LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 78710, 11 January 1904, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

On page 4 will be found an account of the failure of " Elijah " Dowie's mission to New York, some important recommendations by the Chief Veterinarian concerning" New Zealand meat at Home, amd an interesting Sketch on the tendpney in wordg, as in human nature, to degenerate. > The Government Biologist requires some 600 feet of space fqr his excellent collection' of grasses and weed pests' al the coming exhibition, in Hawera,

A call of 5s per share on all unpaid snares in the Meremere Dairy Factory Co. is payable on or before. Monday, February Ist:

One result of the announcement that Wellington ladies were to compete largely in the Exhibition ' cooking classes should be to stimulate many local housewives into using their best efforts to secure the honours and prizes fcr Hawera.

The school exhibits to be forwarded to the Hawera Exhibition from all over the qobny will form a wD-idrous display in themselves. Special concessions are Deing given to schools visiting the Exhibition.

Yestoiday afternoon Mr W. Morrissey, sen., of this town, was taken suddenly ill. Medical assistance was summoned, but tho patient is still very unwell. He was seized with a fit, and fell and his head was ait.

The successful competitor for the Little Brown Jug Filter was. Mr- Lloyd; of Nornianby; but the letter written by Mr Sutton, of Manaia, thdagh not equal to Mr TJloyd's, was considered to be so neUr it that Messrs D. M. Gribble ajid Co. decided to present him with a filter also.

The firm, of S. Luke and Co. has in hand the making of a considerable quantity of fluming (6ft in diameter) for the Hawera Electric Light Company.

Cheapness ia not regulated by what yon pay, but, by what you get for what you pay, and therefore the best is the^ cheapest • the famous "Gold Medal" McCormick is what you want.— Advt. The Eltham i aper has been shown a snail five inches long, having a girth in proportion. It is said to have eaten a gardenar's cabbage plants at the rate of one per day. Taranakians going Jiome. Among the passengers for London by the Lonnthic, which sails on the 4th prox., are Dr and Mrs Earle, of Wangamu, Mr T. W. Adams, of Patea, and Mr and Mrs TempleFrera, of Hawera. , The Mai.awatu Standard says there are two ladies at present staying at a Halcombe home whose combined birthdays total 368, 107 of which have been celebrated in New Zealand. Both are possessed of marvellous memories and quick intelligence, and they are as active to-day as the average matron of 40. An area of 63,000 acres of bush land in the Taranaki district will be opened for selection in March next under the provisions of the Bush and Swamp Crown Lands Settlement "Act. The land is m Clifton County, and extends as far north as the Upper Mokau River, and south towards Onau. Access on the Mokau side is from Te Kuiti, on the North Island Main Trunk Railway. What bocomes of the lady doptors? 1 The qu3stion has been asked before. Some j helps to a solution are offered in a recent \ i number of the Women Students' Medical 1 Magazine, where, as a set-off against five appointments for lady doctors, we have a list of four who have entered the matrimonial fctate. It is noteworthy that three of the four have got married to medical ! men. Is this, a contemporary asks', fel-low-feeding or joint stock enterprise? Mr W. Daveney, Secretary of the Taranairi Sawmillers* Association, has Had his health seriously affected by a peculiar illness. He contracted a form of tuberculosis while milking. The disease has attacked his right hand, and it is stated that the medical mer. whom he lately consulted at New Plymouth have advised that unless the hand and forearm .ire operated upon immediately there may be some danger to his life. Joseph Jefferson has stocked the lake on his Louisiana farm with bass and other game fish. "Not long ago." says the coiredian, "I came upon a stranger fishing in toy lake. I did not learn until afterwards that the trespasser had been there all the afternoon Avithout a bite, iaoepping to his side, I politely invited his attention to the fact that he was fishing on a private reserve, in violation of j the law. The sli anger smiled sadly. "You are mistaken, sir," he replied. "I'm not catching your fish ; I'm feeding them." , That stranger has many imitators. The London correspondent of the Lyttelton Times writes : — Dwellers in "the country without strikes," as New Zealand has been termed, will, no doubt, be interest 3d to-, know the cost of the 1 Penrhyn strike. It is estimated that this famous dispute, which lasted three years, cost the district the sum of ±5364,000 in wages alone. Prior to the strike, -which commenced in October, 1904, scarcely any slates were imported into this country. For the quarter ended March, 1901, the quantity imported amounted to 15,702 tons, and for the quarter ended September 30 the figures reached a total of 31,581, showing a steady increase, which has considerably alarmed the' North Wales quarry-owners. It is feared that the slate trade of North Wales has been permanently injured by the dispute. Where horses Have their fodder given to them in the form of chaff or finely-cut mixtures, they are us.ially found much more liable to suffer fiom colic and oth>r intestinal disorders than when the hay is fed in its natural condition. When i this short, x ch/iffed fodder is given, thei'e is a tendency on the part of th» horse to bolt its food, or, at all events, to consume it without first subjecting it to proper mastication. The consequence of this is imperfect digestion, wmen often leads to internal complications, one of the most common of which is colic. Where horses which are fed on chops of this kind' show special liability to colic attacks, good results are often obtained by feeding the hay given to the animals in its "long" or natural condition. When Dr L. Cockayne, of Christchurch, and Mr Jennings, of the Dunedin Museum, visited some of, the islands south of Xew Zealand, a few months ago, they ■ collected for the first time a number of ' animals that lived on the guano of Bounty Island, a very ancient group of islets, consisting of granite. Among these animals were some spiders, which were sent to Mr R. H. Hogg, of London, who is an authority on Australian spiders. He has. reported that tney are closely related to the South American family of spiders. 'Jheir existence on Bounty Island is taken as another proof of a former land connection bet-ween. Ne-v Zealand and South America. The breed of horses in the Sandwich Islands is decidedly "mixed." The first animals imported are supposed to have come from California and Mexico, and sines then Australian, Chilian, and even i Suffolk s hswe been brought to the islands and interbred one with another. Many of the mixed breeds are greatly addicted to buck-jumping, $»nd the native method of breaking them of the habit fe as follows ; — The unbroken horse is lassoed and t-ed to a post, while he is blinded by means of a piece of leather tied over his eyes; a plaited raw hide halter, with no bit, but a tightish noseband, is put on him, and a Spanish saddle is girthed on. Then the breaker jumps on his back, pulls off the cover from his eyes, hooks his spuits into the broad horsehair girth, 'and lets the horse buck for as long as he likes. When he fires the breaker rides him out of the pen, where this preliminary cxci cisc has been gone through, and gallops him till he is quite done. Next day the doso is repeated, and, as a rule,, in two or three days the horse gives up bucking and begins to obey the reins. No bit is put in his mouth till he can be easily guided by means of the. halter. A Rcuter message from Opobo, dated October 1, says, that Major Mackenzie's column, which left there on September 16, has encountered seme, heavy fighting since news was 1 last heard of their movements. On September 24 the column left their bivouac at Efoi vnd proceeded towards Okwa, another of the unfriendly villagis. It was found to be deserted, and the column, after setting it alight, moved on to Ikpa with the intention of, camping there. Shortly after 10 a.m., as the column was nearing the town and passing through al thick piece of 'bush, the enemy in considerable number and at ciose range suddenly open-ad fire. Captain Roddy, of the Cheshire Regiment, who was commanding the advance guard and scouting car af ally through the thiok scrub, received a. shot in the leg. Although seveiely wounded and suffering from loss of blood, he held -his ground until relieved by Captain Hume, who men led the advance. The enemy fired J with great determination on the column, subsequently killing* two men and wounding nine others. Major Mackenzie, having in the meantime majie provision ,for the safety of the wounded, gave an order for a general advance, and on nearing the toarn sounded the charge. The Hausas readily responded, and rushed the market square, clearing the enemy out. While the Maxim gun was being placed in position the enemy crept up again and wounded two men who ware serving the gun, but as soon as it opened fire they were rapidly dispersed. Tho rear guard, underCaptain Carlton, came safely in, and in a few moments thfe town was in possession of the British. The coolness displayed by the officers in the sudden emergency, and the steadiness of the Hausa soldiers under fire was <■ conspicuous feature of the day's work. All the wounded are doing well. Dealing with the question of school sanitation, Dr Makgill, Health Officer at Auckland, says in the course of his annual report : "It is to be regretted that the playground slnuld receive so little thought " in both primary and secondary schools in the towns. There is a tendency to crowd it with new buildings, as the school attendance increases, until there is but little room left for the children to get air, sunlight, and exercise. Without going the length of' having a football or cricket ground attached to each school, I think it would not be amiss were there a regulation made as to the minimum space per head permissible for playgrounds. Where the School' attendance has increased so as to overstep Che limit more land should then be acquired. / I think the outlay would 'be warranted, affecting as it aoes the health of the children." The purchasers nf agricultural machinery are expert judges of the best mechanical devices, and this is why the JjfcCormicks are such enormous. 1 sellers. — Advt.

Rheumatism in any form is painful, but for downright torture rheumatic gout is about tin worst. Rheumatic gout can be cured. It has been cured by that mar vellous medicine Bheumo. Here is the proof. Jamas Gordon, Wellington, writes.: — "I hare been a sufferer from rheumatic gout for a great many years, and was advised to try Rhgump. Its act4p# is amazing. It is quick Sn relieving the pain and x removing* the swelling. I shall not be 1 without it in my house." And if you have rheumatism you should not be without it. Sold >by chemists and Btores at 2s 6d and 4s 6d per bottle. The best me«Jtcine : Known Is Sander and Sons' Eucalypti Extract; best its eminent powerful effects in coughs, colds, influenza ; the rslief is instantaneous. _ In serious cases, and accidents of all kinds, be they wounds, burns, scaidings, bruises, sprains, it is the safest remedy— no swelling — no inflammation. Like surprising effects produced in croup, diphtheria, bronchitis, inflammation of the lungs, swelling, etc. ; diarrhoea, dysentery, diseases of the kidneys and urinary organs. In use ak' hospitals and medical clinic? all* over fcn#. sjlohe.- — Adv*w The McCormick is at the pinnacle of ; perfection in binder building.— Aflvt.

"tjueen Victoria is believed to have prevented Lord Rowton from writing the biography of Lord JBoaconsfield, for, which he was qualified, \s no other man be, by his long and intimate' association with the famous statesman as private secretary. She is said to have doubted his discretion to deal witn the many extremely : delicate and important matters of State of which he became cognisant, but if this be so her opinion of him must have been much below that of Lord Beaconsfield himself. To him "Monty" was the soul of tact and savoir fair©, and in his will ha left him ample powers to deal with his pap«-rs. Thay have been left untouched, and remain a rich mine of interest for soma other hand to deal with. Shortly before his death, Lord Rowton executed a deed for their proper dis-, posal.

Fruit-growers in Canterbury are still willing to send experimental shipments of apples to England this season if the Government agrees to give a. guarantee of Id a pjjund. It has been pointed out that departmental officers have reported that the Government will not undertake i a risk in giving tho guarantee, but that if the project is undertaken in an en- . i terprising manner there should be opened up a large and remunerative export trade. The returns 'or ths three co-operati\e dairy factories in the Wyndham district, for the month of December, as herewith

supplied, are something to ieei proua 01, | showing as they do the increasing wealth that accrues 'to the community interested ,j through their operations. Wyndham Factory received 833,6661b milk, as compared , with, 765,4331b for the same month in 1902. The tally at Island Dairy Factory was 663,0241b, as again3t 577,6301b; Seaward Downs, 197,6171b v. 193,3911b. To boil it down to a plain cash basis; the Wyndham Farmer says that the December payments of these three concerns, for mills and wages alone, reached over £3000 sterling. "It may be news to you," remarked one of the delegates to the Maori school teachers' conference to a Times reporter, "fco learn that Phallic worship is not at all uncommon among the Maoris. There are several place's motablv one near Knw-

hia) to which pilgrimage is made by childless women. For instance,'" an old rangitira in the Bay of Plenty had only on« daughter. She hal been married some years, and had gone in vain to the sacred- • trea on the Galatea road, and to' other more distant shrines. The, old chief wxs very sad at the prospect of the extinction of his line. His hopes-.were revived by the announcunent of bis that tue schoolmaster had got a new tree in his garden, and it was marked "tamariki" (children) tree. He had thus real the nurseryman's label "tamarisk." The old man gravely asked permission from the schoolmaster to pay his devotions tc the spirit of that tree, and the school master. aDDreciatinc the sinrfiritv nt f.Vi.-.

request, consented. And every morning, for a week, the- old chief, his daughter, and his son-injaw prayed to that tree for the blessing of children. Writing or the subject of 'consumption. ' the Chief Health Officer (Dr Mason), in his annual report, makes the following observations : — "The public are gradually coming to view this preventable disease in its proper proportions.. The unreasoning fear which assails a people when first a matter of this nature and moment' is broaght before Ibem is giving way to an intelligent endeavour to grapole with the enemy. The fact that the disease which yearly claims over sixty thousand victims in England and Wales alone is

spread almost entirely by means ,of the infected expectorations i 2 row known by most, and, as a consequence, the stronu /efforts made to effect its destruction must soon tell. Householders are*con iwintly asking for directions where a case occurs in their homes. Thqrough disin fection is practised wherever a death from the disease takes place, and. care in the «endance of the sick is counselled in every instance. Despite repeated warnings, there is still, I regret to say,, a steady influx of persons suffering from the dis-

,ease from other countries. As was pointed out before, this would not occaj-i-n any need for anxiety were .such immi grants financially in a position to provide for the, nursing, care and expense entailed, but not a few of these unfortunates very soon aft their arrival seek the help of our public hospitals and sanatoria. This is neither equitable nor is it necessary. A stricter insistence upon the provisions of the Undi sirable Immigrants Restriction Act is required, and must bY , enforced."