Shannon News FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 1925.

Shannon News, 16 January 1925, Page 2

Shannon News FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 1925.

vvitu tiixe advent of electricity m tuiannon me ursi nquse .10 ne omit m me tmrougn wuiiout crunuieys it? now m course at erection.

- Mr lippier, enairinun of the Gcnoqi Commmee, nat> receiyeu advice that Mr a. ;i;. wime, wiiq nas been appointed headmaster at the bnannon ocnooi will not commence duty until ..lurch Ist.

uu Monday last a Maori girl named Maggie Aperaliama, aged 10 years, passeu away at ner parents’ residence, - shannon. site was only ni two weeks succumbing to an attack of meningitis..

Owing to tile dry weather many housenoiUers are experiencing a shortage of water. Needless to say many loud, comments are being made upon the delay- in completing me water supply scheme, which is now long overdue. A rumour was current in .Shannon on Wednesday that a, little Maori girl had died in the township from infantile paralysis. 011 enquiry we find that the cause Of death was meningitis, which by tlhe way is not- a 1101 tillable disease, although cerebro spinal meningitis is classed as an infectious disease. The Mayor (Mr Murdoch) states there is an impression among residents that lie is opposed to the Council contributing towards die cost 01 the temporary spans to the ShannonJFoxton bridge. He states that is not so. His objection is to the Council contributing towards the cost of the punt, which he says was. constructed without the Council ever being consulted in the matter.

A correspondent writes: “There appeared a letter in a Wellington paper some time back, refe.rring to tile work of a farm hand, .anil the poor wages In comparison. Also asking out- Labour men to take part in attaining decent hours and wages tor farm hands. It is about time something was. done lor farm hands. Listen to this; A well-known farm manager in a certain district had a, iad 16. years of age working on the place and these were his duties; Up in the morning at 6 a.m.; milk the cows (two, sometimes three); separate; have breakfast; then go out pulling and grubbing tawhine until 4 p.m.; milk again; separate; chop enough wood to carry over following day (wood burning range); wages 10s per week. The wages for tawhine work, generally run between 10s and 12s. per day and found.”

Whilst pium crops in this district are exceptionally heavy, brown rot in paany orenards appears to be worse than fo.r some years past, there being as much as 25 per cent, of the lruit affected in some instances. Tne cannon recently found on Tuamotu island near Gisborne, is believed to nave belonged to the early whaling days and was used in a tribal fignt with the Maoris on one occasion.

Readies from Central Otago are ar-riving-in large quantities at Dunedin. They are being sold at 2s a case, winch leaves, little or no profit for tne growers.. A commencement has been ant do will] the. construction of a railway sluing for Messrs Kempthorne, Prosser and Cq., at Arainono. 'line fact tuat two nines of line wUi be laid will give ah indication of the extensive nature qf tne works to be erected.

The .visitors to Rotorua during' tne Christmas holidays exceeded the accommodation. As a, consequence a number of persons were, compelled to make use of motor cars in which to sleep. In conversation with a party of tourists, a tow days ago, a Cambridge Independent reporter was Hiformed that at Napier and Gisborne similar conditions were experienced. Une party lmd not slept in a bed for five days until arriving at Cambridge., j uriy-iwo years is a lung t-inic lui nrotners 10 dime neon apart, nut an instance ut sum a case is that -ui Messrs ito a. and \V. uwe.ll Garnuid, me loriner ui and the latter 101 (jiiauia. Mr u. A. Garland arrived ! at vjivauia during Christmas UlllO, tins being the first 1 une tne brothers had met for 42 years. Mf and Mrs lies.-ket-h, of Auckland, are also guests, of Mr and Mrs Garland. rue British Poet Laureate refuseu to give an interview lo tne American Press. He was pleased to see the following heading in a paper next day: •‘King's Pet Bird Refuses to 1 Chirp." What is claimed to bo a record lor tile Wairarapa was put up last week by Mr W. B. McFadzean, buyer lor the Wellington Meat Export (company, when he drafted 5500 fat wethers from the property of Mr D. H. S. Ridiford, ‘‘Lagoon Hifls,” .Marthiborougli. This, mob, whicih was on the road at the. week-end, represents approximately £12.000 in cash. ■

A world's record iQf 22G eggs in 226 days has. been mads by an Indian Runner duck, owned by Mr S. H. Scott, of Avondale, mid entered in the South Australian duck egg-laying competition at Croydon, Adelaide. The previous record w.as 225 eggs without a break, held by a Khaki Campbell duck in England and an Indian Run-' ner duck at Mount Albei t. Mr Scott’s I birds reached Adelaide only a few j days before the test began. The three birds have created another world’s > record by laying 21 eggs weekly for 1 11 consecutive weeks.

The London newspapers are discussing the possibility of the Dominions taking up the catering at their own pavilions at Wembley and supplying their own. foodstuffs..

lue j. ctui-uui until BolQUgh COUIICn has bequ auuiuribed to. burrow amu.ol lur lue purpose 01 constructing unu equipping municipal abattoirs, mu pupniaiiun 01 tne Jts.oi.ougn 01 ’launiaruiiiu is about tne same as tnat 01 nevin, wime the surrounding district 01 Levin carries about twice yie population ol that Qf tne nortnern town.

as an Jiiustiation . of tne ‘Terrific”, speed at wnicn some 01 uur trains are run, an incident wmcii oceurreu last week IS Of interest. A Mauri WHO wa.S a-passenger on tile fast train R’om Napier iq waipawa aLgnied at le uuuKe, and as tne tram inuvea out Horn me station realised ue liau left

a pcucei. ije.mad aim. jHq rusaed p.cros.s io ms home, euugiit a overtook me train tit upapa and secured tins parcel.—Waipawa Mail. ’ A district rariaer informs tire Muaawatu Her aid, that up till recently at a certain freezing works tire l>u idlers, were putting tarougilj. an- average Qi <su lauias per hour. After a visit py a' certain Lanour leader, tne killing dropped to 1.3 per noth’. As the men are paid at per WO he could not account for tiie alleged go-slo.w policy on their part. f The Freemasons q! Invercargill have lor some considerable time neen discussing a scheme lor re:buiiding on a scale sufficient to mee_t their requirements lor many years to come. A contract has now ' been let and a commencement made °h the site iu Forth Street. The total cost of the building, etc., will be approximately £15,000. About a quarter to three yesterday aiternoon a lire totally destroyed iJie carving plant, and building in which it was housed, at Messrs ltos.s, Rough and Company’s “Star” null, at Foxton. The fire spread to the adjoining rope works of Mr T. Brewer and there again a total loss resulted. " Although the blaze 'was outside the borough boundary, the Foxton fire brigade put in an appearance, but owing to the distance away from the fire-plug, tire whole of the available hose had to be connected up and s.o much time, elapsed that nothing oould be done before the property was destroyed. The insurances, are.: Messrs Ross, Rough and Company, a total of £llsO on building and machinery; Mr T. Brewer, £2OO. A hardy veteran in Wanganui, who lives in retirement, started to build a motor shed the .other day in order to fill in hi.s spare time. He had nearly reached the roofing stage when an inspector arrived on the scene and explained that the ladder the ancient one was using did nett , comply with the requirements of the . Scaffolding Act, or some other adjacent Act. Persistence in the use of, the ladder would result in sundry paans a.nd penalties. The veteran solved the problem by shinning uip the studs as. occasion demanded, and Che kept going until the roof was. on. It was a wrathful veteran whom a “Chronicle” reporter espied on the roof of the shed, and his opinion of Acts in - general was. scarcely suitable, for publication. Admiral Bacon’s observations reiative to the battle of Jutland, call to mind the fact that though Lord Jeliiooe has remained reticent almost to the point of exasperation, his opinion Of Winston Churchill’s memoirs, known up till now to his more intimate friends alone, is one of disgust and contempt. Though the possessor of a delightful disposition, ouir late Governor-General spiced his reproach, whether domestically or officially, when occasion arose, with, soft sarcasm or gentile satire. Soi perhaps his view of the historical .value of Churchill’s work was indicated when he styled the First Lord’s, effort as “Alone 1 did it,” or “Dead men tell no tales.” The application of. Lord JeJlicoe’s humorous tilt has been a delight for quite some time in nigh Army and Navy circles at Borne. A circular from the Minister ol' Public .Works has been received in Christchurch pointing out that several accidents (have occurred through persons coming ih contact with outdoor electric wires, and asking that the possibility of the danger of making contact with electric wires should be brought under the notice ,oi members of all unions connected with the building trades. The oircujLar states that there is an impression that a wire is quite sale to handle because it is covered, and that, although the covering on outdoor electric (Wires has its uses, it should be recognised that the wires may be dangerous, due to the effect of weather on ,the covering, or to faulty material or workmanship. The starlings, with their usual adaptability, are making full use ul die unusually prolific crop ol flax-flowers produced locally this year, and winch are, according io the Mauris, a sign Of a dry summer. Wherever there, is a fiax-nush, the starlings may be seen sucking the. sweet syrupy water, qr “wai-korari,” from the flowers, after the manner of the tui, and apparently appreciating it thoroughly. Incidentally if is held, that in the neighbourhood of the coast, the state of. the tide may be told by the amount of “wai-korari” in the flower, which at low tide, is said to be practically dry, the .water gradually rising in the flo.wer a.s the tide makes, until at fulltide it is full, and at spring-tides actually overflows. Six important deals in hotel properties in Christchurch have been effected during the past few weeks, Messrs Ward and Co., Ltd., having sold the

freeholds of the Railway, Crown, Carlton, Foresters., Star and Garter and Eastern Hotels. In aU cases the purchasers are well-known licensees,. Since the. brewing interests of Messrs Ward and Co., Ltd., Messrs Manning and Co., Ltd., and the Crown Brewery Company, Ltd., were acquired hy New Zealand Breweries,*Ltd., the three companies have been gradually dis-, posing of the.ir interests in hotel properties, with the object of releasing

the capital of the companies. Recently Messrs Manning and Co, offered a number of hotel properties at auction, and several others have been sold pri-; vatelyi, r 1

Faraparaumu was freely patronised during the holidays and at one accommodation house alone there were seventy guests at one time.

A bull that is reported to be extremely dangerous is now allowed to roam at largo in a paddock off ifiverbank Koad, and on Saturday several persons, at- various timbs, had. narrow escapes of being gored. One gentleman had a very narrow escape, wkue several children, who frequent a bathing-hole near by, received the fright of their lives. It is reported that the same bull recently lulled a horse. We understand that the police have been asked to take action. , . ;

Recently in one of the up-country wool sheds (says the Gisborne Times) a Maori mother deposited her young offspring in a half-filled hale in the press in order to enjoy to the lullest. the “smoko.’-’ unfortunately the infant was forgotten upon work being resumed, with the result teat wool was piled in on it. One can imagine the surprise on all sides when -lusty screams issued from the interior of the bale just ias it was. about tQ be closed up. It was fortunate the child woke up in time, otherwise it undoubtedly would have been pressed with the wool.

Those w r ho have not seen a Maori canoe hurdle race generally imagine that the canoes are raced up to the obstacles and more or .ess gracefully eased over, without loss of time. .Napier people who saw a recent, regatta at Taupo, however, had thes9 illusions impelled, the men’s canoe race being one of the humorous tit-bits of the day (says the Telegraph). Pour, crews reached the. first hurdie together, whereat tlic light for precedence waxed fast and furious. There were no apologies or caresses about the aquatic conflict, but from the bank, particularly to the pakeluv spectators, the interlude vas hilariously comical.

With the bathing season comes the annual epidemic of missing clothes. Wanganui bathers (says an exchange) have suffered already—particularly one young woman wtho has a fondness. for silken hose and most other garments of the same material. Recently at Castlecliff, the young woman left her silk garments in the pavilion while she sat in the breakers, but when s.hle returned everything was missing, even her handkerchief. Fortunately some friends arrived and were able to go into Wanganui for an outfit. 1

What is the biggest, meal ever taken by one person? In the transactions of the Royal Society, mention is made of a tcn-year-old boy who ate 3731 b of food in six days; while another, suffering from acute hunger, consumed 3841 b of food in the same period, and then started to gnaw his owfi'flesh. -A doctor records seeing a Norfolk farm labourer eat a whole leg of mutton at one sitting. A woman patient in St. Bartholomew’s Hospital ate three quarten loaves, 31b of meat, and several pounds of potatoes every day for three weeks. The case is recorded of a child of three who drank two pails of water daily, and seemed none the worse. Glass-blowers have been known to drink forty pints of water a day. A French physician had a patient who habitually drank fifty pints of red wine • a day. The opinion that the Jersey dairy cuttle oi New Zealand are o.f higher average quality than those of Britain was voiced by Mr Motion. The Jerseys shown at (he Royal Show at Leicester, he said, could nave been surpassed at any of me leading New Zealand shows by animals of better miik-producting type and quality. The milking'Shorthorns oh exhibition were good, and tibe average of the herds, throughout. Ireland —which- was the best dairying country seen—was outstandingly good. The outstanding impression ion Mr Motion’s mind, after seeing the leading dairy district of the world, is that lor all-round productivity and quality of manufacture, New Zealand has comparatively little occasion to envy the rest of tee. world. The lessons that can be fittingly applied tQ New Zealand are those of marketing Off an already high-class article.

A method of checking potatcnblight which has been tried at the • Boys’ Training Farm, Weraroa, for several years, with considerable success, is worthy of a trial by potato-growers.. Speaking to a “Chronicle.” representative yesterday, the farm, manager (Mr Spencer), stated that for many years lie had given up the use of spraying and instead, dusted the potato tops with lime, scattering it by hand over the growing stalks. He did not claim that this prevented the stalk from being attacked by the blight, although it certainly checked it, but what it did do was to prevent - the biiglit from affecting the. tubers. Mr Spencer stated that he usually dusted the potatoes a couple of times during their growth and since adopting the scheme had never had an unsouild potato in his crop. The lime appeared to have the effect of blistering the skin of the tuber on the upper side, but the damage did not go more than skin-deep.