LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Northern Advocate, 3 February 1921, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A steady declin e in prices for all classes of stock, including beef,, of which ther e was a good yarding, was evidenced at Messrs F. and W. Wakelin's stock sali-s at Kamo yesterday.

A very interesting rehearsal was held in the Britannia Theatre las' evening, under direction of Mr Owen Curdston, of the items included in th e "Night in Bohemia'' programme to be submitted at the Town Hall this evening, and th e high standard attained by the arlists fully warrants a full house to-night.

Energetic efforts by Superintendent Chisseil, of the Whangarei Fire Brigade have resulted in subscriptions to'ailing £51 towards the expense of sending a team from the local brigade to th 6 competitions at Napier at the e nd of this month Foreman S. V. Fulljames and Firemen E. S. Streeter and J. Reynolds will represent Whangarei 'in three events at the competitions, and Superintendent Ohissell will accompany them to Napier, where he will attend the United Fir e Brigade's Confei-ence as delegate from this district.

When the polic e at Oakleigh yesterday to take charge of A demented man who had been reported to b e digging a tunnel singlehanded, they found that he had ccased his operations there and was swimming and wading in mud in the belief that the was attempting the English channel. This morning the victim of the delusion was not suffi-

ciently recovered to appear in the Whangarei Courthouse, wher e Mr T. Hardy, J.P., presided, to answer a charg e of drunkeness, to which was attributed th e cause of his dementia.

Efforts to work up the reclaimed mangrove flats near Limeburners' Creek sufficiently to sow forage grasses have not so far succeeded. The soil is full of shell, but when w<?fc it becomes puggy and drie s out hard The experiment has been carried -a step -further by fencing an area and keeping all stock off it, and the outcome has been a growth of all kinds of plants and th 6 gradual spread of self-sown cocksfoot. It is intended to allow all growth to nroceed until it it sufficiently strong to b e shallow ploughed, when it is hoped that the tendency to pugginess will bo lessened and the soil made suitable for sowing with forage grasses. The experi. ment is an important one, as upon it will be based the method of procedure in converting the flats to be reclaimed in the harbour improvement scheme into well-grassed lands.

When the supporters of the Retailers' Queen Carnival candidate ran a surprise packet day the demand for tickets was so great, that extra prizes and additional tickets had to be provided. On Saturday the Sports will run another similar event, to further the candidature of Miss Maggie McKinnon, and they have taken steps to assur e sufficient prizes for all requirements. A pleasingfeature of the surprise-packet event is that every shilling ticket will draw a prize, ther e being no blanks. The rewards cover a wide rang e of articles, including live sheep, groceries and innumerable articles of clothing, drapery, and works of art. Some of th e prizes have been displayed in Mr R. G. Hosking's window in Cameron Street, and the pretty cushions, boudoir caps, cases, panamas, handpainted tabl e centres, blouses, night-dresses and sortie pretty slippers from a splendid array, which should whet the sporting instinct of th e public, and vhich should make Saturday's effort a prominent feature of the campaign. TJv«re is a reason for the demand upon the services of Dobson, vhe Piano Specialist.