PUERUA.

Otago Witness, Issue 2292, 3 February 1898, Page 25

PUERUA.

January 24. — The weather here lately has been of the sample sort— sometimes almost as cold as midwinter with a shower of hail, and at other times very warm with a sultry wind blowing. The wind at times has been very high, accompanied with rain. The rain and warmth have doae the crops much good, and oats and turnips are coining on well. Pasture grass is in good condition alao. The showers ha\ c slightly interfered with the grass-seed harvest, but there .seems likely to be a good crop of seed.

Flower Show. —Our annual flower show came off on the 20th and 21<-t of this month. There was a very fine exhibit of floweis in pots and cut flow.ers, and also a fair display of fiuit and vegetables. Mrs William Patterson, as usutil, was the principal exhibitor of flowers, showing some novel and beautiful pjlargoniums, etc. Mr Davidson showed some fine mosaic woik in fljwei's, and Miss Johnston and other ladies showed a number of veiy tasteful and elegant hand bouquets of flowers. Mi Davidson showed a good collection of fiuit, including a plate of very fine raspberries, and Mi" Hurring, the principal strawbeiry grower in the district, showed a plate of fine strawberries. Many of the settlers round about alho showed fruit and vegetables. The school children had a table to themselve-", veiy nicely decoiated with wild and garden flowets. Oil the walls of the hall were two lectures very nicely diawn in lead pencil by Miss Shalders, the subjects being a mare and foal belongiog to Mr Shalders and a winter scene. The pictures showed much artistic talent. A large number of people were present during the evenings of boh days, there being a good musical piogramme.