OKAIAWA.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue LXXIV, 26 April 1918, Page 4

OKAIAWA.

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

FAREWELL SOCIAL

There was a good gathering of the •parishioners of St. Aidan's and friends on Wednesday to bid farewell to Rev. A. T. B. Page, who has been the parochial district's vicar for the past three and a-half years. Mr Newey presided over the gathering. There was a nice little' musical programme, those who contributed items beinp- Misses Joll (encored), D. Joll, Williams and Lloyd, and Messrs Lloyd, Blackman (encored), G. Betts. and Herbert (encored). The accompaniments were played hy Mesdames J. Barclay and. G. Betts, and Misses D. Joll and Lloyd. In making a presentation to Mr Page, the chairman referred to the progress made in the affairs of the church since Mr Page had been in charge. The debt had been wiped off, the church had been consecrated, and at the present time there -was a credit halance of some £15. Mr Newey expressed the regret felt hy the parishioners at Mr Page's departure. The Rev. Mr Page 6aid he was extremely gratified to see such a large gathering present. He might tell them -that he had come to this district against his will, desiring to go to a town in preference, but he now had no regrets, that lie had come here. He had made many warm friends here, and the good progress made in the affairs of St. Aidan's, mentioned hy the chairman, had also been a source of great satisfaction to him. Mr Page paid a warm' trihute to the fine work done l>y his two wardens (Messrs F. H. Wright and R. Penny), and his lay reader (Mr Newey). Mr Page concluded by thanking his friends for their warm reception of him that evening and for their presentations. After a bountiful supper had been handed round, proceeedings were brought tA a close hy the siging of the National Anthem.

A VALUABLE TIMBER

Probably there are many "settlers in this district who do not know what a valuable tree the macrocarpa is. At the present time good fencing posts are practically unobtainable. Even the totara will not now last any time, and I have heard of instances where they have only lasted two years. A neighbor of mine put in a large totara strainer two years ago and this has also gone. I have used a good many macrocarpa posts for some years past, and have found them most satisfactory. A gate post which 1 put in ten years ago is still sound, with the exception of a small ring of sap round the outside, and I quite expect it to last another ten years. A aocafc settler recently felled a macrocarpa tree, which he raised from seed some thirty-three years ago. It measured five feet in •diameter and sixty-six feet in length. A fine lot of posts and firewood was cut out of this tree. For firewood the macrocarpa is also hard to beat. In growing these trees for timber purposes they should be planted close together. They then grow up straight, and are much ■easier to split. NOXIOUS WEEDS. ..T? ne of your contributors to the 'Farm and Dairy" column last week had a good deal to say about the spread °l noxious weeds, and there is no dombt that the matter is a serious one indeed, more especially in view of the rapidly diminishing supply of labor. Goodness knows we have enough noxious weeds of our own without their being imported into the district, hut this is what is being done through the medium of weedmrested gram. A little over a year ago I obtained some seed oats, and, to my sorrow, I hav e found that they were with one of the worst of pests, the Californian thistle. There was I believe, a Bill dealing with this matter put through the House som e years ago, but still impure seeds are put upon the market. I consider the man who sends out gram infested with this pest i s no-, thing short of a criminal, and should he I treated as such