LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 360, 11 April 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Mr Newton King has' received the following cable from liis Sydney agent re hides: "Prices firmer." At the conclusion of the concert by "The .Besses o' tit'' Barn*'' Band on Saturday night the visitors were entertained by the Taranaki Garrison Band at a smoke concert.

The influence of occupation on a man was never better illustrated than in a case under our notice where a local chemist received an order for "a good fcair-brush with long hair on it. None of your Romneys for me." Needless to add the customer was a sheep-farmer. Sir Thos. McCaughey, Coonong (New South Wales), used to be Australia's sheep king, with 1,000,000 sheep, but of late years he has reduced his flocks. The distinction now belongs to Mr, Jowett, whose properties are mostly in Queensland. Next year, bar droughts, he will I own a million sheep.

A small, block of land north of Auckland, covered with katari forest, was recently sold by the native owners for £SOO to a European, who a few months ago disposed of it for £2OOO. The Wairoa Guardian says the present owner now wants £20,000 for his property, and has announced his intention of putting in a mill to cut out the kauri, rather than sell for less. The ringing of the central firebeil on Friday night was sufficiently vigorous to announce the destruction of half the town. But there was no signal to indicate in which ward the fire was'. Thus many business men residing in the Suburbs, failing to discover from the Dell signal the location of the conflagration, had to make a trip in to sec that their premises were safe.

The difficulty of securing teachers for country schools will, in the opinion of the Minister of Education (the Hon. G. Fowlds), decrease when the provisions of the last Act are jn proper working operation. The number of scholars requiring a seconcj teacher for a school had been altered from forty-one to thirty-six, and the salaries now paid to teachers in New Zealand, he said, were far more liberal than those of any other country in the world, and parVcularly was this so in regard to smaller scliools. An increase had also been made in the number of students admitted to tlin training colleges, and that should i!?o have the effect of making more '■oachers available.

A horse provided some excitement in town on Saturday, purchased at the cost of its life. The animal started out lrom town quietly enough, driven by Mr. Andrew Neilson, a resident of the Hospital road. Mrs. Neilson was also in the vehicle. When near Scrivener's store the horse played up and threw t'he occupants on to the street. Then he turned his head for town again, for he had up till recently been a "stable" liorsfe. On the way the gig l and the steed parted company. He turned down Lianlet street, galloped down Gill street hi to Ciirrie street, and thence into Devon street, colliding at Sole's corner with a gig driven by a ladv, and breaking the shaft of the vehicle. Down Devon street he raced to the centre of the town, where he dashed into Brougham street, thence along King street into Egmont street, ending up his mad career at Jury's) stables, much knocked about. He has since died from his injuries.

A striking instance of the ?ood e/T.v-t of pigs upon an orchard is reported from Mildura. Mr. H. Jacobs, whose trees had begun to give poor viphK recognised that the soil had become harsh in texture, and believing the re-uH to be due to the washing out of th> humus or vegetable mould, erected movable enclosures in the orchaul, and parried out a system of hurdling pigs fox the pur pose of improving the soil Five years ago the lemon orchard returned only £5, but this season the crop amounted to 17 tons, selling for £250. Trees which were almost dead quickly revived under this treatment, and each year the yield of the orchard increased. A larse number of pigs are kept between the trees, as means of manuring the Orchard, with the remarkable result already stated. In addition to the <rain derived from the increased yield of the lemon trees, fhe return from the pi»s alone is said to be equal to £lO per acre of land per annum.

Members of Wo Eouitsbl- Ruildin« Rnpfetv of New Plymouth (First and Second Orouns) are notified that subscripting will tv div and navahle today (Monday), at the Secretary Office, Currie-street. from 9 aim. to 12.30. from 1 n.m. to 5 p.m., and 7 p.m. to 9 u.m Advt..

Tf you want visiting ci'ds. niomorium cards, billheads dance 71 (grammes. invitation cards, or anvlhi' c in fh P \ V{l v of printing, ring up th* 'Daily News," 'phone 17

The Department of I.and- ha> arranged to open for selection 17.<HHJ acres of the ir-'imki Plains estate 'Hi the optional svstem on lfit'i Mav.

Mr. J, firant, of Taiporohemii. returned from his trip to Sydney (whither he hail been with a consignment of horse-) on Thursday evening. <>: i the hont by which Mr. (Irint sailed there were nbout horses, and ino-r of the vendors expressed themselves at being fairly well satisfied with the market results. "Mr. Orant himself hail hard luck ill losing a valuable lilly, which had contracted ,?meuin"niii abo'.it twelve hours after landing in Sydney.

•• A former resident of Christchurch. now Ai Pretoria, states that Pretoria at the present time is going ahead like wildlife. A new post oflice is being bui!'. aNo a fine block of buildings for the ("nion offices. ''This time next year," tile writer continues, ''llo' one will recoupi-e the place. I don't know what tV I bru-k----veldters will sav when they come into town and see the electric cars running along where their oxen transport um\l to travel in the old days. They thought motor cars were bad enough." Farmers in both America and Australia use molasses to a very considerable extent in the rations given their stock. In Australia particularly the molasses has been found invaluable in seasons of drought, straw that would otherwise have been of little use as a fodder, when sprinkled with molasses, having been devoured greedilv by the stock. Experiments have shown that its fattening qualities* are considerable, and local farmers might well take into consideration the question of adopting it as a part ration for their stock.

Last week a daughter of Mr L. R. McFadven, of Cilenifl'er, was admitted to a private hospital iirßellingen (.V.s.-V.) suffering from a very bad leg. caused by a rooster spurring her on the side of the knee. It appears that the giri., who is about 11 years of age. was feeding some pet chickens in a box\ when the mother o'f the chickens also jumped lip. The child attempted t<f heat the hen back. An old rooster (lew at the girl, with the result that he spurred her on the side of the knee, the point of the spur entering the joint of the knee. The unfortunate child has been suffering intense agony, septic poisoning having set in. Dr. Myles is doubtful about her ever regaining the us'e of her leg. Recently an automobilist ran down and killed a hen in suburban Philadelphia. Instead of racing along, unmindful of the grief of the owners of that lien, lie immediately stopped, got out, tenderly picked up the unfortunate fowl and rang the doorbell of the farmhouse from the vicinity from which it had emerged. A woman opened the door. "I am very sorry to inform you." remarked the automobilist, "that 1 have unintentionally killed this hen of yours.' He held the fowl up to her view. "Xow I am quite willing to pay whatever the value " But she checked him with this joyous exclamation: "Oh, I'm so much obliged to you. I've been trying to catch that hen for three days to cook it for dinner, and I never could so much as lay a hand on the peskv thing. Thank von. sir: thank you."

The Waimate Witness falls foul of the suggestion that each member of Parliament should give "ail account of his stewardship after the session." 'nine people—a good 'many people, in fact—says our contemporary, labor under v»e delusion that in sending a man to Parliament as their representative they are placing him under a debt of obligation and that it is his duty on all occasions, public and private, to show-by hi* speech and demeanor his deep sense nl the gratitude he owes to his masters, the public. Further on we rend:—A member of Parliament is frequently too good for the kind of work lie is often called upon to do. The work lip finds himself very often called upon to do is not in anv sense of the wo-i Parliamentary or national work, and the kind of influences and minions and he has to contend with ore i-st-illy of the pettiest and most contemptib!' kind. And, in addition to all this, it is thought necessary that he should be further humiliated by being compelled to sinnear publicly a couple of times a venr and himself and his opinions for examination and approval to people, one half of whom are too ignorant to understand what he is talking about and ■the other half are there merely because n't is thought necessary to keep nn n pretence of electoral authority. Tt i* about time that members refused to submit to the humiliating shnni. A member of Parliament should be Mie master of his own mind end the maker of his own opinions during +lie Ihree years for which he is elected nm i ; s under no obligation to f*ivrf his con = tituents anv account of his stewonHin. is it is called, or an explanation of hi* actions.