NEWS IN BRIEF.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13938, 21 December 1908, Page 8

NEWS IN BRIEF.

The- rape crops throughout the Gisborne district have been. fully, established by the recent rains." •' A quantity of. fruit, principally strawberries, is arriving in ' Wellington from Auckland daily. Peaches from Hastings are"now on the Wellington market. " -There is a very encouraging show' of fruit at Taumarunui just now on the few . trees that, have been planted. The sight : ofrthe wild cherry groves about Christ"mas. time is one to remember. The untimely frost that, was experienced in Chri6tchurch last week has caused severe loss to professional gardeners. It is-stated that one grower of tomatoes' cstima.i' his loss of 10,000 plants at £200. The nurse of tue. Society for the Promotion of-.Health of Women and Children, at..Palmeretqn North, now has 28 babia* under treatment, most of them being, on humanised milk. In order to enable;the nurse to travel about more ex- - peditiously, efforts are to be made to provide i her 'with horse and trap. • The distinction of being the city in which the cost of living is highest in New Zealand has, according to a Christchurch paper,,always,been claimed with a sort of melancholy pride by Wellington. The capital has - now, however, been called upon to ."defend; his claim, and Christchurch' is mentioned as a dangerous rival. -The Invercargili. Importers' Association and the' Chamber of Commerce have c"e- ---• / cided to make partial amalgamation. •.:^ h ., vbod will retain its own individuality, but will have a common execu- : ;^ llv &- committee, .chosen trom each body, j.wrth. the provision that the Importers' Asof the committee 'pay a ,C^lrde ontnbUtion 'to the Chambe/of