TOWN AND COUNTRY

Dominion, Volume 18, Issue 152, 24 March 1925, Page 3

TOWN AND COUNTRY

NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE PROVINCES

“It was hardly fair,” remarked Mr. R. A. Singer at the Auckland Magistrate's Court to a woman witness, “for von to trv and take this man from the other girl.” “All’s fair in love and war,” was the laconic comment of Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M.—“Star.”

A Hakataramea wheat grower is reported to have received 7s. 4{d. per bushel last week for his Pearl wheat. —“North Otago Times.”

“The bungalow is supposed to be strictly modern,” .said , Mr. Richard Donovan at the diamond jubilee celebrations at Bombay (Auckland) last week, “but there is nothing modern about it. As one who was born in the first year of the settlement, I can recall lots of bungalow houses. Thev had punga walls and nikau roofs, and I think the type has been copied by the present generation. I was very proud of our old home.”—Exchange.

Bad weather has prevented the Bluff ovster fleet from leaving port verv frequently this year, and oystermen of manv rears’ experience say that this is the most unfortunate season In the historv of the trade (states the “Southland Times”). No oysters are being forwarded to northern centres, and tnentiries have been made from Wellington. through the Lands Department, as to the reason for the shortage. Sixteen miles of seething, heaving waters In Foveatix Straits form an eloquent reply.

It is not every lady of 82 summers that would do ' what Mrs. Harriet Thompson, of 34 Hutcheson Street, Svdenliani, Christchurch, did recently (savs the "Press”)’. She went “joyriding,” in one of the Avros from the Sockbuin aerodrome, and for ten minutes saw the city of Christchurch as only pilots see it. She was radiant when the machine returned to the hangar. “Oh, it’s fine,” she said; "I could have gone on />r ever. I’ve never enjoyed myself so much for years!”

Mr. J. P. W. Dickson remarked at the Auckland Magistrate’s Court on a recent morning that a maintenance order for £2 Ids. per week was a if dm ulous one. This (says the “Star”) roused the Magistrate, who said: “If a man does not attend Court to defend his case, and evidence is given, as it was in this case, that he was earning £5 per week, an order for half that amount is not ridiculous.”

According to a statement bv a prominent Napier sportsman, there is every prospect cf good sport amongst devotees of the g,un when the game season onens (states the “Telegraph”). Tt is said that the,number of grey_ ducks to be seen at Tangoio is legion, in fact so numerous were thev at one part of the creek there the other day that it ,vas difhcult to see the water.

Tn the davs when the Maoris owned that part of the land on which the Flock House homestead is situated, a tohunga had some special mixture prepared to assist the growing of kumara there, stated Mr. A. McKenzie, when speaking of the historv of the Lower Rangitikei at Flock House. He added that, when he lived there many years ago, it was found that the site of the old cultivation plot was much more fertile than the fest of the soil, but no one knew the nature of the secret preparation of the old Maori priest.—. “Herald.”

Tlie lo't of the bailiff is not always verv pleasant, and in some cases distinctly the opposite. This was found to be so when very recently a prominent Matapu farmer had occasion to require the services of one. On arriving at the scene of occupation (states the correspondent of the Stratford “Post”), the bailiff and his assistant were very much surprised that the occupier had taken up a position of guard, and armed with a good old shot gun, was prepared for action. Argument waxed loud and long, but there was no give, and in the end the visitors, thinking discretion the better part of valour, decided to leave—at least for the time being.

Sand and ice yachting are popular pastimes when facilities for such sport are available, and some interesting times are spent at these (says the “Southland Tinies”). The Invercargill bovs have devised another form of pastime, “trollej’ sailing,” and they are exacting a great amount of amusement out of the trolley and a big sail. In some localities unofficial races are held and the juveniles and their passengers take full possession of the road or footpath during a race. No doubt the prolonged holidavs are responsible for the latest form of juvenile amusement.

A rumour is going round (states the Pihama correspondent of the “Dannevirke News”) that some lucky man has ( found a large piece of ambergris on the Teach near Hawcra. It is stated that Mr. L. Harrop, of Pihama, who recently picked up a negligible piece of ■ ambergris, which eventually brought ■him the trifling sum of £1750 or thereabouts, has inspected the new find. This piece is said to weigli somewhere in the vicinity of 5001 b., and should be worth close on £30,000.

That rats are never to be found on the sinking ship but prefer to leave the vessel at her last port of call, is a saying that bears credence with many (states an exchange). The latest from Taieri is that the rodents are leaving the plain in very large numbers, for the higher levels, and many people are inclined to the belief that the omen is not a good one, and are linking up the rut migration with another flood visitation in the not far distant future.

“Long treks are no good to the boys. For instance, if a troop of boys walk about twenty miles a day you would find that at the end of the trek they would not be able to tell you whether there was a telegraph line along the route they had come or not. I think it would be better if the treks were made shorter and made instructional.” So said Commissioner R. F. \V. Ashworth at a recent meeting of the executive committee of the Christchurch Boy Scouts Local Association, and the members present agreed with him.—“ Press.”

In the Magistrate’s Court at Dunedin last week Mr. Bartholomew, S.M., strongly impressed upon counsel the futility of bringing before him on judgment summonses men who were earning small wages, and who had Jarjsje families to support. The case which prompted the remarks was one in which a man was sued for £3 Gs. on a judgment summons. The defendant gave evidence to the effect that his average earnings were below £4 a week, and that he had a wife and seven children to support. His Worship said that he had pointed out time ana again that an affidavit in support of the summons was not a formal affair, but a judicial matter, and that the closest inquiry should be made into a defendant’s position before proceedings were taken. It was obvious, his Worship added, that proper inquiries had not been made in the case then before him, in which he refused an order, and made it clear that in future he would in all similar cases penalise the applicant by ordering him to pay costs. —Exchange,

At the Te Awamutn Court on a recent morning (says the "Waipa Post ), in charging a Maori youth with tliett, Constable Doyle told the presiding justices that he could not recall a case, in his experience, where probation extended to a Maori offender had been successful.

The weather during the past week has been favourable to ploughing and harvesting in the Oamaru district (states the “North Otago Times ). 1 lie threshing mills are now busy, but there is a large quantity of gram still to be dealt with. So far as can be ascertained, the yield of wheat will average thirty bushels to the acre. The oat yield, though seriously affected by rust, will not be unsatisfactory. Rain is now badly needed, as the root crops are wilting and the pastures have gone off.

Whether a man should tell when he shaved his beard off, or whether it was proper to ask a man such a question, became a subject of argument in the New Plymouth Magistrate’s Court ’the other afternoon (says the “Taranaki Herald”). Counsel in the case was endeavouring to fix the date of certain events, and such question as that suggested above was asked of a well-known ex-local body official, who declined to answer. The Magistrate said he also would have challenged such a question unless he was given a reason for it. Counsel then explained that a photograph which was figuring in the proceedings showed the witness to have been one time the possessor of a beard, and seeing that he was now minus that adornment he thought if the witness remembered the time that change was affected it might .help to fix the date which he was trying to ascertain. The secret of the date of the disappearance of the beard was not disclosed, and the matter was allowed to drop.

Sometimes the requests which are made for relief look very formidable till they come to be investigated. Recently (relates the “Auckland Star”) an old man had great complaints to make regarding soaring rents, and he thought the landlords were robbers. It was very difficult to draw from him the actual amount of rent he paid, and it was thought that he was going to ask for a large amount of help so that he could meet the demands of a greedy house owner. At last he explained that a few years ago he only paid ss. per week rent, then he paid 65., and now it was 6s. 6d., and the landlord had the temerity to want to raise it to 75.! He admitted it was not much extra that was wanted, but when a fellow bad not got it it was a good deal. The old man’s mind was soon set at rest when lie _ was told lie need not worry, for his request for help would be granted.

Some people, even in educational circles in the Dominion, appear still to be in doubt as to whether we have an accent of our own in New Zealand. There seems to be little room for dubiety on the matter, judging by the experience of an Onehunga resident who was recently in the Old Country (says the “Auckland Star”). He visited one of the provincial music halls there, and was entertained by an artist who gave imitations of various dialects and twangs. Among an excellent series were the American _ and Canadian twangs, each with a distinctiveness of its own. Then came the South African, and finally the Australian and New Zealand accents, all three being readily recognised by the Onehunga man, who came away quite satisfied that we can quickly be “picked” whenever we speak.

Deep-sea fishing is still providing great sport (says the Tauranga correspondent of the “New Zealand Herald”). Mr. Samuel McCulloch,- of Melbourne, who has been at Mayor Island for some weeks, secured three swordfish, one niako shark, and two large kingfish. He lost eight swordfish off the hook. A. number of these were alongside the boat, but the rough weather conditions resulted in the lines breaking on four occasions. The swordfish (Showed better fighting qualities than was the case last year. The swordfish weighed 3001 b., 2281 b., and 2801 b. respectively, while the mako weighed 4001 b.

According to a well-known Hawke’s Bay landowner, who lias recently been touring the province, the various discharged soldiers who have settled on the land have been making good this year to a very satisfactory extent. He savs (reports the “Napier Telegraph”) that the soldier settlers, helped by the favourable weather, with its alternation of sunshine and shower, have been able to so work their land as to provide good feed for the stock for winter. This satisfactory, state of affairs was especially noticeable in the Puterino district, which was generally considered to be land that was incapable of producing a good feed crop

Mr. F. W. Walters, of Springdale, in the Thames Valley, has probably the finest crop of peaches to be seen on the. Plains. He attributes his success to a verv simple cause, and one that will be of wide interest (says the “Waipa Post”). Last year he visited the orchard of a friend and was amazed at the excellence of the peaches. There was a good crop and the fruit was well formed and free from blight. In answer to his inquiries he was informed that his friend had used no spray and had acted on the advice contained in a newspaper paragraph lie had seen to the effect that good results .could be obtained from peach trees by driving into the wood copper nails. Mr. M alters immediately put this idea into practice in his own orchard. using up all the copper rivets or nails he could find he cut some copper wire into short lengths and drove them into the trees. The results far exceeded his best expectations. Ihe branches of the trees have in some cases been unable to sustain _ the weight of the fruit, and the crop is uniformly up to a very high standard. There are probablv about 40 peach trees in the orghlxd, and they have been providing ripe fruit since early December. Mr. Walters says the crop is the best he has seen for forty years.

An unusual incident happened in Taumarunui on Monday (says a local paper). A valuable ram which had been brought in a crate from the south for a farmer residing down the Wanganui river, was awaiting disnatch from Taumarunui, when <t suddenly decided that the call of freedom was too strong. With a mightv butt the ram knocked the end out of the crate and, setting off at a fast pace, was soon out of sight of its pursuers. Eventually the animal was discovered browsing contentedly on the. Recitation Ground. When an attempt was made at recapture, however, the ram showed fight, and, breaking through the ring which its pursuers had made round it, it made straight for fl* Wanganui river. It waded in up to its chest and then lost its feet, and the next thing the pursuers saw was the ram floating down the river with its feet in the air. The animal was recovered quickly from the river, but life was extinct, and the owner will be. the loser by about £5O,