TOWN AND COUNTRY

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 244, 13 July 1939, Page 13

TOWN AND COUNTRY

Items Of Interest From The Provinces

FRUIT GUARANTEE

Grower Does Not Receive

Full Benefit

An impression that the grower received the whole of the Government guarantee of 11/- for a case of fruit was corrected by Mr. C, G. Wilkinson, secretary of the Hastings branch of the New Zealand Fruitgrowers' Federation, in a talk to members of the Hastings Rotary Club. The grower, said Mr. Wilkinson, would be a happy man if he did get the whole of the 1.1/-, but various costs mounted up to 5/9 a case. The average cost of packing was 2/9, and that left the grower 3/- a ease net. “He is certainly not getting fat on the guiiriinlee.” Mr. Wilkinson added.

New Source of Fenceposts. A new source of securing totarn timber for fence posts is being exploited with •some success by a number of Foxton residents. Where the Mannwatu River drew back in several places near the town it left large swampy areas strewn with totarn logs, which in the course of time have been covered over with a layer of silt on which grass has now grown. At present a large number of men ig engaged in unearthing these logs, which are in a good state of preservation, and splitting them up for posts, for which there is a never-failing market. Vandalism in Patea.

“They deserve horsewhipping,” said the mayor'of Batea, Mr. Hemingway, when it was reported at a meeting of the council that during Sunday night vandals had removed stake and wire barriers which had been erected to protect trees and placed them across the footpath iu a manner dangerous to pedestrians. “I think it is a scandal,” he said. “Here we nre doing our best to put Batea on the map and beautify our town and some vile vandals do this sort of thing."

Hospital Rating. Both the Batangata and Akitio County Councils have decided to support the move being made by the Hawke's Bay Sheepowners’ Union to secure a revision of the system of hospital rating. At a meeting of the Pntiingnta council the chairman, Cr. C, Pattison, said farmers were now paying in two ways toward the hospitals—under the Social Security zket and as county ratepayers.

Forced Landing. Apparently storm-d-riwn from somewhere to the south, a black swan —the second this winter—came down iu Bahiatua on Sunday. The bird made itself quite at home in the fowlrun of Mr. J. Y. Rennie, and appeared to be quite tame.