MID-CANTERBURY.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18968, 5 April 1927, Page 6

MID-CANTERBURY.

ASHBURTON. PERSONAL. Dr. A. Kidd. Medical Superintendent of the Waipiata" Sanatorium, will visit Ashburton to-morrow, '.vita a viev,- to consulting patients de?:ro:is of entering the sanatorium. Mr H. M. Scott, M.A., who has beer, on t-h3 staff of the Ashburton High School for the past four years."--wit! leave at the end of the term,' to' take the position of senior mathematical instructor at the S"eddon Memorial Technical College, Auckland. Mr H. L. SeljiGtii, who has accepted a position on the commercial staff of Burgess, Frasev, and Co.. of New Plymouth, accompanied by Mrs Seidou, left for the north last evening. The- Hon. Mr Xosworthy. "Poatma.-ter-General, returned to Wellington last eveniuu'. Mr F. W. Watt, who was recently operated upon in the County Hospital, has recovered sufficiently to return to his home. Letter of Appreciation. The Mayor .'Mr E. Galbraith > has received the following letter of appreciation from the Governor-General (Sir Charles FergUasou'i. for the courtesy extended to him during his recent stay in Ashburton:— ''Tour Worship,—l should be sorry to leave Ashburton without expressing my warmest thanks for all you and the chairman of Ihe County Council have done to make my visit pleasant, and my appreciation of all the kindness and courtesy which has been extended to me during my stay. It has been the greatest possible pleasure to go round the town and district, and to meet so many of the residents. The opportunity given me of meeting the returned soldiers and the large number of school children was particularly gratifying to me, as was also the chance of learning something of the pastoral and industrial conditions prevailing, and of visiting some of the local institutions. I can assure you that recollections of my visit to Ash burton will be very pleasant indeed,, and I sincerely hope that there may be an opportunity of renewing my acquaintanceship with those whom L have met during the past few days.' : Savage Club Presentation. Warrior H. L. Seidou, prior to leaving for the North Island, was met by members of the executive of the Ashburton Savage Club yesterday afternoon, and presented with a gold badge of the Club, by the Great Chief (Mr T. J. Buekton), as a mark of esteem, and in recognition of his services. Mr Buckton wished him a prosperous and happy life in .his new sphere. Other members of the executive also spoke, and the recipient suitably responded. Methodist Festival Services. The Baring Square Methodist Church held its annual harvest festival services on Sunday*- when- large- congregations attended both morning and evening services. The interior of the - church was-brightened wi.tb a'fine play of harvest offerings.'. The Key.-. R-. B. Tinsley was the preacher, at both services, taking. "The Divine Partnership"'as the text for his morning sermon, and as the basis of his evening address, the law of the harvest. "What a man soweth, that shall he also reap." The choir, under .the baton of Mr ! H. A. Humphreys, sang special an-' thems, as follows: Morning service: "Let the Fields be Joyful"; evening service: "Ye Shall Dwell in-the Land"; "Father of All"; "Thou Crownest the Year,", and "Hark,-Hark, My Soul." In addition the. juniors gave "Let the Gospel Light ShineOutj". and "Christ Shall be King."—.--■ Dance. "There was a good attendance at a dance, conducted in the drsinge Hall on Saturday evening;. .there being about 40' couples -present; _.T ; be floor t was in excellent Patching was M.C., and' ; the'-'nitisie .was supplied by D'abourn's Orchestra. Lawn Tennis. The closing of the Baptist Lawn Tennis Club's 1926-27 season was;held on Saturday, when a combined men's doubles, and ladies' doubles.tournament was held, the winners being:—Ladies doubles: Misses-N. Brunton and \. New;, men's doubles: SJ. Lewis and A. Baigent; combined doub'les.r Miss N. Brunton and 'C. Andrews.. \;. During the -afternoon Mr J. Cow declared the courts closed for -the season. Afternoon tea.'was provided by the ladies. Train Smashes Jigger, , When C. L. Pauling, a railway surfaceman, was riding on. a .jiggerdpwn the main line near Dromore at /.30a.m. yesterdav, he did -not observe a goods train which was proceeding north until it was almost upon him, on account or. a hcaw fog. He jumped to one side, uninjured, just a brief space before the train struck the jigger, smashing it almost to pieces. In the density ot the fog the driver of the train did not see the jigger until it was only a few feet away. Rugby Sub-Union. The Ashburton County Rugby SubUnion met last evening, the president, Mr W. F. Waters, presiding. The Canterbury Rugby Union wrote stating that it would support the SubUnion's claim for recognition as a major union, and was forwarding a notice of motion to the New .Zealand Rugby Union to.this,effect. • The removal of the suspension of W. Tatferson, a Bakaia senior player, who was disqualified until the end of the 1927 playing season for using iusulting language to.H. J. the referes of the Rakaia-Metbven match on July 17th, was considered, when a letter was read from Ta'ttcrson. After some discussion, it was agreed that Tatterson bo asked to appear at the Union's next meeting. The Third and Fourth Grade competitions were set down to commence on -April 23rd, and those in the Senior and Junior Grades on May 7th. The following sub-committees were appointed:—Finance: Messrs F. Pritchard (convener), R. H. Loy, A. S. Christie, and M. C. Segers. Grounds: Messrs R. H. Biggar (convener), D. Heenan, W. R. Tucker, A. T. Smith, G. Loudon. Postponements: Messrs Biggar, Tucker, and A. T. Smith. Classification: Officers of the Union, with the president as convener. Accident insurance: Finance committee. Draw: Messrs Biggar, Tucker, and A. T. Smith. Selectors: Messrs M. C. Segers, F. Pritchard, and D. Heenan. Entertainment: Messrs Tucker, Pritchard, and Christie, with power to add. The president expressed the appreciation of the Union to Mr J. McLachlin, i who had acted as sole selector and joint selector for a number of years. The closing of entries in all grades was fixed for April 13th. - The nnpunctuality in starting senior -matches was mentioned' by Mr Biggar, who suggested that clubs be that the rule allowing for the default of teams not ready to commence within a given time after that set down for

starting would be enforced, and that the. Referees' Association be notified accordingly. This was agreed to. Bifle Shooting. A match, for trophies presented hy lir K. Sinclair, was fired by the AsH'anrton Defence Kifle Club on Saturday, wrtfr the following- results : f .300 500 600 y.ii. yds. yds. Bi. T. K. Johnsti-n .. 30 32 .32 8 10-1 G Waddinet-ori .. 2? 92 . 31 i: tttj F. Porter " ~ 26 31 ?.0 3 r-S ; G. Cromie ..30 33 3d 2' ! 95 i E. Truman .. 29 - ?-3 ' .-.0 a r.4 : J. Ci&ytc* .. 20 "i 23 .?' 93 ! J. Yeand-e .. 29 32 CS 2' q< J. K. Cs-r.- .. 25 SI 23 .6 91 T.: Ke:r .. 25 "3 SO sr.'r fS K. .. 20 SO 25 t SS H. i:-.-. 7 mie .. 2? 2S a; -2 S6 H. T-iry •• .21 27 :t 19 82 MOUNT SOMERS. \ A progressive euchre tournament, under the auspices of the Mount SomersSpringburn Elocutionary Competitions .Society, was held in the Library on Satday evening.-and was again largely attended. Mr B. His controlled the games. Miss V. Burns and Mrs E. r. -Wood tied for the-ladies' prize, and .Mesdames T. 8. Bishop and \V. Robinson tied for cousoiation prizes, whilo ij. Stevens and X. Beckley tied tor the men's prize, the first-mentioned persons winning the play-off*. W. Pricker won the men's i-oiisolatioji prize. -Supper was provided. The inonthiy tweeting of the .Mount Soiners School Committee was held on Saturday evening. Those present were: Messrs L. King (chairman). G. M. Doak, G. Alexander, and J. T. Bull. The headmaster reported a roll number of 2ft boys and 23 girls, with an arer,'ige attendance of uO. It was decided to hold a dance in aid of the picnic funds an Easter Monday. It was reported that the trimming of hedges, cleaning of grounds, and repairs to shelter sheds had been attended to. Saturday was a perfect, sunny, day. when out-of-door pastimes were .freely indulged in. Many visited the' Asli- = burton races, while others spent the time at the tenuis courts. Sunday gave ' promise of another glorious day, but a cold sou'-west change set in before midday, when the sky clouded over and light rain fell, during the afternoon. Point 02in of rain, with 2deg of frost, was registered yesterday morning, when conditions were again bright and sunny; The min. temperature on Sundav was :-><sdeg. Mr H. M. Morgan, of the Chrislehurch railway staff, was the guest of his parent's, Mr and Mrs IT. Morgan, Mount Somers. during the week-end. METHVEN. The usual week-end sports at Methven were enjoyed under ideal conditions as far as the weather was concerned, and the various clubs had a good turn out of members. The Ladies'. Croquet flub' played a golt-croquet tournament, and,, alter some interesting play, the first prize was won by Mrs 11. Fryer, while_ a consolation prize was awarded, to Mrs W. 8. Jones. .During the. afternoon, all present were the guests of Mesdames Fryer and Yv. J. Carleton at afternoon tea. ".; On the bowling green added interest was'lent-to the .usual games by the visit-of- a rink of bowlers from Christ"cEufch'Tto play-a-match against the local champion: rink..' .The skips were _T."SimVMethvenX-and:' A. Dey- (Chnstthe- ganie; resulted in a draw, -each side • scoring 15..-;:Severai other practice games were played by elub members. The tennis courts were, as usual, fully occupied during the afternoon, some good games being witnessed. Oh the cricket ground, the local team plaved a match with a team from Rakaia. and an interesting--game resulted iii a win for Methven by the small margin of 3 runs. Rakaia, in their innings, made 89 runs (J. Hawksworth 22, A. Knight 20,. C. Skevington 12), and Methven 92 (P. A. Watson 12, Jessep 17, awl Holland 32). Quite a large number of Methven residents availed, themselves . of the opportunity given by the running of a special excursion train to make a visit to the Military Pageant on Saturday evening. A fair number also patronised the Ashburton Racing Club's Meeting. : ... ' On Saturday evening a concert party from Christchurch, arranged by Mr A. Dey, gave a very enjoyable concert in the Methven Public Hall to assist the funds of the local Bowling Club. Probably, owing to the excursion to Christchurch, the audience was not as large as was anticipated,, but those who attended expressed their appreciation of the efforts of the performers m; no uncertain manner, and each' item was enthusiastically received. The following items were contributed:—Pianoforte duet, Misses Johns and Johnston; song, Miss Edna Johnston; humorous recitation, Mr C. Collins; duet (vocal), Misses Johns and Johnston; song, Mr Arnie Hughes: selection (steel guitar), ■Mr'P.-Mll tiro; recitation (humorous), Mr Alex Dey; song, Mr Allan Boon; humorous recitation, Miss Mavis Ritchie: saxophone solo, Mr Allan Boon: concerted items, by the company. . Special Harvest Thanksgiving _ services'were'conducted at St. Saviours Church Highbank, on Sunday by the. Rev. f! A. Tooley'. There was a large, congregation, and the church was tastefully decorated. A large quantity of J gifts of farm and dairy produce, and : .j fruit, was sent in and these have been j packed and forwarded to St. Saviour's Ornhanage, Christchurch; Harvest Thanksgiving services were held at St,-John's Presbyterian Church, Methven, on Sundav. the preacher beiiif the Rev. Mr Irvine, of Ashburton. The church was soecially decorated for the occasion with flowers, fruit, and produce. These gifts were subsequently packed and sent to the various' institutions conducted by the Church. STAVELEY. • The rainfall recorded at "Birchlands". by Mr H. T. Smith for March totalled 463 points. During the month, rain was recorded on thirt«en days. The heaviest fall, 135 points, was on the. 23rd. The- total rainfall for the year now stands at 1157 points. For the corresponding period of- 1926." 1139 • points have been recorded. During March, 1926, 313 points were recorded. At Ashburton Forks the rainfall for March, recorded by Mr Angus Horsey, totalled 5-56 points. Rain fell on thirteen days during the nft)iith,and the heaviest fall, 133 points, was on the 19th. DORIE. The rainfall registered at Dorie during March was 1.22 inches. Rain fell on eight days, the heaviest falls occur- . ring on the 23rd and 30th, when the; gaugo registered .36 inches and .28 inches respectively. The total fall for the three months of this year is only 3.6 inches. At the annual meeting of the Dorie Miniature Rifle Club, held in the Ardamine Hall, Mr.D. Banks presided over a large attendance of membeis. The balance-sheet presented showed a credit balance of £l9 18s Bd, and • the assets' were set down at £35 6s. The report showed that there was a members!'ip of 40, and that 30 of these were active members. Interest in the shooting during- the past season had, been well maintained ■ and some splendid scores ■had been recorded. The prospect for? j the coming season, was a particularly I bright one. .The officials' elected were as follows:—Patron, Mr D. Jones, j

31.1*.: president, Mr W.' Carruthens; vice-presidents, the jiaines of Messrs t>. Banks, D. Harrison, and R. Shanks were added to last year's list; chairman. Mr H. A- Harrison ; captain,-Mr J." Beard; secretary, Mr. D. McKie: committee, Messrs F. Alexander,. J Baker, M. Kingsbury, R. Harrison, and S. Gardiner. ... It was decided to make all competitions eight shots with a. compulsory sighter. "Hie season will be opened on April 9th. . . . rakaia. Moist of the, wheat crop, in .the Rakaia district is now threshed and disposed of, but some farmers have a little still in. stack. However; the •next ten days should finish the threshing. Thiee mills have already pulied in, and they report exceptionally good yields'. Most of the/.- wheat is very sound and, of good milling quality. There has been a,"good deal or. delay iii delivery .owing to : shortage of trucks. Many of the smaller farmers complain of the price secured after the trouble and expense of stacking. The larger growers' in most bases threshed from the stpok, with much . less expense and received 6s per bushel.. The present price is 5s 2d, although wheat is recognised to be in much better condition for milling after being in stack for two months. .' There have been phenomenal. yields of oats, bu.t prices are low. A very- large quantity is being'stacked for chaff or '' 'ling in the spring shouid . prices warraut.it. There is not likely to.be a large, area sown ' here : this coming season, for. threshing. Owing'to seed being plentiful and cheap last spring a large area was sown' in potatoes. The crop promised well until early, in January. From that time until. the end of February this district experienced very dry. and hot weather. This stopped the growth, of the potatoes, and they are maturing earlier .than usual. The general opinion is that the crops wilTbe of good quality, but disappointing in quantity.., Some growers estimate the yield 'of table potatoes at about two tons ■ per acre on the average, and there will be a large quantity of small and seed potatoes. Many of the farmers are stocking up freely with ewes this autumn. This class of stock is muchmore reasonable in price than for the past few seasons. Unfortunately feed is scarce, and the prospects of winter feed are not very bright. Otherwise many more farmers would, take up sheep-breeding. They state that wheat-growing. is . not a paying proposition unless they can get at least Os a bushel. The wheat deteriorates the land to such an extent that it requires a lot of manuring to build, up the bacteria' to enable it to grow clover arid grasses again,whereas sheep, improve the land. The turnip crop this year is almost a failure, owing to the recent very dry wea-; ther. The plants are very smalf, with practically no tops, and the small roots; are of inferior and woody quality, and are of little .feeding value for stock. There were average crops of rape and: kale, but their, growth was retarded; by the drv weather. The kale crops held out better than the rape, but rape' is much superior for fattening sheep. \ fair 'quantity of- oats aud grasses has been sown for spring feeding, but made but poor growth. Most of the lambs have been got away fat and a fair quantity- of fat ewes. There are ■not manv wethers held by farmers this seasou, and it. is expected that fat sheep will be scarce and dear during winter and spring unless they can be obtained from the south. / On Friday evening m the Library the members of the Rakaia Cricket Club met to do honour to Mr W. J. Henderson who. is leaving Rakaia to live at Cromwell ' Mr H. Butters presided and spoke of the good work done by Mr Henderson. for the club. Mr Henderson was the most improved cficketer during the season and would :b e i\uuob missed ' in the club. On behalf of the' members the Rev. J. C. Bawksworth presented Mr Henderson

with a pocket wallet and an oak-cigar-ette box, and wished him success in his new work. Mr Henderson suitably returned thanks.