LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVII, Issue 24, 29 September 1913, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Feikling Beautifying Society celebrates to-morrow as Kowhai Daj The trees are unusually gorgeous. •states a Press Association message.

In all probability by October 1 (says the Grey River Argus) the Mildand railway will be opened as fas as Alpine Creek, about a mile on the Canterbury side of Bealey Flat, If this it accomplished there will be nothing tc stop a "one-day service" between -the West Coast and Canterbury and vice versa. . ~ ,■

Milking machines were supposed to be quite a new thing, say fifteen or jwenty years ago, ; but from a ; para-, graph which' appeared in the Herald on September 26, 1863;, taken; from the Wanganui Chronicle, of a days earlier, it would appear that there were milking machines (of a kind) in those days. The paragraph ■ state* that at a "sale of the wreck of the Prince Alfred a dozen "Patent Cowmilking Machines" (being the first appearance of the article in the district) were Offered,' bufi' purchasers were rather shy of the'novelty, as only six w6fe sold' at a few shillings advance on the English retail price.'

It is very apparent jthat the present genial spring is suitmg the cows well from the. fact that the Stratford Dairy Co. is at present, making Sjf boxes of butter per day, which is about fourteen boxes more than war made at the corresponding date las year. Another fact which should prov highly satisfactory to -shareholders if that the Company's output has beer sold to Messrs Nathan and Co. at thexcellent price of a shilling per pound

Over fifty young men gathered at the social given last week in the Parish Hal: under the auspices of the C.E.M.S., a fair number of those present being strangers. Songs wen contributed by Messrs Harvie, J. H. Thompson, Hale, Wilson and. Revs Butler and Houchen. A violin tod cello duet was played by Messrs C Penn and Everiss, and Mr Kimberlev contributed some imitations. The accompaniments were played bj Messrs. Thompson, Pike, and Hale. The evening was wound up with a pleasant little hachelors' supper.

North Otago is suffering at the present time from a small plague of fleas (says, the North Otago Times). It is supposed that the recent moist weather has had some effect on their increase. Whatever it is fleas 'can be found in most unaccountable places, and there are a good many of them. Some years ago the Upper Waitaki was visited by a plague of fleas that settled down on the land far thicker than the African or South American locust. The season has not advanced far enough to let us know what the present visit is to be like.

Tidings of life on Fabre Island, located on the best maps as a clot to the north of Noumea, were brought on Thursday morning by the barque Thora, which arrived with a cargo of guano for Auckland. The inhabitants of the island, which is about 700 yards square, are two whites and fifty natives. The whites seem to be content to live their lives far from the mad-ding-crowd, while the natives evidently find the propulsion of a rake of sufficient interest to occupy their whole attention. Needless to say the crew of the Thora are glad to get back to civilisation after a three months' voy-