AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2222, 5 October 1886, Page 2

AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Equal and exact justice to all men, Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political.

TUESDAY, OCT. 6, 1886. # Though the present Government did away with the bonus allowed for planting forest trees and appeared for a time to confine their interest in forestry to so-called conservation, Mr Ballance's lat« action shows that he intends if continued in office to adopt more positive measures to retard the denudation which is surely threatening us. An accurate account of what is being done in afforestation would be of great advantage. All the agricultural statistics labour under strong suspicions ot inaccuracy, these are glaringly false. According to them, while we had 24,688 acres devoted to plantations of forest trees in 1885, this year we have only 24,352, or 336 acres less. Isolated districts show greater contradictions ; thus, Waikato, Selwyn and Ashburton counties have severally 606, 1052 and 602 acres less this year than last. As these returns cost a considerable amount, the least we might expect is accuracy ; without it the money might just as cheaply and just as beneficially be flung into the Pacific. The time is past when it was necessary to insist on the necessity of protecting and supplementing Nature in her forestwork. 1 heoretically all admit it, practically it is neglected in New Zealand almost alone among the countries of the world. German jr, France and British India in the old world, and the United States in the new, have all found it necessary to repair the ravages in this direction of past neglect. The last country is the nearest case in point to our own. Like her we have had, and may for the immediate present say we still have, large areas covered with timber, and other districts such as the Canterbury Plains treeless. Like her we have been spendthrifts of our wealth. But here the resemblance ends. Twelve years ago Congress, recognising the importance of the question, passed i the Timber Culture Act, under which millions of trees have been planted. Specially in Dakota, Minnesota, Kansas and Nebarka has this useful work been carried on. In these States timber for fencing, farm building and fuel was conspicuous by its absence, but there are now thousands of trees 30 or 40 feet high and nine inches in diameter grown from cuttings or seedlings put in within the past few years. Several conditions co-operate with American go-aheadism towards the result. A remission of taxation is granted to farmers proportioned to the number of trees planted by them ; at least twenty States have set apart an Arbor Day on which everyone has to turn out and put in a tree ; every State school teacher is supplied with a Forest Manual giving reliable information as to when, where, what and how to plant. Isolated schools have taken the matter in hand in New Zealand. What we want is a compulsory enactment on the subject ; awaiting this it would be surely competent for our Education Boards to show the way on their school grounds and reserves. Railway companies in the States follow the same good principle, one such corporation alone having planted over a million trees and continuing the work. Leaving out of consideration the climatic effects of forests we all know the need of timber on a farm ; we also know the value of shelter,

not to speak of the aesthetic or = moral effects of trees. Shelter not »c only saves forage but cattU arc in better condition, cowi give more milk, feeders retain their fat. On J* the minor climatic effects the Melbourne Leader points out that in the forests of Canada the lumber men work through the coldest l » months of winter while in q the open country a slight breeze I. sends the temperature 30 degrees below zero ; engine drivers and firemen also notice that . it is far easier in very cold weather to keep up steam while passing through forest than ji through open country. b The trees most used for shelter purposes in this country are pinus '" insignia^ oupressus macrocarpa, and ' the various kinds of eucalypti. A a very useful tree would be black * wattle, acacia deeurrens, valuable for the treble purpose of shelter, bark, and fuel. The New Zealand 1 Country Journal for September con- " tains notes on the comparative [ capacity of trees to withstand the i heat of our summers. On strong soil the writer recommends the - larch, Scotch fir, and other » branches of the pinus family ; the spruces, with the exception of abies menziesii do not appear to thrive at any rate on the wind-swept Canterbury Plains, where, however) the blaok birch grows well. * Macrocarpa grows rapidly, makes * excellent rails, stakes, and hurdles, I and would probably stand well I in the ground. We publish ■ elsewhere this writer's meehod [ of planting. In the same jouri nal is a report from the Curator ; of the ChriBtchurch Public Gardens on the damage done by frost during the last winter. Throughout June and July there was frost nearly every night, several nights 15 degrees, and on June 25th even 18 degrees of frost Under the trees, where the thaw did not reach, the ground required a pick to break it. The hardiest trees of value were kauri, strinjry bark, black wattle, Japanese and French mulberries, (monts muUtcaulis and m. rostajolia) and olive : ritnu, jarrah, iron wood, iron bark, and the white mulberry, (m. alba) were killed ; totara unluckily does not occupy a place in the list nor yet puriri. The difficulty of raising many of the New Zealand timber trees, more particularly kauri, is wellknown, so that these notes are of value to planters. The protective effects of willows along the banks of navigable rivers are a matter of common observation ; they have also been used with considerable success in confining rivers in the Middle Island, which, when in flood are apt to change or overflow their channels and often ruin thousands of fertile acres by , their deposits of shingle. Along the French Laiides south of the Gironde, the prevailing westerly , winds were gradually driving the fine sand of the beach further and ] | further inland. Some years ago i plantations of pines were started, j which not only protected the fertile ; land from such encroachment, but ] euabled men to reconquer the lost '' territory from the sea-sand, and this j not merely at no expense, but with ( a handsome profit. A large extent ] of the West Coast of the North J Island is similarly exposed to the ! encroachment of the sea-sand, and j might be similarly protected with i great direct and indirect advantage. * We look forward to the School of \ Forestry at Whangarei as likely to r awaken an intelligent interest in ( these and other kindred questions. t

The charge of perjury against A. D. Bennett, arising out of tho Bolton cases was concluded on Saturday, when the accused was committed for trial. The annual meeting of the Pate* rangi Cheese and Dairy Produce Company will be held in the old school-house on Wednesday, the 13th mat., at 2 p.m. Owners of animals now permitted to be at large on public roads in the Kirikiriroa Boad District are notified to remove them within seven days, or otherwise legal proceedings will be taken. Major Gudgeon, the commissioner appointed to adjudicate upon claims for land for military and naval services sat at the R.M. Court, Hamilton, again on Saturday, when the proceedings, as before, were private. There is nothing new to report about the strange beast seen by Mr Castleton's boys. On Sunday a large number of people visited the farm, and some beat the creek for a considerable distance, but nothing was seen. The Ngaruawahia« Hamilton road is reported to be very bad in places. Several of the small bridges, and one in particular, near Beere«court,~ are in a dangerous condition, and should be looked to without loss of time by the local authorities. We are requested to state that any old soldiers who neglected to send in their claims for land to the commissioner sitting at Hamilton, can obtain forma from the bailiff of the R.M. Court, who will | direct them as tojthe method of procedure, | &c. A public meeting of the residents of Ngaruawahia will be held on Monday evening next, to urge upon the Government tho desirability of opening up lands for settlement between the Waipa and West Coast, and making road from Firewood Creek to the Hot Springs. The Huntly Football Club will visit Hamilton on Saturday next, to play the return match with the local team. A selection from the following will represent Hamilton : — Messrs Odium (2), Mclntyre (2), Mayes, darken, Guird, Steele, Jolly, Bindon, Kingsley, R. McKenzie, Salmon, Hmton, Scorgie, Beale, Reid, Devitt and F. Murray. Constable Brennan, and a number of witnesses in cases sent from Cambridge for trial at the Supreme Court, left for Auckland by rail on Saturday morning. Constable White, of To Aroha, relieves Constable Brennan at Cambridge. Constable Murray left Hamilton on the same day to attend as a witness in the cattle stealing cases. Nominations for the vacant seat in the Cambridge Borough Council closed at noon on Saturday. The following were received : — Mr James Hally, nominated by Messrs A. Clements and H. Gillett; and Mr James Johnson, nominated by Messrs Thomas Nixon and George Smerdon. A poll will be taken next Monday, between tht hours of 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. We need scarcely remind our readers that " Our Boys" will be performed at the Oddfellows' Hall, Hamilton, this evening. In our present issue will be found an alteration in the musical programme. The company had a very successful rehearsal on Saturday, and there is every reason to believe that to-night's performance will far outshine that given on a previous occasion. The Cambridge Cheese Factory commenced operations last Friday, with » supply of 140 gallons of milk, from eight suppliers. The factory opens this season under favourable conditions, the cheese has gained a hnt-clasa reputation in the mar-

u« kot, th« supply of milk is likely to be t plentiful, and the management of Mr Geo. Watt is all that could be desired. There is, n consequently, every prospect of success for c the company. u The Wellington Educational Institute recommends among other matters the iiBiie of text-books in which New Zeatt land matter should be prominent. Some sr months ago an enterprising public firm ' down south issued circulars to school * teachers inviting contributions towards n readers on this design. The terms offered were a guinea for Standards Y. and VI., i guinea for 111. and IV., for not less than J- four paqps with at least two appropriate q illustrations, original or photographic. . Teachers, in this district at any rate, were however so afraid of a too rapid adipose d development that they passed the suggesG tion over in unsympathetic silence. a An inquest was held at Taupiri yesterday on the body of a child, two and a-half years old, the daughter of Mr T. H. r White, who died somewhat suddenly on Sunday morning. Mr Searancke, coroner, -* conducted the inquiry, and Mr Jackson was 1 foreman of tho jury. Dr. Murch deposed that he was sent for on Sunday morning to . attend the child. Ha arrived at 6 a.m., X but found the child had died some hours 9 before. He attributed death to convulsions, supervening upon whooping cough, and a I verdict in accordance with the medical 1 testimony was returned. It appears that - the child had been ailing for about a week. c Whooping cough is very prevalent in the Taupiri as well as some other districts. I One of the Cambridge contingent ? of Kimberley diggers, Mr James Meredith, 9 has written from Wyndhatn, Cambridge r Gulf, to Mr J. P. Thomson. Meredith and his mates took two horses with them from 9 Sydney, and succeeded in keeping them S alive through the excessive heat expertj enced on the voyage by sitting up all night and fanning them. Eight horses belonging * to other owners died on -the trip. At - Wyndham the party heard contradictory reports from the diggings, some bud and others good, so they determined to go up 8 country and see for themselves. Meredith , describes the heat as something awful, and i states that his own health is somewhat affected by it. He is 1 well-known in Catnip bridge, and ia a good specimen of a tough, I wiry, and hardy man. At a meeting of the Hamilton . Domain Board last night, the follow ing tenders were received : — Carting : J. * Coombes (accepted), posts per 100 Bs, r wire per ton 3s 6d, strainers and gate posts . 4^d each, ironwork and staples per cwt. 2£d. — J. Ooombes, disc harrowing Is 6d per r stroke, tine harrowing li per stroke, seed i sowing Is per acre, rolling twice 3s per I acre (accepted) ; John Kenny (informal) ; W. Hall, disc narrowing Is 3d per stroke, tine harrowing Is per stroke, rolling Is 3d i per acre. — F. Forrest, fencing, No. 14s per chain, No. 2 4s, No. 3 3s Gd (accepted), No. 4 4s, gate hanging 5s each, ditch and bank 1 sss per chain ; Thos. King, fencing, No. 2 3s Gd per chain, ditch and bank, 3s per chain ; J. Wright, fencing. No. 4 3s lOd per chain, gate hanging 4s, or 5s if footed, (accepted) ; B. Ward, fencing, No. 1, 2s Ud per chain (accepted), No. 2 2s 9d (accepted), ditch and bunk 10s per chain, gates Gs each. Bather a good story has reached us. A resident of Hamilton East, whom we will call Blank, is, or rather was, the proud possessor of a dog. Some time ago, however, he lost the animal, and could find no trace of it until last week when he heard that a certain cockatoo farmer of Kirikiriroa named Dash, had a dog in his possession answering to the description of his long-lost Snider. Accordingly, accompanied by (in this instance) his verymuch better half and numerous olive branches he proceeded to the farm of the aforesaid Dash, and after looking round the premises and finding no trace of the canine, he knocked at the door and made inquiries regarding the object of Ins search. Dash, after demanding a description of the lost animal from Blank, admitted he had a dog in his possession, but positively refused to show him to Blank. Blank, now thoroughly convinced he was on the right scout, threatened to fetch the police, but of this threat Dash took no notice. Blank and the members of his family present withdrew a short distance, and at a council of war it was decided that Blank should walk into Hamilton and \ procure the assistance of the police. Posting his wife and youngsters in different positions round the house to see that no attempt was made to get the dog away in the meantime, Blank came into Hamilton. He interviewed the sorgeant, and after paying five shillings for a search warrant, < a mounted constable was told off to accom- ( pany Blank to Dash's farm. Upon arriv- j ing the constable interviewed Dash and j said, "I am given to understand, Dash, you have a dog in your possession which Mr ] Blank here has reason to believe belongs to , him. So you will please fetch it out." , " Have you g jt a search warrant?" Dash < inquired, ant} on the constable informing f him that he had and giving him, ocular i proof of the same, Dash requested him to f read it. This was speedily complied with, ( and the constablo again ordered Dash to j bring forth the dog. Dash, seeing further opposition would bo useless, said, 4< Well, t I suppose I must bring him out now," and , on tho constable assuring him that he cor- j tainly must. Dash went into the house and y. returned with the dog in his arms, and, . turning to Blank, said, "Is this your ilog, | Blank ?" This boing negatively replied to, « Dash turned to the constable and put the a same question, and from him received a t similar reply to that given by Blank. y Dash then said, " Well, the dog is mine, f I have had him since the beginning of the y year. I keep him in my bedroom, and he j never barks or bites ; he is altogether a good dog." Seeing that the dog produced by * Dash was merely the picture of a large r Newfoundland dog, to be found upon a T trade almanac Issued by % firm of Hamilton • grocers, the constable qulto believed the j eulogy in its favour made by Dash. Blank and his family, in a frame of mind better n imagined than described, speedily placed • distance between them and the scene of j, their defeat, and Dash would have come rj well out of this little episode had he let < things remain at this, but thinking he had a good oause of action against the discoin- y fited Blank, he consulted a lawyer, who j ( speedily disabused his mind on this score, and for so disabusing; charged the usual q f ee.