ABSTRACT OP SALES BY AUCTION THIS DAY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11253, 25 October 1898, Page 4

ABSTRACT OP SALES BY AUCTION THIS DAY.

/Perpetual Trustees, "'Estate^ and Agency Com- ■■-■; ' pany, at'Booms—'Property. ;_.'•;, ..Wright, Stephenspn,. and Co., at Sandymount— Pairy , cattle^ 'horseg, implements, etc.

Thk sixth annual report of the Department of Agriculture is to hand, and constitutes a bulky volume, within the covers of which is collected a mass of interesting and valuable information. Perhans the most important section is that dealing with the dairying industry. The report states that the work of instruction during the past season was satisfactorily performed by Messrs Sokensen and. Sawers, with Messrs Lans, Thorkton, Robertson, Marshall, and Busck as graders of dairy produce. The .output for the past season shows a considerable increase, while the quality has been fairly well maintained. The next following paragraph seems to contradict that statement, as therein it is stated that the graders report the great fault in our butter is what is termed "off flavour." This agrees exactly with what we have complained of in previous articles criticising the department in relation to the dairy .industry. How it is expected to

build up a large export trade to the Homo markets while our butter is " off flavour" we leave to the department to explain; • The " instructors are of opinion , that this very undesirable condition of the most valuable part of our dairy produce is due to the careless handling of the milk before it reaches the daily factories. Anyone who has seen cows milked iv the average milking byre in the dairying districts could advance the same opinion; but while care in the handling of the milk might do much, it will not do everything to preserve the flavour of the butter, especially when it has to undergo the severe test of a long ocean voyage, and subsequent delay before it is sold to the consumers. The remedy is pasteurisation of the milk and cream before it is manufactured into either cheese or butter. Referring to this question of pasteurisation, Mr Robebtson, dairy produce grader, states that from what ho has seen of butter treated iv this manner he is'strongly impressed with the improvement in quality. One sample w-ich came under his notice scored 44' points out of a possible 45 points for flavour—that -is to say, the pasteurised butter was perfect in flavour, while the average New Zealand butter is " off flavour," and worse before much of it reaches the Home consumer. Mr Sobbnsbn, ilate chief dairy instructor, says in his report that in spite of all that has been written and said in favour of pasteurisation it has not been adopted excepting by one daily factory, and the results were referred to in the report of the previous year. Mr Sobensbn says: "To the butter-maker it [pasteurisation] affords the only way to overc/ome, if not altogether, at least to a very groat extent, the effects of careless handling of milk and feed or weed taints. By its aid a uniform quality of butter can be produced under' varying atmospheric conditions." Yet all that the department has done was to make a trial at the Waverley Dairy Factory some eighteen months ago, and there the matter has been allowed to rest. The export of butter and cheese for the two past seasons is given as follows: — Butter—lß9B-7 : 75_,287cwt J valued at £297,518; 1897-S: 106,S40cwt, valued at £429,407. Cheese — 1896-7: 71,663cwt ) valued at £135,711; 1897-8 : 78,700cwt, valued at £154,144. The total increase in value of the output of the past season as compared with 1896-7 is equal to over 34 per cent., which must be considered highly gratifying; but Mr Sokensen is careful to note that the increase is not entirely due to Government assistance. The system of grading butter for export has, however, had a good effect on the quality of the export. The shortage in the Victorian export owing to the unfavourable season is another factor that must not be overlooked in commenting upon the increased export of dairy produce from New Zealand. When a few favourable seasons come round again, r,s they are certain to do, in Victoria and New South Wales, we may look for a wholesome competition that will have some effect upon the Home demand for New Zealand dairy produce. Referring to the dairying outlook, Mr Sohensen says there is no reason why, with improved methods, we should not grow our milk 20 or 30 per cent, cheaper than we do now. " If," he says, " dairying in New Zealand is, found so profitable as to increase 34 per cent, in one year under existing conditions —that is, with inferior cows averaging 1501b to 1751b of butter-fat per annum, —then what will it not be with cows bred and fed to yield 2501b to 3001b of butter-fat yearly P" That the dairy industry is capable of very great extensiou goes without saying; .but the department will nave to make a distinct forward move in up-to-date methods if our produce is to successfully compete with that of Canada and Denmark. The stringent regulations relating to margarine at Home must have a beneficial effect upon the prices ruling for pure daily products, and our aim should be towards the highest standard of purity attainable. Mr SoitENSEN points out the need for investigation and education in the business of dairying, by the State; and in so doing touches one 6f the weak spots in the administration of the.department, wbich we have referred .to on more than. Ob& occasion. Perhaps when Mr Sorensen's successor arrives in the colony he may urge the need of setting up an experimental station without further delay, and also the establishment of properly-equipped central dairy schools. The scope of this section of the report covers too wide a field to be dealt with in a single article; but we have touched upon the salient features. The conclusion of the matter is that besides expert scientific guidance, our dairy industry requires closer attention to the feeding aud breeding of dairy cows, to the handling of the milk, and to the proper preparation of the product for the Home market.

The situation between Franco and Britain is still grave, and the danger of a war breaking out over the occupation of Fashoda does not appear to have been removed. From the Yellow Book issued by the French .Government it 'would appear that Franoe still claims to have as much, right in Egypt as Britain, and sets up the plea, that Turkey is the suzerain Power and not Egypt. The Legislative Council last evening passed the Old Age Pensions Bill, which now only awaits the Governor's assent to become law. Those who oppose the measure moved two hostile amendments, but were defeated. Irf the House of Representatives last evening the Slaughtering and Inspection Bill was gone on with. It was committed after considerable debate, and clause 3 was under consideration when the telegraph office closed at 2 a.m. ■ . His Honor Mr Justice Ponnefather has fixed Monday, November 21, at 10 a.m., as the date and time for a sitting of the Supreme Court in Bankruptcy. Mr 8... H. Carew, S.M., presided at the i Magistrate's Court yesterday, when judgment for the plaintiff, with costs, was given in each of the following cases: —W. and R. Scott (for whom Mr Moore appeared) v. Geb. Murdo Fraser (Skippers), claim £5 0s sd, goods supplied; New Zealand Clothing Fac-' tory (for whom Mr James appeared) v. J. Wilson (Kurow), claim £2 0s 3d, goods supplied; Wilson, Balk, and Co. (for whom Mr Solomon appeared) v.- J. J. Beirne (Westport), claim £16 13s 9d, on a dishonoured cheque. We are informed on roliable authority that Mr Thomas Mackenzie will sever his connection with the Canterbury Farmers' Cooperative Association on the Ist of May next, and that it is his intention at' the forthcoming general election to seek to renew his connection with the Clutha constituency, and .with no other. The Tramway Company are pushing forward the work of getting ttie lines on the NorthEast Valley section into running order, but it is not likely that they will be able to resume running before Monday next. The service was to have been resumed on AVednesday, but this could not bo brought about without working night and day. Mr Isaac Green, proposed to represent High Ward in the North-East Valley Borough Council by Messrs Henry Bennett and James M'Gregor, was returned yesterday unopposed.

The Rev. Dr Rutherford Waddell preached at St. Andrew's Church on Sunday night one of a series of discourses on " The Dream Cities of Man and the City of God," and dealt with " The City in Process of Realisation." In the course of his remarks he pointed out that according to Scripture the city of God would never be evolved from the existing order of things, but that the forces of evil (md good would continue to exist and grow side by side until at length there would be a great supernatural conflict between the two, resulting in evil being slain, and in God manifesting Himself in' a manner which would make it utterly impossible for anyone to doubt His existence. The preacher further contended that while the efforts of Christians could not of themselves result in the realisation of " the city, of God," yet that was no reason for relaxing their efforts against evil, as it was by combating with the forces of evil that character was formed, and men and women were fitted , for a future life. Mr E. Tregear mentioned at a recent meeting of the Wellington Philosophical Society, in reference to the Gisborne " kumi controversy, that he had only that day come across an interesting point. Mr F. W. Christian, he said,- had left here a great deal of work to be edited lr- the Polynesian Society, and while reading the proofs of the vocabulary of Nukuroa, an island in Micronesia—hardly a word of which was not pure Maori—he (Mr Tregear) saw that the islanders' word for a lizard was "kumi." That word, added Mr Tregear, was therefore known to Polynesians in the early days. Ho thought there was no doubt that the kumi was not merely mythical. In the course of further discussion, Sir James Hector mentioned that a son of Archdeacon Maunsell told him that some years ago in tho north one of his Native ( lads was frightened almost out of his life when in the bush by some animal, from the description of which the conclusion was arrived at that it could only have been a kumi. According to a return just issued by the Financo Committee of tho London County Council, London's municipal debt on March 31 last was as follows:—London County Council, £20,093,773; School Board for London, £9,554,061; Metropolitan Asylums Board, £2,215,371; Metropolitan Police (proportion). £325,123; vestries, City Commissioners of Sewers, and District Board of Works, £5,114,697; Boards of Guardians, £2,795,653; ether local authorities, £794,125;— total 'net debt of London, £40,892,803. The rateable j value of the metropolis on March 31 last war. j £36,092,032. Hence the total debt is equal to i rather more than ono year's purchases of its rateable value. The £40,892,803 is exclusive j of the debt of the corporation of the City of j London, which, although borrowed for municipal purposes, is secured upon special funds, and not upon the rates of the city. Our Wellington correspondent telegraphs: —I learn that the Minister for Lands has forwarded instructions to Dunedin to purchase, on behalf of the Government, the re-cently-discovered specimen of the Notornis Blantelli. If the specimen is secured, it will be placed in the Otacro Museum. t During a recent visit to Pitcairn Island, on which reside tho descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Mr Hamilton Hunter, stipendiary magistrate at Suva, made a thorough and'exhaustive inquiry into the state of affairs politically and socially at Pitcairn. It is under- j stood his report will bo to the effect that the island U too small for the population, and that owing to intermarriage the state of morals on the island is the reverse of what it should be, and that it is to the benefit of the Pitcairners that some portion of them be removed to some other island where they will not bo so confined. A special meeting of the Anderson's Bay School Committee was held last evening to deal with the applications for the position of first female assistant teacher. There were 52 ! applications sent by tho Education Board, and eight were marked as the most suitable. After consideration of the testimonials, it was de- j eided to recommend the board to appoint Miss M. E. K. Taylor, at present second assistant at the Mosgiel School. Mr Charles Edwards, the examiner appointed by Trinity College, to conduct the oractical examinations, is at present engaged in the North Island, and "is working his way south. On this occasion the results will be made known within a few daj-B of the conclusion of the examination in each centre. A French scientist has been investigating the interesting question of which kind of employment most quickly wears out the brain. He has found that military and naval professions are the worst a man can enter if he wants to go sane to the grave. Out of 100,000 naval and military men, 199 are confirmed lunatics. Next come the liberal professions, artists heading the list, followed closely by lawyers, and more distantly by clergy, doctors, literary men, and civil servants. The number of those who go mad is 177 to each 100,000. Domestic servants and day labourers run tho professional men very close, sending 155 out of. each 100,000 to the asylum. These are followed at a long distance by mechanics, only 65 of whom go madMn each 100,000. And the group which is most favourable to sanity is, contrary to general bolief, that of commercial men, which sends only 42 out of 100,000 to lunatic asylums. Here are a few statistics (says a Home paper) to which the peace letter of the Czar gives a temporary interest. AYe are near the end of tho century, and this is a record of the number of years devoted to warfare by each of the' great European Powers. The gravity of the campaigns are not taken into account; it is simply a question of the shutting or the opening of the Temple of Janus. The Power that has been most constantly at war lies been Turkey—3B years of it, as against 59 of peace. One is rather surprised to find that the second on tho list is Spain, and a good second too, with '32 years of warfare, not counting her la'sfc fatal campaign. Then comes | France with 27 years, Russia with 24, and Italy with 23, before we reach our own country with 21. Germany, not. counting Prussia, follows with 14, Sweden with 10, and Denmark with 9. There has been more warfare, at leastless continuous peace, than one would, at first hand, have supposed. A peculiar contretemps is reported by the Taranaki Herald to have occurred at a meeting ■ of shareholders recently held in the Taranaki district. The appointment of an auditor was under consideration, and as the result of a ballot taken a certain gentleman was elected by a fairly large majority. Tho newly appointed auditor thanked tho meeting for the honour done him, and he proceeded to criticise the balance sheet for tho previous year, contending that instead of a slight deficiency, the statement of accounts should have shown a larger loss. Thereupon the chairman rose and insinuated in polite but plain language that it was a remarkable fact that tho previous speakor, who had audited the accounts, should now find fault with them. The meeting then rose in its might, and a pretty clear indication was given that tho auditor's resignation would be cordially accepted. Several reso- < lutions fixing his remuneration at 5s and Is -6d per year were introduced, and as an ultimate result the gentleman resigned and anoi ther auditor was elected. At a mooting of the Wellington Philosophi--1 cal Society last week Mr G. V. Hudson again brought forward his proposal to niter the standard time by putting the clocks on two hours at midnight on 30th September, and putting them back again two hours on 28th February. The effect of the proposal would bo that in the five summer months an increase of two hours' daylight would be available for ' recreative purposes at the end of the day. Mr Hudson pointed out that the increase of ; two hours of daylight at the end of the day •in Bummer would prove, a great boon to the • bulk of the working community, and especiI ally to those who were confined indoors all ! day, and who thus required as much recreation ■ i.s possible in the open air. It was claimed i that only by altering the time in the manner suggested could the habits of the community Ibe perfectly adjusted to the changing seasons. Milkmen and others who have to start very t early at present would suffer under the pro--3 posed arrangement, and the kerosene, gas, 5 and electric lighting companies would lose 5 heavily owing to the reduced expenditure on 5 artificial light. The remainder of the community, however, 'would save what these classes lost, so their interests should hardly ' stand in the way of the interests of the majoa j rity. In connection with thiß scheme Mr , j Hudson pointed out the advantages that .would

accrue to children if the time-for-, examinations were altered from'■ December to June, thus allowing the children to ,have'tho long summer evenings for' play' in :, the open air. The same advantage.'would;.-result to many clerks in offices if tho yearly accounting period were altered from December to June. : A large staff is now busy at the Agricultural Hall making preparations for. the ■Nautical Festival which is to bo opened on, Wednesday evening. The stalls will be elaborately fitted up. One is named the Frarri, after Nansen's ship, and the assistants will dress the characters. Another is ' named the Puritan, after one of tho ships under Christopher Columbus when lie discovered America; and the third is named the-Holka, after one of the Danish ships which landed invaders in England. These will afford scope for producing novel and pleasing effects, and as Signor Borzoni has had tho choosing of.the colours, an artistic display may be anticipated. The dancing a,nd the tableaux are expected to eclipse anything yet attempted. .'...-'. A.n importpvjt typographical error occurred in our report of Hie sermon on Sunday evening by the Very Rev. Dean Fitcbett, published yesterday. " The Book of Isaiah is probably an allegory " should have read " The Book of Joimh," ito . . Tlio Kiwitea County Council invite tenders for tho erection of a traffic bridge over the HangitiUei Kiver. llessrs Stone, Son, and Co. have removed to new premises in Crawford and Jetty streets. Messrs Mason and Roberts have been appointed agents by tho Gore Racing Club to receive money for investment on the totalisator at the Spring meeting. Mr A. If. Burton in his ovoniiißS with Charles Dickens to-night will deal with "The Old Curiosity Shop," Sam "Woller, and Pickwick. Miss Brewer will eing " Little Nell." i\lr J. J. Ivfimsay sneaks at Lawrence to'i'iio Empiro Hotel, Tiinaru, has recently been oniarged, and is now one of tho most convenient, best appointed, and up-to-date houses in tho colony. lt-e central situation—being in close proximity to railway station, wharves, and post and1 telegraph offices—recommends it to tourists and tho travelling public generally. John Hisbor, oiclcat established Watchmaker and Jeweller. 7'! Princes street. Good assortment Watches, Clocks, and Jewellery. Spectacles suit all sights.—Advt. , See G. and T. Young's advertisement on first page re Bowling Green Bowls. They have just received close on 100 pairs per s.s. Gothic, and respectfully invite inspection of same.— Advt. M-o-s-t K-e-l-i-ct-b-l-e! For punctual time try Peter Dick, "Watchmaker and Jeweller, opposite Coffee Palace, Moray place, Dunedin. Charges strictly moderate.—Advt. Turnip Seed.—"\Vc have landed ex Gothic our annual supply of turnip seeds direct from the growers, including Kornney Marsh, without doubt the best turnip yet introduced.—J. H. Puf.ssly and Co.—Acivt. Massage and Electricity.—Mr and Mrs D. Edwis Booth, Mnssr.^o Institute, Stuart street, Dimcdm.—Under tho patronage of the medical gentlemen of Dunedin.