LOCAL AND GENERAL

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 263, 16 April 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

According to the Manawatu Ilern Id the sale has taken place of seven hundred acres of Mr Hammond's farm at Moutoa to Mr J. Chrystal, who intends to cut it up. The price was about £17,000.

The official opening of the Palmerston Old People's Home was performed bv the Hon. R. Heaton-Ithodes vesterdav. in the urosence of a large assemblage. The home is ope of the largest and most up-to-date in the Dominion. —Press Association.

Mr T. W. Lonsdale, manager of the Moumahaki State Farm, starts on an interesting mission next week, namely, the judging of 110 fewer than 33 fare's, entries from which have been received in connection with the Hawera Winder SliJw competitions.

The three boys, Jones, De Cossey and Carson, who disappeared from Levin, were found by the .police at the People's Palace, in Auckland, on Wednesday. They had £S when they arrived in Auckland on Friday, but had since spent their cash in reckless fashion.

The annual meeting of St. Mary's Sunday School was held on Tuesday evening, there being a large attendance of teachers. It was shown that the Sunday School was in a flourishing condition. An executive Committee wa& appointed to control Sunday School affairs and a social committee appointed.

>A Dunedin telegram states that butter has risen a penny per pound retail. The price is now Is sd, the second rise in a fortnight. The rise is attributed to the abnormal demand for cheese for army supply and the consequent big advance in price causing factories to increase their efforts in the direction of cheese-making.

Mr, 0. N. Firth, secretary of the Taranaki Acclimatisation Society, has received a copy of the latest Gazette declaring the shooting season for 1915, \vhie:i will open on iMay Ist. Shooting paradise duck and native pigeons is absolutely prohibited, the season being for cock pheasants, quail, grey and teal duck, and black swau.

Messrs Lewis and Co., land, agents, Wanganui, report a good demand for dairy farms this season. The followin? are some of the sales recently effected liv them: —12(i acres Beaconsfield Road, 10.1 acre.; Bell Block, 340 acres Taatraimaka, 287 acres Ilurleyvillc, 177 acres Barrett Road, 42 acres Wcstmere, 520 acres Kaponga. 129 acres Kent lload, 1(H) acres Waitotara.

An Australian soldier, writing from Egypt, gets in one for Mr Martin Doiuilioe, the .Sydney pressman, who has made a name for himself on the battlefields of Europe as correspondent for the London Chronicle. "What did you think of your leaders?" he asked one of the Turkish prisoners. "Well" said the barbarous Turk, in excellent English, "as Martin Donohoe said, some of them couldn't manage a circus, let alone an army."

A certain sum is contributed from St. Mary's Parish every year to the Melanesian Mission, and the Sunday School teachers have undertaken to be responsible for the increasing of this amount to £IOO a year, which sum will pay tlie stipend of a missionary. By so doing tliev will have the right to name a clergyman, who will nominally be attached to the parish. In all probability the Rev. F. A. Crawshaw, who is shortly returning to Norfolk Island, will be miminalcd as their curate on foreign service.

The spread of noxious weeds has been viewed with considerable alarm of late years in various parts of 'Parana ki, and many experiments have been made with :i view to providing some sure and inexpensive method of eradication. Mr. 11. Lett, a fanner, of Pungarelm, has been experimenting for many years to this end, and lias now produced a preparation which he claims will kill blackberry, ragwort, penny royal, fat hen or any noxious weed at all. Settlers of the district express themselves as highly delighted with the results obtained during tho past three months. Mr. Lett intends to conduct, further experiments.

"Whey is not worth carting home. It will rust your cans in two seasons. Tt will kill all your calves and pigs. Last season I commenced feeding with wliev two litters of weaner pigs, aged eight weeks, and within twenty days everv pig was dead."—Kxerpt from a letter forwarded by a supplier to a proprietary cheese factory and read at the Okato factory meeting yesterday. Tt did not frighten many shareholders, as the meeting, which was called to discuss the manufacture of cheese next season, carried a resolution in favor of that project.

A meeting of the West Eng Foreshore ImproTcment Committee wag held lasf, night, Mr. A. 0. Sykea (president) in the chair. It vras reported that the Citizens' Band had now withdrawn its offer (which had heen accepted) to sell the collection of grotesque heads to the society, and had also notified that their sale could he effected only suhjest to promises made to lend the outf't to one or two local institutions. It was unanimously decided not to conduct anv further negotiations, but to make arrangements for some fresh revenue and fun-making paraphernalia. Accounts amounting to £sl were ipasscd for payment, and the chairman announced that, after payment of all liabilities there remained a credit Tmlanco of £77. The resignation of Mr. Staples, who is lewing New Plymouth shortly, was accepted with regret.

, Traffic via Archangel (a Banish correspondent writes on January 6) being kept open, thanks to the three irebreakers which the Russian authorities hare purchased from Canada, and of which the last arrived at its destination about the middle of December. Tn. spite of the frost, whicli of late has oeeii as much as 15-lfideg Centigrade, hop?s are entertained that the port may bo kept open for the greater portion cf January. Some optimists even think an inlet can be kept open throughout the winter. In the last week of the o!<l year about a score of vessels passed Tinmarkcn eastward bound', all fully loaded, mostly with material for t!n> Oovornnipnt. The last vessels taming from the White Sea wore principally loaded with butter, eggs, etc. The scls cannot - get right up to Archangel, but have to discharge at tlio edge of Hie ice, the draught of the ice-breakers being too great to allow of their working' right up to the town. All this means a new departure in the shipping annals of Archangel, as the port wit.iout those efforts would have closed long ago.