DISTRICT NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 February 1920, Page 2

DISTRICT NEWS.

r i MATAU. (From Our Own Correspondent). ; '.y The shewing Is just' about finished here, ana everybody obtained a very good clip and valuation. , , The grass, after the warm showers,. Is looking splendid, and by all appearance there will be abundance of winter feed. The settlers have fixed the annual sports picnic for February 24, and It will be looked forward to with interest. Deepest sympathy is felt for Mr. and Mrs. 1. Pearse, of Matau, in the loss of Mr. Pearses brother, who died <£ pneumonia, and Mrs. Poarse's brother, who was drowned at Toko recently. Both were returned soldiers, and both fatalities occurred within a month.

WAI-TOl-TOI. (From Our Own Correspondent). • Front Whangarel to Fntea is some considerable distance, and communications from both these places, shortly after the news of, (lie proposed withdrawal of the Wai-tol-tol estate from the Government appeared in the Daily .News, go to show how widely the paper is circulated, and also how closely the matter Is being followed br those interested. •If Mr. Millar could have kept up the pace at which he travelled through this district during his record-breaking trip to Wellington from Auckland oa Friday last, It Is estimated he would have registered nearly fifty miles an hour instead,of thirty-three. " The Urenul Sports Club are holding a dance In' aid of its funds oh Thursday evening nert In tile Urenui Halt Already some entries have been received for - the sports, and Judging > by the .number of athletes and chopping men who are in active training, ft record gathering wM have to be-recorded., . The sale' of Mr. A. H. Halcombe's pedigree .TeMeys, advertised for March 5, has been in-. definitely postponed owing to the failure of the purchaser of Ferngrove to materialise. Though probably Mr. Halcombe has been put to soma little Inconvenience, the. district will be tlio gainers by his continued residence amongst us, as Mr. Halcombe has always taken a most active and intelligent interest in matters connected with the welfaro of the district, and many of us can testify to his ready help and sympathy in cases of distress and trouble. The friends of Mr. C. Perkins in Vnl-tot-toi, In common with other parts of thp district,, will regret that, this gentleman has accepted a call from the Ingiewood Presbyterian Church. During his sojourn in Waltara,, Mr. Fcrkliis made many friends, more especially among the younger members of his congregation, and his fortnightly visits to Wat-toi-tel have been a' source Of pleasure and Instruction to those, who have attended his lectures. Your correspondent "Cheddar," whose letter appeared last week, has caused some littlo discussion amongst those interested in factory matters in this district, and it has been pointed out that. In placing, his ensp before the public, and comporing his earnings with those, of a carpenter or a tinsmith "Cheddar" has hardly put ihe position-quite In Us entirety. For instance, it is the custom of most factory companies to provide their employees with free homo accommodation, butter, cheese, milk and fuel; and further, although the hands have to work on Sundays, It Is usual In most of- the larger factories to grant each man oneday per week off duty; or, failing this, a' fortnight's holiday on full nay. Then again, a' first assistant, although having to work hard during the busy portion of the season', hastho advantage of being kept on when tilings arc slack As to the huge profits made by 'the farmer, one of them stated lhat he and ;hls family worked longer hours than the factory hands, and had to go out In all weathers to milk or feed tho cows, whilst If the time thfyall worked were counted up and set against the profits of tho season it would work-out nt considerably less than the low wnge3 complain-., ed of by "Cheddar," who has none of the. wor- ; ries—sometimes heavy losses—experienced' fcy;' tha imucH-.'tbused "cocky". Any profit a main might make by selling his farm Is rather beside tho question; what he produces off it while working it Is more to the point; and cases lire known where farmers have paid fancy prices for properties, and after finding they are making nothing off them, have had to pass it on' to the next man; and there are not wanting shrewd men who will tell you that when jthe slump does set in, some of these speculators will fall In rather badly. A most interesting article appears in the Farmer of last month, Written by Mr. Won. Boyd, of Matangl, Waikato, on the growing and establishment of lucerne. In these days of high-priced land, and consequently small holdings, any Information tending to Increased production Is of interest, as the farmer who can produce the greatest amourit of b'mter-fat from the smallest area is the man who will come,out on lop. Some six or seven years ago Col. C. H, Weston, who was then farming In Wai-toi-tol, laid down six acres in lucevno as an cxparlmcnt. Tho ground was treated in a similar manner to that advocated by Mr Boyd, and the "take" was a splendid one, high hopes being entertained as to its permanent establishment, more especially as a good crop of hay was taken off it during tho first season. But then tho. trouble commenced, and despite vigorous harrowing, Yorkshire Fog began to gain 'the upper hand. Bare patches also began to show, tho lucerne seemingly dying right off. Following Government expert advice,: ploughing was resorted to, and lhat was tho.,i beginning of the end, as although the roots,'l when turned uii, wete quite thick and had gtike down to a considerable depth, after a spas-. modlc attempt or two at ro-growth, the i lot disappeared. Since then several attempts have been made by other farmers In this''district to Brow lucerne, but It cannot be .said,

with any great degreo of success; una there Is now a plot, on the same farm as that on which Col. Weston's experiment was conducted, which, though strong; and healthy looking for a season, is beginning to show the bare patches alluded to, and It takes a considerable amount of attention to keep the weeds In check. In lilt article, Mr. Boyd relates similar experiences, and attributes the bare spaces to what he terms root fungus, and ho overcame this by spraying with; kerosene and sulphate of Iron, and top-dressing with basic super. There «"e also a. number of other suggestions;,an.d Information which must bo of great service of anyone endeavoring to establish lucerne, and aftor reading Mr, Boyd'R experiences, ono Is Inclined to the opinion that many of the failures attributed to the unsuitablllty of the soil, are really due to want of knowledge and experience on the part of tho grower, and it does not do to be disheartened too soon. Mr. Boyd Is milking 40 cows on 34 acres,, besides keeping horses, etc., and when. It Is considered that ten acres of that-, hs;;in • lucerne, it needs nothing more to bo s&lft.ln,lts praise*. i»gVv' ,: - PUNGAREHU.' (From Our Own Corresponded!.) A most enjoyable day was spent by the residents of Cape Road at the Beach on Thursday of last week. The weather was beautiful, and everybody entered heartily into things, the children specially enjoying themselves. To raise funds to further the candidature of the Pungarehu candidate-"nf the forthcoming Caholic Queen Carnival in Opunake, a social - and dance will be-held in th,e>\Ywaf l Hall on Thursday evening. ■ '■'. ■■'■; - Mrs S. Armstrong, on Saturday evening last, entertained! a. number of 'her friends at her residence, the guest of honor being Mrs 0. Boldt, of Inglewood. With Mrs E-.-Pope, who supplied the music, Mrs. A: Cameron and Mis. Boldt,; Messrs. E. Pope-and ,T, Qtbell contributed Items to an enjoyable programme. The remainder of the evening' was filled up with cards, after which a dainty supper was provided.

......The local school reopens on Thursday;"' Mrs E. Orbell, of Pungarehu, has r.ecolved word that she has passed her Intermediate or first place examination in connection • with the New Plymouth Girls' High School. Miss Orboll has now been appointed probationary teacher at the school Motonui. Rev. E. 0. M. King conducted a service at the local Methodist Church on Sunday List. Miss M. Barrett is spending a short holiday in Hawera with her friends. A large catch of shark, with a sprinkling of 'sehnapper and kowhal, was made by the local Maoris on Saturday and Sunday lasl, with the Tepoka Road boat. With tho oxeentlon of a few bad cases of colds, tho general health of this locality Is satisfactory. , A tangi 15 In full swing at Parihaka, ono of tho native children having died recently. The popularity of meetings held under the cusplces of the Egmont P.aclng Club has long since been established, and the number of pooplo around thto locality that journeyed to Hawera. last week in ordor to assist at this year's swrfmer meeting was in excess of that of previous yeaTS. The Taranakl Trotting Club's inaugural meeting en February 7th was also visited by a large number of racing enthusiasts from this end. The present muggy weather appears to be favorable for the spread of the pe3t known as brown spot, which Is making ravages In the peach and nectarine crops this year. Dlfaetly this 'attracts the fruit, tho blackbirds finish the job In quick time. Blackbirds are also attacking soft apples In som? orchards. Evidently tho present season has been an excellent ono as far as apples and pears are concerned Gravensteln Is a fine dessert fruit, and Is selling very cheaply, while all cooking varieties are low in price This may be to some extent caused by the shortage of sugar. Growers of fruit state that bees are demoting considerable attention o any ripe peaches and plums. Whenever a small puncture has been made by a bird, there Is usually to be found a certain amount of sweet juice, and this appears to hare an Irresistible attraction for tho busy bee. As an instance of the effect on milk supplies by the rains of January, at present the daily cheeso made at tho CE.D.F. totals 47. The dry weather before Christmas reduced the total to 42 daily.