ELTHAM NOTES.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 19 March 1928, Page 8

ELTHAM NOTES.

TAR AN ALT ORCHARDS. In conversation with an Eltham pressman, the lion. O. J. Hawken, Minister of Agriculture, stated that Taranaki’s total area of commercial orchards w;as only about 247 acres. Fruit growing qh a commercial basis nad_not advanced in the province as in other parts of the Dominion, due mainly to the fact that climatic conditions were more favourable to tho production ol grass and the attendant dairying industry. Considerable extension in orchard planting had, howeve.r, been juade in the province during recent years,. principally for domestic purposes. The fruit crop throughout the Dominion was this year very satisfactory, both stone aiud pip fruits being well above the average. As a result large quantities of apples and pears would be available for export. It was anticipated that the total quantity exported will amount to 900,000 cases. Tsw-anaki had made an appreciable advance from a horticultural point of view, and there were several large and well-managed nurseries in the district. During the year ended March 31, 637 nurseries were registered throughout the Dominion. POULTRY IN TARANAKI. '[’lie Minister also referred to the poultry raising industry as applied to laranaki, the 1926 census returns showing that there were 2077 more people keeping poultry than in 1921, this increase indicating’ that the potentialities of poultry keeping were being appreciated by the small settler in a”greater degree than ever before. Poultry raising, lie said, not only reduced the cost of living to the settler, but where there was a surplus of eggs and poultry over and above the household requirements .it materially added to his income. If farmers generally could be persuaded to keep purebred stock of the laying type there was no doubt that their returns would be doubled. .V comparison of 1921 and 1926 returns showed a Dominion increase oi 11 365 flocks containing up to eleven birds, while flocks of twenty-four birds claimed an increase of 8580. BEE FARMING. Still another source of revenue to the farmer was referred to by the Minister—that of bee-keeping, to the adaptability of which Hie Taranaki district had long been recognised. There were Ixmiiclless possibilities in _ the rich clover pastures of the province, for, though the production of honey was conducted on an extensive commercial scale in widely separated areas, there was ample scope for considerable expansion in this comparatively neglected branch of farm operations. The total number ol registered apiaries in the Dominion at the pres cut time was approximately <SOO, these representing some iOO.OUU colonies of bees. ' The following figures showed the quantities and value of honey exported horn the Dominion during the pact live years: 1923, 10,605 cwt., £13,032; 1924,' 9157 cwt., £26,910j 1925, 10,836 cwt., £30,049; 1926, 13• < <Ocvt., £ol, 733; 1927, 10,590 cwt., £34,695. The prospects for the present season’s honey crop were highly satisfactory. Under the Apiaries Act passed last session all apiaries from one hive upwards required to be registered by the end of the present month. ELTHAM LIBRARY. ’i At a recent meeting of the Public Library iCommittee, at which there were present Alessrs R. H. Glover, I‘. H. Townsend, E. L. Egarr, and Alesd anise Cover, Wilson, and Syme, the librarian reported a membership ol 98. Since the last meeting five new inembeiw joined, and six (five of whom left- the district) withdrew. Accounts amounting to £6 14s lOd were passed lor payment. ACCLIAIATISATION AIATTERS. There is on foot a movement to arrange a meeting or representatives o» uie nawera, r\ew rdymoutn, ana btrutiord Acclimatisation Societies witn tiic oeject ol discussing an amalgamation proposal. 'L'lie secretary .oi tne Strutiord teociety lias been instructed to call a eoinerence at an early date. The ( option over a ALidliinst property that uas been proposeil as tne site lor a combined hatchery will shortly expire, and, as inspection of this site has been utnerred on various pretexts, the subcommittee appointed now realises that something aconite should be done m tiie matter, it is urged that one sof iety in the province could more economically operate than the three at present 'in existence, and, further, it might be possible to allocate a certain amount for the payment of rangers. With all due respect to the proposed comoined hatchery site at Miunirst, it is claimed that a more desirable and adaptable site is available at Eltham, with the added advantage of the most central position lor the province’s acclimatisation activities—a very important factor of the economical aspect. BIBLE IN SCHOOLS. M J' There was a large attendance at Wesley Hall on Thursday evening, when the Rev. E. O. IBlamires, Dominion organiser and secretary for the Bible in Schools League, delivered an address and assisted in the formation of an Eltham branch of the League. The elnvir was occupied by the Rev. J. A. Ryburn. It was unanimously resolved to form a branch of the league in Eltham, the Rev. J. A. Ryburn and M'ns. Ryburn being elected president and secretary respectively. The appointment of an executive was deferred to a future meeting