TUAPEKA NOTES.

Evening Star, Issue 12762, 15 March 1906, Page 1

TUAPEKA NOTES.

[Special to the Stab,.] LAWRENCE, March 13. The Tuapeka Horticultural Society held their annual show here last Friday. The number of entries, as well as the number-of exhibitors, was not up to the standard of previous years, but, taken on the whole, the show was a good one. The display and quality of the flowers exhibited wis particularly fine, especially of carnations, asters, stocks, sweet peas, ruse.?, and gladioli. In pot plants the chief exhibitors were Messrs W. Sinclair and H. Hart; in border flowers Messrs T. H. Clark, A. Crooke, and W. Anderson ; and in the decorative section Misses M'Kinhy, Jeffeiy, and Hay. The exhibits in the vegetable and fruit departments were not up to the usual standard either hi quantity or quality. This year the society added an industrial section to the show, which was a distinctive feature, eliciting strong competition, and bringing together a line -array of fancy and other, work. Messrs Howden and Moncrieff and Messrs Skene and Fleming, florists, of Dunedin, had trade displays, which added to the attractiveness of the show. Mr Howden officiated as jud<je, and his awards gave very general satisfaction. • The ordinary meeting of the Tuapeka County Council was held last Friday noon, when a great deal of business oi more or less local interest was dealt with. A letter was received from the Department of Roads intimating that authority had been issued for the expenditure of £SOO on a bridge over the Waitahuna River on the road to Greenfield Settlement, and authority was also given for a £ to £ subsidy up to £SOO towards the Conical Hill bridge —a work that is to be carried out under the- control of the Tuapeka and China Counties. The county engineer reported that the following Government grants were being carried out by day labor:—Gravelling of road from Fitzgerald's bridge to Faf eoners Valley; gravelling of road, Tapanui to Conical Hill; gravelling of road, block 9, Ranklebum; gravelling of road, road formation, -Beaumont, to Millers Flat, east side of river. Complaint was made that on a number of Government contracts no pro grcss had been made, and it was pointed out that unless some liability were incurred before the 31st March there was a probability of the Council losing sonic of the votes. It was resolved that all contractors who had not commenced work receive notice that unless a start be made within seven days their contracts would be cancelled. _ There is nothing out of the way to note in relation to mining matters. The sfuieinochums have a plentiful supply of water, and the most of them are running full time. Tlie Local Industry Company have shifted their plant from Wetherstones. and are wetting it placed in position to work their recently-acquired claim in Gabriels Gully just outside the town boundary. The Golden Crescent Sluicing , Company have also shifted their pipe-line, and have their elevating plant in position on the north side of Ballarat Hill, and expect to get a start towards the end of this week. The Happy Valley Sluicing Company (Paulin i and party) have made the necessary arrangements with the landowners, and are now at work cleaning out the upper end of their water race, in view of getting a start at an early date. I hear that there is a prospect of the Taniwha dredge closing down at an early date, as the gold retumS for the past five or six: weeks hardly justify tlie continuance of operations. Th» Reli ance dredge has got into better ground, the return for the week before last beinsr 240z of cold. | The District High School Committee are mating application to the Education Board tor tho establishment of coo-ken- classes in conjunction with the school, and for a grant to erect the necessary building, independent of the school building Three of the teachers on the sohool staff hold certificates for cookery, and this will allow of iZ3 WOJ cu bemg carried on without outside heij t Steps are also to be, taken shortly to bi-mg a portion of the school ground* under culfayafaon for the growth of flowers and vegetables, and in this way create a taste for gardening among the more advanced rjupib. A supply of tools for carryrog on has been sent forward by the department. in a recent note that the local butchers had lowered the price of meat all round Id per pound. But this did not last long In less than a month the knight of the cleaver who led the way in reducing the prices called his brother knights t£ gether ancV-recaated. Be was sorry—truly sorry—for what he had done, and pleaded with his brethren to again raise the prices. This they eventually agreed to, but not until a bond was entered into and signed by all present that there was'to be no departure from current .prices imkES there was entire unanimity. And now the local butchers are a happy family. - The weather lately has been very chaaTeable, We have an occasional really. the day, but rarely more than two in succession. The; farmers are : ;non* : :tco pleased at the present -outlook. •■'- Trie "cereal CTopsaie lipendng very slowly, and with, the eeaeoa

becoming well advanced it is hard to foresee in what condition the crops, mil be harvested. Generally speaking, the turnip crops are a comparative failure throughout the district. There are a few likely-looMng crops here and these, but tfoare are exceptional. Th© bl%ht has madia its appearance in a goodly number of potato patches an various parts of the district. The_whereabou-ts of a gentleman -who has resided in this district for some time, and who has left a wife and several small children behind, is causing some anxiety to his friends. It is said (perhaps without bis authority) thai he " skipped by the fight of the moon," in, company with a young lady several years has junior. Some incline to think he has left for Utah, with the object of taking 1 first class honors as a Mormon elder. But- this is mere conjecture. An accident happened very simply to Mr John Gare, of Waipori, last Saturday afternoon. He was bicycling towards the township, and' in going downlufl his ma.chin*. started to skid, with the result that he was heavily to the ground, breaking his left leg below the knee. He was at once taken to-the Tuapeka Hospital, "where he is getting along oe -well, as can bo expected under the circumstances. At a meeting of the Loyal Tuapeka Pioneer Ledge, IiLU., this evening, P.G. Bro. W. G. Anderson and Q.M. Bro. R, Diiling were appointed as delegates to attend the animal meeting of the Otago District Committee of M.U., to be 'held in Bunedin on Wednesday, 28th inst.