TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLI, Issue 9509, 9 May 1911, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Tim necessity for culling dairy herds has often been stressed Improving in these columns. FarHerds.; mers are somewhat conservative in this matter and take some time to he convinced of the necessity of Such a pro--ceeding. It is only when figures areused that they begin to see what really can be. clone. When laying the foundation stone of the new Kaupokonui dairy .factory the other day the Minister for Agriculture declared that improvement of dairy herds.was badly needed. ' Tests'of 5000 cows had been made in Taranaki, and the highest yield was 971b'of butter-fat and the lowest. 371b. If the average, as indicated by those herds, could be increased by 501b-the result to the Dominion would be an increase in produce equal to £1,194,000 ,1 year. This is a sufficient'argument to convince the most conservative, : Turaiiaki.is riot peculiar m the matter of keeping unprofitable dairy _' cows. The Mariawatu district contains its fair share" of the animal Which brings no profit to its owner, and there is. little doubt that if farmers paid more serious attention to this matter they would reap a rich reward, Danish farmers make a careful study of their herds ] and no unprofitable cow is allowed to be a burden' on any farm.

The eyes of the world in general, and

of France in particuThe Besieged lar, are at present City. turned towards the ancient city of Fez, for there a small French party is in daily danger of massacre at the hands of the wild rebel tribes of Morocco. The city has a history. Besides being the largest city and controlling the greatest volume of trade it is ajo the Holy city of thoMoors. Its foundations wore laid about 808 a.d. by Idrees 11. The town was situated in a fertile valley,. and possessed a -remarkably fine-water supply, and overwhelming attraction in the eyes of the Moors. Its ..growth was rapid, and 1 though during the: first five hundred 1 years of its existence it. wassuccess-, fully besieged no less than eight times,. it managed to estabiiigh itself, as a. great city, The founder had iricluded among his architectural; , efforts..a fine mosque, i\o\f considered pile of tho holiest in tno.coimtry. Probably this building those pilgrims to whom Hecea.was inaccessible, but at. : -all.qyerits./.i>lie;dty i .,be.cahie'.,blie .of the very holy places; In :the, seventeenth were ■six. lnmdred and fifty' shrines: and mosques in Fez. Two before, the city had obtained a reputation for great-learning, and even Europeansiwere numbered among'

its students. It mi -the. Baghdad of tk r Wefc "Tlieiica^,the Although the school of sciences 'and man-ners,-it soon becamofa: einkof every lyice. li>: v town, but its few : Colleges are; .presided over by who are but a : shadow of the former: greatness.,, Ruins' are everywhere; cells of recluseSj:broken. colunins,\ massive .'stone : doine-lilce tOmbSj dilapidatad/forts, arid i-uiiied ihouees; rThere W some ten '.thousand Jews, and air equal number of negroes, iii the ; city.,' bringing the population to about 60,000. It is only : of late years, that. Europeans have set up business there; / '

■' The Terrace. Khd; School Cowmitfcco meet 'tonight at 7-30. '. . ; ~.;: : ., A verjvsuecessiur;-practi(» t :jvas : he!d last ovening'by/'the ;rae*bers; of the ■-. Orchestral Sooiety.., .;<■:■■• ■ :};;;., ■. .■ 5 ... '■■ A sharp yet ;^vsr;e: i \6hodt..;ot--'c:ar!;li'.. s.lw quake was .experiencedv. in _ Palmerston vat an early hour this morning. '; ■■'. -■■ ■ ■■■■.There, is some,talk of challeiiging Temuka Mtuiieipl.ofepti6ns;;bn-'ihe;.?roiiho-that the supplementary roll was not only authenticated.

Bulls is considering: a w.atersupply, and a diviner is to be employed to locate water in the most convenient locality contiguous to the township. ''-.'"■' It was 141 years ago on; Saturday,, since Port Jackson (Sydney's beautiful harbour) was first discovered by Captain Cook. -■-■....:■. -■<■ ■

A lower Mataura (Southland) farmer has disposed-of a, line of 'BO head of cattle averaging less than 8001b, at £l4' iOs per head.

;; Near.to Cambridge there is an advertisement that reads: "Comfortable boardrcsidehce;,gentleman or students;" what have: the students been doing? ' The. Waimea: (Nelson)_ County Council has given notice to various land owners tp cut down high trees and,lop overhanging trees which overshadow the roads and prevent tlfem from drying up. . 'Mr D. Buick, M,P., received a tele- • gram to-day from Mr W v Ryan,, a, form-\ or resident of. Palmerston, stating that his sonj W.Ryan, had passed: his dental examination with credit. Mr .Straehan, a weU'known resident of the F.eilding,district, while supervising ■ operations at. Banks'sawmill, Table Fiat, fell and broke his leg. Ho was brought to tho. Palmerston Hospital, and is r,cw doing well, ..

The meeting of committee and stallholders in connection .with the "Pageant Fair" for the High School has lecn postponed for a few days owing io the High School holidays. Tho. meeting will. be. advertised at a later date.

A wrestling match has been arranged at Timafu.between J. Roddick, New Zealand champion, and A. Bain, British champion, for Friday. Bain undertakes to gain three fall's in an hour's wrestling, cateh-as-ootch-can style. \ [ At a meeting of the Council of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association at Wellington last night a motion to approve of the proposal to endeavour tosenuro separate representation for \ T ;Z. at the Olympic games, apart from Jiistralasia, was defeated. " The Palmerston North Homing Club held the last race for young birds this season on Saturday from.Wellington. The trophy was presented by Mr Hunt, and was won' by Purton and ' McCulloch's Flying Cloud 1, Hunt's Hoppy being second, and Pettett arid Watson's Lady Flo third. \ '

The secretary reported to tho Council and the Chamber of Commerce- last night, in connection with tho proposal to Establish a band.in Palmerston, that Mr floldingham, who had moved recently in the matter, had been furnished with a copy of the letter on the.subject, whilst the local press had published a paragraph asking local 'firms to inform the secretary to what.extent they would'go if a band was provided. To this invitation there had not been any response. Mr Goldingham was not present at the meeting, and no further action was ta!*en in the meantime."

• A representative of a commercial paper, published in Wellington, waited u[ on the -Chamber of Commerce last night regarding the advisability of advertising the town and its resources from a district point of view in a special annual number to be issued. It was decided, on the motion of the chairman, niter hearing details in connection with tha scheme,'to confer with the Borough Council on. the- subject, with the idea oi taking united action in placing before British and American publics-the advantages of the town and of the district, also from a dairying, grazing, cereal, and hemp point of view.. ,Pred Roberts, the hero of a hundred hard-fought battles, and a man who has always had a charmed existence (or an abnormally tough bnild) when the boots were, flying their wildest,, met Waterloo 'when he went down to a rush near his own goal-line on; Saturday (say's 'the' Dominion). When the mix'up' was sorted out it was discovered that Roberts v,as liors de'eoinbat, and on-examination it was found that he had sustained a se-verely-damaged jaw. The "AH. Black" had to leave the field about 20 minutes before' the end of the game. : With true ,sporting spirit the Poneke captain allowed Oriental to replace him with a fresh man.

• A commercial traveller, hailing' from Duncdin, told a "Standard" reporter that when in ChristchurcK, at the end of last week, ; he was pleased to notice .an air of business, and prosperity that was not apparent on his previous visit some two months! ago. In his opinion the resident population has increased of' late, and there..are not nearly so many, empty houses; as there were, some time ago.' Tradespeople, are not complaining either of slackness of trade or of scarcity of money, and the city appears to be anti-cipating-a fairly prosperous winter. The working class still complain of the high cost of living, and meat is expected to reach a high price within another couplo of months.

I ■ A casual'caller at the "Standard" ofhco last, evening was a gentleman uho had been spending a few weeks'.holidaymaking and health-recuperating round about Taupo and in that vicinity. He spoke enthusiastically of the delights of tho locality. • He says the climate is most salubrious, quite a different .'atmosphere from down nearer ' the sea coast. "You know," explained the visitor, "Taupo lies at a high elevation,' and there is nothing depressing about the atmosphere up there. I would have liked to have stayed a little longer, but time would not permit. People from Gisborne and Napier flock there in summer—yes,' and in other too, and all 6peak very highly of it as a., nealth resort. About the pumice country? Well, you take it from me the pumice country is all right. I wish I had a couple of thousand aeres_ of }%. .'.' There will, be fortunes made-in that same pumice ooimfry." ..''.'■ '■.'■:'■ ". .'; ■■■'" '

Ladies' ..tailored .-.coats .'and-■ skicts are now produced by) the first factories in the Dominion .in such perfection of fit and style that it. is not surprising to find !, v the demand for.these costumes great.lv * on increase; Messrs Ross and Co.', of the Bon Marche, have just t',oened : ' U P extensive stock of ftiese goods, all •i; of. which have .been' produced to'their ■•:■ w; express: order and;or& being retailed at .:• moderate;-priqes;—A'dvt". ■' .' ■ '■'■■■■ . cake-boxes/: confetti for : weddings; yeryVfinev and; large selection of new.anting: pads:,and: papers; ladies' footballs, etc. ; Wm. Park, sta- , tidher,—Advt. IN AN IDEA. '

Some ideas'are woi'th monev. There are hundreds-of needed inventions that con be turned'into gold. Consult.Henrv Featherston Street, Wellington.: .It costs nothing, and mav lead to^.untold'wealth. Get the free booklet,. "AdvW to Invontors."~Advt.

_l?6f: Chiidten's-Hacking Cough at night, Woods' Peppermint Cure, Is 6d, 2& oq.v-Ad?(i.;.'■'

Rev. D. C. Bales wired to-day .•-Easterly winds, moderate to strong, increasing clouds and haziness. There are indj•cations for a change following; gte fall.. Surveyors are now at work surveying the 'ectious in tlm Native reserve in C,ev Street, which will bo placcd'upon ,Ihc'market shortly. The Kairanga County Council to-chiy sSfSoirsfSti,.lance Association. Tho secretary of Iho B.P.C.A. desires onabon io the funds ofthesocieyo,filhom * friend, and 5s expense* allowed a v,itne„ in a recent caeo. For excessive speed driving of a motor eai^kndnntatthoMasteronMag.■trate's Court was mod 2s 6<, v. £ •any extent. %Xll 1 Sr one grave at. 2Lm2 cemetery on Wednesday. I T rni through jealousy, on .., recent Sunday after church service. ~ The Conical Hills Estate near Tarnm,i Otago), has been purchased I>y, the noses. It consists of about 11,500 acre*, Sis reported to be well, adapted for cutting up into .small, farms. At a meeting or- Court Manawatu, 4 0 F.. last evening, one .candidate -was initiated and another joined by clearance. It was decided to challenge ihe,.winners of the Loyal Manawatu v. Oroua- lodge ' euchre, match for the Druids' Challenge shield. . . -'. • '','. ....

There are sonic,pretty; large fanulu* in' New Soutli Wales.;. Af Newport hero lived a fisherman oi 70 years_with .a living children,.tho youngest.twins,. ■aged three'vears. And the wife of a Ktoomba engineman has 27 _ children all living. . ■■■ •■ • . ', la the maintenance case Hara IS a ana Hiwi a native of Ohau v. James Martin aqrter-caste, heard at the local Court yesterday, Mr A. D. Thomson, S.M.. ons dcred the evidence too contradictory 3 dismissed the case, without prejudice. Both parties had to pay their own costs. The Evening Post states that the Bank of New Zealand, recognising that; the State is one of its principal customers, has resolved to give, a quota of its business of insuring its premises in New Zealand to the State Fire Office. The proportion going to the State will be about one-fifth.

Glass that is'' unbreakable has been produced for the first time at Baccarat, France. The new process has been successfullv applied, to the manufacture of lamp chimneys for use'in coarnraes containing much fire damp. The glassmakers of Baccarat have also succeeded in increasing tho elasticity of the glass;

Auckland restaurant-keepers are considering raising, their tariff, the, more expensive cuts of beef licving gone up almost 100 per cent, while ■ chops, sirloins and tripe have advanced by 5U per cent.. A leading restaurant-keeper, who attended the meeting says'that unless the butchers gave way and allowed a discount of '5. per cent prices would have to go up.

The fact that little reliance can bo placed on promises, given to candidates at election times was strikingly demonstrated in Oamaru; Ono'of the candidates for a seat on the Harbour Board there received. a petition with 40 signatures attached, ■' from a particular district, asking' him to stand, yet less than half that number of votes-were recorded in the'district referred this particular candidate.

The Wanganui' School Committee last evening approved of the provisions if the Education Act Amendment of last session regarding' compulsory' attendant at continuation classes. The committee recommended that liberal provisions be made for exemptions,, so that tlic Technical College Committee would have full latitude to.dcalwitL exceptions CiW « It also recommended that it ?t all possible arrangements bo'made for holding classes for girls in tho afternoon, At the inquest hold at Duncdin on, the death 'of the Rex- Mr. Somerville, Methodist Home Missionary, the Coroner returned a. verdict that deceased met his death through being, accidentally, thrown from a motor cycle through coming into, collision with a buggy, and that the cause of death was fracture of the .base of the skull,, The evidence was to the effect that the driver of tho buggy was blameless as deceased ran into the buggy from behind it. at a street corner.

At the Napier Magistrate's Court an elderlv man was' charged with drunkenness and other improper behaviour. Accused said he was lately a shopkeeper in Masterton and had to Napier lor his health.. Ho. pleaded guilty to the first charge, but said he was ignorant of the second offence. The Bench fined hirr, 40s or seven days', imprisonment, for drunkenness, and convicted dis--charged him, on the. second offence on condition he took out a. prohibition or-' der. His Worship: If you .take my advice you will get back to your friends-in Masterton, where you. will bo looked after. I see by tho ; charge-sheet you are 69 years of age. You.are too old to look'after yourself.. ,Not long ago the same man rung up a- Masterton medico about 2 a.m. for an order on a, local cbemist to procure somo alcohol.