Shannon News FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1929.

Shannon News, 8 November 1929, Page 2

Shannon News FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1929.

Owing to tilic Manawatu A. and P.Show the motor traffic through Shannon on Wednesday and Thursday was very heavy.

The friends of Mr Chas. Baird, who is lyiing seriously ill in the Palmerston North Hospital, will regret to hear that is condition is such as to cause grave anxiety.

Guy Fawkes Day was celebrated in Shannon by the' small boys, who, during the day canvassed householders with weird effigies to secure pennies to further mark the occasion. In the evening numerous bonfires were to be seen and the letting off of fireworks could be heard in all direction.

The Commissioner of Taxes draws the attention of taxpayers to the notification appearing in to-day’s issue'that •the due date of payment of Ordinary Land-tax for the -current year is on Thursday, the 21st day of November, ]929, aiid that the demands will be posted on or about the Bth day of November. The due -date.for payment of Special Land-tax is the 28th iday of: February, 1930, and demands will be posted on or about the 21st day of February, 1930.

A meeting of the Girl Guides’ Committee was held in the Women’s Institute room on Wednesday evening to discuss ways and means as regards funds for the First Shannon Company, as it is evident that the movement is here to stay. Eighteen new members attended tlm, company meeting on Wednesday, with every intention of joining up "with the* Guides, who have been in training during the last, few months. It was to assist generally that the Committee met and after a full discussion it was dually -decided to hold a “shop day” on Saturday, December 7th, when a generous supply of cakes, vegetables, sweets, and other commodities will be available for sale.

Last evening the Labour Party’s weekly euchre tourney was held in Lau.rvig’s Hall, the proceeds being donated to the newly-formed Shannon Cricket Club. Seventy-two players took part and as a result the Club will benefit to the extent of £7 Ss Gd. The following were the winners:—Mrs Mabey 1, Miss E. McKenzie 2, Mrs Bass 3. Gents: Mr Mabey 1, Mr McLaggan 2, Mr F. Peach 3. Those to qualify to compete for the geld watch to be played next week are Mcsdamcs Radford, Sntherley, Fuller, Miss D. Picard, Messrs G. Hook, W'. Picard, J. Osborne, and F. Buckman. The winner of the Cricket Club’s competition for the cake was announced, iMr J. Smith, of Central Cainp, being' the lucky one. The competition realised the sum of £5.

The monthly meeting of the Shannon branch of the Plunket Society was held in the Plunket- room, Stout Street, on Monday evening. There was a very good attendance, those present being: Mesdamea Clifford-Jones (president), C. Easton, Waring-Taylor, E. J. S. Spencer, Aim, Croiiquest, Cole, Bass, McKenzie, Fell, Edginton, and G. B. Taylor (secretary). Apologies for absence were received from Mesdames Hudson, Hyde, Mark and McCullough. The usual routine business was dealt with, Nurse Norris’ report for October being most encouraging, the number of visits to the room for the month being 130. Tlie figures are:—Adults lo room 63, babies to room 57, older children .10. It was decided to forward an application next month' to tin trustees of the McCarthy trust for a grant from the next, allocation of funds.

Mcyor R. D. Dansey, who has taken a keen interest in the matter of raising tobacco at Rotorua,/says that the Maoris propose to eut down the acreage this season in order to concentrate upon quality, and thoroughly to educate the growers so that they will have the necessary expoi'ience to (go in for the industry on a larger scale when the market lias been stabilised, which, it is expected will take two or three years.

Tin* Fiji Government yacht Adi Beti sailed under “sealed orders”’ full fuelled and provisioned, as for m fairly long voyage. Upon making inquiry at the various Departments connected either with the ve!ssel nr with such missions, no explanation could be found for the voyage. It i s alleged, upon reliable semi-official information, that lilie German cruiser Emden, while visiting an out-lying island, landed a quantity of liquor for the use of a Germain 'plantor. As this was quite contrary to all International usage, as well as the loc'al law, the Government decided that the go'odis should be ground “for further -action.” Ilow drastic this may be “will depclnd,” als the little boy said, as large interests mav be affected. The whole affair is full of all sorts of queer possibilities, including a demand from Germany of an explanation, 'should the allegation be tho truth. —Auckland Star special ’

“Eight years ago this business had 800 country 'accounts. To-day it ha 3 4200,” said a Wanganui retailer the other day. “This, to my mind, disproves the suggestion that Wanganui is losing its country business to other towns. I am not generalising; 'my assertion is a fact which I can prove.”

The opinion was expressed to a Wan-o-anui Chronicle reporter the other day by Mr W. Ritchie, ox West-mere, that top-dressing with fertilisers had been the salvation of farmers along that coast. He held that the land had reached its maximum of productivity under normal conditions, and fertilisers were needed to stimulate it. ' Last' year a Wanganui photogrrapher, in compiling a film for the Government Publicity Department, took a portion of a market garden at Mosston, which included a tomato crop. A few days ago the owner was surprised to receive a letter from a niece in Scotland, stating that she attended a picture theatre, amid one of the New Zealand films was shown, in which she recognised her aunt standing in the garden.

“I have heard of commercial travellers going into small towns and clearing £7O by selling patent medicines,” said Dr. E. Mansden, of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, in a lecture at Auckland on “Avenue's of Waste.” lie added that the inferior quality of some of the patent medicines involved the country in tremendous waste if the’ loss was aggregated.

Mr James Parkinson, of Opotiki, has given some interesting figures concerning a cow from his herd of registered Milking Shorthorns, which have lately finished their official herd test for 365 days. Pine Farm Letty 11., five years, produced 666.51 bof butter-fat for the period stated. At butter-fat on last season’s basis of Is 7d per lb, this animal 'alone has added over £52 15s to the Pine Farm exchequer. ’

Accordling to one Napier hair-dress-er, many young ladies who were allowing tlie'ir locks to grow with the idea of returning ‘to the long-hair fashion, are now having itheir hair cut short again. “Most girls prefer the short hair,” he remarked, “and those who would rather have it long seem to get tired of waiting for it to grow past the ugly intermediate stage, and in something of sheer desperation have it cut short; again. ’ ’

There is money in tulips. A LowtfV Hutt grower sent 16 boxes of these graceful bloonns into the Wellington market last week. Each box contained 12 bunches of 12 blooms each, and better thaln Is per bunch was received for them, as only box lots were sold at Is 6d a bunch. Any- less number brought la 9d. Even averaging then-, at Is 6d per bunch, the return for one day’s tulips would be £l4, and they have been coming in regularly every day for a fortnight past.

It may not be generally known that Levin 'occupies a pivotal position in New Zealand. Although it is not the geographical centre, i't stands midway in another sense, as three-quarters of a millidin of the population are to the north of it and the same number to the s'outh. This fact was brought out by Mr W. G. Adkin, one of the oldest residents, 'alt *a welcome to Miss Jennie Street, of the British Christian Endeavour Union, who vilsited Levin during the week-end. Miss Street, in her response to the welcome, spoke in high terms of the appearance and situation of the town, and characterised the public ganldiens as delightful.

lai Manchester there is a clock which is remarkable for its accuracy. It gains only 19.33 seconds every year. Many people- wonder why it cannot be adjusted to keep perfect time. The reason is that it 'would be impOslsiblo t > make such a small adjustment. Theiv are 31,500,000 seconds in a year. The clock gains, roughly, twelmty seconds a ve'ar; that is to say it varies from true accuracy by 1-3,575,000't1i part of a second every second. The pendulum of ft' clock swings once every second ..through an aivc of a l ,bout lfin., no that to I' duce the clock to true accuracy it would be necessary to find a weight—■ 'and also its correct position on the pendulum —isniall enough to increase the swing of the pendulum .by 1-1575,000 th part of 15-in.

The friendly help of neighbours has got a New Plymouth family out of a serious difficulty. , During the recent gale . a partially completed house in which the family was 'living was blown down, alud the furniture wais badly damaged. Later in the day, when the gale had 'subsided, two or three neighbours arrived with claw hammers, and without the slightest fuss proceeded to dismantle the remains of the fallen buildings and to stack the timber and iron neatly at the sides. Next day more helpers arrived, and throughout the week-end many willing hands built a new dwelling. The householder and his family are recent arrivals from Tasmania. Needless to say, they are very grateful for the assistance that has been given them.