Miscellaneous.

Waipukurau Press, Volume I, 14 August 1906, Page 3

Miscellaneous.

Thirty millions of hares and rabbits are killed annually in the United Kingdom. They are valued at £2,200,000,

Mr James P> ver, mir a’rr of the gasworks at Pahia'u.i, has been appointed manager of too Wo >dville gasworks. Toere were twelve applicants for the posit on.

The Y.M.C.A. at Dunedin has opened a Home for Boys —not for boys “off the street,” but for those who are compelled to live away from their homes in order to earn their living in the city.

A scheme for cultivating flax and running a co-operative mill is being considered by Stratford farmers. It is estimated that three hundred acres under flax would be required to make a mill pay,

The “Taranaki Herald” hears from a reliable scource that Mr Way, the American oil expert, who is at present in New Plymouth, considered that there is a far greater extent of oil country m the district than people have any idea of.

It is expected that the Olrig and Tamaki properties recently acquired by the Government'.for close settlement, will be open for selection early in December. Surveyors are at present engaged on both cutting them up into suitable allotments.

A further indication of the generosity of Otago people is pointed out by the “Daily Times.” Within a fortnight that newspaper has collected £2049 9s towards the fund for housing the library presented to Dunedin by Dr. Hocken.

Major Kedde'l, S.M.,at Oamaru on Saturday fined George Williams £5 and costs for a breach of section 5, subsection (a), of the Licensing Act, 1904. This was the first case at Oamaru of a breach of the, Licensing Act since the closing of the hotels in June.

Additionnl survivors from the Sirio wreck have been landed. It is officially stated that 603 were saved, and 219 are missing. The catastrophe was due to approaching too near the coast in order to embark boatloads of emigrants evading the authorities, many of whom were escaping military service.

During July the Public was placed in charge of fifty-four estates of deceased persons. One of these persons is named in the “Gazette” as “Colm<T, or Garner, James (otherwise Walter England or Billy the Spud.” This queerly named person was a resident of Hastings, formerly of Victoria.

When shooting on the ranges beyond Mt Campbell, inland from Motueka, a young man named Harry Barrow, slipped on some rocks, and his rifle went off, the bullet lodging in his abdomen. It took from Sunday until Monday to carry him over the rough country to Motueka- He was taken to the Nelson Hospital the next day. Hopes are entertained for his recovery.

Commenting on the case of a young man who w r as before the Court at Auckland on Tuesday for the first time on a charge of drunkenness, Mr Kettle, S.M., said that he was sorry to see so many youug men before the Court lately. What the reason was he could not say, but there was no getting away from the fact that large and increasing numbers of young men were in the habit of drinking far too heavily.

Many people are led to doubt the reliability of the oil-flow at Moturoa,New Plymouth, by the fact that the bore is closed down- The explanation is given by a contributor to the “Taranaki Herald.” He Bays that, if the management were so insane as to allow the oil to flow for two or three weeks, they would be losing over one-third of their wealth, as the benzine and burning oils, which comprise over half of the products of the crude oil, wouid practically become lost by evaporation. In the States and other oil regions of the world no such thing is done.

A paperhanger belonging to the North Island had two sons, and he gave them shares in the business. They at once thought of a plan of extension. The first chance they had they would disencumber the stock of a big lot of old fashioned papers and fill the racks with new stuff. Father went for a month’s holiday. That was the opportunity. Off went the out-of-date stock to an auction room, accompanied with instructions to sell at any price and be sure not to return anything. Naturally, the sons did not go to the sale themselves. In fact they did not know what the result had been till one day the father suddenly appeared at the shop. “Hullo father,” said one of the juniors, “wetbeught yon weren’t coming

home for three or four days yet.’ “No I wasn’t,” he replied ‘’but I saw a sale of papers advertised and guessed you younster mighn’t be up to the point of making a pound or two by cheap purchases so I ran down to town and bought £5O worth at regular bargains.” And as he spoke an express drove up to the door with the >arne old lot.

Shoals of letters continue to be received by the Tourist Department, by each ’Frisco mail, making inquiries concerning the colony. Many of the writers state that they contemplate leaving America because the winters there are bitterly cold. One correspondent declares that he could land in New Zealand with 80,000 dollars, and others speak of transferring their capital to this colony, India, too, is represented in the budget. One gentleman with much money wants to be directed to a sunny place where he will be able to end his days with the additional solace of shooting and fishing.

Mr H. J. Bettany, who recently descended the Wanganui river in a fifteen-foot flat-bottomed boat, travelling 154 miles in 32 hours, and negotiating 400 rapids and one waterfall 3ft 6in in height, is about to make another journey down the river in a 14ft craft. He purposes building the boat on the shores of Lake Taupo, and after journeying down the Wanganui River to sail to Christchurch and exhibit his craft at the Exhibition.

Thv dairy cow is often spoken of as the farmer’s great source of profit, but a local agriculturist tells of some results in sheep which need not fear comparison with most dairy returns. Two pens of lambs, which changed hands at a recent sale in Waikato, brought 22s 6d a head. They where not twelve months old, and had been shorn once, the wool realising 7s 6d a head. The sum of 27s 6d [as the gross returnYrom one animal inside of a year is not to be despised .