LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 June 1921, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Taranaki Daily News will be published as usual) on Friday (Kings Birthday). At yesterday's stock sales at Strafford. good quality Jersey dairy cows and heifers which will be coming into profit before the spring, showed a good improvement in price, but beef cattle and sheep showed no improvement.

The damage which has resulted from the erosion caused by the sea along the East End foreshore at New Plymouth has been realised by the, Borough Council for some time past. The engineer (Mr. W. 11. Cook)) is at present engaged in preparing plans for putting in protective groynes from the East End pavilion to Hobson Street.

Permits for the erection of eleven new houses were issued by the New Plymouth Borough Council during May, and the permits for all new works last month represent a value of £9500. This is rather better than the returns of the previous few months. Since the beginning of fhe year .the value of buildings for which permits have been issued amounts to £43,100.

A sitting of the Conciliation Council will be held in. New Plymouth to-day to consider an application by the newlyformed United Storemen and Packers’ Union for an award. It is understood, also, that an application will come before the council to-morrow by the Drivers’ Union for the ratification of a Dominion award.

Several important remits concerning for soldiers will be presented at the annual conference of' the New Zealand Returned Soldiers’ Association next week. The principle remit is from the Canterbury association, as follows: “That in view of the fact that the cost of living has increased by fully 75 per cent, since the present scale of pensions was decided on in 1915, the annual conference be urged to organise a Dominion campaign prior to the opening of Parliament for a substantial increase in war pensions, especially in the case of dependents of the fallen and of all the totally incapacitated; and secondly, that the permanently disabled men shall not receive less than £3 10s per week.”

The annual meeting of the Whiteley Club Was held on Monday evening. The Rev. W. J. Elliott presided. The business transacted was the election of officers and the consideration of a programme of meetings for the winter session. It was decided to meet weekly on Monday evenings, the first meeting to take place on Monday next, and to be in the form of a social gathering. A small committee of ladies was appointed to carry out the arrangements. For the following week Mr. C. E. Bellringer consented to give an account of his recent trip to America, England and Europe. A committee was also set up to arrange the programme of subsequent meetings.

Hydro-electric power from Horahora reached Hamilton on Saturday last.

There is not, at the present time, a solitary vineyard in the whole of the Manawatu. Wanganui, and Taranaki districts. There are 45 vineyards in Hawke’s. Bay. ’ %

The population of Opunake town district is 503, 254 males and 249 females. The population of the county, excluding Opunake. is: Males 1451, females 1248, total 2(199.

Nominations fo!r a vacancy on the New Plymouth Borough Council close at noon to-day. So far the only candidate announced is Mr. R. A. Large, who was elected at the general poll in April, but retired tlirough a disqualification, and who is now eligible to contest the seat. ‘•Put them up by the dozen,” was the exhortation of a buyer at a horse fair recently after becoming the owner <of two draughts at Ids apiece. It is only fair to say that bystanders wanted to know what the purchaser was going to do with the horses even at that price.—Wanganui Chronicle. Mr. Joseph Dunston, a Wyndham Ridges farmer, has just dug hie potato crop; and he informs us that from a half-acre patch he saved 125 sacks of first-class tubers, stales the Farmer. Some of the samples were 10in. iong and weighed 3| lb. This should work out at an average yield off 20 tons to the acre.

“I regard Taranaki and Wanganui as first cousins; what interests one interests the •other,’' said the .Mayor when speaking at Monday's meeting of Taranaki and North Wellington branches of the Society of Civil Engineers. He went on to say that both districts should link up and work together in any project that was for the betterment of the Dominion. To which Taranaki responds. ■“Hear, Hear.”

Au Eit-ham settler, speaking about old times iu Taranaki, says he remembers quite well when 4d per lb. was all that the storekeepers would give for butter, and the price had all to be “taken out” in tea, sugar, and oilier groceries. “There were no tar-sealed roads in those days,” said he. "We had to toil in from the back-blocks as best we could, no matter how deep the mud. I remember that a neighbour of ours had a gooi apple orchard, while we had no fruit, and my father made a swap, giving a heifer for a bag of apples.’* The old Taranakiaris have seen some changes in the dairying business.—Argus.

Speaking to a Dominion reporter, Colonel Young, Director ©f the Live •Stock Division of the Agricultural Department, .stated that there was a heavy annual mortality in stock in the Dominion. In this connection, he added, it was interesting to note that the death loss in stock due io mismanagement. such as want of proper shelter and lack At sufficient winter feed and the like, was greater than the whole of the mortality caused by disease. The farmers of the Dominion thus had the remedy for the reduction in the death i rate of their herds and flocks iu their: own hands. •

A striking commentary on the need for the adoption of more scientific farming methods ip New Zealand was made to a Dominion reporter by a Government .expert. “It is,” he remarked, “a strange paradox that whilst the helling value of land in the Dominion has considerably increased in recent years, the actual producing value in very many cases has decreased by pounds per acre. Want of manuring is the primary factor in bringing this state <of affairs into being. Unquestionably the best investment a farmer can make today as io purchase manure and put it into his land.”

The lad, Adolphus E. Reid, who escaped from the Weraroa Trailing Farm a few weeks ago, apparently enjoyed his brief spell of freedom despite liaving to spend some cold nights in the open air. 'ft was only on Wednesday last that he was ordered by the magistrate at Eltham to be returned to the farm, and he was sent back next day ts-aye the Argus). But last evening Constable Townsend received advice that young Reid, with two companions, had again got away from the farm. As one of these companions is a Taranaki boy, it is considered probable that the ; three youths may again visit this dis- ' trict.

There is a slightly more cheerful tone noticeable by the Mercantile Gazette in Wellington wholesale trade, although it is still quiet. “Importation does not, so far, show the expected decrease, as April's total is more than either February or March. The total imports for April were £5,337,700, snaking a total of £20.996502 for the four months. Buyers, both retailers and consumers, are holding off as far as possible, but a fair amount of business is being done, though it is of a somewhat hand-to-mouth character, and mostly in necessary commodities. There are several further declines in prices, some fairly substantial. This leads to very variable quotations, and it is naturally hard to get stable prices.”

A paper was read at yesterday's annual meeting of the Stratford Jersey Breeders’ Association dealing with the question of paying for milk on a butterfat basis, showing that from practical experiments made in Victoria recently, that the- higher the butter-fat test of

milk the more value that milk was per gallon, even for cheese-making. The president (Mr. F. Ranford) expressed the opinion that an absolutely fair and impartial basis of payment would be for butter-fat, plus the casein content of milk, but experiments conducted had proved that from an economical standpoint this system was not worth while. Mr. W. V. Harkness, of Tariki, agreed with Mr. Ranford’s opinion, stating that experiments carried out at his factory over a period of three years under Government supervision, bad satisfied him that the system was impracticable.

A party of men, organised by Mr. J. Bennett, visited the New Plymouth Gaol on Monday evening and gave a short concert to the prisoners, who showed very hearty appreciation of the items. Songs were given by Messrs. A. L. North, A. Brooker, R. B. Macdonald, Smith* B. Bellringer, and R. L. Cooper, the latter also contributing some recitations, while Messrs. North and Macdonald sang duets. The accompaniments were played by Messrs. F. P. Frederic and H. Morey. Mr. J. Downs (gaoler) expressed thanks to Mr. Bennett and the visitors on behalf of the men, who indicated their thanks by a very vigorous round of applause. The proceedings closed with the singing of the National Anthem. Owing to Friday being a whole holiday, Rennie’s are offering some remarkable week-end bargains on Thursday, also Saturday morning, when you can save from 3s to 5s in every pound you . spend. See page 4.