STONE FRUITS

New Zealand Herald, Volume 80, Issue 24775, 24 December 1943, Page 8

STONE FRUITS

PEICE LIMITS FIXED RASPBERRIES INCLUDED (P.A.) WELLINGTON. Thursday To prevent a repetition this season of the abnormally high prices for stone fruits which ruled last year is, according to a statement by the Price Tribunal, the purpose of a price order issued to-night. It names the ceiling retail and wholesale prices for apricots, peaches, plums (including greengages), and raspberries. The control applies immediately for plums, from January 10 in the North Island and January 17 in the South Island for apricots, and from January 1 in the North Island and January 10 in the South Island for peaches. For those three fruits control ends on April 30. For raspberries the control applies from January 1 to February 29.

The statement emphasises that the prices named are ceilings only. If a retailer pays wholesale prices below the limits named, then the retail prices must be lower than the limits set out in tlie order, it may not exceed cost, plus 40 per cent. The retail maximum prices for des-sert-grade apricots are Is per lb. in the Wellington metropolitan area, Hawke's Bay, Nelson. Marlborough and Westland, Is 3d in the remainder of the Wellington district and Taranaki, Is 2d in Auckland, and 91 d in Canterbury, and 9d in Otago and Southland. Specially selected dessert fruit is 2d per lb. dearer and ungraded l{d to 2d cheaper. The prices for dessert peaches are 9Jd per lb. in Hawke's Bav, Otago, Southland, Canterbury, Nelson and Marlborough, Is in Wellington, Taranaki' and Westland and Is OJd in Auckland.

For plums everywhere the retail limits are 9d per lb. for dessert, Is for specially selected dessert, and 6id for ungraded. The limit for raspberries for loss than 21b. of fruit in punnets of other containers is 2s 2d per lb. for larger quantities, for example in buckets, the limit is Is No extra retail charge may he made for containers under the 21 b. size. The grading of the order merely reflect the existing voluntary grading practised by many growers. Retailers must placard the fruit prominently, with the price per pound and the grade.

BOROUGH PROGRESS THE YEAR IN' HAMILTON RESTRICTED ACTIVITIES (0.C.) HAMILTON, Thursday Tile work done by the Hamilton Borough Council during the past year was reviewed by the Mayor, Mr. H. D. Caro, in a report to the council. In referring to the effect of the war on the supplies of labour and material, Mr. Caro said bitumen, tar, road metal and chips, piping and machinery, and spare parts were in short supply. Chlorinating plant to treat the water supply and a booster pump to improve the Hillcrest water service were being installed. A pumping unit had been ordered to improve the town supply, and a reservoir at Maeroa would be built. Until these schemes were in operation, the existing plants would be strained to capacity to meet the increasing demand. Continuing, Mr. Caro said many improvements had been effected at the gasworks. Stocks of coal had been built up, but the quality had deteriorated. _ Electricity was in short supply, said Mr. Caro, and meters were being attached to water heaters in order to avoid waste. Connections wt>re being confined to essential purposes. The expenditure of £IO.OOO on drainage extensions was proceeding, the work being carried out in areas now dependent on septic tanks. The soldiers' portion of the Hamilton Cemeterv wns being relaid in lawns. It would be necessary to extend the cemetery before long. Mr. Caro said the sealing of further streets was out of the question in the meantime, hut £6OOO would be spent on the work as soon as men and materials were available. Besides this sum, £7500 had been set aside for electrical extensions and £5300 for waterworks improvements.

SHARE-MILKER'S CLAIM

PROPORTION OF BONUS (0.c.) HAMILTON, Thursday

A reserved judgment of interest to all dairy farmers employing sharemilkers was given by Mr. S. L. Paterson, S.M., in' Hamilton to-day. A farmer, H. E. Mills, of le Kowhai (Mr. King), sought to recover £3l from Eannv Wainwright, farmer, of Matangi (Mr. * Strang), for a share of the per lb. paid by the Government to farmers to compensate them for the extra costs involved in changing over from butter to cheese and from cheese to butter during two seasons. The plaintiff was employed by the defendant for onlv one of th*e two seasons referred to. 'fhe magistrate held that the payment was a bonus in the nature of an accretion to the milk cheques. The owner and share-milker were equally interested in the maintenance of a farm's production and the conditions of their contract provided for the sharing of the profits from the sale of the products, fie therefore gave judgment for the plaintiff for the amount claimed.

ROCKET AIRCRAFT DEVELOPMENT IN 10 YEARS SYDNEY, Dec. 19 Rocket propulsion of aircraft would be common within 10 years, the manag-ing-director of Qantas Empire Airways, Limited, Mr. Hudson Fysli, stated in Sydney. "Aeroplanes will soon be able to travel with the speed of sound, but that will be the limit of the present types," he said. "Rocket propulsion types are not likely to be completed for general use in this war, although experiment's with them are proceeding vigorously. "The Commonwealth should now be giving most serious consideration to the air routes which should lie developed and maintained between Australia and all other countries immediately following peace."