Shannon News THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 1927.

Shannon News, 14 April 1927, Page 2

Shannon News THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 1927.

Mr and Mrs E. T. Moody, of Shannon, loave for Christchurch to-day where they will spend the Easter holidays. The business houses of Shannon will observe a late night this evening and will then close for the Easter holidays, reopening on Tuesday morning. At the meeting of the Women’s Institute held on Tuesday evening, Mi A. T. White delivered a most interesting lecture on “The Panama CanaL^’

Shannon have entered two rinks foi the bowling tournament to be held ai; Palmerston North during the Easter ' .

In the doll dressmaking competition for girls under 14 years of age, con ducted by Jas. Smith Ltd., of Wellington, the second prize was won by Joy Sin-es, Sheehan Street, Shannon, who is only eight years of age. Im making their awards the judges state that'they took into consideration the sewing skill shown rather than the prettiness of the frock. A special window display is to be made o$ the frocks, after which they are to be returned to their respective owners. >

In the tennis notes, which appeared in the Napier Daily Telegraph, of Saturday lastj the following reference was made to the play of Mr. W. Quarrie.. who, while a resident of Shannon,' was a prominent member of the local tennis club: A Fine Player: From aU accountt Nelson Park have the making of a top-notcher in Quarrie, a six-foot giant, who is beating all with wlicm he comes in contact at the Park Club. Ilis principal assets are his height, reach and speed on the court, and lie plays a particularly forceful game, his service in particular developing great velocity. From the way Park players are talking him, we shall expect to see him in the provincial team next, season.

There is on view in Mr. J. V. Burns’ window the Grand Championship Banner of the Dominion, which is held from year to year by the makei for the best New Zealand factory butter at the Waikato Winter Show. The banner which is now held by Mr J Aim, manager, on behalf of the Shannon Co-operative Dairy Co., is a handsome piece of work, the central feature of which is the figure of a cow, surmounting a pedestal, with the words, “The foster mother of man.” At the foot of the pedestal are figures of women and infants suggesting their dependence upon the cows a 3 a source of food. The banner was first competed for in 1923 when it tvas won by Cambridge, and it has since been won by Hikurangi, Cambridge and Shannon,

An important gathering of the Farmers ’ Union will take place in Levin on May 17th and 18th, when about 60 delegates will attend the inter-provin-cial conference of the Wellington, Wairarapa and Wanganui Provincial Executives. The order paper will include many motions of importance to farmers and there will be a social gathering during the progress of the Conference.

The banking returns for the January- ( March quarter reflect the stringent financial conditions. There is a shrinkage in the. free deposits or current account balances, a substantial increase in the advances, and there is an appreciable shrinkage in the note circulation. These are adverse factors, and are nrimarily due to the fall in the prices of our exportable farm produets.' Fixed deposits increased by £6sl,Otic to £21,088,034, but free deposits (current accounts) fell by £2,425,000 to £24,440,778. Government deposits also decreased by nearly a million. The bank figures speak for themselves, and indicate the need for cautious spending. The position is, of course, not any worse chan it was in 1921 and 1922, and, just as we recovered from the depressing circumstances cf those years, so we will again if we follow the right economic. course.

The story is told that when MajorGeneral R(. Young, G-.0.C. New Zealand ForcPSf was inspecting the work of the Wellington College Cadets in camp a. Trcntham this week, he approached oho of the smallest and brightest lads and was about to give a reprimand for some small military sliotcoming, when be-' was stalled off with the remark: “Please, sir, the button of your pocket is undone.”

One morning recently Innocence visited a dairy factory not- 100 miles from Gore (states the Ensign). The factory manager had reason to complain about ilie quality of the milk of a supplier. One morning the manager declined to take the milk and told the boy to take it home. Next morning the boy appeared with his supoly as usual. We.l. what did your dad say about yesterdav’s milk;” asked the manager. ‘Oli he" just told me to take the water from the spring instead of from the creek, said the boy.

“The members do not appear tc read notices put on the board,” complained Mr L. A. Abraham, secretary of the Manawatu Golf Club, at the annual meeting, when emphasising the value or publicity through the Press. Why, he addeel, “I once put up a notice on the pavilion board stating that I would aivo a sovereign to the first man who claimed it and no one did so within a fortnight. ” Amidst laughter, Mr ri R. Cooper, the president, suggested. t-hat the reason might have been' fqund m Mr Abraham’s Anyhqiv, Returned Mr Abraham, what-he had., stated was a fact.—Standard.,

As is onlj' to be expected when there is d ■‘gathering of old identities, many interesting and amusing incidents of those “good old days** are recalled, anu such was the case at the official opening of the new Rongotea school'yesterday. One of these pioneers told a good story against a playmate of his. “When all this land was covered with bush the cows had formed an annoying habit of sheltering under the trees, so that the boys had difficulty in rounding, them as their bells would hot ring. However,” said the pioneer, ‘‘this boy solved the problem with a brain wave. He covered the heads of the cow? with dripping. The result was that at the morning round-up there ryas a—jingle of bells caused by the cattle shaking off the blow-flies. ”—Times. - .

A bird’s nest made.,of human hair is something of a cunosity, and Mr J.>haiines -Anderson, the authority on bird life, confessed at his lecture last night that he had. never heard of such a thing. He said lie had seen many strange and unusual nests and had many of these in his pou-sessicn. One of the most beautiful was made of flax fibre. It was strange, he remarked, how .the instinct of the birds led them to builo the particular kind of nest and of the same materials as preceding generations of its kind had done. The mother bird did not teach the young ones, but their unerring instinct taught, them what was;..best suited for them. Mr J. AVV Gibscm, who brought the nest of hair under the lecturer’s notice, said he would be very glad to give. Mr An dersen a specimen. The nest was obtained from one of Mr Gibson’s young friends at the Boys’ Training Farm at Weraroa, where a hair-cutting session often took place. The/lecturer expressed pleasure at getting such an interesting addition to his collection and said that as soon as he saw it, he would be able to tell what bird built it.

The Christchurch Sun says: —“However presumptuous it may appear to discount the prophecy of disaster which Professor Baily Wallis, the eminent seismologist, has uttered in Sydney, it; would be unfortunate if the feeling were allowed to develop that New Zealand is on the verge of a catastrophe Both the over-optimistic and the overpessimistic attitudes are wrong. The spectacular shock of 1855 which raised the land around Port Nicholson five feet should indicate how severe a ’quake may occur, and the 2100 other shocks recorded should keep us on. the alert. Our scientists and the officials of the Seismologist’s office have a wonderful field to work in. It. is not a ease when prevention is possible, but tabulation and examination, combined with exchange of data with seismologists over tbe world, are revealing much and suggesting safeguards. But it is well known to-the discredit of the Government, that miserable treatment is being meted out to these workers. They are starved of equipment, and have no opening for remedying this defect. Tinwarning of Professor Wallis should be heeded in Parliament.”