Clutha News Items.

Bruce Herald, Volume XXXXIV, Issue 57, 22 June 1908, Page 2

Clutha News Items.

(From the Clutha Leader.)

During the past week or so there have been two transfers from the local railway station—Mr Fred MurPhy, engine-driver, to Dunedin; and Mr Len. Newson, cleaner, also to Dunedin. _At Ravensbourne last week, Mr Ralph Kenton, of Te Houka, was married to Miss Palmer, eldest daugh-' ter of Mr Palmer, Logan's Point. Prior to leaving Hillend, where she has been teaching some time, Miss Johnston was presented by Mr Chas. bhand with an amethyst and topaz bangle and pendant, on behalf of the residents, as a token of the esteem in which she is held. At the JVesleyan Church last week, Miss Grant was presented with a purse of sovereigns in recognition of her long service as organist. There are considerably over 100 names.to the petition circulatiug in the Catlins Riding against fhe proposed new county at Tapanui. Opposums are reported to be fairly plentiful in some parts of the Catlins bush. A resident of Ratanui in* forms ue that numbers of them can often be seen there.. Good progress ia being made at Clinton in connection with the improvements in the railway yard. A large number of men are employed, and the place presents a very busy apptun* :J,, i ,,.U*y A% the Addington Stoek Market on Wednesday, prime beef made 22/G to 35/-, medium 20/- to 22/ti, cow and inferior 17/- to 10/6 pgr 1001b. If tbe the Burn side agents would quote in the same way, people ia the country would have a better idea of values than when they merely say prime bullocks so and so. With anything like good luck, a wellknown cattle buyer on Inch Clutha should eome out well on the right side this year. He has about 1000 head of fine bullocks, all well bought, and he Mas plenty of feed to see them through. They are all well grown and well bred three and four year olds. Building promises to be fairly brisk m Balclutha in the near future. A block of land near the railway station ehafcged hands the other day and four new houses are to be erected on it. A good many new houses' have been built during the last year. For a little while there were a good number of empty houses in the town, but some of them were old and out of I date. "With, one or two exceptions every decent house is taken. We heard a man give it as his opinion this week that beef would be as high as £2 per lOOlbs before the Spring. His reason for this belief ' is, the scarcity of turnips on the Taieri, where usually at this time of the year two or three thousand head of cattle were fattening, and. also to the general shortage of cattle. He says that practically the whole of the supplies for beef will have to joe drawn from Inch Clutha, where the turnip crops are excellent. At, a rough guess there must be "?.,000 head of cattle on turnips on the Island. There is plenty of straw and fine dry "run-offs," and they are doing well. There are many good crops of turnips about Inch Clutha and Stirling this year, but probably tho best is at Mr James Bell's farm (now Mr PaterBon's). They are exceptionally wellgrown and even all over. Another first-class erop is Mr Peter Anderson's, at the top of the Island, where Mr Kirk, of the Taieri, has about 100 head of cattle. Mr Adam Bell has 62 head of nice bullocks on his turnips, which will run about 30 ton to the acre, and on Mr Adam Bell, jun's, Mr Geo. McDonald has 100 head of fine bullocks well forward. As & rule, both cattle and turnips are held very firm. As high as £l2 an acre is paid for turnips, and £lO an acre is quite a common price.