LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 75, 19 September 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Agricultural Department is about to conduct a series of experiments with root and fodder plants at the Belfast Freezing Wbrks, Chrjstchurch, the area of land to be treated being about live acres.

Letters from Argentine state that there is an increasing tendency to breakup large estates. During the first quarter of this year land changed hands in that territory realising the huge total of over fifty millions sterling. A new fodder plant, Peruvian lucerne, is said to possess a remarkable advantage over other varieties of lucerne by reason of exceptionally heavy crops. The Victorian Department of Agriculture is importing five tons of seed for distribution.

A thirteen-year-old lad named Pat Laurie very pluckily rescued two little giris from drowning at Sumner the other morning. The younger of the girls, aged about four, fell into the water near the beacon, and her sister, aged about eight, in trying to rescue her, fell in also. Laurie went into the water without the slightest hesitation, and accomplished a prompt and plucky rescue.

A «ea-leopard, about nine feet long and- in excellent condition, took up its quarters in Mr. Paynter's paddock, near the Freezing Company's works at Stoke last Wednesday (says the Nelson Colonist), and was an object of much interest, to a number of residents. The animal is a slatey grey color, fleoked with white on the side, and a white belly. It became .rather restive when too closely approached, but was otherwise docile enough.

It is not all profit evidently running skating rinks. In a town not a hundred miles from Palmerston North this season, five pair of skates, four dozen pair of straps, and thirty-five keys were found to 1« missing when stock was taken on the closing down of the rink, which was the cheapest in the Dominion. A Greymouth resident (according to the Star) has offered to wager £5 that he can cure cancer. He has deposited the money at the Star office, accompanied by a challenge to' that effect. Should his £5 be covered, he guarantees to produce a patient suffering from cancer and cure him.

When a New Zealand fireman was brought before a magistrate at London recently, charged with assault and with destroying the teeth of another fireman, he boldly pleaded justification. "If there is any chivalry in England still," lie said, "I say I had sufficient provocation to justify me in hitting the man, I _ani a New Zealander, and out there when a lady is struck, any man will interfere on her behalf. He made a. rush at the woman, and I smacked him, but he would not have fallen only he is bad on his legs." The pica was effective. Prisoner was discharged, despite the prosecutor's exhibition of the damaged teeth.

A very old man, SO years of age, was giving evidence in the Supreme Court at Timaru recently. He was deaf and very feeble, and noticing tHis Mr. Justice Denniston ordered that a chair be brought for him to sit down. Instead of sitting in the body of the Court as is customary, the old gentleman brought the chair to the witness-box, and there knelt on it, whereupon his Honor remarked: "Would you like to come and sit beside me';" The old gentleman replied: "Oh, no, I wouldn't be good enough for your Honor," and the smile that crept over the judge's face (says the Post) was shared by everybody in the Court.

Hard times, according to certain Australians who have returned disgruntled from Canada, are being experienced in that Dominion, says the Post. With the approach of winter and the continuous influx of immigrants, there was every prospect of bitter times. A resident of Wellington, who has just returned from a sojourn in the Northern Dominion, has a somewhat different story to tell of the country's prospeetß. A generous system of railway construction is opening up huge areas of wheat lands, and closer settlement is being promoted to a large degree. Seductive terms and propositions are made to prospective immigrants, who can acquire MiO acres of excellent land practically for nothing, though certain improvements are to be effected arid residential conditions to be observed. Canada's progress to tourist eyes appears simply monotonous.

Extract from the annual report of Mr. V. Simpson, late Commissioner of Crown Lands in Taranaki:— "In the Western, central, and southern portion of the district the farmers have had a prosperous year, though the effects of the drought which prevailed in the latter part of the season was felt much more on the dairying land than on that used for other stock. The heavy dews to which this portion of the district is subject went a long way towards keeping the pastures fresh. Though bush fires did a certain amount of damage, they at the same time made clearings of more value hy reason of the fallen timber being burnt oil' that would otherwise have laid for many years. It is alleged that in some cases the system of "share milking," 'by which families having no interest in the future of the land derive a proportion of (he profits of the dairying business, is having a detrimental efl'ect upon the maintenance of the farms, in that the share-milkers being, as a rule, too self-interested to attend properly to the check' of noxious weeds and the general upkeep of the property, it becomes worn out and requires a great deal of good farming to bring it back into a healthy state again. A good deal of attention is. however, being given by practical and thoughtful farmers to top-dressing and regrassing. In the country devoted more to mixed farming or wool produce the settlers have done well. The urea felled is not so great as in previous years, probably owing to the scarcity of bushfellers, but good hums have been obtained, and there are prospects of a good growth of grass."

Several new residences are to be erect' ed almost at once in Vogeltown.

The tender of Messrs. R. Coleman and Son has been accepted if or the erection of additions to the freezing works at Moturoa.

Oti the motion of Mr. Quilliam (Govett and Quilliam) probate of the will of the late John Yiekcry has been granted by the Supreme Court to Elizabeth Ann Viekery, the executrix named in the will.

At the public meeting in the Town Hall last night, the Mayor presiding, the position regarding Leac-h street and the Railway Department was discussed, and it was decided to hand the whole of the correspondence to Mr. H. Okey, M.P., to endeavor to have the matter satisfactorily fixed up with the Minister of Railways.

The cablegT&m from the representative of the Oil Trust, Ltd. (which Ims bought the Taranaki Petroleum Company's undertaking), advising property-owners not to be in a hurry to sell oil 'options over their lands, seems to suggest that this group of capitalists is prepared to float another company. Mr. Henry must have given them a great report of Taranaki and its oil prospects. Three weeks ago Powelka made his escape from the Terrace Gaol, and so far no definite clue to his whereabouts has been picked up. A Palmerston paper mentions a rumor that I'owelka is in that district, and states that the police are guarding all the roads and bridges by night. The rumor seems to be based on the rather unsubstantial evidence that a bicycle has been stolen, larders robbed in the night time, and that someone has been camping on the river-bed. The borough turncock's staff had a busy time on Sunday. A serious leak occurred in the Avenue road -water-main early in the morning. The repairs took Mr. Smith and his men until nearly nine o'clock at night, the work during the last two hours or so having to .be carried out under very uncomfortable conditions, in the rain and darkness. Thanks to the old Mangorei road main, the town supply had not to be cut off, very few consumers suffering any inconvenience. Mr. W. A. Veitch (president of the Amalgamated Railway Society) was entertained by the local members of the society at a smoke concert on Saturday evening last, when a couple of hour's was spent in harmony, interspersed with various toasts of an appropriate nature. On Sunday afternoon Mr. Veitch addressed a large meeting of railwaymen, and in an address lasting nearly two hours he touched on many of the questions of vital importance to the members of the Railway Society, and on concluding wts accorded a hearty vote of thanks for his able and lucid address. A deputation from the King Country was introduced to the Hon. Mr. Budd'o last week by Mr. Jennings, the object being to draw the Minister's attention to a discovery by a settler (Mr. Skinner) regarding the disease of mnmmitis so prevalent in dairying districts. It was stated by Mr. Skinner that he objected to give the formula of his specific to the head of the Department, but was prepared to undertake to cure any animal that the Department liked to submit to him. Mr. Ruddo admitted that the offer was a reasonable one. and he promised to let Mr. Jennings know what he was prepared to do in the matter. In the course of an interview with a Pros reporter. Mr. R. Ellison. London manager of the National Dairy Association, who is leaving for England in a week or two, after having spent about two months in the Dominion, said that the whole of tlie Xortli"Eland is extremely dry, especially in the Wai- : kato and Taranaki. Tins, thinks Mr. Ellison, makes the outlook none too promising. At present it appears that there will be another short season. Some of those factories that have already sold butter for future delivery have cut down the amount considerably, owing to their fear that they will not be able to fulfil contracts. In Canterbury, and right away through the.South Island, he said, the conditions are even worse than in the North Island. More butter has been disposed of in the colony this season on f.o.b. sales than for a number of years past, and prices as high as ll%d per lb. have been ..offered and refused. A lot of cheese has been sold at li'/ s d per lb. f.o.b. ' -Mr. Ellison ought to take a run through Taranaki again before he leaves for London. He would find anv amount of moisture and grass.