DISTRICT NEWS

Taranaki Daily News, 13 March 1917, Page 3

DISTRICT NEWS

IN ANG A-FUKEXG A ITU. ]_ t r (From Our Own Correspondents). j The spell of dry weather we are now experiencing is beginning to cause our locality to lose its verdant appearance t and take on a more sombre hue, but so ( far it is causing no injury to anyone. Most of the farmers around here are taking tiir\e by tile forelock, and in all ( their spare time are busy stumping and j burning off to prepare the land for next , season's cropping. ( Swede and mangel crops are looking , exceptionally well at present. , A meeting is to be held shortly to de- | cide whether a casein plan is to be installed 3 the local creamery. The time seems a bit inopportune to launch out and expend a few hundred"pounds when ( the British Government has forbidden the import of so many articles a3 were considered necessities at one time. Before casein plants are installed it would be as ivell to consult the Agricultural Department, as I had a hint from one of the officials of the Agricultural Department that the ' Government is not likely to allow the manufacture of any non-food product which will curtail the rearing of calves of pigs. The probability is that casein having advanced rapidly in price since the war, it will be subject to a 45 per cent, tax or heavy export duty. As stock are being depleted all over the world and meat is almost at prohibitive prices here as well as other parts of the world, the manufacture of casein could well be postponed until the world's market for meat again becomes normal. Then if the butter factories wish to go in for casein let Stratford, Midhirst, Maketawa and Inglewood unite and erect a cental factory for the drying of the curd and preparing for export, and thereby eliminate the middleman. At present it does not seem a wise proposition for Taranaki to send the curd to Wanganui to prepare it for export when there is a ehanr-p to get large liners berthed at Now Plymouth.

LEPPERTON. Those who attended the demonstration given here on Thursday Inst by a visiting team from the Xorth Taranaki branch of the Royal Life-saving Society were delighted with what they saw. The team, consisting of Messrs N. C. C'hristensen, X. Winter and W. Davis, after showing methods of rescue, release and resuscitation on dry land, rcpeat/d their performances in the water, aftei which Mr. Christensen gave an exhibition of fancy swimming, winch delighted th© onlookers, both adult and juvenile. The visitors were afterwards entertained by Mrs. Roberts at afternoon tea.

The children of the local school also demonstrated to the visitors that they had made considerable progress in swimming, despitg unfavorable weather, since the ra-opening of the school. Mr. W. A. Brown and Miss Monat, the teachers, conducted the distance swimming tests

on Friday. The following arc the distances:—Horace Giddj', Standard V., 1H)0 yards; Eaton Roberts, Standard VI., 1000 yards; Owen Body, Standard VI., 2iOO yards; Alma Harvey, Standard V., ISO yards; Claude Hellicr, Standard V., 100 yards: E. Williamson. Standard V., 100 yards; Alice Aekland. Standard V.. 30 yards; Rmmlil Body, iY\, i) 0 yards; Bernard Watt; Standard i'A, 25 vard<: Percy Body. Standard TIT.; 25 yards. The last six only learned to swim since school re-opened, 11)isdespite the inclemency of the weather. ,-iirtniling the instruction ill the witter. ;'■!•! '..tilers are making promising begin-