganui from all the inland districts, and places as far afield as Apiti anil Kfmbolton, while the carriage of goods even further afield. Last week a motor lorry carrying pedigree stock passed through .Wanganui, en route from Taranaki to Hawke’s Bay. AH this traffic in former years was diverted to the railways, either loaded at the nearest railway station, .or else conveyed there. The motor possesses the great 'advantage of not being bound to any particular route, and being able tqj tap the heart of all the arming district*.

There has been something of a boom in matrimonial activities during the last few months at the office of the Auckland registar of births, deaths and marriages. Marriage by registrar has been steadily gaining in popularity ior years., but during tlie last three years, and particularly during; the present year, there has been a rapid increase. The total number of marriage notices issued for the nine months ? ended September 30 was 1467, and tb° number of marriage ceremonies performed by the registrar, Mr F. Evans, was 380, an increase of 26 over last year’s figure during the same period. “A proprietary company is purely a business concern. To it the grower of sheep or cattle is simply ain individual who produces something .out of which a dividend may be squeezed. On 1 the other hand, a farmers’ cooperative freezing company exists, above everything else, for the protection of the man l who' grows the stock and for the purpose of making certain that- he. gpts a fair deal. It is quite a common thing to hear farmers criticise their own freezing con- ’ cerns, and find fault with nearly everything connected with them'.” This statement was made at the annual meeting of the ■ Feilding Farmers’ Freezing Company.

A crop grown for green manuring in .his nursery by Mr J. Scobie, of Fairfield, is lupins, and is one worthy of wider application by farmers. A crop of lupins four feet in height ploughed in. is equal to 35 tons of stable manure, and in jord inary good soil will grow to 'this neight' in ten weeks., Mr Scobie sows 100 lbs of seed to the acre., the seed costing £1 per lOOlbs. The! advantage of such a crop will be readily appreciated: it can be put in after another crop has been taken out of the ground and grows ,so quickly that it. merely fills in the dead period generally existing between one crop and another, so 'Mat it. may •» u.sed to follow either oats or turnips with equal profit. It is‘ a nitrogenous manure supplying large: quantities of this invaluable plant food in a highly soluble form and besides adds largely to the humus content of the soil. ,

A comedy that might fiave had serious consequences was enacted'm Auckland. Heckled by some young men in the crowd standing around him, a well-known street-corner preacher, who .was holding! forth in front of the Ferry Buildings on the subject of physical Christianity, became excited, and., producing a bottle .from his hip-pocket, threw the contents oyer those who were unluckyenough to- be within range. This .so , incensed the crowd in general, and the injured persons ,in particular, that the orator was promptly seized and carried kicking to a neighbouring horse trough, into which he was unceremoniously thrown, the police arriving ; a few minutes too late to prevent the unwelcome and unexpected immersion. -