MANGAKAHIA

Northern Advocate, 21 July 1933, Page 8

MANGAKAHIA

(From Our Own Correspondent.) A Hard Winter. The valley has a very drab appearance. The paspalum grass, having been cut back by frosts in many places, turned slightly -brown, and the weeping willows growing along the river—so beautiful in the summer —are now bereft of leaves. In fact, the only bright spots in the district are Wilson’s bridge and Messrs Hill Bros.’ new house, tvhich are receiving a coat of nice new paint. , ' Grass is mostly very short, but almost all farmers have ample hay and ensilage (o carry them over. This is the hardest winter the farmers have ever been called upon to endure, mainly due to the poor prices received for their produce last season and increased taxes. ' The forbearance of the people of this district is really remarkable, and when seen at a dance or football match — which are practically their only form of amusement, as “talkies’’ are completely out of the question—no indication of the slump is apparent.

After passing a lean winter, the farmer’s hopes now are for an early spring, signs of Vvhich are noticeable, and no restriction of production. As for a substantial rise in prices of his produce, this is how generally classed as a miracle, the equal of which has not worked since A.D. More frosts than usual have been experienced this year, and the early part of the winter was considered extremely wet, while lately the weather has been fairly reasonable. A few days” rain would be followed by a couple of days of fine weather, and so on, and fogs have been very numerous. - Football, The Mangakahia juniors have now completed their competition for the Powell Cup, which resulted in the Rangers beating Opokeno by only one point and thereby -winning the coveted trophy. The series of games was played cleanly, keenly, and in true sporting spirit. The management of the respective t.eams was creditably conducted throughout by the delegates and captains, whose judgment was fully approved by the teams. A few words may also be said in favour of the referees, who really took great pride and interest in their work, and whose fairness and justice were never questioned on the field. Following are the results of the competition;—

Team P W L D F A Pts Rangers ... 9 7 2 0 90 ]2 14 Opokeno ... 0 6 2 1 87 12 13 Rovers ... 0 2 6 1 18 65 5 Parakao ... 9 2 7 0 S 9.1 4