Local and General.

Opunake Times, Volume LVV, Issue 3675, 26 October 1923, Page 2

Local and General.

;0— 0 : We regret that we are unable to secure any further copies of the special Xmas number of the Auckland Weekly News. • The picture you have been waicfor— "While New York Sleeps" showing at Town Hall to-morrow night. Don't miss it.

Mr F H Jellyman has been instructed by the Oaonui Dairy Co to instal alO horse power Century motor at their Arawhata Road branch factory and a horse power Century motor at the Kina Road branch.

Person who took shoes by mistake from hall on Monday is requested to leave at this office and get own shoes. .

He (sentimentally ): There are a housand stars looking down upon ou to-night. She : Is my hat on raight ?

Those who contemplate sending personal greeting cards abroad this year are advised to leave their orders at this office early so that English mails may be caught for Xmas.

The public will no doubt appreciate the proprietor's enterprise in securing that great picture "While New York Sleeps" for screening at the Town Hall to-morrow night. This picture must be classed as above the average.

Mr and Mrs A E Brunette have now resumed complete control of the Club Hotel which, during their previous term of management, earned a wide reputation as a well-conduct-ed hotel. Mr Brunette take? a keen interest in harbor affiairs.

Good progress is being made with the skeleton bridge work over the Waiau railway crossmg, very heavy poles being used for the work. A substantial groyne is to be built on the east side of the bridge. Messrs Tom Smith, Richard Carrol and Plow Thompson, well known local craftsman are now on the job.

The ladies of St Barnabas Church are now busy working for a fair to be held in Opunake Town Hall on November 26th and 27th. A baby carnival will be conducted in connection with the fair, candidates from Opunake, Pihama, Oaonui and Kaponga having been entered.

Mrs M B Watson announces that she is now devoting all her time to tuition in singing and voice production and is prepared to take additional pupils. Early application for enrolment is requested. Mrs Watson has good testimonials as a teacher of singing. If sufficient inducement offers, ladies' physical culture classes will also be taken.

Further demonstrations of the utility of the Fordson tractor for farm work are now being given by Messrs W L F Chambers and K Campbell, who have their recentlyacquired Fordson at work ploughing, harrowing, etc. The machine makes this work easy. With a double furrow plough the Fordson will, in ordinary country, turn over an acre an hour, while an eight or ten acre ploughed paddock may be well discharrowed in a few hours.

"Do trout eat whitebait ? " is .1 question often asked. It has be. 11 answered so far as one Grey mouth angler is concerned. Recently his wife when cleaning two trout caught by him in the Grey River discovered about half a pint of whitebait in each fish.

This is one of the true yarns ex changed at the Grey Fire Board meeting this week (says the Greymouth Star). 'Smith had a most intelligent retriever, declared one member. "One night Smith's house caught fire. All was instant confusion. Old Smith and wife flew for the children, and bundled out with them in quicks order. Alas, one of them had been left behind! But up jumped the dog, rushed into the house and, soon reappeared with the missing child Everyone wa3 i saved ;but Rover dashed through the flames. What did the dog want ? No one knew. Presently the noble animnl 1 reappeared with— what do you think— ? " "Give it up, "cried the eager listeners. "With the fire insurance policy wrapped in a damp towel, gentlemen ! "

Discussing with Mr Whakarua the lamentable fatalitv to a boy at Gonviile who recently died from the effects of a katipo bite, that well known native resident informed a "Wanganui Herald " representative that the natives had a very effective remedy for the poison of the spider in question. The antidote was puha or rauriki, better known as sow thistle. When a lad Mr Wakurua was bitten in the leg with a katipo, and the poison speedily took effect. His parents thereupon put him in a hot bath in which the rauriki had been steeped, with the result that he was effectually cured. Our informant added that the' natives never worried about katipo bites, which were sometimes dealt with by simply rubbing the effected part with a piece of rauriki, and in extreme cases the puha was steeped in boiling water and the patient bathed therein.

Irrconnection with the recent decision of the Hawke's Bay Acclimatisation Society to prohibit the use of live bait by fishermen it is interesting to note that the deterioration of trout fishing in the Ekelahuna district is partly ascribed to this cause. An angler there expressed the view that had been made' in imposing bait restriction. The result was that the number of big cannibal fish which would not take a fly on any account were" being greatly increased, and devoured no end of the younger fiish. He considered that if the bait restrictions were removed these big fish would gradually be caught, and the fishing would soon improve.

A good story, which, by the way, has the added virtue of being a true one (says the Waimate "Advertiser") who told by a student at W.E.A. social recently, A local, member of the legal profession was preparing a farmer's will, when he was confront* ed with an unusual request to include a clause to the effect that he wished his motor-car (a certain well-known make) to be buried with him. Naturally enough, the lawyer tried to dissuade, him, but the farmer was adamant. At the conclusion of the drafting of the will the lawyer asked his client what was his reason for the strange clause. "Ah well," said the lilier of the soil, "I have driven about in her for a few years only now, sfnd I never yet saw the hole she could not pull me out of !"

Because marriage is a sort of slavery, Mrs Oliver H P Belmont, president of the Women's Party in America, cannot recommend marriage for any girl. "1 would not exactly say that marriage is a failure, but the statistics speak for themselves," she saysi "Most of the opposition to the equal fights movement comes from women of the clinging-vine type. Among men our only opponents are the 'smalltown' man and the church organii-a-tions. Too many girls these days have supported themselves before marriage, and they become discontented when they marry and feel someone else supporting them."

A Judge was pointing out to his court that a witness was not necessarily to be regarded as untruthful because he altered a statement he had previously made. "For instance "he said "when I entered this court to-day, I could have sworn that I had my watch in my pocket. But then I remembered that f had left it in the bathroom at home. " When the judge got home that night, his wife said. "Why all this bother about your watch— sending four or five men for i't! " "Good heavens, " said the judge, "what did you do? " "I gave it to the first one who came— he knew just where it was.

What is believed to ba a record for the Waikato, and possibly for the Dominion, in herd butterfat production figures was established last season by Mr R j Wilson's herd of pedigree and grade Jerseys at Ebor farm Putaruru. At the begin - ing of the season Mr Wilson was milking 59 cows, but by tile end of tne season this number had bsen reduced to 50, giving an estimated average for the season of 55. The production of butterfat for the 1? months totalled 21,868 lbs, an average per head among the 55 of a little over 395 lb For a herd of this siza or over no better figure per head his been reported in these parts, and therefore this is regarded as a record.

Subscribers who do not receive the "Times" regulariy are requested to kindly notify the office. *

Alrdfacre section is advertised to let. Little support was given the movement to form a cricket club in Oounake, and the project has been abandoned. Much amusement and no little trouble was caused by a wagon load of pigs getting loose in the Auckland railway yards on Saturday morning' says the Star. It appears that about thirty pigs were transferred from the s. s Clansman to a wagon, and conveyed to the yards. The driver left his charge to find out into which truck the animals had to be unloaded, when an engine came into the yard, frightening the horses and causing thetn to bolt. The 'driver succeeded in seizing the reins but before the wagon could be pulled up the heavy bumping across the rails had caused the ciate to shift, thus releasing the animals. After a long and exciting chase all but four were recaptured. One particularly large pig took to the water off the east rec'amation, and was brought to shore by a boat from one of the scows anchored off there. In the afternoon three of the animals were still at large.

A youthful Territorial who wished to be rid of the necessity of having to attend "beastly drill" applied to the Magistrate at Timaru for exemption, having a-legal luminary to press the point. However, one of the conditions of the exemption was that the lad was to forgo all dances and such social "flutters". This* was too much self-sacrifice for the popular "young blood" and the question of exemption was dropped with the rapidity of the proverbial hot potato. A few days ago (relates the Herald) the youth was again charged with failing to attend drill but he did not appear. His record and his previous convictions did not bear testimony to a zealous patriotism. The Magistrate • remarked that there was not the slightest excuse for "this fellow" who ought to have known better, and put the slight consideration of £1 and cosis ag tinst the defendant. \

The proprietor of a West Coast motor service is an advertiser born to the game, Over his premises he has this line: ''Get your oil and accessories here— free petrol tomorrow. " Of course lots of flivver drivers pull up and get what they want. But when they return for the promised oil they are told i they can get it "to-morrow." To* morrow never comes, .for the boss tells the same tab each day. The motorists don't mind, and so far no bloodshed has characterised any arguments about the business. The p'ace is safeguarded by all the laws of the English grammar.

At the meeting of the Horticultural Society on Wednesday night special prizes were donated for children's vegetable, growing' competitions,, vegetables to be exhibited at the show in February. The conditions are that vegetables must be * grown at home by the children exhibiting, as the planting season is now hsre children contemplating entering the compaction may obtain fuil particulars of same by calling at this office.

To safeguard public health, the Seaside Society is determined to enforce cleanliness about the beach and . f shacks, and all those living in shacks on the society's leasehold are to be requested to provid.; rubbish receptacles, which will hi cleared daily at the expense of occupiers of shacks. A.ny person found emptying rubbish of any kind into the swamp will be reported to the Hedth Department who will be asked to prosecute. The cost of this service to shack occupiers will be 2-j 6d per week.

Mr Jas. Arthur, of Ngaere, has three nicely designed cottages under construction on his freehold section on the Opunake beach next to the power house. Needless to say they have been booked up by permanent tenants. JjjL,

Entries for the N.Z. L. & M.A. Coy's Opunake sale on Monday are inserted in this issue.

A visit to Mrs Mouri's flower garden at the present time explains her many successes at different Taranaki shows. It is indeed a garden beautiful. One views a wide collect'.oll °f wonderful flowers, and the harmonious manner in which the Viower beds are laid out has much to do with their striking effect generally. Bordering the garden walks are glorious ros-js of many colors. The whole scene is one of natural and well cultivated beauty and makesone realise the garden possibilities of Opunake. Mrs Mouri has also some very choice hot house plants and blooms.

Mr Lloyd George told newspaper men at Ontario that if Britain and the United States tacitly leagued to enforce peace they could prevent all wars without hostilities, if they made it plain that they would uot tolerate war. And yet America won't join the league. Is it because of the dollars to be made out of wars ?

AfterTiis decisive victory in the Waverley Cup, local supporters of Muraahi are expecting him to put daylight between himself and the N Z Cup field, and should he fail to do so at ths right end their disappointment will be acute.

Its a matter for regret that nothing' has been done this season in the direction ,ot beautifying the lake, surroundings and 01 her town par's reserves. These valuable assets are being neglected, and it is a greaf pity.