OMNIUM GATHERUM.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16593, 17 January 1916, Page 8

OMNIUM GATHERUM.

There is no difficulty in obtaining work for able-bodied men in the country districts, the Labour Department reports (says the Dominion). For having taken a flask of whisky into the military camp at Featherston, a man named F. Gold was fined £5. A pontoon, one of the two captured by the New Zeillanders at tho fight on the Suez Canal, has been sent to tho Prime Minister, and is. now in Wellington. Mr P. L. Boilings, the well-known solicitor, of Masterton, and a former mayor of tjie town, sustained a severe stroke on his return from Wellington last week, after competing in tho bowling tournament, _ and is now lying in a critical condition in a private hospital. ■American Pile Cure is composed of almost tasteless medicines for internal use and cones as external suppositories. Complete course for one month's treatment costs but 5s at Marshall's Pharmacv.... When a fire which broke out in the willows near a benzine store at Blenheim had been subdued, a tin of benzine, blazing merrily, was found among the charred trees. Apparently {says tho Marlborough Express) it had been " planted" by some person, who, it might be assumed, preferred to have his identity concealed. The steam trawler Pilot, when trawling oft Godley Head, netted a fish that is unknown to the Lyttelton fishermen (says the Lyttelton Times). It is something like a salmon trout, but ■ its head resembles that of a garfish. The specimen will be sent to the Canterbury Museum. The victim of a recent drowning fatality at Whakatane was Mr W. Manning, of the Public Works Department. He was born at Driving Creek, Coromandel. 4Q years ago. The fatal accident occurred while the deceased was in chargc- of an oil launch in a stream near Whakatane. Frank H. Blakeley, surgeon dentist, 174 Princes street South (over Kilroy and Sutberland'sV Telephone 1483 Shortly before the departure of the Maori from Lyttelton on Thursday night, a young man who was standing near the steerage gangway fell into the harbour (says the Christchurch Press). Shunter Grimmond immediately went to his assistance, and, with the aid of Constable Lloyd, got him ashore by means of a rope. f Mr J. Holt has sold his fine orchard near the Clyde bridge for a sum in tho vicinity of £2000 (says the Alexandra Herald). Tho new owner, who comes from Invercargill, intends to erect a fine rrsidence, and this orchard will be a beautiful inlet to whai may bo called the Golden Horn of Earnscleugh. Saturday halr-lmlrday now being observed bv ns instead of Thursday. Our customers will now have the advantage of on Th.urwlay afternoons and on Friday evenings until 9 p.m.—A. F. Chcyno and Co., drapers and furnishers. Mosgiel.... Detective-sergeant Fahey has just returned froma tour of investigation in the Geraldine district into a case of alleged sheep-stealing (says the Timaru Herald). As a result a charge of sheep-stealing will bo brought at an early date against a wellknown farmer in the Geraldine district. Tho ease will bo heard at Geraldine. Prices at J Waters, chemist, are always lowest; Cash or Credit....

The Waifcapu wharf just now is a sceno of constant activity, and from the amount of produco going over it outward, tho farmers can be doing no harm (says tho Takaka correspondent of the kelson Colonist). Wool, butter, eggs, and pigs sewn to be tho main exports. The imports, so far as can bo judged, appear to consist largely of beer, benzine, and manures. Orders observing both letter and _ spirit of the law are promptly complied with by Wm. Crosein, Waterloo Hotel, Caversham... The To Aroha correspondent of tho Thames Star opines that owing to the number of men enlisting in the forces tho dairy factories are being affected with a shortage of labour. It is anticipated that before the end of the dairying so aeon, considerable difficulty will be experienced in keeping tho factory staffs up to full strength. The Rodney County Council, North Auckland, has decided: " That, in view of tho strenuous and prolonged character of the war, and the possibility of the extension of the area of hostilities, it is advisable— in order to prevent the loss of tho whole of the best elements of our population, and ■ in fairness to all—that a Conscription Bill be passed without further delay, Parliament being called together at once for this purpose." The resolution was telegraphed to tho Prime Minister. On Wednesday, Mrs H. Layman, of Pungarehu, met with serious injury as the result of a gig accident (reports the Taranaki Daily News). She was driving with her daughter and one of her sons, near tho Parihaka road, when the horse took fright and shied, capsizing the gig., Mrs Layman, who sustained a severe injury to her thigh, was brought into the New Plymouth Hospital. The other occupants of the vehicle escaped unhurt. Waters' Chap Lotion is unequalled for Rough Hands. Is. —Waters' Pharmacy...^ Tho rapid increase of tho email-bird nuisance is said to have so perturbed a North road fanner that he had to go to a neighbour about it (says the Oamaru Mail). "They are there in hundreds," he said, "they settle oil tho grain in thousands, arid they fly away in millions.Certainly tho amounts paid to the Waitaki County Council for birds' eggs are startling. Up to Saturday last £121 5s sd, representing 121,257 small birds' eggs, was paid out Apparently there are a lot of forgetful people in Gisborne (6ays tho Poverty Bay Herald). During last year a large number of bicycles, probably 400 or SGO, were taken charge of for being left standing against verandah posts, shop fronts, etc. The machines as a rule are not' left long 1 in "custody," but of those taken charge of by the , police last year there are eight, both ladies' and gentle-men's bicycles, still unclaimed. At the meeting of the Dannevirke County Council on Wednesday morning a telegram y was received from the Public Works Department, Wellington, inquiring if a certain contract had been let (says the News). It transpired that the contract mentioned had been let by the council in April. The chairman, Mr F. G. Cowper (to tho councillors) : "Woll, gentlemen, what will we do with this?" Cr L. C. Rathbone: "Frame it."—(Loud laughter.) Specialists in any line may always be trusted to produce an article above average quality. Coffee lovers, therefore, make no mistake when they order " Bourbon." All grocers.... Most gardeners have been thoroughly dis-. heartened by the damage which has been caused to their plants by slugs (says the Feilding Star). This season seems to have been particularly favourable to them, and one wonders whether the dry season of last year caused them, to suffer from hunger, and that this season they are taking a double share in view of another dry season next year. Most gardeners have tried various suggested remedies, some good and many no good; in most cases, however, little success has crowned their efforts. Instances of the severity of the drought in North Otago come to hand' daily (says tho Oamaru Mail). 1 A resident of J£okoamo of 30 years' standing is. talcing'' steps to romovo_ his stock to Southland. This is the first instance of the kind in the district ho can recollect. Inquiries foT feed in the Omarama district have beeti reoeived from other North Otago farmers. A dairy farmer with 14 cows has been obliged to sell 10. Four ho has retained for his family needs. This means that he is living on what surplus last year—also a dry, though not a drought year—yielded him. Notwithstanding the horrors of war at her very doors, and tho_ burden of oaring for 300,000 helpless Belgian refugees, Holland has gone to the roscue df the bird species of ner East Indian possessions that were being killed and sold for millinery purposes. It appear? that throughout the whole of her vast island empire in the Malay Archipelago, 3000 miles long and 1000 miles wide, all bird species save three are now absolutely prohibited against tho foather trade, with a probability that eventually no exceptions will be made. An extraordinary case occupied the attention of Mr L. G. Reid, S.M., in the Wellington Magistrate's Court on Wednesday, a young man named Norman Copeland M'Phee being charged with having, on the afternoon of Boxing Day, assaulted a woman 74 years of age, with intent to commit a more serious offence (says the Times).* According to the evidence of the informant, a spinster, living alone in Holland street, the accused, whom she had known from boyhood, visited her, and after some conversation handled her roughly. Her cries attracted the attention of neighbours and ho decamped. Accused was oommitted for trial. An incident which appears worthy of record happened at camp (says a correspondent of the Hawke's Bay Tribune). The lads were instructed to locate a movable target (a man), and to sight _ accordingly. TTie officers, naturally, were in the_ know of the man's location,_ but were surprised at a member of the firing line, Private Milburn, of Waipawa, -locating the object from a the jump. When asked how he did it, Private Milburn said the sun's rays on tho dial of a wristlet watch tho man was wearing gave him the cue. The dials of wristlet watches have now to be covered. Caterpillars' have appeared in great numbers in various parts of the Opotiki district, and oat crops have suffered more or less from their ravages (says the East Coast Guardian). Otherwise the crops are reported to be excellent. At Waiawa a few days ago immense numbers' of caterpillars , were said to have been seen near the road. Most farmers, who found the insect at work cut their oats on the gTeen side, but in a few instances the oate had not reached a sufficient state 'of maturity to render that course advisable. The Tolago Bay correspondent of the Poverty Bay Herald reports: _ "During a moving picture performance in Reynolds Hall a fire occurred in the operator's 'box, caused by the ignition of a film. A fire extinguisher was brought into use, but tho flames and hoat proved too intense to .be extinguished by that moans. The fire, which was confined to the operator's box, was only got under after the macihne had been damaged almost beyond repair, two films destroyed, and tho electrical fittings damaged. Tho operator was badly burned about tho hands anW arms, necessitating medical attention; The damago was estimated- at about £100." Tho very bad droughts experienced in Queensland were referred to by the Hon. A. 11. Whittingham, a member of the Queensland Legislative Council, when speaking to a Napier Telegraph reporter. Tho times in Queensland were vory hard at ' present, the oounfcry being burnt up. I-lowevor, he had reoeived a cablegram stating that good rains had been experienced about Christmas time, and these would do a wonderful lot of good. There was a shortage of 300 per cent, in the stook returns last vear owing to the drought, so people could imagine how bad it was. However, Queensland was a wonderfully quick recovering country, and when any good rains wore experienced the farmers' returns would soar very high.