NEW ZEALAND NEWS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 5 February 1907, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND NEWS.

Of the 19 deaths recordod in Wanganui during last month, nine were of children of one year of age and under, while two others wore one year and nine months, and two years ' and four months respectively, thus giving a total of 11 infant deaths out of the 19. I A prominent local doctor gives it as his opinion that most of these infantile deaths were due to the carelessness of the mothers in the cleansing of feeding bottles, the tubes of which in the hot weather were extremely liable to become disease infected. "At the inquest held near Kariori the other day," wrote the Raetihi correspondent of the "Taihape News," "the only place available was the Public Works Department Shed used as a storage room for powder and miscellaneous purposes. The jury each had a keg of powder for a seat, and the coroner's seat of honour was formed with two kegs of powder and a case of gelignite." The following paragraph from the j "Lyttelton Times" seems to indicate 1 that there are cynics even in the police j force. "Is there- anything known against ! this man?" asked Mr Day, S.M., dur- I ing the hearing of a charge of theft, at the Magistrate's Court last week. "Only that he is a married man," replied the station sergeant. The "Timaru Post" says: — A day or two ago a paragraph appeared in this paper stating that apples in an orchard at Kingsdown had ,beeh parJy baked by the excessive heat of the sun this week. On Saturday an Otaio farmer, who was in town, informed us that not only were apples affected in this way, for half of his undug potato crop had been spoilt by the sun in a similar manner. At certain South Island railway stations "late fee boxes" are placed upon the platform for the reception of late fee letters for despatch by trains. They are open for the receipt of letters at the time the mails close at the post office, and are found to be of great con- • venience. Christchurch "Truth" thus consoles farmers for the drought : — It means that crops generally must be short in yield ; but while this is so long prices will be ! obtained. From the settlers' point of view it is much better that he should . have a 20-bushel crop worth 3s a bushel than one of double the quantity and half the value. There are less labour anil i time involved ; less risk, less cost of storage, a good profit and a quick re- , turn. Harvesting wheat at 2s and oats at Is 3d is heaitbreaking work, even ' . though the season has beon a fruitful one. Big prices and small crops are invariably best. But how the general public is affected in such circumstancej is a horse of quite another colour. There is said to be a scarcity of har- , vest hands in the Masterton district. There are some excellent potato crops at Inch Clutha, Otago, this year, . and so far there is no sign of the blight. The Dunedin Young Men's Chris- . tia Asociation intends in the near future to ask the citizens for £12,000 for ' a new building. . Last year a farmer took up a section of land on the Waimate Plains, and paid £150 deposit. At the end of the 1 year he paid off £600, and this year he anticipates wiping off £900. This shows what a man with a family ' can do starting from scratch. ! The great question now' raging, "What shall we do with our boys?" has been solved by a butcher's advertisement, which runs as follows, • "Wanted, a respectable boy for meat . sausages." A reliable Christchurch paper states [ that on the last day of the shearing , at Mr E. Short's Pararangi shed eight shearers shore 1660 sheep, the top tally, that of S. Richardson, being 294. A settler on the Plains (says the Hawera "Star") last month received a cheque of £55 16s for milk of 20 cows, grazed on 40 acres of land. Such , a result would be very hard to beat. The cows are a well-selected lot. 1 During the next few weeks, if present arangement9 are adhered to, close on 40,000 sheep, mostly breeding ewes, will leave Hawke's Bay for the Waikato. The Hastings drovers have all received engagements, and several ' mobs are on the road now.