MASTERTON NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1176, 11 July 1911, Page 6

MASTERTON NOTES.

FARM ITEMS OF INTEKEST.

(From Oar Snccial CorresnondonU

Mastorton, July 10. A meeting of the Farmers' Defence Committee i/to be held in Master on on Wednesday, to discuss the question ot . shearing rates for the next shearing sea!"n It is understood that the committ"e desires that owners should strictly i observe tho terms of the Arbitration Court < awhd, and pay only Ms. Gd per hun- , dfed. Last year, most ot the farmers in « this district paid £1 per hundred, this i arrangement having been made prior u the Arbitration Court award being made. : The action of.owners this season is aval-- : ed with considerable interest. I Mr. James Hanley, who had been emplovcd on the permanent staff, of the . raifwavs in this district for the last twenty-two vears, and who was seized with a paralytic "stroke while at work recently, died on Saturday. Deceased, who was a native of Limerick, Ireland, arrived in the Dominion twenty-eight year's ago.. He •had been a prominent member of the old ;V6tunteer fire brigade, and, at the time 'of his death, was a member of the Veterans' Fire Brigade Association. He was »l«o a member of the Order of Foresters. He leaves a family of five sons and four daughters. The agricultural returns show that there are G9S3 acres in grain and pulse, and •1747 acres in;green and root crops in the Master-ton county!The balance-sheet submitted to tho Mastcrton A. and V. Association at us meeting on Saturday last showed the total receipt; for 'the year amounted, to £492!) j55,:.5d., and the expenditure to ,£9323 16s. IBd. The principal receipts are as follow:—Solway Syndicate, ,£1500; members' subscriptions, ,£751 IDs.; donations to Solway improvements, £311 Ms. 9d.; donations to prize account, ,£413 18s. 01; luncheons, £112 Os. 2d.; ram fair, ,£l3l 4s. Gd.; frozen.sheep and lambs, .£221 13s. 7d. The chief items of expenditure were as follow:—Construction of grandstand, £3023,145. 9d.; sheep pavilions and ram ring, ,£965 16s. 2d.; cattle yards and sheep pens, £GO7 3s. 10d.; horse stalls, £IGI 2s. 6d.; fencing, .C 337 2s. 9d,; water-mains and connections, £155 lis. 3d.; drains, etc., JEI7O Gs. 10d.; railway siding, £400; cash prizes and medals, i' 352 Is.; luncii. cons. £321 3s. Mr. 11. A. Kevins expressed tho opinion at the meeting of the Mastcrton A. and I'. Association on Saturday that machine Rearing was much .cosier to learn than hand-shearing. This opinion was (indorsed by several farmers present. Competitors from outside have already begun to arrive for the festival in connection with the Mastcrton Musical and Elocutionary Society, which commences to-morrow. Dr. Bradshaw, of Christ- ' church, is acting ns judge of tho musical events, and Mr. C. A! Baeyertz, of Wellington, of the elocutionary competitions. Tho Berhampore Choir, of Wellington, is among the competitors. . The property of Mr. E. Holmswood, at TniiHia, Poverty Bay, has been purchased by .Mr. C. Vallance, of this district. The total cost of the Inst A. and V. Association show in Mastcrton, including ' prizes, was £1814 ss. 7d. 1 A committee of the council of the Wellington Acclimatisation Society paid a ' visit of inspection to the Mast'erton fish- ' ponds on Saturday. The leaso of tho ; grounds in-which the ponds are located ! falls in next year, and it is understood ■ that, should the price be within certain limits, the land will be purchased by the society. ; It is probable that a magisterial in. • quiry will be held into the circumstances ' under which the buildings on the Master! ton racecourse were destroyed on Sunday ! morning. , In answer to a question at the meeting of the Mastcrton A. and V. Association on Saturday, it was stated that the fat t stock sales held at. Solway. had not been j tho success anticipated. This was due to , a fall in the beef market, tho condition of the stock entered, and the reserves of J owners. D When the subject of establishing classes 0 for'learners of inachino shearing was! r under discussion at the meeting of the . Mastcrton A, and P. Association on Satj urday last, Mr. .lames M'Gregnr expressed s «. doubt as to whether a sufficient, nuing her of young, men would be available for u the work. Ho instanced the experience in s regard to a stocking competition, for s which the -association had offered subj stantial prizes, end which had fizzled out. (, One young man to whom he (Mr. ~ M'Gregor) had spoken-'on the subject, had K said. "It's ton jolly hard work; Dad can 0 do it if.he likes!" Mr. M'Grcgor wono dercd if tlicre_ were a sufficient number n of young men in the district fond of hard li work to make a shearing class a success. The assets of the Mastcrton A. and P. Association now total £12,746 os. 2d., and the liabilities £5703 Gs. 9d. At the last Mastcrton show, Messrs. S. 55 ]?.. Lancaster (Maimwatu) and W. T?a.vner 0 (Mastcrton) tied in the competition for ■'" the Quibell Cup for the most points in ''' purebred sheep. At the meeting of the 1 association on Saturday last., it wasdepilled that, the names of both'competitors '1 be inscribed on the cup. that 1 each winner ~ be allowed full points, and that the :" trophy remain in the custody of the osi~ social ion until next year.