Shannon News TUESDAY, JULY 5, 1927.

Shannon News, 5 July 1927, Page 2

Shannon News TUESDAY, JULY 5, 1927.

Mr. L Merwood, of Shannon, has left for Christchurch, where he has secured a position with one of the leading hairdressers'-!!! that city.

Mr A. T. White, headmaster at the Shannon School, who lias been indisposed for the past two weeks, resumed his duties yesterday. Mr Lamison, who has been a relieving teacher during Mr White’s absence, returned to Wellington on Friday evening.

The friends of Mr H. Easton, of Buckley, will be sorry to learn that he has had to enter a hospital in Palmerston North for the purpose of undergoing an operation. At the meeting of the Buckley Drainage Board on Saturday, the members passed a vote of sympathy with Mr Easton in hiß illness; together with the wish that he will have a speedy recovery to good health.

The debris which fell on the Manawatu Gorge road, when the landslide occurred last week, has far been removed as to permit of light motor traffic using the road.

Mr W. H. Field (Otaki) has given notice to ask the Minister of Health whether the time had not arrived for an investigation to be made of the increasing hospital costs in the Dominion.

When his wife appeared with- her head shingled, a Tipton, Staffordshire, man promptly announced his intention of not shaving again until she allowed her hair to grow normally.

It is only nine years ago that the total revenue of Palmerston North borough was £93,621 Is 7d., but so great has been the development since then that for the ensuing year the estimated public revenue is no lss than £200,696.

The Tatua Dairy Company received an offer for the early part of next season’s output that would enable a payment of 1/6| per lb. butterfat to be made, states a Morfinsville correspondent. The offer was not accepted.

Professor Hunziker, of the United States, one of the leading experts in the dairying industry in that country, is on a visit to the Waikato. Prof. Hunziker recently paid a visit to Australia, for research work, and is extending his visit to New Zealand.

To enable the Poverty Bay Rugby Union to take over from the Cricket Association a half-share in the. Gisborne Oval for a consideration of £3500, two prominent sheep farmers (the Poverty Bay Herald reports) have agreed to guarantee a loan of £ISOO to be obtained from the New Zealand Rugby Union.

“Who gets the benefit of price cutting?” asked Mr W. G. Reid, when speaking at. the master builders’ dinner at New Plymouth recently. “Nobody does. The man who sells soon finds himself in difficulties, and the man who buys soon finds he is getting an inferior article. Price cutting is no good to anybody.”

A sale of 400 bales of rabbit skins was held in Dunedin recently (says the Otago Daily Times). The value of thislot was estimated at £60,000, and gives an excellent indication of the revenue that the pelt of the much-despised pest is bringing into the province. As there were approximately 2500 skins in a bale it will be seen that the present estimated value of the skins is a high one —more than Is 2d each.

A paragraph has been going the rounds recently regarding the electrocution of magpies in the Wanganui district, but the latest obituary notice about these birds comes from Northern Wairoa.. A Whangarei builder, when erecting a house at Pekapejcarau, Northern Wairoa, received a consignment of window sashes, which he stacked inside the new building preparatory to fitting them at the beginning of the month. During his absence over the week-end four magpies made a meal of the soft putty filling, with the result that the birds bad a quick death.

The Cawthron Institute has been making a number of tests in the direction of combating the ragwort menace, and is now able to report that its experiments with the Cuinebar moth (tyria Jacobueat) promise to prove ao successful that it is hoped to get an “open permit” about December, enabling the institute to supply large numbers of the Tyria all over the Dominion. Pending absolute success, with its attendant athurity to release the moth, these, in common with all other experimental insects, are strictly confined to the iusectaries.

A magical word is “sale.” At least it has its lure, for a Wanganui woman was waiting outside a shop at 2 o’clock the other morning in readiness for .the opening of a sale at the store.

The successful acclimatisation in the Whangarei district of a species of ladybird beetle that is actively controlling mealy-bug, an insect that causes heavy losses in Auckland orchards, was reported to the Auckland'Fruitgrowers’ Council.

One of the Acclimatisation Society’s rangers made a big haul near Dargaville on Sunday, when he caught nine illicit sliootists. Some had pheasants without being the owner of a license, While others had hen pheasants in their possession.

A commercial traveller who has just completed a tour of the Waikato, says that the improved position in the dairy produce market is already being felt in that district and both tradespeople and settlers are looking much more cheerful and with more confidence to the future.

‘‘l hope that this council will take the bull by the horns,” exclaimed the Mayor of Christchurch (Rev. J. K. Archer) one evening last week in urging upon the City Council the necessity of a municipal milk supply. A roar of laughter greeted this effort, which followed the Mayor’s assertion that he had spent his boyhood days on a farm.

Answering a deputation which presented a petition signed by 2070 women electors, the Minister of Health, the Hon. J. A. Young, at Hamilton, this week, declares his opposition to the State Control issue remaining on thelicensing poll ballot paper. He also did not favour preferential voting and said he was pledged to oppose any extension of the time between the polls.

The conservation of the whitebait industry was discussed at a meeting of the Auckland Acclimatisation Society, when it was said that a letter had been received from the- Marine Department stating that the one really big difficulty which presented itself was the fact that the whitebait run occurred in rivers at different times. An endeavour vould be made, however, to attend to the matter.

For the twentieth year in succession bees have appeared in the school clock at Micheldever, a village near Winchester. Efforts have been made to get rid of them, for they wind their honey round the clock’s works. They have been smoked out and their home ereosoted without result, and when the hole in the mortar by which they entered was cemented. uj), they bored through the cement again. Recently the clock was removed to be overhauled, and sheets of zinc were set up behind each of its four faces. . Despite, this, the bees, which had formerly Only, peared on the south and east ‘faces,, have this year taken over'the north face as well. Nearly 1 cwt. of honey has been removed from the clock’s works. ’

Very few laymen can - understand why a tree-perching bird does ;ixdt fall off a slender branch when it goes -to; sleep and becomes unconscious. The answer is that it cannot. The bending of the knees in the act of sitting down tightens the muscles of the toes in sueh a way as virtually to lock the sleeping bird to its perch and it eannot leave until they are stx-aightened and the muscles of the toes are relaxed. Another phase of the matter which puzzles the popular mind is why do birds puff dut their plumage Iwhen going to sleep. This is done in order to retain the heat of their bodies. Air is a bad conductor and by entangling a certain amount of it between their feathers it is kept still and acts the part of a wrapper.

Ten thousand rabbit skins were in the plant of Tasmanian Fur Traders, Ltd., in Hobart, when the machinery was set in operation on June 15 by the Mayor. When the electric energy was switched on 80 machines were set in motion. The Attorney-General (Mr Ogilvie) congratulated the company on behalf of the Ministry. One ot the most pleasing features, he said, was that the promoters had brought it into being without assistance from the Ministry or the taxpayers. The company will manufacture coney seal skin from rabbit skins. The initial output will be at the rate of about 500,000 skins a year. Tasmania .‘at present exports about 6,000,000 rabbit skins. In addition, wallaby and opossum skins will be turned into finished products.

Ireland seems to be the latest one to contemplate butter control, as a scheme for the centralised marketing of‘lrish creamery butter in Great Britain and Ireland has recently been completed under the auspices of the Irish Agricultural Organisation Society. A central Board is to be set up, and its powers are reported to be somewhat similar to those of the New Zealand Control Board. Already a number of groceiy and provision trade associations in Great Britain have passed resolutions welcoming any scheme to standardise the quality of Irish butter, but strongly protesting against the adoption of any scheme of price control or restricted marketing as likely to destroy the goodwill now existing between those engaged in the trade.

A writer in the Christchurch Press, in comparing the recent snow-falls to those of 60 years ago, says: “Those were late threshing days, and after heavy sou-westers such as we don’t get now, for a week at a time, the snow fell. The stacks were loaded with it, and when the weather was fine enough to thresh, the snow was- shovelled off to let the stacks, dry. .Those, were farming days, the memory of which should make farmers of nowadays thankful. When I see the bus call for school children, I think of three lailes of the road I had to travel. Glad to run along'the top of a sod fence to keep out of long tussocks as high as myself. Part of the way jumping from nigger head to nigger head to cross the swamp. Now I wonder if these, well-cared-for children will make the tardy folk we old ones did.”

The other day an advertiser put an advferfisemerit in the Taranaki. Herald fox' a girl to assist: in' a siiop./; /At noon he telephoned to ask that it should not be repeated, as he hdd, already had over 100 applicants. :

At the Dunedin Public Library Mr McEwan has .on. view, an interesting relic of the penal laws of “the good old days, ” says .the Otago Daily Times. This, is a free .pardon granted to two women in 1842, one of whom had been sentenced to.seven years’ transportation for larceny. ..The. pardon; bears a fine signature of Queen-Victoria, then only 22 years of age.

While the curling season lias started in Central Otago, the Cambrian- Club, which has been very successful at past .bonspeils, is seriously handicapped by the loss of three pair of curling stones (says the Otago Daily Times). These have bene removed from the roadside near; the Caxubrian curling, dam, presumably -from curiosity or want of thought, by... some persons tourings through the district. The stones -fire valued at about’ £3O, and can be of-no use to non-curlers, and unfortunately they, cannot be replaced, in New Zealand. ... /

Will the severe weather at presentbeing -experienced in'Ndrth Otago-put an end to the' ravages of the grass grub? In the opinion of some settlers it will (says the Otago Daily Times). Others aver- that this gi ub eari survive the most intense cold; In support'of the’ latter contention it is pointed out that some years ago a eld'd of.earth that was full of the grass grub was.placed in .the freezing chamber "at the PUkeuri freezing works, where it remaiiie’d for some time. When it was removed and broken up, it was discovered that the grubs were as lively, as crickets. 1 * .3-

A single, seed, no bigger than a pea, has been .planted at the Royal Botanic Society’s gardens at Regent’s Park, London. "In the space• of fbur months it will coiripletely cover the surface of alx’indoor pond with’flowers as big as dinner plates and leaves' eight feet long. . The . seed is, from-., the Victoria regia, a water lily from tlie-Ri*ver Amazon. ; When it first blooms if lifts a dazzlingly white, and shiniijg .face, foxmoths and other lright-flyiiig inse’ets to kiss. Not content “Witlr its’ ’ nobturnal conquests, it changes.eolouFld a."viyid red when dawn' comes;’ and so lixres to its fragrant beauty the infatuated butterflies and bees." ; ' T • •

'•'•Three boys were dealt’’with "in the ; : a" series of changes of/'breaking ’ and entering’arid theft’in New Plymouth during the 'past three rilontlus., The .places entered were the Kawafoa Bungalow/Rr&nsgrove’s, arid George’s pjrele 'shop, and. the goods' stolen amounted! to ai value of-£l6 153. 'The ages' of the ’.boys ranged from; i4s years to. 15$ years.' Two .of them were ,sept to the lAVeia'roa-Tfaining Farm, arijl file other •whs plaeed 1 under the* supervision of the Child’ Welfare 1 Officer 4 for ’a- period of two yea-i'k. 'The- -parents were 7 ordered tir make restitution of. the'value of the gbods stolen. "■'• -

/Two fox 'terriers,- hunting in pairs, hiive been doing /serious damage to poultry runs iri Feilding during the past’ few days. At one dwelling they killed the whole pen of 11 laying hens, which the owner valued at a guinea each. • Iri another case both fowls and ducks were killed. Trie terriers were seen at their destructive work, hut very quiekly niade -x>ff when an endeavour was xhade to capture them. Sheep have also come within their depredations.

Lord Fisher, addressing his ship’s company on one occasion, took particular care to impress upon them that they should avoid, quarelling and brawling. “If,” he said, “at an inn a civilian should try to make a quarrel, the wellconducted sailor should drink up his beer, and go quietly away.” After the lecture, he questioned the men, to see if they had understood him. “Now Smith,” he said, “supposing you were at an inn, and a civilian should try to quarrel with you what would you do?” “I should drink up ‘is beer, and ’ook it, sir,” was the astonishing reply.

A writer in the Christehureli Press says: —The situation regarding the taxation of raeing is not generally appreciated. When Mr Massey was in financial trouble be approached the racing authorities and said that lie must have £200,000 a year out of racing as a temporary measure. He was told thatnot only would we .find the amount, bnt we would show him how to get it. We created the Frankenstein monster which is devouring us. Last year the direct taxation amounted to £489,546 and local rates £8543.' The word temporary seems to have been. forgotten. It is obvious that the racing community, who probably do not include 20 per cent, of the population, cannot continue to bear this burden.

The physical properties of magnets are well-known —how they attract steel particles and convert them also into perfect magnets with equal. powers .of attraction. “Magnetism” will be the subject of .the Rev. J. D; McArthur's sermon ait the Century Hall on Sunday evening—the . Spiritual magnetism of Christ Who said:, “If-1 be’ lifted up I will draw all men unto me. ” The morning subject will be the third of the series upon the lives of the disciples, viz., Andrew. Mrs T. F. Gibson will sing a solo in the morning and the choir will render an anthem in the evening.. ■

During his search for new business for the railways in South Auckland territory Mr A. W. Wellsted, business agent, recently . found a community where .the railwaynjen had applied the proverf? “charity begins at home ” in a practical form. On learning that the local storekeepers-were not patronising the railway, for the carriagfe of goods, in spite of a reduced rate, -they quietly severed their’patronage from all local stores and ; arrai)g4d for a continuous supply of goods, including,. groceries, from • Auckland, stipulating that allsuch goddfl-'iafist.ibe .sent by rail. “The storekeepers; are 'reported to be making overtures for. ;a"i;esumption bf : the lost patronage,., which :wai worth- about £3OO a month.