DISTRICT NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, 16 September 1920, Page 2

DISTRICT NEWS.

OKATO. (From Our Own Correspondent.) At the concert, held some time ago, it was decided by vote to erect a concrete addition to the hall as a memorial to our fallen soldiers. Since then considerable opposition to the project has been shown, and at a public meeting held In connection with the memorial scheme, Mr. W. .T. Gray, with the permission of the chairman, gave notico of motion that the proposed imemorial be reconsidered, and decided at a later meeting. At the next meeting, wh'cli was fully attended'(a special note of this fact should be made), several propositions were brought forward and discussed, one of which was to erect a monument on what is known as Putt's corner, on a piece of land which it was proposed to purchase from Mr. J* S. Fox, who owns the corner property. Mr. Fox, however, kindly offered to donate sufficient ground for the purpose, if the meeting wished to make use of the site. Hearty thanks were extended to the donoT, and it was finally decided to carry out this scheme. The well-attended meeting Is something to Temark about in Okato, for, usually the at- j tendance is small and the responsibility and. work is left to the few who take an inter-; est in local affairs. It is hoped that, now! that interest has been aroused in the scheme, it will be extended to all the local affairs, and when a meeting is advertised we shall always see as good an attendance. The levelling of the sports ground in the Domain is nearly finished by the contractor. An ideal football ground has been made, and tho local Football Club has kindly donated a considerable aimount of their surplus funds, a matter of over £3O, towards tho cost of the undertaking. This work was contemplated before the war, but has been hung up, like similaf works, and but for general upkeep the Domain lias been at a standstill. Now that brighter times are ahead it is hoped to be able to do a considerable amount towards improving and beautifying the grounds. PUNGAREHU. tFroifn Our Own Correspondent.) Dairy farmers along the coast are having ra J her an anxious time of it lately, the severe weather experienced in August having been very hard on tho pasture. In the l?ush districts the frosts have been of a severity seldom felt in those parts. The result has been that feed has become so short that many formers who tried to pasture the same number of cows on their farms as in previous seasons find that Hie area would not bear tho strain, and many cows have died. One MaoTi farmer in this locality has already lost about a dozen of his best cows, and many of the farmers have suffered in a like manner. The local factory is now running every day, only the supply is not coming to hand as readily as expected. Considering that milkers calving in July and August have to be fed on turnips and dry fodder, and also thai" the term "discriminate feeding of turnips" should be followed by farmers more strictly than obtains at present, opens up a -big question as to the advisability of having cows come to profit before the latter end of September or in the month of October. Certain it is that the pioneers cannot adopt the method practised in older countries, in which it is claimed turnips do not taint the milk. No doubt our time with respect to that wll)! come. It is hardly just that many men who j take all sorts of trouble to turn out a good article for the butter-imaker to operate on should have to suffer for the enlarged idea some others have of ''discriminate feeding"; Another factor to consider is, when cows have July, August and September on turnips and hay before coming to profit they go right away on the young growing grass in good condition, and give good results, both in milk and fat, from the jump, whereas those calving in July and August have to adverse weather conditions, and in the majority of cases are not in the best of order for proper production, and need all they can get to build themselves up, with b consequent restriction in the bucket yield. I am sure, if the farmers will give the matter sferious study, they will Tecognise tho force of the above contention; cows calv- 1 ing in October can be milked right up to June instead of being almost dry during the best months of the year . Certain feed can be grown to foster the milk supply in the autumn, but it seems that turnips are the, only stuff that can be ielicd on for the; earlier period mentioned, and of course it means the production of an article that spells ruin to the reputation of the factory, product. ; The Shortage of feed, etc., has had a quietening effect upon tho demand for dairy cattle at the recent sales. Local farmers with big \ herds and small areas are having an anxious, time. The sugar shortage on the coast is again ; pronounced. The arrival of the next supply! is very uncertain owing to the sugar workers', strike. '' | The camp-fire concert and danco under the | auspices of the Legion of Frontiersmen (Pari-. haka troop), which was held at Rahotu Public Hall on Thursday evening, the 9th inst., was a decided success, socially and financially. A good company went from Pungarehu, and helped with the success of the evening. The euchre party and dance, which is to be held on Friday night, the 17th inst., at the Public Hall, Oaonul, should prove to be attractive. Parker's orchestra will provide the music for the danco. It is a hopoful sign of the times to find so much thought and study being devoted to improvements In our educational system. Appreciable advances have been made, but imuch remains to be done if the desired goal is to be readied. There is an old adage that a little knowledge is a "dangerous thing," and it would be equally to the point to contend that, all knowledge is dangerous that fails to stand the true mathematical tests as applied jo the solution of both concrete and abstruse problems. .The basic principle of the Dominion's educational system is opportunity for all, but are the right steps taken to ensure that principle becoming a live reality? If there is to be a real opportunity for all there must necessarily be a perfect system of co-ordination that will be the means of leading scholars step by step to the top of the education ladder. At present no such co-ordiijaticn exists. The country can well afford to make the most of its best asset, the rising generation.