A COUNTRY DIARY.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 15929, 16 June 1917, Page 7

A COUNTRY DIARY.

(SI'ECIAIXT WBITTEN FOR "THE MESS.") (Br Canterbury.) Juno 11th. —Possibly ai good reason against ono man owning two or moro farms, is tho fact that if you expect to •find him at ono of them, ho is almost certainly upon another; so, to-day, for muddy miles across a country, nil in pursuit of a "spud-main and his necessary spud." Also, most of it was a still -sodden country, where tho ctunoat fields had lain water-logged, and had boon drained apparently on tho. simplo system of allowing a full plough team to run furrows at its own mixed will. Many of tho furrows wero yot brimming, and. the next field held part of a sown and sproutinjr crop, whilo work upon the rest was abandoned for tho season; but again across a stream, tho ground had dried sufficiently, and tho teams wore busiod with a long-de-layed sowing of wheat. According togeneral report-, such an unfinished etato* of affairs ig not unusual in mid-South.. Canterbury at the present moment. When at la6t I found him, it was al disconsolate spud-man, sadly regarding' three scantilly filled sacks, which, contained tho total produce of a square* two-acro patch; truly "small potatoes'* at that, for even an average hen-fruit would havo quite outsized tho best. tried to comfort him, "Why, a man in Beautiful Valley got seventy-oight baga from a piece of land no larger thani this," and ho only gloomed moro gloomily, but in an adjoining paddock ho showed mo a. better crop, where tho full sacks were standing closely in long rows. Of course tho largest potatoes, according to their usual habits, seemed to have gathered together at tho tops of the sacks, and lie was not pleased when I sighed over tho smallness of several carefully chosen from beneath, but I bought souds from the spud-man in spite of that; and think that I must havo paid a littlo over than their market value, for I left -him considerably moro cheerful than I when I came. June 12th.—In the pvoning at dusk, to the stream running through "Tho Long Wood," to search vainly for a duck. but whilo, waiting under a big pine tree, near a pool, a strange 'bird flow silently to perch upon ono of tho lowest branches, and presently T recognised it for a "little owl"; no doubt a descendant of those liberated some years ago, to help in iesscning the "small birds post." Neither did this particular bird waste any time in proving his usefulness. The sparrows had chattered and fought as usual before going to roost among the tliickcst branches, and after a brief look-round. tho owl hoppet softly, swiftly, and sideways along a bough, clutched suddenly -with out-; stretched talons into a dark mat ol pine needles, and instantly a 6creech of alarm announced that a sparrow had been caught. Then the littla owl winged further into tho night, eariying hi 3 still protesting victim with him.

On the road homo I met our George, who took advantage of an unguarde*? moment to get back at mo with ail atrocious riddle: If a bomb fell, f.nd a bull ato it; what would bo the result?' A bomb-in-a^-bull, abominable. Likewise: If the bomb exploded? No_ bull, noble. Sometimes I fear tuat our George is inclined to bccome a cursedly low fellow. Juno 13th.—Thcro occurred at a local hall, a meeting for patriotic and ltcd Cross purposes, at which very properly tho attendance was large, and various useful plans were made successfully. Discussion was lengthy, r.nd afterwards—well, afterwards, very naturally, people were in something oi a hurry to get away home to their expectant families, and that sazno lmrry must be held responsible for an incident: They liad driven for a milo or so, when said Norah to Dora, \Llns is .not our horse, wo have taken too urong one." ''impossible,'' replied Dora, "why <lo you think that* . dear," said Norah, convincingly "it ia not our harness." So they drovo Lack again to find their really-own horse standing patiently where thuy had left him, whilo an impatient man sought wildly for a. vanished steed. Having revealed ' that incident. I must in ordinary fairness admit, there was once a man also , who did not know his own horso. The story goes that after taking his best girl for a ride one morning, tho two of them were looking at hoido - horses in a paddocK. and the Ir.dy enquired, "In not "that tho maro I rode to-day.-' Ho staivd blankly. "That horse, no, 1... don t think so, but Til ask." Calhng a station boy lio demanded sternly, "isn't that tho horso rode this morning?" "The black mare, yes, sir, .'jiiswc-red the boy. "Of course, _ said the owner; "now tako it in and give it tv double feed of oats." When tie astonished boy bad gone to obey , orders, bo remarked complacently . "Never do *0 let that boy think -I 4 did not, know," but they do say tl»fc ; 3 even then the lady was not quite, j satisfied. 1 ■