LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9686, 10 January 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Some of the rape crops on the Te Ore Ore plains are badly in need of rain.

The country around Taueru is looking particularly dry at present, but stock are in good condition.

A Timaru farmer says that the dry spell ii not without its blessing, and he mentions the fact that blight in potato crops is practically unknown in South Canterbury this year.

The "Church Chronicle" says that profane nuisance the "endless prayer, chain'" has again made its appearance, claiming this time the authority of the Bishop o£ London, who has thought.it necessary to publish a denial of any connection with it.

At the auction sale of the freehold of the old Masterton Hospital site and buildings, held by Messrs W. B. Chennells and Co. on Saturday, Mr James Brown, of Carterton, was the successful bidder for the pioperty. The Dunedin correspondent of the "Christchurch Press" states that Oamaru managed to get some bedr for Christmas. It is said that the common plan was, and is, to order it through a carrier, per 5 gallon keg, which costs lis 6d delivered. Some idea of the extent of this trade may be obtained from the fact that one carrier alone booked 463 of these orders.

Of late years there has been a rapid decline in the number of bicycles imported into New Zealand, and also in the average cost per machine, whijp the importation of parts and material is steadily though slowly on the increase. The value of the latter brought into the port of Lyttleton alone is more than three times the value of the machines imported into the whole Dominion. The number of machines which came to the Dominion last year was only 6,315, as against 10,288 the year before, and 14,212 in 1905-06. Professor Park, of Dunedin, who has made a careful study of the conditions leading to spontaneous combustion in wool and flax, comes to the conclusion that the process of dumping is responsible for fires breaking out. Compression produces heat and the air entangled in the in« terior of the bales becomes hot during dumping and may cause a fire. The only remedy is to dump in a vacuum, that is, to have means of pumping all the air out of the press while compression is eoing on, when the air inside the bale will thus be so rarified as to cause little beating.

A surprisingly large proportion of the crew of tha Italian barque Doride were unable last week to pass the education test put to them by the Wellington Customs officials. No less than nine of the men out of the crew of sixteen Italians who had to undergo a test were illiterate. These nine men will reruler the master of the vessel liable to fine of £IOO each if they are not <m board when the crew is mustertd prior to the departure of the Doride from Wellington. The Doride's men have established quite a record, inasmuch as more than half of them are unable to read and write a simple sentence in any European language.

"What a lack of ability to speak in public prevails among educated Canadians!" says the Canadian "Courier." "When there is a public gathering of any kind, in churches, Canadian clubs, boards of trade, business banquets or social dinners, almost the only speakers are the politicians and the lawyers. One seldom hears an address from a University professor, a high school headmaster, or inspector, a doctor, a dentist, a journalist, a banker, a broker, or a manufacturer. Yet all these men have, on the average, as much education as the politician and the lawyer.' Even the preacher is seldom heard in lay meetings; when he leaves the pulpit he seems to lose his power of making addrebses.' 7

—— — -* v It is said that seven thousand separation orders are granted by the magistrates in England every year. A Taranaki farmer, says that he expected to make his rent out off pigs this year, but he will not", make even his rates. There is a good deal of threshio©. from the stoo't b=>in> done in the Te Ore Ore ami Wanga.lu riistiku tois« harvesting. The b-ist selling class of cattle in* New Zealand at the present time isthe purebred Jersey cow built on. good dairy li les. The area under wheat is increasing every year in the Te Ore Ore district. Harvesting is now in full, swine, and the crops that have been threshed have returned uood results. Otaki folks are up in arms at the.suggestion of the railway authorities to stop booking passengers at" that station on the Main Trunk express. At a largely attended public meeting a deputation was appointed to wait on the Minister for Rail l u ways to enter a protest. '„ 1 Mr R. Tanner, ot Kareie. has* about the best crop of oats to be seen< in that district this season. He has one hundred acres of Algerian, which he estimates will give a return of 90 busheis to the acre, and some ofr it he th.inks will go as high as 100bushels.

The Government surveyora inNotth Canterbury are being kept: constantly employed on the variousareas which are neing sub divided. The biggest undertaking of the kind, the survey of the Orari Gorge Estate, has just been completed.

The Stratford "Pest" is it,formed, that th-i New ZealanJ Loa 1 and Mercantile Agsucy Company, Ltd.,, sold last wtek, on account of » Tokio client, one. fleece which; weighed 241b at 8d This realised the owner 16s fur the wool from one hogget,

A Gisborne resident who re ently visited the Covent Garden Market, London, was'told by therepresentatives of a firm that caters for the best

English trad? in fruit that undoubtedly the best apples received

on the market were the Otago

apples from New Zealand, which were always largely sought after.

On Sunday, January 2nd, at noou hundreds of campers at the West Coast experienced an exciting sensation (says a Dargaville correspondent). For days past the sea had been (,very perturbed, and at thfe time stated a huge tidal wave swept the coast and rushed furiously, intothe gorges. Old campers aver that the tidal wave was the largest

they have seen, and the spectacle; awe-inspiring.

tinquiry at the office of the Labour Department shows that labour conditions in Wellington are very satisfactory at present. Few men were reported to be idle in the various • skilled trades! With regard to plasterers, it was stated that a number®f vacancies existed. In connection with unskilled labour it as reported that there were fewer applications forwork than at the corresponding period of last year. There as still a demand for workers for the country, while there as a good call for workers-, in town principally in the wool stores, "No strong, able-bodied man shouldbe idle during the next month or two," was the official comment on the position.

Bulls, says a Sydney ar&oc--casionally heard to roar iff the ;police courts, as witness: a couple of Instances. "Did you see me use that there languidge?" demanded an ac-f cused person, and a civilian witness calmly replied, "I seen yuh." A couple of men were charged With riotous behaviour in the public street, and the arresting constable deposed that the pair had been wrestling and fighting air over the place. 'Quite wrong, yer Wership," asserted one of the combatants; "I kin tell yer we was only tryin' to separate each other;"

Arrangements in connection with

the Garden Fete in aid of S. Matthew's Building Fund to be held at the residence of Mr W. H. Beetham, Ferry street, on Thursday, 20th mat., are well in hand, and everything points towards the lete being a decided success. The stalls include tea, coffee, cold drinks, art, stall, flowers, etc. Many novel attractions will be provided, such as nail- , driving, quoits, tilting in the ring on bicycles, and numerous other sports competitions. A Maypole dance will be one of the attractions. An open--air concert will be held in the evening, full particulars of which will be-, announced later.

Miss Ada Crossley is carrying out an interesting botanical experiment at her residence in St. John's Wood, London. . She believes there Is a close practical connection between eucalyptus and the voice, and that the well-known evergreen, while efficacious for illnesses of the. throat, is also responsible in a great degree for the musical voices of natives where the eucalpytus. flourishes. During a recent Australian tour Madame Crossley selected a few eucalpytus trees and had them sent to England, with the j result that six of them are now ■ growing splendidly in her garden. J They are planted in immense pots» so embedded in the ground than the trees appear to be growing in the earth itself. The trees are very hardy andjjtake care of themselves very well , duriing the summer and thie autumn. When the snow and frost come they will be placed in the hothouse.

With a view of stamping out the insurrection in Korea, the natives have long been forbidden to carry firearms, and the importation of rifles, fowling-pieces, and ammunition has been strictly prohibited. This'has put a stop to the hunting of game, with the result that wild animals in the Peninsula are increasing apace. Tigers and wolves are being 1 constantly met with in the fields in the interior, and travelling has become extremely dapgerous. The havoc wrought by tigers is particularly evident in Ping-au Province, where no less than 33 persons have lately been attacked. At one place a tiger entered the housp of a farmer and killed a baby. The authorties in Korea are becoming alarmed at the rapid increase in the number of wild , and have msMjpienquiries cf the Zoological Department in the College of Science in the Toko Imperial University, regarding the best means for the destruction of tigers' and wolves. '

A very pleasant afternoon was spent at the Solway Home, yesterday, when th« Masterton South Brass Band rendered a programme of music, which was greatly appreciated by the inmates and public alike. A special invitation was extended to the Band to again visit the Home. An advertiser has for sale six ' acres of standing oats. A shepherd with good dogs is """" wanted for Taipos Station, Tinui. An advertiser wants to let a contract for cutting grass seed. A reward is offered for the recovery -of a small case containing a gold medal. Mr P. Hamiil has a display of superior under-clothing specially made to his order. These will be sold at prices that will appeal to those who appreciate a good article at moderate cost. l*ure, wholesome, dainty and delicious is the verdict of all who use K jams, the product of the best Nel- _• son fruits and made with the utmost " care by Messrs Kirkpatriek and Co., Ltd., Nelson. Messrs Butcher Bros., butcner of Queen Street South, supply only prime meat and with an expert and experienced small-goods man this department i 3 supplied with appetisiig delicacies, which are fully appreciated by their numerous customers. "It will pay you to waif is the substance of »n adveitisemeni inserted by the W.K.C.A. with reference to their early season sal •■•, whichis hooked to mart on Saurday, the 15th January, when gr at bargains are to be offered in all departments. On page 6 of this issue Messrs C. Smith, Ltd., announce that their summer stocktaking sale will com- ' mence on Friday next. In the meantime their staff are busily engaged in * the marking-down process and other arrangements necessary to make for the conduct of a sale of such magnitude as they anticipate the coming sale will prove. A splendid farm of six hundred acres is advertised for sale or lease by Messrs Dwsn Bros., of Willis street, Wellington, possession of which can be ohtained on a reasonable payment being made. As an alternative they are prepared to exchange the property for unencumbered property in town or country or for hotel lease or freehold. The property is sub-divided into sixteen paddocks, is well watered, about half of it is ploughed and cropped. It will winter 1,600 sheep and 100 head of cattle, and run the lambs until fit for freezing. Full details are given in an advertisement on page 8 of this issue. " Messrs P. E. Debreceny and Co., auctioneers, land and estate agents, Pahiatua, have for sale numerdus agricultural and pastoral properties, and dairy farms. Their land depart- • ment is under the control of Mr J. Carolan, a thoroughly experienced farmer, and one who can give practical advice as to the value and capabilities of any property. In an advertisement on page 8 of this issue, the firm advertises particulars of three properties which they have for sale, any of which they recommend as thoroughly safe and sound investments, and on which a rise in value is assured.