TE AWAMUTU.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 2589, 14 February 1889, Page 2

TE AWAMUTU.

A Cask for the Socii-.rv for Phkvkntion of Cruklty TO Animals.—Some time last month Mr F. Gibson took some stock by mil to Auckland. By the same train the Messrs Good follow sent some fat cattle. When the tram arrived at Fr.mktori Mr Gibson saw two of Messrs Gondfellow s bullocks down in a truck. He applied to tho station master for leave to take the cattle out and get the bullocks up, which there was ample time to do while the train was waiting, tmt the stationmaster could not give leave. Mr Gibson hearing that Mr Hudson was on the train applied to him. He was asked if the cattle were his, or if he was in charge, and on replying in the negative was told he could not interfeie with them, but that Mr Dockland, to whom I hey were consigned, would be telegraphed to for permission. Whether this was done I cauuni say, but the cattle were not touched till they arrived at their destinal ion, when one bullock, the biggest and by far the !>pst of the lot, was so badly injured that he was not able to get up. The animal was got out the best way possible and there it lay, the others were driven to the sale and were sold at an average of £o 12s each ; the injtucd one was sold for £2 o-, and the butcher who bought it had to take it away inacait. Assuming that the bullock would iiiil*' have brought the average, I hern is a loss of £3 7s, but besides the loss there is the cruelty needlessly inflicted. The red tape traditions of the Department must not be deviated from evon_ _to save a poor animal from excruciating torture and suffering. It is simple rubbish to say that the permission of the consignor or wms nec<|*s;iry before the cattle ould be unloaded. Under such circumstances as this, is it any wonder that farmers prefer driving their cattle to shipping them by rail We constantly read in the papers of people being punished for riding or driving horses \vil.h sore backs or shoulders, but the treatment cattle are frequently subjected to on the trains is infinitely worse, yet nothing is done by the society to put a stop to such flagrant cruelty. Cose but. —A concert, to be followed by a dance, in aid of the funds of the bazaar, to roof the parsonage of S. John's Church here, will be hold in the hall on Tuesday evening next. Tho pr»moters of the entertainment have wisely lowered the price of admission to two shillings ; this, together with the fact that there are a good many excellent singers and musicians in the district who will take part, will no doubt attract a good audience. Sai.kof Fruit in Auckland.—Some of the fruit growers here are complaining of the low prices obtained in the Auckland market. One consignor told me that on n consignment of plums lie lost the cases, the freight and commission absorbing the price of the fruit. One settler was present at a sale of apples last year, where one man bought up the whole lot in the auction room on behalf of the various fruiterers for a sum that left nothing for the producer. Tho former have combined against the latter with the result th.it they reap all the profit, a harvest they will continue to gather until in self-defence some system of co-operation is adopted. The word co-operation has an unsavory odour in the nostrils of the farmers since the failure of the " Cooperative Association" which was to lie the salvation of the country districts, consequently farmers are shy of embarking in any such scheme in the future, but unless some such measure of selfprotection is adopted in the matter of fruit the city retail dealer will enrich himself at the expense of the. grower. A gentleman just arrived from England was sauntering about ( l )' ,rt^l ' , '>t ;l 'eet one day and stopped to look at the display of fruit in a shop window. While there lie saw a nun go into the shop with some plums for sale. They were scarce at the time, and the dealer said, "I can only give -Id for them.'' The seller demurred at the price, when the dealer said, "I can't possibly give more, there is very little sale for them, and by the time I get rid of the lot a good many will have gone bad on my hands." The plums were sold at the price, and when the seller went away the stranger walked into the shop and enquired the price of the plums which were just delivered. The reply was eight pence. " That is a good price," said the ■stranger. " I can't possibly sell for less," said the dealer, " there is nothing on them even at that price, I have to give such a high figure for tliem," and more to that effect. Verily the stock of feathers on the proverbial pigeon appears to be inexhaustible. Thk Oodlin Morn.—Mr Grace told me a few days ago that last year his apples were badly affected with tho grub of this moth. Housed no dressing whatever this year, and he has only found four apples with tho grub in them, so that the pest appears to have died out naturally. He made some small paper bags last year into which he put some grubs which soon spun their cocoons, these were put into a bottle but it was the first or second week in January of this year before the moths were hatched out, too late to do any damage, which n;> doubt accounts fir the absence of the grub this year. From this it W'juld appear that the cliniato of this district is unsuitable to them. Ho has a fine crop of apples this season, (Bostons, if I remember rightly), some trees of russets and Bismarcks being heavily loaded as well as trees of other varieties.