OKAIAWA.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 23 May 1925, Page 6

OKAIAWA.

(From Our Own Correspondent)

ATJ REVOIR, On Wednesday evening a popular resident of Okaiawa, Mr. J. C. liarclay, who is leaving next week on a visit to England and Scotland, was entertained at a smoke, concert m the hall. Mr. C. E. Brooke presided over a large gathering. . Proceedings were opened with the loyal toast of “The King,” the National Anthem being snug, after which a lengthy toast list, interspersed with songs and elocutionary items was gone through, those contributing being Messrs. Hen wick, McLennan, Jamieson, Brooke and Barclay. During the-evening tile chairman, on behalf of those present, presented the guest of the evening with a handsome travelling bag, and in doing so velerieel in glowing ’.terms to Mr. Barclay s many good qualities. He was one or those with whom a difference of opinion did not mean a difference in any otliei respect. . , Several other speakers also spoke eulogistically of Mr. Barclay, and tne wish was generally .expressed that he and Mrs. Barclay and family woulc have a pleasant trip Home, a good time while there, and a safe return to their home in Okaiawa. . Mr. Barclay, ' who, upon rising to speak received a great reception, said he hardly knew how to thank his friends for the pleasant evening they had o-iven him, and for their handsome and useful present. During his residence in Okaiawa he had served on various bodies and committees, and his connection therewith had given him a - oood insight into the character oi the”residents. They had bec-n real good fellows to work with, and his association with them left nothing but pleasant memories. His trip Home was one of duty as well as pleasure, for it was there that liis parents lived. Once more, on behalf of himself and Mrs. Barclay, he thanked them most sincerely. . , Air. Barclay concluded amid cheers and the singing of “'For he’s a. jolly o-ood fe’low.” When “your own left at 10.30 p.m. the company was still “going strong.” OUR NATIONAL PARK.

Last week 1 visited an unfrequented part of the Mountain Reserve. Upon arrival there 1 found a wire gate Jeactiiio- through, into the reserve and a mob bullocks in possession. They had played havoc with the undergrowth, and if this sort of thing goes on it will only Re a, matter of tune before irreparable damage will he done.

PERSONAL.

Mr. and Mrs. B. Phillips, old residents of Okaiawa, who left recently on a trin to England, have arrived safelv. Messrs. A. and F. vSoothvll, two young settlers on the Kokin Road, went by the same boat. Mr. Lyn Breuier, who. has lived in Okaia wa since the days of his boyhood, is"leaving shortly to reside on Ins farm in the Pukengahu district. Mr. and Mrs. V. Riddle, more old residents, are also leaving us and returning to their old haunts m the be Roti district. TE NGUTU DOMAIN.

Mr. F. J. Warner, the’ present lessee, was the successful, tenderer for the forty acres reserve attached to the To Ngatu Domain. THE CEMETERY.

Mr. C. Revell, the caretaker at tne Te Ngutu Domain was, some time ago, also appointed caretaker at the cemeterv. The good work which he has done at ”Te Ngutu has been carried on at the latter place, and our little cemetery has been quite transformed. There are, however, still a number of neoleeted graves which''a re an eyesore, and it is a pity that those wno. should be most concerned do not arrange with the caretaker to keep them in order. ABOUT CARS.

The treatment being metecl out to drunken and carelbss motorists by the magistrates will be received with great satisfaction by motor drivers generally, but still instances are seen where drivers do not observe ordinary precautions. Quite recently, when woi Icing on my road my boundary. 1 saw two cars come round a bend at such a pace that, had there been stock on the road, disaster could not have been averted, it always seems to me that motorists are allowed to drive too last in the towns, even in Hawera, which it not the worst by an .Y means New Plymouth and -Auckland can beat easily. The wonder is that there arc not more accidents. In the case oi accidents, however, the motorist is not always to blame. In the towns, pedestrians have an exasperating habit oi standing in knots just oft' the street corners. There are also a few Dreamy Daniels to be met out in the country. 1 met one such not long ago. He was driving a milk waggon down a hill, coming towards me. His head was down, and he was evidently dozing, so I sounded the horn. He woke up with a start, but looked round behind him, so I had to give him all the road. Nine out of ten drivers of horse-drawn vehicles'' have the bad habit of looking round instead of immediately taking their right side of the road. The majority of car owners take a pride in their cars, and dislike intensely having them scratched or knocked about in any way. That is one reason why many of them hesitate to pick up any pedestrians whom they may, overtake on the. road. If they do stop, the first thing the person picked up generally does is to slam the door. Now, this 'is a thing that no visitor to your house would think of doing, but" they seem to, think it is the correct way to close a car door. After a, course of such treatment the door is sprung, a fid cannot be closed by any cither means, and it is equally hard to open. If vour passenger is a smoker, lie sometimes does not hesitate to strike matches on your car or scratch it with his boots, of course, quite obvious to the fact that lie is doing anything out of the way. Baboon tyres have now been on the market for some time, but so far' I have heard more against them than in their favour. All who have used them agree that they are lovely •to ride on over rough roads, but on the other side users have informed me that thev are no good in the mud, no good in the dust, hard to steer, Hi the event- of a blow-out, liable to fly right off the wheel. So far the weight of evidence seems to be against the balloon tyre.

THE SEASON. The dairying season for 1924-5 is drawing to a close, and the prospects are that it will be a little better than its predecessor. Taking my own experience as an example, T should sav that the output from the factories up until the end of February will show a decided increase, but from then on the returns have been below those of last season. This has been brought about bv the dry autumn. Up until the present time the rainfall has been a good deal less than during the preceding autumn. Nevertheless, 1 anticipate that the average returns from the factories for the whole season will be above those for last season. On May 20, the; Job. Company paid out a

further 2d per lb. butter-fat, bringing the pay-out for the season so, far up to Is sd. ’ What the filial pav-put will be it is impossible to 5 say, but we all hope for the best. RATIO AND YIELD. I have no intention of entering into the above controversy, but I have an item which may be of interest to your leaders. Just recently I had a conversation with a local resident, who at one time was a first assistant in a factory. He informed me that- while lie was there the manager carried out an experiment with different grades of milk —35 milk in one vat- and higher testing milk in the other. The result was that the 35 milk produced slightly more cheese per lb butter-fat, but the cheese was of inferior quality compared with that made from the richer milk. This seems to explode the statement made bv one writer that the rich m.ilk produces a dry crumbly article which is “ruining the market.”