LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 169, 26 October 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A consignment of indoor-grown straw-1 berries from Hastings realised 4s lOd per lb. at auction in Wellington. The London General Omnibus Company has disposed of 2UOU horses during the past year, owing to the replacing of the horse-drawn vehicle by the motor 'bus. The Xew South Wales Labor Ministry includes one barrister, one solicitor, one patent attorney, one shearer, one carpenter, one accountant, and one journalist. It is stated (says a Nelson paper) that the Government has practically completed arrangements for the purchase of the Stoke Orphanage property, belonging to the Roman Catholic Church. It is claimed that Eketahuna is almost the only town in Xew Zealand where' Chinese cannot get a footing. Most of the aliens who try are frozen out by lack of customers. One was burnt out —accidentally. A native named Xgapara, who has a dairy farm at Pariroa, is now milking 80 cows, and will probably add to that number next season. It is gratifying to observe the increasing interest of Maori citizens in the dairying industry.

At Waitotara a small Maori boycaught a live bullfrog in a paddock the other day, and never having seen ont: before ran home greatly excited and shouted out to his father that he hao. '•caught a, piece of live greenstone." The German Minister of Finance is proposing to raise £1,500,000 for old age pensions. One source of revenue will be made available by increasing registration fees and also the succession dues where there is not more than one heir. Mr. M. Connelly, of Temuka, from a flock of 300 four-tooth and six-tooth halfbred ewes, had a percentage of 140 lambs, and from a small flock of twotooth halfbred ewes he had a percentage of 110 lambs, also by purebred Border Leicester rams. It is claimed that this is a record breeding. The director of the Dominion Museum holds that the lvuia is almost extinct, as he and a party of Maoris have not been able to discover any even in the most remote country. It is said that a trio of Wanganui citizens saw three of these birds at the "Dress Circle" on the Pipiriki-Raetihi road. A shipment of 1,500,000 feet of Oregon pine (Foster fir) has arrived in Auckland. Such shipments will have the effect of saving our much more valuable trees for superior work. We have no timber in this Dominion that in any way competes with this American fir and nothing that can be sawn into such long lengths. A railway traveller complains that the journey from Masterton to Waihi occupied 29 hours, and that nine hours were spent at wayside stations. It is probable that it was on this section that the horticulturist asked his friend to "get out and pick some flowers." "There aren't any flowers." "No, but I've got some seeds!" The traffic returns on the North Island main lines and branches during the fourweekly period ending September 17, amounted to £110,065 against £101,390 for the corresponding period last year. Passengers accounted for £48,589 (against £42,042), parcels £BOOO (against £7552). and good 3 £579,027 (against £28,957). An interesting collection of autographs of former Governors of Xew Zealand and of distinguished visitors and residents of the Dominion, which is now in the possession of Mr. P. A. Philips, of Sydney, has been presented to the Auckland City Council as a contribution to the Auckland Art Gallery. The offer has been accepted with thanks. Last week (says the Otago Daily Times) a passenger by one of the expresses had the misfortune to lose a £2O note, which blew out of his hand on the Clmton platform. Five days afterwards it was picked up in the Clinton yard by Porter Epsie, who at once handed the note over to the police. The owner was communicated with and had the note returned to him. He suitably rewarded the porter for his honesty, and also wrote to the traffic manager in praise of the porter's trustworthiness. "The last quarter was oncof the worst for several years for the amount of sickness experienced," wrote the Taranaki Education Board's truant inspector in his report last night. Mr. Hooker stated that out of the first seventy returns that came to hand he found that 111 children had been absent through sickness 13G8 times, an average of 12 l-3rd, during the thirty-eight times tjie school had been open during the month. A man named Pievell, who was bushfelling at Uruti, met with an accident in the bush on Monday, the axe completely severing the small toe of the right foot, and severely cutting the next. The injuries were dressed by District Xurse Bilton, who considered it likely the second toe would be saved. The patient was brought into Xew Plymouth by his mates, arriving here at about 12 o'clock last night. A lady visitor to Palmerston, hailing from the United States, was in a grocer's shop there, and wished to purchase some honey. "Not Californian," she explained; "I want something better thaii that." The shopman expressed surprise. "Oh, I know all about Californian hone v v," she explained, "and lam not after" any. But 'Murica ■is all right,' she concluded; "make no mistake about that. You've a fairly good little country here, but there is no place can rub out 'Murica." A settler of the Masterton district recently called at the Stock Office ana complained that a neighbour's rabbits had trespassed on to his property. The complaint was of so original a character that the officer of the Stock Department expressed astonishment, and enquired how the settler identified his neighbour's rabbits. The reply was prompt: "He has burnt bush on his property, and I have none. The rabbits, being all black, must have come from his property to mine." Wet weather notwithstanding, there was a good attendance of ladies yesterday at the meeting called by the Mayor to make arrangements .for catering for the function at the opening of "Aotea" on the 10th prox., when the proceeds will be handed to the Beautifying Association for expenditure upon the improvement of Marsland Hill and Fort Niger. The ladies declined an offer of a caterer to provide the afternoon tea, etc., and to make a substantial concession to the Association, preferring to undertake the whole of the provisioning of and attendance upon the afternoon tea tables, and ice cream and soft drinks stalls. Several offers of assistance were received, and the ladies had no doubt whatever of 'the willingness of the public, to help in beautifying these two well-known landmarks.

It is estimated that the capital value of nil the licensed .houses in Xew Zealand is about £3,,15(i,147. The tender of Messrs. 11. Ward and Co. lias been accepted by the New Plymouth Harbor Board for the supply of ironmongery for the ensuing year. The Mayor, members of the Borougk Council and officials, have been invite* to be present at the official turning on of the Wakara water supply on Thursday afternoon. In the United States woman is fast displacing man in many occupations.' In KSiM) the number of women occupving paying positions in the States was 3,914,571: in 1!)00 the number had increased to 5.239,807. In a paddock at Fitzroy there is u •watering trough fed from the reservoir through a half-inch pipe. A gentleman on Monday found a trout four inches long and in good condition in the trough. Did the fish first conie through the pipe as an infant or a mere egg! There are thirty-nino Esquimau dogs now on Quail Island. The dogs are all in first-class condition, and they are likely to be placed on board the Terra Xova next month, quite ready for the trials and tribulations of the Antarctic. Xo great amount of preliminary training is necessary, because the Esquimau dogs take naturally to sledge-hauling.

One of the latest developments in the United States in regard to the use of dried blood as a food, is its mixture with skim milk for calves. Its digestibility and richness in proteins and the ease with which it mixes with the milk are stated to make it specially suitable for the. purpose. There has been an enormous rush of whitebait into the Buffer river, and big hauls were made. A largo quantity was sent to Wellington 'by the Arahura, The price paid is 10s per tin, and the lish fetches 30s per tin at Wellington. It is the constant complaint of the Wellington fishmongers that there is "no monev, in fish." A full measure of thanksgiving ascended to Jupiter Pluvius for his gift of yesterday, and to-day the soil, man's heritage, will lift up its head and rejoice in the form of bursting buds and tender shoots of green grass and plants. And it may also be concluded that bigger milk cheques and the weeds will give further interest to the dairy farmer and the kitchen gardener respectively In each of the following cases heard at the Magistrate's Court yesterday morning, before Messrs. G. Tisch and T. C. List, J's.P. (in the absence of the S.M.), judgment was given by default: — Govett and Quilliam v. Arthur X. Cliff, claim £0 13s 8d (costs 12s); John F. Burke v. 11. A. Prebble, claim Kis 4d (costs ss); Michael Jones v. Francis G. Lowe, claim £1 15s (costs ss); Geo. Hall and Co. v. Iris Hamilton, claim £2 12s fid (costs ss). It is generally thought that it will not be possible for the Government to get the Land Bill through this session. The leaseholders on the one hand and the freeholders on the other are prepared to give the Bill a very hot time in committee. It has been suggested that voluntary leasing should be substituted for compulsory leasing with a view to appeasing the freeholder party, but even if this were decided upon there is still enough material in the Bill to keep.the House talking for* several weeks.—Auckland Herald correspondent. Wellington Zoo people"have long sought a wife for their lonely lion, "King Dick," and have now been informed by a Johannesburg merchant who stocks the felinae. that lions are scarce, and that wild animals generally are expensive luxuries. He offers, however, to go hunting for any kind of animal required by the Wellington Zoo, if the City Council will put a price on the beasts required. It is remembered that Mr. Boyd, of Wanganui. purchased a lino of wild beasts abroad and has not yet been permitted to bring them to Xew Zealand, for fear they may get loose. They are still in Sydney, the authorities there being apparently not so nervous as our own officials.

Apropos of Lord Kitchener's cabled remarks in relation to the planning of Khartoum at the recent conference, the Daily Mail holds that some day Khar•toum will be the garden city of Africa. It has been laid out with that view. Just now the immensely wide streets are bordered only by small trees which make the hot, dusty expanse of roadway seem dustier and hotter by mocking the wayfarer, as if a thirsty man should have a thimbleful of water offered to him. But growth is rapid here. Before many years are past those saplings will spread their leafage wide, and everywhere one will walk beneath a cool canopy of whispering leaves. The men who" laid out. the town believe that in time it will be the centre of a great wheat and eottonjrrowing country, and they have made preparations accordingly. Further enquiries in fruit circles concerning the high, prices prevailing disclosed to a member of our staff some interesting particulars. A leading member of the trade an the wholesale line, in referring to our paragraph in Monday's paper, said no criterion of prices was safe: ••Your quotation of lus a case for oranges was all right then, but they were down to 14s to-day." This wan due, he pointed out, to 'the matter of the arrival of the fruit by the monthly steamer as at present. 'The same influence was felt in regard, to other fruits. Speaking of bananas, and their prices as stated by us, the merchant said a mistake had been made. He quite believed bananas would be .id a lb. wholesale shortly, but, he continued, "they have never been as high as 4%d and only 3y a d when that lot (pointing to the cases stacked around the store) was put up this morning. Would yon believe me, those same' bananas are five shillings a case higher than they were in the same shipment last year, and half a crown above any figures hitherto attained. In my opinion the destruction of the plantations in Fiji has not got. everything to do with the enhanced values, as very little of our trade comes* from there; ours'is principally Ton°an fruit; and it is not a wild-cat sch<Tm» to suggest that the traders are making the most of their competitors' loss" The set-back by frost of the Hawke's Bay gardens was. also, not looked upon as an unmixed blessing, for the reason that perhaps a more regular supply would be forthcoming during the season, instead of. as was the case last year frequent gluts in the market, followai hy a dearth of fruit. The stuff waspractically thrown away one week, with nothing to sell the next, the result being that prices remained comparatively high and the public derived no benefit. A retailer who "blew in" while the conversation was going on, confirmed the opinion of both wholesale and retail traders that a plenteous market was preferred from a business point of view. All that has been said, notwithstanding] the public will continue to pay and tryto look pleasant. Everyone that works hard enough t» perspire freely shouW wear nothing lut the "ROSLYN" unskrinkable oure-woot flannel, "Delta" finish *