LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10157, 31 December 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A cabbage-head weighing thirty-two pounds was on exhibition in Masterton yesterday. Messrs Dalgety and Co., Ltd., have taken possession of their fine suite of new brick offices in Masterton. Mr F. E. Nottage, orchard instructor, will probably visit Masterton early next month'. , Irish blight has made its appearance in the potato crops at Mauriceville, and is proving very destructive. Since the opening of the crematorium in Wellington, the bodies of twenty persons have been cremated. A cold southerly snap was experienced in Masterton yesterday, the temperature being lower than it has been for some months past. Among the players on the bowling green at Woodville on a recent afternoon were three clergymen, two hotelkeepers, a lawyer, and a policeman. The vital statistics for Masterton for the present month are : Births, sixteen ; marriages, seven; and deaths, nine. The "Government Insurance Recorder" for the month of January is already to hand. It contains a lot of useful information. Mr J. C. Boddington reports that the rainfall registered at the Upper Plain for the 24 hours preceding 9 a.m. on Friday was 42 points. There are at present nearly one hundred men employed in connection with the Waingawa meat freezing works. Of these, seventy are butchers. At latest reports Mr J. J. Donovan, who was the victim of the unfortunate shooting incident at Kopuaranga, near Masterton, was making satisfactory progress. The bankrupties registered in the Wairarapa for the month of December, 1910, numbered two, compared with none for the corresponding period last year. The number recorded for the twelve months of the present year to date is twenty-three, as against twenty-seven in 1909 and twenty-five in 1908. A schoolmaster near Hawick set as an essay subject to a class of his | young hopefuls, "What I would like to be," and one pronouncement, delivered in bold text,, was as follows:—"I would like to bo a. horse-driver. When you are driving a horse you sit and do nothing. You do that all day and feed the horse at night and your work is done for the day. Then when Saturday comes you get your pay, and then you get all Sunday to yourself." No nonsence here about the strenuous life.

It is understood that an alteration in the time-table on the Wairarapa line will be made early in the new year. Miss Thomas, of the "Wenvoe" TeaRooms, will pz - ovide luncheon and afternoon tea at the Caledonian Society's sports in Masterton on Monday. An effort is being made to form a branch of the New Zealand Veterans' Association in Palmerston North. A branch has been in existence in Masterton for some time. A number of members of the Opaki Rifle Club will compete at the Wellington Garrison Volunteer Rifle Association meeting, to be held at Trentham on Monday and Tuesday next. Although the season is not yet four months old, Auckland butter ship- | ments already exceed those of the corI responding period of last year by over I 340 tons. j The Masterton. Civil Service will | play the Masterton branch of the W.F.C.A. at cricket on Thursday, the 12th January, on the Park Qval. Both teams have strong players, and a good game should be witnessed. Mr S. T. Anderson, Government vine and wine instructor, expresses the opinion that under the existing conditions in New Zealand the industry is practically doomed. ■ Mr A. E. Long, of Dannevirke, won the guessing competition at the Mauriceville Sports. The weight of the two I sheep was 1521b, and Mr Long guessed 1511bs. ..■ The operation of the National Provident Fund, said Sir Joseph Ward yesterday, would be worked under the direction of Mr ft. E. Hayes, chief of the Friendly Societies Department, and the Post Office would' be utilised ! to carry on the business. Although a number of Acts passed during last session of Parliament come into operation on January Ist, the Gaming -, Amendment Act, which '. abolishes does not take effect"tih'til January 31st. During the past year, 254 births, 81 de&ths..and 69 marriages have been the office of the Registrar at Masjerton. The figures for. 1909 were 2?3 births, 75 deaths, and 79 manages,, while in 1908, .309 births, 95 deaths, and 93 marriages were registered. Since the Waingawa freezing works commenced operations a few days back, six thousand sheep and lambs have been slaughtered. The works are running as smoothly as possible. Yesterday was the first pay-day in connection with the company. Applications for letters patents filed during the month of November in-, eluded a device to prevent windows - rattling, a hat-pin, a hat fastener, a boot-cleaning outfit, a target and a pig holder. Other inventions range . from boot heels to match-boxes. It is stated by "the Gore papers that a policeman in plain clothes, accompanied by a local resident, had thn privilege one night last week of paying for--two drinks of whisky in Gore. Probably more will be heard of the -matter. Thirty-nine persons have been arrested for drunkenness in Masterton for the past twelve months, compared with 155 for the previous year, under partial license, and 302 for 1908, under license. There has also been a marked diminution-in all serious-forms _ -of crime. .; ■ In spite of the fact that thousands of birds' heads and eggs have been purchased by the County, Council, the small bird nuisance in South Canterbury is said to be more pronounced this year than ever. The Wairarapa Amateur Athletic Club will show a substantial"*''profit over its recent sports meeting in Masterton. It is the intention of the Club, not only to furnish the trophies won this season, but to provide' 1 ally other trophies which may be owing by the defunct Club. ; The plucky act of the ' lad Sandiford, who rescued a child from- drowning in the Waipoua river at -Masterton a day or two back, is to be brought under the notice of the Royal Humane Society. • . The Auckland Central Mission Band and Glee Party will be at Greytown this afternoon; at Carterton to-mor-row afternoon; in the Masterton Town" Hall to-morrow night; at Carterton on Monday, and at Eketahuna on Tuesday. A lady visitor to Masterton this week was attired in a-"hobble" skirt. She was evidently new io the dress, for she endeavoured to"make a step on to a footpath which was more lengthy than the skirt would permit. She fell, and is "hobbling" in a different style now. In a valedictory letter in the Chronicle a Mormon elder who has sojourned in Wauganui for some time says there are now 2065 voluntary missionaries in various parts of tlie world. They spend from two to eight years in the service, paying their own expenses and keeping themselves out of their private incomes. On Monday last a youth named lan Mackintosh, son of Mr J. R. Mackintosh of TeHoro, found a bottle on the be-Mi at Gear's Creek, containing with the following written thereon "Latitude 146 south, longitude 64 west, s.s. Aotea, Thursday, November 2nd, 1910. All well. Having a social evening. Enjoying things immensely. Wish you all a merry Xmas and a happy New Year.—James Hamilton." In a footnote the writer added: "Finder please forward to following address: Mr H. Offingtine, Cave Rock, Sumner." The piece of paper has been forwarded to the address named above as requested. If this is not a hoax, it would appear that the bottle had travelled between two and three thousand miles in a space of about seven weeks. NO HOME WITHOUT A PIANO. To make and keep home homely, you need a piano in it. Thanks to the Dresden Piano Company's honest and reasonable system of deferred payments, there are pianos in thousands of New Zealand homes, and the number increases daily. The four best pianos are The Broad wood! The Ronisch! The Lipp! and The Steinway!

A big new shipment of these famous and delightful instruments has just arrived. If you are thinking of a piano, write or call NOW. The Dresden Piano Company carries very large stocks, so that there isnot the slightest difficulty in suiting all .tastes and requirements. If you want a good reliable piano at a reasonable price, go to THE DfiESDEN PIANO COMPANY LIMITED, WELLINGTON.

M. J. BROOKES, North Island Manager; Local Representatives: Inns and Gotlda'rd. next- Club Hotel.

It is said that the hay crop is phenomenal at Shannon. Beekeepers in the Shannon district report a good honey season, and expect big yields. Two deserters from ships were sentenced to a month's imprisonment by • the Wellington Magistrate .yesterday. The Masterton Municipal Brass Band will render a select programme of music at the Post Office corner tonight, commencing at 11 o'clock. Recent rains in North Taranaki j have delayed work with the turnip crops, and caused trouble in the hay fields. A veracious resident of New Plymouth states that grass is so prolific in some parts of South Taranaki that it almost pushes over the cattle! The ouantitv of milk which is at ! present being delivered to the Manga- J tainoka cheese factory is over 200 gallons per.; diem. The Pahiatua Brass Band has been engaged to play at the annual field <lay of the Eketahuna branch of the Farmers' Union, which will be held towards the end of next month. The Herald says Wanganui holds an unusually large number of bushmen at present, and that some very heavy cheques are being "knocked down." Colonel Knight, of the Salvation Annv, who is under transfer to Melbourne, has covered 20.000 miles a year in his New Zealand province by train and boat on tours of inspection I and meetings. | A fire at Mangaweka on Thursday i night destroyed three buildings near the post office. One was a boardinghouse, in which a Maori was burned to death in his bed. . A Marlborough farmer, after he had put in what he believed to be carrots, found that he had sowed carraway seeds.' The latter did not germinate. The practice of throwing squibs and crackers will be sternly repressed .by the police in Masterton this evening. Small boys and others should take note. It is computed that last year, over two million pairs of boots were iinf ported into the Dominion, while in various parts' of New Zealand the Ijootmaking industry is in a languishing condition. After the New Year, Assistant Surveyor L. W. Ward, who has just completed the survey of the Tamaki block, leaves for Gisborne to commence operations on the Tahora block of 45,000 acres, which is situated some 40 miles from Gisborne and about the same distance from Wairoa. The land will be subdivided into pastoral runs. Wm. Oldfield, a telegraph messen-1 ger, died at Rotorua as the result of I a bicycle accident through hitting a I telegraph post* The coroner (Mr Dyer, S.M.) found' that death was J caused by attempting to cross in front of a machine ridden by Perrin. Dr. Findlay forwarded a telegram of j sympathy with the relatives. These are significant words from the "Ironmasters' Weekly," which should appeal to the common sense of working men in every part of the world: "If the British working man could re- j alise the millions he has lost as the result of his partiality for striking he . would be amazed; and, in addition to being amazed, he would probably , curse those injudicious advisei;s who egged him on to split with his employer." The nearest approach to a "trek" that we have encountered (states the Waikato Argus) was seen in Hamilton i one day last Week, when an old trap j containing a man, his wife, and son, a i wheelbarrow, 40 fowls, and a miscel- j laneous assortment of household j ' goods, and.drawn by a tired-looking \ horse, passed through. The settler j had driven right from the lower end j of Taranaki, and was on His way to ' Mongonui, away in the north, at the I rate of about a mile an hour. j The quarterly meeting of Court j Loyal Enterprise, A.0.F., was held < last night in the. Foresters' Hall, j Masterton, a large number of mem- ! hers being present. A mass of cor re- I spondence was dealt with, and a large amount of sick pay was passed. Two new members were initiated, and several candidates proposed. The report of the delegate to the annual conference was read and accepted. Several visiting brethren were introduced to the court by the C.R. The election of officers resulted as follows: —C.R,, Bro. Murphy; S.C.R., Bro. j Wimsett; treasurer,.Bro. Candy; sec- j retary, Bro. Darroch; S.W., Bro.' Faulkner; J,W., Bro. Spratt; 5.8., | Bro. Gilbert;. J. 8., Bro. Braggins; [ minute secretary, Bro. Gardner. I Messrs Dalgety and Co., Ltd. ad- j vertise opening entries for their next '■ Masterton and Taratahi sales. f The W.F.C.A. for New Year shop- | pers. Special gift lines to interest one and all. Shop early to-day.* the Arcadia Tea Rooms will be open on Monday from 9 a.m. till 7.30 p.m. Luncheon from 11 a.m. till 2 p.m. A delicious summer beverage made from fruit crystals is advertised by Mr A. J. Giddings, Queen Street, who has the sole agency . With a packet of > the crystals and two gallons of water a most delightful summer drink can be made in one minute. The packets, which are in all flavours, are sold for 6d each, or 3 packets for Is 3d. '■'..'. i TENNIS CAKE. : I f Tennis and Tea are inseparable, I and a good cake is appreciated by all. The following recipe for a Tennis Cake will please the patrons of the courts: —One butter, one pound and a quarter of caster sugar, twelve eggs, one pound and a quarter of flour, throe-quarters of a pound of ground almonds, half a » pound of sultanas, four ounces of ! currants, four-ounces of peel, four ounces of cut cherries, Vanilli Essence. Beat up the butter and sugar, add the eggs'' two at a time, and with the last add the essence, then stir ill the flour, and last of all the fruit, peel cut fine, and the cherries; mix all to a nice cake batter, put into a papered tin, bake in a moderate oven, and when done and cold lay a piece of paste on top, and ice with fondant icing any colour desired. A nice tea to serve with this cake is the Empire Company's "Dragon" Blend, procurable from most storekeepers in this district at 2s 8d per lb. The."Dragon" blend is really delicious, it has a captivating flavour, possesses great body and a fine texture; The drinking qualities are superb, and it will please most palates. Perhaps you have never tried,a tea at 2s 8d per pound.. If not, just get a packet of "Dragon" brand and note the difference. It costs but afew pence more, but tha greater satisfaction and pleasure it "■■' will give you is worth pounds.

One pound reward is offered for the recovery of a greenstone, lost between J Taueru and Te Ore Ore school. ] Messrs A. J. Johnson and Co. will i hold, a sale of poultry, furniture, crockery and sundries at the Post Office Auction Mart this afternoon. Payment is stopped for a lost cheque, numbered 250, drawn by the Druid's Lodge in favour of Dr. Archer Hosking. A woman to do household mending, two days a week, is advertised for. Luncheon will be obtainable at the Tiffen Tea Rooms on Monday, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. ] A special land bargain of 'IOO acres (300 acres freehold and 100 acres 0.r.p.) is advertised by Mr T. Knight, land agent, Eketahuna, on page 8 of this issue, particulars of which should be well worth perusal. At the Wairarapa Nursery, Lansdowne, Mr E. Halo has on sale vegetable plants, in any quantities, all ready for setting out,' They are hardy and well grown, and are bound to give satisfaction. Mr J. Carpenter draws attention to his splendid selection of summer footwear, including the newest in coloured canvas shoes. These, he claims, arc just what are needed to give a ] finishing touch to the well-dressed woman. He invites the public to call and inspect his newest importations. "A good resolution" should be made when a new year begins, and in this respect Cole's Cash Drapery Company recommend the public to call at their establishment before deciding on • a NW Year gift.- They are offering a choice selection of special goods to celebrate New Year's Eve.