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Waikato Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 2569, 27 December 1888, Page 2

The weather promises well for the Hamilton races on Saturday, and a large attendance may be expected on the course at Clandelands. The agent is still pushing the sale of the great "Twin books," and we believe he has succeeded in placing a large number of these splendid works in this district. The books are well got up, and are deserving of a large sale. The Hamilton Light Intantry vail fire for the Now Zealand Clothing Company's trophy on New Year's Day, besides several other prizes. Gapt. Reid has already received offers of prizes from several of our local tradespeople. His Excellency the Governor is expcctod in Auckland on Monday, and will remain in the North for about a week. Sir William Jervois will, be unable to be present at the races on Saturday at Claudelands. The Admiral has bestowed his patronage on the meeting, and, although he will not be present, he hopes some of his officers will. The wheat produced in England this year ia not only pour in quality as & food stuff, but poor as a seed. Mr Carruthers, botanist of the Royal Agricultural Society, after testing it, reported a general failure of germinatiuii to the extent of from 32 to 52 per cent. " Even the living seeds" he says, would tit the best produce weak and poor plants, many of them no plants at all. Several samples of last year's growth showed a germination of 93 to 100 per cent. A heifer grazing on the sport * ground last evening went round the quarter-mile course, and cleanly ate up all the fla*i (between twenty and thirty), which had been placed a few minutes before. So quickly did the animal perform the f«at that the members of the committee who were present, and together on one portion of the ground, had n't timu to drive it away. Each flas? measured nearly a square font, so that the heifor has g.»t a good many yards' «tart of all-couiers. —Howera Star. To the Editor : Sir,-I think it my duty as one of the churchwardens of K. Stephens, Tamaherc, to contradict the statement made in your issue of the 23th December, to the effect that the service and carols on Christmas evening were to bo u rendered by a band of amateur vocalists most of whom are from Cambridge," and to inform you that the service was rendered by the choir of the Church, aud that no asnistanco was asked or expected from friends at a distance.—l am Sir, yours fee., Aston T. I;\ Wheeler.

An epidemic of the disease known as cancer has been playing sad havoc among poultry in and around Invercargill, and in some cases further afield. Its symptoms are loss of appetite, listiessness, and development of ulcers on tho combs and wattles. Internally, the throat and tongue are similarly affected, and where proper remedies are not promptly applied, the birds either become blind or die. Tho causes of the malady, so far as known, are ill-kept fowlhouses and overcrowding. The losses to date locally have been heavy, some yards having been entirely depopulated, while others have been reduced by one-half their number. Among the survivors many have lost an eye, and all bear unmistakeable evidence of the ordeal they have passed through. I wonder whether the " general" satisfaction that is expressed in Brisbane at the appointment of Sir Henry Wylie Norman as Governor, equals in intensity the " particular " satisfaction that Sir Henry Blake must experience at the loss of the office. Sir Henry Blake has been persecuted by the Irish party out of a Governorship worth £0000 a year into a Governorship of i'llOOO, and the mere fact of the persecution will give him claims on the Impe rial Government that will make his whole future safe. On the other hand, poor Sir Henry Norman is removed—or at the call of duty consents to go —froin a Governorship of £0000 a year to one of £3000. so that he will hardly share the satisfaction that the people of Brisbane express. The Irish National party will claim the change as one of their successes. Let us trust that every boycotted loyalist may he as severely dealt with !—" Atticus "in the Melbourne Leader. In the Canterbury Weekly Press appears a series of articles written by a special representative, under the noni'deplume of The Warrigal. This pleasant writer, who called on us a few days ago, is "doing" the Waikato rivers in a catamaran called tho Laone. His particular object is to make a personal acquaintance with the interior of Maoriland, and give graphic descriptions of the country. He launched his little craft at Ngaruawahia and went up Firewood Creek. We clip the following paragraph from his letter : —Now the solitude of the creek is broken, for a few settlers have obtained fifty acre blocks on the rich alluvial terraces, and they have been at work in places with axe and fire. They have built houses for thamrelves, and made garden* and orchards. The land is rich, the climate good. Even at this early season of the year, planted without manure and with very little labour, are ready, but I question whether tho settlers will make agriculture or fruit culture pay owing to the excessively heavy railway freight to Auckland. I wonder the people here do not open out the old Maori route to Auckland—down the Waikato to the Awaroa Creek and over two miles of land to the Mamikau harbour. In spite of the transhipment I think it could compote with the railway, especially if the Bottlers worked together and arranged for the river steamer to tow their boats up the river again. One settler in this district said ho would give the Railway Company all his produco if they would give him the freight. but he spoke in the bitterness of his spirit I suppose."