THE THAMES VALLEY WARDEN.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume XVI, Issue 2424, 13 June 1889, Page 2

THE THAMES VALLEY WARDEN.

' The Spirit of the Times snail teach me speed — -KING JOHN, ACT IV THURSDAY, JUNE .13, 1869. The serious losses the farmers of the district suffer, through the appropriation of their seed by sparrows and other small birds, call for stringent, measures for the abatement, if not the entire suppression of the nuisance. It is most discouraging to find after thorough cultivation of the soil and a liberal sowing of seed, that through the eating of the seed bj small birds, the crop turns out thin and meagre. The birds thrive, get fat and, multiply, while the poor farmer becomes ltan. The small bird nuisance, in its way, is quite as serious a pes| as the rabbit, and the strenuous public efforts to exterminate the latter ought to stimulate similar exertions for the destruction of the former. The Public Bodies of the district are ready and willing to do all they can to assist the farmer in his endefiroura- to suppress the evil. It has been said that farmers here hare shown an apathetic indifference to the mattej^ and that those who interested thefe-J selves on former occasions in the ae■truction of small birds had met with such luke-warm assistance from the settlers, astofeelnogreatdesire toagain move in the matter. Formerly there was less cropping and consequently fewer birds, Perhaps also, the loss on some of the grain crops by reason *6f their large acreage, was not of suGh an extent formerly as to draw earnest attention to the matter; but, as a nuisance unabated increases) it is the duty of aU farmers to work together for the destruction of a common enemy, no iaatter whether they suffer less than their neighbours from ite inroad*. All will cuff o

equally ultimately. Morbid sentimentality may condone the sparrow encroachments, but sentiment must give way^o public: necessity. Birds are prett^-lii^e creatures, so are rabbits ; but all "ISaeir beauty will not balance accounts in their favour, and the only pleasure which rational settlers ought to take in looking at them should be by regarding them from the other side of a glass case. ' The sparrows have become an acknowledged nuisance by reason of their prolific increase. Their] insectivorous appetite is so small corn! pared with their enormous greed foi "grain* that the evidence against then* fully warrants the capital sentence being passed on them. Scare-crows, rattles, and small boys cannot sufficiently guard the growing crops from them. The sparrows get accustomed to these modes of scaring them, and when disturbed, they only rise in a cloud from one part of the paddock to settle on another. Poisoned grain is the best remedy. The mixture now sold will poison the seed for the sparrow, but will not destroy its germinating qualities ; therefore a liberal sowing of so poisond grain is the best, cheapest, and least troublesome means to adoptfortheirdestruction. We trust therefore, to see a combined movement by settlers and Borough and County Councils in the direction of abating this nuisance.

At a meeting) of the Acclimatization Society in Dunedin, Mr A. 0. Begg said the society had practically , solved one oi the great problems in connection with the acclimatization of salmon. They had now procured ova from fish that they had reared from ova sent from Home, which, they had in confinement; thus rendering the ultimate solution 01 the problem of stocking rivers much more easy. He had no doubt the scientific world would, look on , this as a great achievement, as he understood it was a thing that had never been done in any part of the before. G-eorge Thompson, of Hobson-street, Auckland, has deposited specifications for a new flaxdressing maohine ; Chapman Ewen, of Tamahere, Waikato, has deposited specifications for a oomttined potato separator and bagging machine. ' ' ' ' ■-"■•■ A pound of stream tin from Hall's claims -Pegasus, was f arwarded to the Tasmanian Government analyst, and a reply received that it, yielded 57 per cc.it of metal.) c tin. The farmers of Te Puke are now busily engaged putting in their winter wiieat. ■■ We regret to learn that Mr Mclutosh, so long connected with this distiict as Boad Inspector, leaves on Saturday for Hokiiika. Our good wishes go with him. > We are informed that the Railway Department charge for freight, from Auckland to Oxford, 18s «4d Jper ton dead weight, rnclud'ng cases, jj -t ' '■■ ■,■ ' h A Kansas paper, sneering at lie stupidity of a contemporary, says — "The best tfcing he has got off this week is a dirty shirt." We dail attention to ihe advertisement of the Tauranga and Katikati Permanent Building and Investment Society, from which it will be observed that jio survey fees are charged. Mr B. 0. Jordan advertises an auction sale on Saturday at noon of local prodnce. / A correspondent writes : — The following is a specimen of how business is conducted in Tauranga. A twice adjourned bankruptcy meeting was held,in the Oourtrhouce at 11 a.m. to-day (Thursday). Present— one creditor. Even the principal did not tirnk it worth while' to attend, so little interest does, he take in the matter. All the business in connection with the estate w'U mow have to be done in Auckland. Advance .Tauranga ! rangatira Mere Taka, wife of Daniel, the great loyal chief who acted as guide to the storming party in the attack on Gate Pa, died at Te Matapihi this morning, after a long Sand painful illness. ,~ We are pleased to see that the Streets' Committee have repaired that part of Devonport Boad to, which weir attention was called in our last issue. ' We learn that the Property Tax Commissioner has reduced Mr Gray s valuations as asked for by him. This reduction amounts to £2 10s a year taken off. The rivers'and creeks in Waikato were never known to be so low as this season for twenty years past. ...... Mr J. Richardson, pianoforte and organ tuner,j Auckland, will visit Tauranga about the 20th oy this month. Orders left at this office wlttbi attended to. / Mr E. W. Boucher informs us that he has let his farm at Te Puke, fqnnerly in the possessjpn IMe Murch,; to Mr Wm. Bird, for £45 per annum, and rates,. Thft crop of maize bgnig taken otf this farm now Will, we hear, aveiage fully 75 bushels to the acre. I .. The ' Wanganui Rerald bitterly opposes ;the,prpposal to, eudow an University College iv Wellington. F What some Americans think of Protection as a cure for social evils may be gathered from the following paragraph from the New York Press : Let us make no mistake about it. When gentlemen beg to be "made conductors ; whea l well born, well bred, polished graduates se< k the employment of car drivers; when our jtreets .are swept by. old* time associates and me:i who in other days would have been welcome o our parlors ask the privilege of cleaning oui sidewalks for a ; onp of coffee, isn't it time for vs to cail a halt ? If not, go it. 1 At a public meeting held in Auckland, os June J4tb, ri resolution was unanimously agreed|to recommend the abolition of the Property Tax, and the substitution of a tax upon land. \ "in a ietter published in the Christchurch&ress advocating the establishment of Reformatory Farms as a good means of reclaiming vifcious and neglected boys, Mr Murphy (secrerary of the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral sociation) Jmakes the following graphic analysis of the larrikin .species :— The Colonial larrudn and the British lanikin are very different aiiimals, each requiiing special treatment, The farmer becomes what he is as the result of a t^o liberal animal diet from his youth upwards, antl from a want of proper parental attention. Th& latter is whftt $je js p§r force of circumstances— S from the want of home" taaining, coupled with gross ignorance. The Colonial larrikin, being well fed and well housed, is natiiralhr|ull of j -energy, for which an outlet must pc found., lacking which, and without guidance, it takes the form of lawless rowdyism. He is not usually a thief, but he is none the less dangerous on that account. He may, in fact, be likened to a locomotive under high pressure of steam, without a skilled driver to control its movements. Mr A. A. Crapp, advertises for tenders for ploughing" 100 acres of land at Qmokoroa. We call attention to Mr J. BodelTs advertwe3nfen% ifcr^wfetch^fae cetifiss the arrival of a large BUppF?«fiiew garden and agricultural seeds]; ; all Kmraibf groceries and other commodities required by settlers* . . ; Last week one of the society papers mildly ridiculed certain " swells" who strut about 3itoll#urne in, " stays." This week the aame paper denounces the use oi "rouge" by some of these exqui^ dandies. Fancy what we have come to. Fronjthe old sheep and cattle fanners of half a century ago to the lacod and painted << ■ dufle" of to-day is a long distance" to travel jn so short a time. "The hon. member,** said the Speaker of the New South Wales Parliament* "is not in order in alluding to f^e Government as 'tijese men.' " "You anMiuite right, Mr Speaker ; they are not men." "The hon. member is not in order in calling hon. members, 'not men,' " severely retorted the Speaker. "Then," said the unabashed one^-D«vid Buchanan by name— "will you please inform me how I am to classify them ? Are they old women r " "Order, order," was fte Speaker/a retort. ,

The New Zealand Temperance Alliance crt>-^ jects to the introduction, of fiquor-bai-s in the, forthcoming Dunedin Exhibition, on thfe ground ■ that they are tax-payers, and have a voice in the expenditure of the Colori&J revenue. TKe. Dunedin hotel-keepers are also tax-payers, and they could advance the better objection that liquor-bars in the exhibitiotrwill greatly affect their trade for which they pay ,a license. Neither objections will avail, for the "partaking of refreahnjenlts in the exhibition will be Considered by many there as a principal item in the programme ef their visit. - /it was only the pt6er day the ketch Zillah rvraS here with a cargo \of firewood for Mr & Hardy; now we hear of her total wreck by striking on a reef near J^reaj; Barrier Island, and capsizing, during a south-east gale. What adds to the regret for her totjal wreck, and makes it more deplorable, is the drowning of Messrs John Sena and Prank "Ensley, " her master and mate, who were well known here, and whose sad deaths have' awakened a twide feeling of sorrow. There was a very fair attendance at the dance i in the hall last night, and by the appearance of ' the beaming faces of those present, the evening's enjoyment seemed to be appreciated. We clip, from the Te Aroha Neics, June Bth, the following portion of a report of a meeting of the Ohmemuri County Council :— Waihi Bridge.— One of the Councillors asked if no further communication had been received with respect to the coustruction of Waihi bridge. Cr Corbett said : When the Minister of Mines was last in the district, he pointed out at Waihi the place at which he wished the bridge to be erected, the deck of the bridge to be 4ft, above the peg. He (Cr Corbett) prepared the plans in accordance with the Minister's expressed wish, and the plans etc., were duly for^aMed to Wellington. Objection was then matte- to the size of the bolts in the specifications "and some other trivial matters. This was remedied^ and now the plan- had been returned, again! with a suggestion that the deck of the bridge be an additional 4ft. high. As the plan was now, the' deck of the bridge would be 7|t. 6in. above the river bank. If the last proposition from Wellington were adopted it would mean increasing the length of the trestles from 27ft. (as per plan) to 31ft., and would occasion so much filling that it would exceed the cost of the bridge itself, in fact the bridge and filling would cost &t least £450 ; and there was no necessity .for incurring this increased expense, as the bridge would be 12ft above , the . ordinary high water level according to the present plan. On the suggestion of the Chairman it was decided that Cr Corbett should send a tracing of the plan in accordance with the request oi Government, also showing dip of the adjacent country, and pointing out the great and needless expense the proposed alteration would involve. ; On Saturday June 15th, Mr Bodell will sell at his new auction mart, a quantity of household furniture and produce. „...,! The London Zimte announoas an invention which is called "the nailless horse-shoe. V The shoe is so adapted to the foot that the driver or teamster Can put on the new V Bfcoe"wlthin three minutes, and it will serve every purpose ajid will remain on as long as a shoe that is held ' on by the method of nails. This new shoe pincjies' tho edge of the hoof at certain points, and|is held on mainly in this way, no nails being driven into hoof. When it is remembered that at least one horse in every forty is injured by the driving of ) nails into the quick of the hoof, the value. ; of this invention not only in saving time in shoehag, but in removing perils, will be seen. * 'It is not known that the invention has yet reached America of the Colonies, but it is claimed that it has been successfully employed in England, and that it will work a revolution in the shoffihg of horses everywhere. i The Glasgow Herald tells, the following story: In an East End street the other day* a small crowd gathered round a little ragged old-looking girl, who was crying bitterly because she "had lost the shilling with which she had been sent out a message. " Puir thing,'* said a woman in the crowd, "itis a rale pity o' her, tae. Maybe it was the only sHiUiu'they* I !^;''' i| member of "the foorce" who had. just come Tip heard the remark. "Ma wufnmiri," he said; "if ye hae ony sympathy wi' the lassie put it into practical shape ;, just yemak' a beg nnin' and I'?l gang roond the rest." He held out his helmet as he spoke, and the woman dropped a coin i into it. The collection was an entire success, and the proceeds— l3;|— were handed over to the givl, the constable telling the girl that the odd ijd was to herself — to " mend the greet." . The little incident will not be so readily believed as the sequel to it. When the crowd had dis- ! persed, the policeman set about recovering the lost coin, wlrch had fallen down; a grating. Calling a boy who was at hand, he lifted up the grating and lowered him down'; and when the shilling had been found lifted hyn up again. He however had no sooner set the boy; down on the pavement than the little rascal bolted; with the shilling. - V '