THE Bay of Plenty Times AND

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume XX, Issue 2803, 14 March 1892, Page 2

THE Bay of Plenty Times AND

THAMES VALLEY WARDEN. f Tha Spirit of the Times thai I teaoh ma spvtd. — King John, Act ir. MONDAY MARCH 14, 1892. It is gratifying to find that sheep owners in this district are devoting patient and earnest attention to studying the facts connected with the uudue mortality that has occurred in past years in the local flocks, and which has been most erroneously described as a disease, and further as one special to this district. We bave com batted these two detrimental and erroneous impressions that have been spread abroad by the press in other parts, as well as, originally, probably, by local people but imperfectly congant with the facts, and also imperfectly acquainted with the business of sheepfarming, except under circumstances entirely favourable in all particulars. Now, happily, a change ia coming over the scene ; attention has been so vstrongly drawn to the losses which the district has suffered owing to the abnormally high death rate amongst the sheep, that something like a combined effort has been made to discover the cause or causes and the means of its or their removal. Circumstances have recently been brought to our knowledge which lead us to believe that the effort has not been in vain. We have watched with pleasure the progress of the enquiries and the results achieved, and last week were shown at Mt. St. John a flock of 800 clear, healthy young sheep, well fleeced, strong and iv capital conditiou as regards flesh ; they were all reared and purchased locally, many of them never having been more than six miles from the present owner's farm, none of them have ever been outside the so-called infected area. Many of the lambs when originally purchased from the breeders showed a number of the protean symptoms of the pseudodis&a&e, and appeared to be almost hopeless cases, yet the mortality for weeks has beeu nil, and it would be necessary to go very carefully through the flock now to find a single animal to which exception could be taken. Recognising the va«t importance to the district of the fact that sbeep can beared, reared, shorn and fattened here with success equal to any part of New Zealand, we shall be glad to lav

before our readers any further evidence that may come to our knowledge in connection with this matter, and further, we ask those sheepowners who have been specially devoting their energies to remove the unmerited stigma from the name of our district, ' to communicate to us any facts that they may think desirable to make '. known connected with their experience, and which might be serviceable to their fellow settlers.

The improved farm known as Kelstou with a substantial 12 roomed house is for sale ; intending purchasers should communicate with Mr W, N. Ley, on the property. /"we have, inspected a coach just done up at Mr W. barker's works, Devonport Road, to I the order of Mr <3K Crosby, of Paeroa ; the / vehicle is paiuted in an artistic and workman- ' like manner and has given satisfaction. The body is coloured vermilhen bordered with black and the panels are filled in with fancy scroll work ; the wheels and undercarriage are in bronze green neatly picked out aud finely lined, the work altogether is a credit to our local factory 5 /The caterpillar plague has made its appearc ince in the Te Puke maize fields and some oi •them are completely stripped, the cobs being , entirely eaten out, some of the mere' advanJ ced crop?' wheie the gtaia ha? hardened hay« / escaped and some paddocks a&yet are quite untouched by the line of march of th© devouring l insects. Taken in conjunction with the prej sent low price of maize this is a very severe blow to our settlers. ■<* ""Water is unusually scarce at Te Puke jusi ' now, the/heavy rain experienced in Tauranga a few nights since not having extended as fai as that district. ""The crops already threshed in this distrid ' are turning out very well ; Capt W. A. Clarke, Wairoa, has bagged the produce of 90 acres oi oats yielding 35 bushels to the acre, the seed was Black Nubian and was put in with a drill. Two well known Te Puke properties have j ust changed hands, Mr Boucher having disposed of hia 100 acre piece with four roomed house for £1000 cash to Messrs Ker Bros. MrD. Griffiths has disposed of his farm of 100 acre* in grass for £500 to Mr Boucher, who has also purchased a 30 acre paddock on No 2 road ai £3 10s an acre. tlt is very encouraging tc notice the big prices that those acquainted practically with Te Puke are willing to pay tc 3 increase their holdings, as it shows thorough confidence in the capacity of the district. TVe regret to chronicle the death, after a brief illness, of Mr GK A. Douglas, late oi * Motiti, which took place at Napier on Friday afternoon last. Mr TDouglas had not been W . good health, for & considerable period bat no« thing serious was apprehended when he started for Napier three weeks back to purchase a mob of sheep. Subsequently Mr J. Maxwell received a telegram from the Loan and Mercantile Agenoy Co stating that Mr Douglas was seriously ill and asking that his nephew, Ml W. Douglas, be informed and asked to go tc - his uncle. Mr W. Douglas started overland sA once but had not got beyond Whakatane wher 1 news of his uncle's death arrived. The late Mr Douglas originally came from Deny, Ire- [ land, and in this country in the early days was a large contractor under both the Imperial and , Colonial Governments for the supplies to the » troops. About a quarter of a century since he ) was a member of the old Provincial Council oi » Auckland and was mainly instrumental in getting the erection of the Strand breakwater undertaken for Tauranga. In 1870 he retired from business life and went to Motiti Island v where he devoted his attention chiefly to im- ' proving the breed of considerable mobs of cattle . and horses. Mr Murphy, of the Tauranga High School, recently sent two pupils np for examination and we are glad to hear that both have been successful ; Miss Tuthill having obtained a partial certificate for Class D, in the teachert examination and Mr D. McNaughton having ; secured a pass in the Junior Civil Service examination. Mr Murphy has long held a higi place for hia successful teaching and it if , satisfactory to find that his efforts continue tc 3 be crowned with such marked success. In pursuance of the resolution of the directors of the Improvement Co, the Baths wer« closed to-day. An event has happened in connection witl * our office that, to the party most concerned 1 only happens once, and that is quite enough, but to the other parties concerned it ofter r occurs frequently. In case this should not appear quite clear, we may say in explanation that our worthy foreman, Mr R. Rhodes has become seized of a sou and heir, and as this is | the first time such a thing has happened to him, we let him off with a caution not to repeat it, Like all happy fathers when the first additiou of 1 to the household committee of 2 takes place, he is naturally a little elated and has insisted on inserting an advertisement over the leader and a facsimilo portrait of the interesting stranger at the foot of the Irish National Concert programme. The baby is a bonnj boy and having been weighed on the office spring balance with which we weigh out waste paper to our customers, has been found to scale ) y Btone lOlbs, or thereabouts, so the foreman r told us on Saturday evening, when we were * drinking the infant's health. Mr D. Lundon has received the following J telegram from Mr GL Peacocke, of the New I Zealand Farmer staff :— Have seen Minister of [ Lands, Messrs Fraser and Kelly, re experir mental farm for sheep disease. McKenzie very favourable. Messrs Kelly and Fraser I will support the project. Send number of j sections of 900 acres you consider suitable, i A large gathering from all parts is anticipated at Te Puke on Wednesday when Messrs l Lundon and McNicol will otter Mr G. Lee's * farm at Te Puke with stock, farm implements, ensilage presses, etc., and also his water power flax mill at Kerikeri. The properties are some of the best in the flourishing district of Te . Puke. Mr Murphy, M. A., undertakes the preparatiou of candidates for Matriculation and Civil Service examinations and teachers certificates, either in class or by correspondence. Complaints are rife about evil smells along the Strand lately, the Sanitary Inspector is wanted. Mr Humphreys finds it almost impossible to get a respectable team together to meet an eleven from Te Puke next Saturday, and he has written to Mr Lee to put off the match. It is to be hoped that some interest will be taken in cricket next season. We regret to say that the adjourned meeting called for Saturday afternoon to consider the establishment of an Agricultural and Pastoral Association fell through owing to paucity of attendance. When we glance at the Waikato ; Times and see a whole column report of interesting discussion about the diseases of sheep , and their treatment, at a similar institution to that sought to be established here, we can only r say in Maori idiom, "Our heart is very dark" about the prospects of Tauranga. The arrival of the s.s. Australia has been pospoued until Thursday morning wheii she will sail again at 11 o'clock for Gisborne. | The Poundkeeper advertises a young heifer . impounded, which will be sold at noon tomorrow unless claimed . At Pentridge Prison the other Sunday the regular Roman Cathoiic chaplain was away, 1 and a young priest fresh from Ireland took kis place. Either from native innocence or pure forgetf ulness of time aud place, 'the chaplain pro* tern., in preaching to the assembled prisoners chose as his text "Lord, it is good for us to be here." Garlick aud Cranwell have just issued the most complete Illustrated Furnishing Book Catalogue that has been published in the colony. It will prove especially convenient for country settlers, storekeepers and others about to furnish. Illustrations ore given of hall, drawing, dining and] bedroom furniture. Young people about to many will find it a great assistance in making up their list and estimating cost ot f vr T nishing. It also shows how a 3 roomed house can be furnished for £17 10 0 ; four rooms for £38; five rooms for £80; and six room for £150. Full particulars of bedding, iron bedsteads and general furnishing goods. You will not do better than furnish from Gaelics; & Ceahw^ll, Queen St, Auckland.