Notes and Comments.

Feilding Star, Volume III, Issue 874, 10 May 1909, Page 2

Notes and Comments.

Thk (|Uo3tion of what stock a fruiterer and florist should not keep if he desires to take advantage of the provision allowing tlio shop to bo kept open on the lialf-holiday was the point on which a case at the Dunedin Police Court turned the other day. The shopowner in question sold seeds, flower-pots, crushed bone, etc., and the inspector contended that these things did not come within the business of a florist. Mr Widdowson, S.M., held that these articles were commonly and ordinarily stocked by florists, and they therefore came within the exemption of the Act. It is pleasing news to learn that tho residents of ilongotea have decided to form a Horticultural and Produce Society, for there have been no more successful institutions in the district than those in^ existence at Kimbolton and Apiti. The opportunities for extend ing the usefulness of srich societies are so great and the field so large that nothing but good can result from their existence. Probably the best society of the kind in the district is that <;f Apr'iti, when the environment is taken into coiisKleration, although Kimbolton runs it very close, and we ■aro sure our Kongotea friends will be able to . get any asssisitance from the capable officers responsible for the present state of affairs. All that^ is required to ensure success is an active committee and the co-operation of the residents, and there seems to be every prospect of both being available. WniM the three Feilding teams did not equal their record of the previous week on Saturday last, they came ye- near it, the senior and third teams having hollow victories, and the, junior team lost by sheer bad luck, and the referee's rulings. The junior team are having rather a chequered passage, some of their phiyers not being sure of their own mind right up to the hour of starting; but h reverse will do the team no harm, and when they meet Palmerston again we should not be surprised to see the position reversed. Tim senior team displayed very much improved form, 'and promise to develop into a splendid combination, while tho thirds wer« as brilliant as ever. One splendid feature about tho local players is their exemplary behaviour on and off the field, and it is a matter for congratulation that; wherever they go, the old criticism of football teams is entirely out of place. May they remain true sports in tho best sense of the term ! There is undoubtedly something wrong iv the distribution of fruit outside the large centres of the colony. While the tales of, low prices of grapes — indeed, of grapes being unsaleable afc any price— are continually being dinned into oue's ears from the cities, there is no such thing a«s a grape to be had in Feikling at tho x>resont. time, and answers to inquiries are that grapes are out ol' season. Saturday's Post states that a large shipment of South Australian grapes \vas sold on Friday at unprofitable prices, while local grapes were disposed of at as low a price as 2d per lb. It is all very well for importers to imagine that there is no miarket for this delicious fruit outside of the large centres, but we firmly believe that the very best markets are to be found in the inland centres, where as much as two shillings a pound are given for the fruit. It is time someone took a hand in this game of fruit distribution, and proved that it is not a luxury to possess an appetite for the' most 'healthful eatable grown for human beings. The senseless alteration iii the bal-lot-papers used for local elections by which a voter has either to put a cross opposite the name of the man ho wants to vote for or to strike a lino through the name of the other fellow, deserves repealing, , for it leads to utter confusion and is not in any way an advantage. It is well known that the idea of placing a cross opposite a name is fchat the voter does not want tlyit candidate returned, . and over arid over again we have come across instances of this, while the old system of striking out a name is as clear as daylight to everyone. We notice that the returning officer for the Borough, of Waihi has been commenting adversely on the criss cross system, and it is to be hoped 1 that legislation abolishing this confusing method of voting will bo' carried during the ensuing session of Parliament.