THE COUNTRY.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 15768, 8 December 1916, Page 10

THE COUNTRY.

NOTES AND NEWS. JOTTINGS FOR FARMED Tap. fleeces in the merino and other competitions at the Canterbury A. and P. Association's recent Metropolitan' Show -were prepared yesterday tor valuation, the valuers lieing Messrs AYaltcr Hill and William Nicholls. Upon the of Dr. l,evinge, the secretary ol the Canterbury A. and I'. Association (Mr O R. IVroberton) U writing to county councils and roa'J [■wards in Canterbury, asking iheni to give a portion ot the cocksfoot seed fathered ofi' the roads under their jurisdiction for the Belgian Agricu!tural Restoration I'und. In spite of the extremely dry season a jrood lueerTie strike, has been obtained in a nadclock at the Prison Farm at Templeton. The land is light, and sandy, and "'sposcd to the nor'-westers which, have been so ot late, but the seed has conic up thickly except where the turfacc has actually been blown up by the -wind. The seedlings rapidly rend down their roots after germination, and toon, they are independent. of surface moisture. On a farm near Islington, plants -with the roots partly cut off had reached 19 ineheo in length iu eight weeks. and the plant*, were then only a few inches above the surface. This plot, -which is four acres in extent, was drilled with 101b to the acre., the only fertilising agent, used being lime, and it' now presents a most promising Jt was sown in the middle of September, and h.io already had the. mower over it. Mr A. ■Macpherson, Fields Instructor of tho of • Agriculture, paid a visit of inspection to the plots yesterday, and showed one of our- staff the results of several methods of sowing and manuring. So far as- the majority of soils in Canterbury are concerned, lime only is required, and Mr Macphcrson is a strong advocate of drilling the seed instead of broadcasting. The int.ercultiva.tion of t'je plot near Islington bas no doubt assisted in bringing the plants o° sc* well in this dry peason. and this -work could not have been done had the seed been sown broadcast.

A f>trikiug example of the damage caused by impure seed is given in a lot.tor received from a farmer iu the Hay of Islands district, who is a. member of the farmers' correspondence class bring conducted by the agricultural instructors of the Auckland Education Board. Ho writes: —"J enclose speeimens of » plant that is simply c.'iokiug out m.y new grass sown last autumn. Evidently the seed was with, the sample, as 1 had not sufficient to &ow a small corner of the paddock, and you can tell exactly where I left off sowing, as' there is not one of these specimens found there." The plant forwarded is parweed fbartsia vicosa). one of the worst weeds in the Auckland Province. and oue which is particularly plentiful in the Tuakau, To Aroha. Te Awamutu. and Tlclen»vSlle line districts. Tt has a yellow flower, and is. a very free seeder. The only remedy is pulling; up the plants by hand, or cutting the plant in the ffowcring stage e>o as to prevent it seeding. OULVER-DEX. The Culvcrdon Tennis Club opened the seasou ou Saturday laat ou their court at Culvcrdt-n. A number of visitors from. "VVaiau were present, and some very enjoyable games were played. Afternoon tea "was provided by the ladies of the local club. ' Tlie annual- school treat and distribution, of prizes iu connoxiou with Culverjim Sunday School was held i* the Culverden Domain on Saturday last. There was a largo attendance of scholars, parents, and friends, and as the weather was perfect, a mosb enjoyable afternoon was spent. A short programme of races and other contents was carried out, and the prizes for the year were presented by the Rev. J. H. Thompson. Special prizes for attendance and good work were won by Ivy Goulding, Carl Crampton, and Clarence Crampton, The refreshments were provided by the ladies, and an excellent tea was the result of their combined efforts

On Tuesday the members of the railway staff at Culverden presented Mr F. Reed, who has been transferred to Springston, with a set of jugs and a teaset. The presentation was made by Mr T. G. Crampton, stationmaster, who wished Mr and Mrs Reed happiness and prosperity in their new'home. Mr M. J. Coffey "(ganger) also spoke, and expressed his regret at losing Mr Reed's scfviccs. Mr llced suitably responded .

The weather has been very hot and dry during the past few days, and pastures are. beginning to show signs of turning brown, while.oat crops arc fast ripening, and the machines will soon ho at work amongst, them. Shearing is now goinc ahead . rapidly after tho broken weather of a couple of weeks ago. and the bulk of it should shortly bo completed. RANGIORA. On Wednesday afternoon, Mr l'. E. Lynskey, who leaving Rangiora for Christdiurch, -was entertained at the Bank of Now Zealand, Rangiora, bv Mr and Mrs W. C. Barton, and was tho recipient of a pipe and tobacco pouch. Mr Barton, in making tho presentation on behalf of the staff, referred to Mr Lynskey's many good qualities as accountant for the last three years. Ho had made the offico run smoothly, and his departure was, to be regretted. The cxigencice op tho war necessitated his transfer. Mr C. E. McLachlan, the new accountant, was welcomed. "Mr E. W. Pinfold, of Mosgiel. who was formerly teller in the bank at Rangiora. i*» shortly going into camp at Trentham. Last evening the. members of the Rangiora Presbyterian choir, assisted by some Christchurch friends, held a concert ip the Oddfellows' Hall in aid of the choir funds. An excellent programme. was given, consisting of solos by Missrw M. Harris, E. " Johnson, I,orna. MeGruar! and Messrs Sidney Williamson, ('. Iveir. and J. McLean ; quartet by Misse s M. E. Young and J. Dalziel, and Messrs .1. McXenzie and C. Keir: pari t-ongs by the Rangiora choir and Christchurch friends, and recitations by Miss Hucklev. The accompaniments were played hv Misses G. La ton and G. Rogers, and the condor-tor was Mr Sidney Williamson. The Rev. W. 11. llowe s thanked the on behalf of th" choir, and also the audicncc lor their attendance. HALS WELL. The Hall Committee has dceidcrl to hold a dance on Boxing night, the proceeds to bo devoted t<> paying off the I debt oil the piano. Given a good night there, should l>c a large attendance. To-morrow there will be a-tennis tournament at the Domain grounds in aid of the local Red .Fund, the rain on the previous occasion having spoilt both the attendance, and the play. The club has to a. large extent been weakened by so many of its members being on active service, but there are many promising young folk still to bo seen on the court. AKAROA. j Hot, summer weather has prevailed j for the past week, two or three of the j days having been uncommonly warm. | Sea-bathing ha* l>oeomo fashionable, j very quickly. and the accommodation p.t ! the Municipal Baths is often overtaxed. A couple of rough shelters on the bc-ach that the children could use as drc=siug-rooint> would be a dccidcd ai>

rpiiition. The heat and the absence [ | of uain. not to speak of an odd nor'- | wester now and then, are having their ; effect on pasture and garden. A steady j downpour for twenty-four hours -would be gladly -welcomed by the dairy farmer. Shearing will *ooti be-finished. Most of the sheds have cut out. the dry -weather baring allowed them to j carry on without a break. j Boat-building is not yet a lost art ! in Akaroa. Time -was when the shores ! of the spacious harbour t*aw quite a : number of smart coasting ctaft, \ ketches, cutters, schooners, and the : like, come, into being. They served ! their day and generation -well, and . many a r-tory is still told of their es- ; poricnccs in the early years of ti: : eolonv. Now, however, that oil engines have, come to «staj\ it. is motov ; [punches that arc built. During the | past five years several very creditable i boat*. bavc been turned out, in some j carfcs the owners themselves being the shipwrights. Too latest addition to the miniature fleet is the Tui, a launch 10 feet long, 0 feel beam. 3 Fo»t 0 inches moulded depth, and having a capacity of nearly 6 tons. She was built in three months bv her owner, Mr George Whcirh. so irel] and favourably known in years gone by as Ne*w Zealand'* amateur champion sculler. Mr WheJch is fitting her with a 22-h.p. engine, and hopes to have her in commission for the tourist season. IUL\DS. The monthly meeting of the Hinds School Committee Tva-s held on "Wednesday evening, Mr J. 'M. Hampton in the chair. The master's report showed a roll number of 84. and that, four new pupils bad l*?e.n admitted during the month. The attendance was very good. i)n the previous Thursday the annual excursion had been held. Mr Martin had examined the children in agriculture and had expressed himself as satisfied with the --work done. It -was decided to close the school on December 22nd for the midsummer holidays. The weather for. the .last two days has been very, hot/ and dry, and the feed is' bein'e; burnt up. The crops also are suffering for .want of rain. Shearing is nearly finished on the farms and at. the local sheds. A good quantity of wool has'been, scijt away by rail. Tho .County Council has decidcd to ♦olacc 60 feet of piping at the -waterrace crossing at the Hall, and'to continue t'le -water-race straight across the road. . RAKAIA. . , i The parents of a Rakaia resident wr.jc j married 42J years ago, and have been ■42 yca.rs in New 'Zealand. They have reared a family of nine children, all but. one of whom are married, ajid there arc fifteen grandchildren. The stockmust be healthy, as it is only this week that tho first break occurred, the death of a haby grandson. At St. Andrew's Churcli on Vi'ednes- j day night. Mr J. Cumming delivered tho j Jirst part of an address on t'hc storv of I h;s life. The church way crowded. I extra seating accommodation having to ! be provided. ■ ! At the presentation of. the cups for shooting on Wednesday, the Hon. U. | A. C. Hardy mentioned tho fact that j several of tlio cadets came considerable distances to attend parades; further than, tho eight miles-over which the! compulsory clause operates. It ap- j pears that two-lads come no less than j 16 miles,, and arc very regular, while j there arc several others who exceed I nine miles'. ! The monthly meeting of the South j Rakifia Road Tjoard was held yesterday. There were present—Messrs M. • J. Harrison (chairman), A. Drummond, j A. J. Magson, and <T." T.ambie. Cor- ; rcspondence was received from Mr IT. j 0. tirny asking for the patronage of ; the Board at the "0«r Day" functbu i at Lauriston on December 12th. Mr Drumpiond , was appointed to; represent the Hoard. Mr James Cow. of Tinwald. wrote thanking the Board for j its donation towards the hutment fund, j The Valuation Department advised., tho transfer of property from C. Newfcyo to J. Taylor, jun., and the roll was I ordered to'be altered'accordingly. /« j small number of tenders 'was received ! for the right to cut grass seed on the roads in the district. Lot 5 was let to V. McCarthy for £12 19s 6d, lot 7 to E. Hurst for £'1 10s. lots 8 and 9 to J. Burrowcs for los Gd'. Plantation Reserve No. 35)78 was let to E. Duncan for £1 10s. ......

I ASHBURTON. There was a good audicnce at. the Ashburton -Theatre Royal on Wetfnes- | day night, when the local Amateur Operatic Society produced jtho opera, "lolantbc" in aid of the Ashburton ; Patriotic Funds. ' The principal parts were taken by Miss Elsie Fletcher, Mrs Percy Rule .Mrs li. J. • Chapman, Mi facs Katie Stewart, May Smith, Winnie Black, Messrs C. B.- Gaes. Ji'. Gill. D. C. Cowan, A. Silcock, and IJ. J. Chapman. There was a. good chorus and an efficient orchestra under Sir H. A. Humphreys. The accompanist was Mrs 11. Frizzel. At the annual meeting 01-the Ashburton District Branch of the W.C.T.U., Sirs W. K. Watson presiding, the bal-ancc-sheot showed that the income had been ii(5T 15;? Id and the expenditure jLtvi 8s Id. It was resolved to send jcticr to the Minister of Justice, drawing attention to the need of police. The present New Zcalaud officers' were uominate'd. for. rc-clection. The election of officers resulted as follows President. Mrs W. K. Watson; secretary, Miss Trcvunsa ; t reastircr, Mrs \\. T. Ltill; assistant secretary, Miss A. G. Watsou : assistant treasurer, Mrs J. Hi Dent; vice-prcsidcnta, Mcbd.unes Millar, > l'Vost, Oidrieve, and McArthur. The following wore, appointed superintendents to various department,-, : —Miss' Butte rick. Mrs W. K. Watson, Mrs E. Buchanan, Mrs W. T. Lill, Mrs Oidrieve. Mrs G. W. Andrews, Miss Trevurza, and Mesdames Mc- ' Eweii. SuttoD, Lcadlcy, and Brown. The members of the union now number 54, and there are 80 subscribers to the I "White Ribbon." A general .meeting, of the subscribers to the Lilley Trust Fund was hefd in the May field Public Hall on Wednesday night, to consider the host means of finally dealing with the fund. Mr George Murdoch was voted to the chair It was decided that the fund b" placed in the hands of the Public Trustee with a request, that it, bo used for the purpose of insuring the lives of Mr [alley V children till, the youngest was -1 years of age. The chairman and J Mr A. Harvey and Mr 'J. Harrison j ?? lc V l J cr '"S'l tribul- of praise Uo r- *i Taivso °. of the trustees, ; or the interest he bad taken in raising the tund, and the large amount if Totally .disinterested work he had done in connexion therewith.. A unanimous vote of thanks was passed to the tj istecs Messrs Paw-oil, A. Hjarvev ;ic j G. Harrison. ■