NEWS AND NOTES.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue 7363, 15 January 1902, Page 2

NEWS AND NOTES.

It is said an attempt is to be made to have L. C. McLachku, the champion runner, sent home to try conclusions with Old World cracks.

The bull, recently imported from the Old Country by Mr A. A. Fantham is still in quarantine at Somes' Island, Wellington, and will not be released until some time next month. In Mr Fantbam's office is an excellent photo of the animal.

At a meeting of Hokitika citizens it was arranged to hold an elaborate reception of the visiting fire brigade delegates next March, including a pyrotechnic display, church parade, banquet, ball, and aquatic and diving excursions.

Efforts are being made to have a poll taken with a view of giving Hokitika an adequate water supply, presumably from Lake Kenieri.

A new grade stamp for dairy produce is being introduced by the Department of Agriculture. The stamp is circular in shape, and is surmounted by a crown and the Royal initials E.R. The outer circle oontains the words, " The Department of Agriculture, New Zealand," and the inner circle a broad arrow, with the number of the grade and the description of the contents of the box or package, on which the stamp is impressed. This stamp will be employed in place of the simple numeral and broad arrow so far used.

A New York paper says : "With a desire to avenge the death of his only son who was shot by Boers last year, the Rev. R. E. Barr is about to leave for South Africa to join the British Army. _'or the last two years he has been rector of Protestant Episcopal churches in Whatcom and Fair Haven (America). His son was killed in an engagement in which the Boers greatly outnumbered the British. The Boers, it is alleged, showed extreme cruelty. Ever since receiving this news Mr Barr has had a strong desire to go to South Africa and fight. He has sold his property in Whatcom County to obtain funds for his trip. Mr Barr has been one of the leading Protestant Episcopal clergyman of the North-west."

Apropos of the suggestion to boycott German goods, a correspondent of the Otago Daily Times writes :— " Are our citizenß aware of the enormous extent to which German manufacturers are supplanting British articles ? This very day I bad occasion to enter two of the leading retail houses of this city, to purchase two widely different articles of everyday wear, and found upon refusing articles of German manufacture that I could not be supplied. Truly this is a deplorable state of affairs, and the sooner Britons wake up to the duty they owe the Mother Country the better."

Owing to the drought, cabbages were selling at Is 3d each in Sydr.ey.at Christmas time.

The capture of a very large eel is reported to the Wanganui Chronicle. The measurements of the eel are 7ft 4in in length and 18in in girth, while its weight scaled 33|lbs.

The Empress of China is said to carry with her 3000 dresses when she travels. These fill 600 boxes, and are taken care of by 1200 coolies. As the result of a rquabble between some lads at Norsewood recently, three of whom were going " to give beans" lo another lad, the one set upon fought with such vigour that one of bis assailants is at present an in-patient of the Waipukurau hospital, where he is likely to remain some time. — Dannevirke Advocate.

It is a very rare thing to discover cancer in poultry (says the Bruce Herald), but Inspector Wright, of the Agricultural Department, recently sent away for analysis two growths, discovered in a pair of ducks, and has now received word that they were of a cancerous nature.

In the Pastoralisls' Review Capfain Pearse relates that; at the Gisborne show the sheep were not first-rate, and it is a pity some of the exhibitors clog their exhibits with so much oil ; they begin to get as bad as the English farmers in this bad habit.

The owners of the Aorere have given orders in London for the building of a new iron boat for the Patea trade to carry 100 tons dead weight or 120 measurement on 7ft water, turn screws, steam steering gear, and refrigerated throughout. She is guaraneted to be ready in London in June, and will be here early in September — ready for next season's butter trade. She will have 20ft beam and be 94ft at keel, and have-a speed ot 10 knots.

Cap'ain Bmgley, who has been appointed Brigade Major of the new contingent, is an Imperial officer, and held a commission in the Royal Berkshire Regiment. He was (says the Post) appointed to the Defence Staff of New Zealand about the same time ns Major Owen, but as Captain Bmgley was in South Africa at that time with his regiment, and as the war was looming iv the horizon, he stayed on service, and saw a good deal of sen ice with his regiment in the Transvaal. He came to the colony come eight or nine months ngo. As showing the eagerness that exists among the young men of Taranaki to get to South Africa, it may be noted (says the Herald) that an Opunake man named Coombridge, who was chosen as an emergency for the Contingent that left this (Monday) morning for Wellington, attended thepaiade this morning, and marched to the station in the hope that possibly one of the ten might drop out. They all embarked on the train, however, so Coombridge also took passage to Wellington, on the off chance, perhaps, that one of the ten might fall off the train, or choke himself with the hot soup at Aramoho. He deserves to get there, anyhow. In the case of married men applying for admiss.on to the ranks of New Zealand

contingents, it appears it is necessary that they bhould produce the written consent of their wives. The Mataura Ensign says a well-known individual in that district who applied for enrolment produced a note from his wife in which the good lady not only freely gave her consent, but added as a further inducement to the authorities the statement that she would be very pleaded to get rid of her spouse for the purpose of fighting the Empire's battles.

A runholder in Mar^orough recently sent the Hon. C. H. Mills a plant which had appealed in some pnstutes, and made a request t*mt its ident'ty might be ascertained. The plant was handed to the Biologist, Department of Agriculture, who has supplied the following information : " The plant is undoubtedly yarrow (Achilles multifolium) a native of Europe, sown as a Continental plant for sheep ; should never be sown in New Zealand, as it is too apt to become a weed, and has ruined many good pastures." Sir George Thomas Michael O'Brien, X C.M.G., has returned to this side of the world, says the London Chronicle, to give an interim account to the Colonial Office of his stewardship as Governor of Fiji and High Commissioner for the Western Pacific. Sir George is a man of 07, and hns had considerable colonial experience in the Crown colonies. He was formerly AuditorGeneral in Ceylon, and from 1892. t0 1895 was Colonial Secretary at Hongkong. His Fijian appointment -a particularly difficult one in the present transition state of affairs at the Antipodes— was given to him in 18£7. Sir George O'Brien has made Fiji unpleasantly hot for himself, has ruffled the feathers of Mr Seddon in New Zealand, and has in no way commended himself to Mr Barton and the Federal leaders in Australia. As a result, Mr Chamberlain is now going the round 3 with the oilcan. In a short interview with a representative of Reynolds' Newspaper, Mr Tom Mann, j'ist before his departure for the shores of New Zealand, said thnt he had declined to emigrate in the belief that great things were in store for New Zealand, politically and commercially, whilst in England there was bound to be a period of semi-stagnation so far as social reforms are concerned. " I am convinced," he continued, " that New Zealand is to lose its character of a big sheep farm, and become industrial. You will soon see blast furnaces in f nil swing and the colonists makiiig there own rails, instead of importing them. There are stretches of blnck sea sand hundreds of miles long that are richly impregnated with iron, and not far from the iron there are coal seams 41ft thick. The news that Russia is at last about to manage l er almost illimitable forests on a scientific plan, and more vigorously complete for Great Britain's trade in timber, draws attention to the threatened shortage in the world's supply of wcod. The Daily Mail says that for the past five years Great Britain has spenton the average £22,000,000 a year on timber. She has bought largely from countries whose supply is now falling off. Norway's output is decreasing ; Austria's is decreasing ; and even Canada's appprently boundless resources have supplied Europe with less and less timber in the last few years. But the shortage in Europe alone amounted last year to 2,600,000 tons, and in Europe this is onJy ikely to be wiped out by the increased supply from Swedin and Rus-ia which scientific forestry would produce. Rangitikei Advocate says :— When State fire insurance was being discussed some of the companies published figures showing losses which were calculated to paralyse (he timid and scare away all hope of the business of fire insurance being conducted in safety or at a profit. Of course, there still remained the obvious facts that companies continued to do business and were very eager to get it, which indicated that the outlook was not so dismal after all. Now comes the New Zealand Insurance Company with its report of a most prosperous year, with record business and record profit, and a dividend for its lucky shareholders equal to nearly 1"4 per cent for the year. This is striking proof that insurance business can be made profitable by capable men, and that it is always so in such hands is shown by the fact that this company during the years of its existence has accumulated sufficient funds to enable it to earn from its investments an income equal to 10 percent on its paid-up capi al. Mr Stead's latest recorded action is

(writes a London correspondent) a distinctly " slim" one. By last San Francisco mail he sent to Mr Seddon a letter, a copy of which has found its wiy into the British Australasian. In it Mr Stead explains that, although Dr Fitchett and his son have a partnership interest in the Australasian Review of Reviews, and absolute liberty in its management, Mr Stead is still the bolder of the major portion of the stock tb&rein. Therefore, he writes, " I cannot for a moment consent to accept the money which was voted oy the New Zealand Parliament on the strength of assurances given by you that I had no connection with tLe Australian Review of Reviews. I, therefore, enclose a cheque for £260, which was paid to the Australian Review of Reviews, and beg you to accept the 10,000 copies containing the Rev. Mr Berry's excellent article as a free gift to the colony, in whose interest the article was originally published."

The dreaded bot fly has made its appearance among the sheep in (he Waikato. Hitherto the pest has only been found in horses in that district. In size and appearance the insect is not unlike the common bot, but in habits it is different, inasmuch as it deposits its eggs up the nostrils of the sheep. Ths eggs soon hatch, and the maggots work their way up the nostrils of the unfortunate animal and locate themselves in the cavities of the face between the nose and the windpipe. Here their presence roon sets up a discharge of pus, on which the maggots feed. They grow in size equal to the large horse-bot—viz,, about three-quarters of an inch long. When fully developed they drop out, seek cover, grow wings, and are ready to continue the ronnds of existence. We (N.Z. Field), hear that almost all the .dogs shown at the late Hawera and West Coast Association's, Wanganui A. and P. Association's, Manawatu A. and P. Association's, and tho Wellington Kennel and New Zealand Collie Club's Shows will be liable to disqualification on the grounds of non-compliance with New Zealand Kennel Club rules re registration. Whether this is the fault of the exhibitors, the fault of the Show secretaries, or the fault of the secretary of the New Zealand Kennel Club, will not be known till the January meeting of the Executive of the Now Zealand Kennel Club. This meeting will be a most important and interesting one, and all affiliated Clubs and Associations who have not got their full quantity of two delegates on the Executive should at once appoint gentlemen to fill the vacancies.