TAWA FLAT.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1732, 10 May 1905, Page 29

TAWA FLAT.

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

On the evening of Wednesday, the 26th ult., the Cricket Club held a ball in the school, which turned out a very pleasant affair, the young men and maidens of this and neighbouring districts tripping the “light fantastic” till well into Thursday morning. After school on Tuesday, 2nd inst., Mr© John Taylor entertained the teacher and all her little girl pupils at a most delightful afternoon tea, the occasion being the sth birthday of her eldest l’-ttle daughter Doris. After having done full justice to the many delicacies provided, the children indulged in games and enjoy; d themselves thoroughly. Of tw r o evils the advice of the sage is to choose the lesser. In this instance, however, we have no choice, tor the greater is upon us in the shape of noxous animals polecat©, ferrets, stoats, and weasels. These pests make nightly raids upon our hen roosts, and wantonly destroy our choicest birds, for they have the excellent taste to prefer fresh young pullets, and plump laying hens to the semi-nude ones, that are in the throes of moulting—these, they let severely alone. With eggs at their present prohibitive price a laying hen may almost be said to produce eggs of gold. By the lesser evil I mean the rabbits, for, in the first place these marauders were liberated on the adjacent hills to exterminate them. But now the settlers sorrowfully find “the cure infinitely worse than the disease,”