NOTES BY THE WAY.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1354, 10 February 1898, Page 18

NOTES BY THE WAY.

: [By Wanderer.] At the rate at whioh railway traffic at Palmerston North Station is increasing, I should say there should be found necessary before long a special shunting staff, with an engine for its own sole use. At times there is a great “rush” in the station yard, and smart and competent as the staff is, from the chief downward, it takes them all their time to get through and avoid accidents. Shortly after 4 p.m. (that is should the trains arrive to time) till 5.30 is not very long in which to manage and attend to the arrival of two trains nhd the departure of four, with all the requisite shunting, and general detail work that is necessary. Careful and experienced as;the staff is slight accidents occasionally happen that might have been avoided if the shunt- • ing were not necessarily so “ rushed ” as..it requires to be. Occasionally there will be a inn of bad luck in the yard, notwithstanding the anxiety of ail to prevent the occurrence of mishaps. At times the men have really more to get through thau it is almost possible for them to accomplish, whence, very likely, occasional mishaps, such as the derailment of some part of the rolling stock. I have watched traffic arrangements about' Palmerston Railway Station a good deal, from time to time ; and, in my opinion, before long more"; accommodation will have to be provided, and a special shunting engine and staff will be found necessary. If the unsightly (and at particular seasons unhealthy)old gravel pit between the station and Church street, were filled in, it,would enable the yard accommodation fcfi be increased. When that gravel pit was excavated—a good many years ago—no one anticipated that the railway station would occupy its present site, or that it would be the station of importance that it now ia. And the question is, what will it be 10 or 13 years hence ? < I ho station yard will eventually have to go back to Church -treet, and the unsightly excavation, in which the frogs croak so cheerfully before the heat of-advancing summer dries up the' water, must yet be utilised for railway purposes, instead of remaining in its. present condition —an eye-sore, .and a prolific hreeding-place for the bacteria of disease. I look forward to the time when what I have anticipated as likely to take place will be an accomplished fact, for the Palmerston railway station is destined to be probably the most important inland junction, not only in the North Island, but in the colony. Just previous to and after show days is the time to see it at its best, and the wonder is that there is not a complete “ block ” of traffic on such occasions. The Feilding railway station is getting some attention paid to it at last—^-and not before it was necessary. Roofing-in the platform, which is now being carried out by the staff under Mr Mathieson, will be found a great benefit by the travelling public. Feilding is growing steadily, but surely, sure of every step in advance before the next step in advance before the next is taken. That has been its record 1 in the past, and I don’t think it is likely tq

dfepdrt irorti. that very eats ruie in tile appointments %ere on a scale corresponding in sortie degree to the growth and progress of the towh and district. The roofing-in of the platform is a very necessary work, and f congratulate the town on the improvement already effected, and the new pnblic conveniences at the Feilaing station—tbCy were very Urgently required. I peed say no more on a rather unsavoury Abject;. , . Jttipe crops of grain have -suffered grievously at the hands of Boreas of late. A little over a week ago, at Awapuni, I was shown a “picture” of a crop of oats. It was a small patch certainly, but as pretty a patch as could delight the eye. clean, even, full-headed, just ready for the reaper and binder. Many stopped to admire it. It would have averaged, I should say, 60 bushels; to the acre at the very least. Well, that gale that came along the day before the Ram and Ewe Show at Palmerston, just flattened it out — literally as Well as metaphorically speaking.' The ripe, full grain is lying in handfuls On the ground, beaten out by the fierceness of the storm. I saw the owner, who took his misfortune very philosophically.' “It can’t be helped,” said he, “ but it is very vexing. I shall have to cut it now for straw chaff. That is all it is fit for.” And yet songs have been sung in praise of the farmers life, which is said to have no cares or worries compared to other occupations. Well/ really, what with prevailing high winds, bush fires, droughts and floods not so long ago, none too good prices for export stuff, and stock down, down,' down, farmers have had their own share of trouble of late. I hear many regret the death of Mr Henderson, Government poultry expert. He was an eminently and practically nsef ul man in his position. His lectures were exceedingly interesting, and just the sort of information that was needed by those who were thinking of devoting a little more attention to egg production and poultry raising. My own opinion is the deceased gentlemen’s place will not be so easily filled. He was just the right man for:the position from all I can hear, and his death is a loss "to the country. I hope to hear of a good man being appointed. Eggs and poultry ought to be one of our most important staple products—and there’s money in them, if the industry is properly gono about, thut is in the way suggested in thelate Mr Henderson’s very practical and easily understood lectures. Also,to be regretted, as many settlers tellme;isthe death of the late Mr Samuel Durham, M.R.C.V.S., who has just died at the Thames. The late Mr Durham practised; his profession for some time in Taranaki, having been located at Eltham and at Hawera, in both of which districts he made many friends. He also was afterwards appointed to prepare an official report on the condition of the slaughter hpuses and milk-vendors’ establishments in and/ around, Palmerston. Oar deceased friend occupied a high position in the profession to whiqhhe belonged, and his death will be learnt with regret by many old acquaintances in Taranaki. Halcombe has a terribly dried up appearance. It lies /high, and it catches.the wind almost from)any quarter. Its pastures justf ni6w are white, and most of its wells and creeks are waterless. As I passed through it on Friday morning, after a boisterous night, a whole strip of the iron roof ; on the Catholic Church in the township, had been forced off the rafters by the fury of the gusts which had assailed it,' and the flapping sheets groaned, and shribked, and crackled weirdly in the early morning breezes. By the bye, the good folks of Halcombe ought to be good. It is only a small community, but it can boast of no less than seven places of worship. There is scarcely a denomination of the Salvation Army, but has its temple. I think it is to its credit that places of worship are so well represented. The are being sunk for the new railway bridge across the Rangitikei river at Kakariki. I notice that the river is eating away the banks on the south side. I notice a great change in the channel since recent heavy floods. There happened to be an engineer of wide experience, a fellow passenger, who pointed out a feature which I had not previously remarked. In former days, before the railway bridge was built, the channel was much wider than it now is. In order to shorten the length of bridge to be built (I presume), a long emebaokment was made, leading up to the elevStedflit where Westoe railway station formerly stopd., There has been no station there for some years past. Now, this embankment or approach, ( or whatever yon choose to call it, has proportionately Harrowed the original channel, and the water, therefore, is finding a sufficient channel for itself; when floods come down by eating away the bank on the opposite shore. This was the very feasible explanation of the mat*ter "Which my professional friend gave me. He said it would have been cheaper in the first-place to have built a longer bridge, instead of miking an embankment to confine the water within too narrow limits, besides acting as a groin, to some extent, and having'a tendency to direct the current in an oblique direction, over against the opposite bank, which it may ultimately do. . •-)/ -/