KOKONGA

Otago Witness, Issue 2671, 24 May 1905, Page 35

KOKONGA

May 19.—1n response to the kind invitation of Mr and Mrs Glendinning, Tai«riside, Koko-nga, about 160 people assembled on Friday evening, 12th inst. The gathering, which took the form of a harvest home, was the first of its kind ever held in our little village. Mr and Mrs Glendinning received their gueat3 in the schoolroom, which had been tastefully draped and decorated for the occasion with flags, sheaves, autumn leaves, berries, and flowers, the effect being very pleasing and pretty. Some very pretty dTesses were worn by the ladies. Dancj ing was the chief feature of the evening, interj sperßed with vocal and instrumental solos. I Good music 'violin and piano) was provided fox dancing. The host and hostess were inderatigable in their efforts to make everyone feel at home. The Scotch reel was the cause of a great deal of amusement, owing to the number of elderly people who participated in s it with great -vigour. ' Supp«r was bountifuilly served in. an adjoining room, and the tables wero decorated with flowerr and streamers. The evening passed very pleasantly indeed. Mr Durwoofl voiced the feelings of the gueste m expressing thanks for the very enjoyable oveni aig which had been provided, and called for three hearty cheers foT Mr and Mis Glendinning. In responding, Mr Glendinning said the pleasure they themselves had derived from the meeting of their friends and neighbours , amply repaid 1 them for the trouble entailed. ' The singing of "Auld lang.syne" brought a pleasant social gathering to a close. Threshing.—Mr Harris's mill has been in the vicinity tti3 last week, and harvest operations are over for another season On the whole the yield has teen highly satisfactory. The weather has teen very fine and mild, with just an occasional night's frost. On the 16th about lin. of snow fell, but by the following ' day it had melted from, the heat oif the sun. Some o? the farmers axe taking advantage of the fine weather for ploughing. Harvest • thanksgiving was held here lasi last Sunday, j when Rev. Mor Williams preached a- very ap- | propriate sermon from the text. "Give us this j day our daily bread." Suitable hymns were ! chosen. Railways.—Sines last writing, th& tablet sys- . tern has b^en established here, with Mr Brookes in charge. The benefit of having someone in charge is realised now, as heretofoxe an occasional parcel wen* astray, as these were lett to the risk of the owner. Another G-cvernmient House is aiso being erected in Kokonga HIXBON. May B.—l regret to report that harvest operations ha.ye been very much retarded during the paat 10 days in this district in the case of the small farmers, consequent on the , wet weather which has prevailed. However, , glorious weather has once more set in to cheer , the hearts of those whose crops at the time i oi writing are still standing in stook in the i fields. The ingathering was proceeding i rapidly when the weather broke, and the rain that fell caused a temporary stoppage of work ,in leading in. As the weather has j now cleared up, it is to be hoped that all the small farmers will be successful in securing their crops in good order for winter requirements. Judging from the large number of oaten stacks that meet the eye in several fields here, I should say that some heavy grain crops have been grown in this district this season. Religious.—lt has often occurred to me during my rambles through the Hindon district as somewhat strange that no sacred edifice has been erected by any religious denomination up to now for public worship, despite the fact that Hindon was one of the earliest districts opened up for settlement in Otago. However, this difficulty has been overcome during the past few years by the schoolhouse being used by the church-going residents for public religious meetings. "Religious services ars held every Sunday, and the children are taught religious lesson* as well. Probably wo axe keeping pace in the march of progress from a literary point of view with some other districts that have greater facilities for improving their education. It certainly is a matter of surprise to many that the standard of the Presbyterian Church hasnot been hoisted here. The Rabbit Trade.—lt is manifest that the extreme measures adopted by the land holders in this district during the past summer in the matter of poisoning, trapping, etc., have reduced bunny to a minimum, as the rabbit trade is not in a very, flourishing state at present, judging from the small number of carcases that are being conveyed to Hindon Railway Station. It is only fair to state that trapping and other vigorous methods are being vigorously prosecuted by several bands of men engaged by the land holders to wage war agairf§t the rodents. It is not anticipated that the bunny export trade will assume very large dimensions in this district during the current season, owing to the severe measures that were adopted against the triba during the past summer months by those concerned in the suppression of the pest. Sheep-dipping.—The month of April proved a busy one for the stock owners, as the whole of the flocks depastured here had to be mus-ter-ed in for dipping purposes. Advantage is usually taken by the flock owners at this period to dispoee of any surplus stock that are not to be grazed during the ensuing winter months. It is gratifying to report that several small drafts of sheep changed hands last month at highly remunerative prices. I note that Mr Allan Boyd has had the whole of his Hindon flocks put through a strong solution of Little's dip. This annual immersion of the flock has r>roved highly beneficial in promoting the health of the sheep, as it allays irritation caused by parasites, ticks, etc.; while the fleece ■shorn from dipped sheep is much heavier and brighter in colour. pahahjlka n©vr\s. May 22.—Within the last few days we have ha<l a. touch of -winter in the sha/pe of frost. Frosty nights and fine, hot days are very acceptable now. Two white frosts and then a rainy day used to be the course, and as we have had three nights of white frost, I am inclined to think that rain is not far off. The Farm.—Although the mill is still at work at the lower end of the estate, it will very <soon be finished, and then we shall get some chaff cut and be prepared for the winter, Ploughing for another season has also commenced, and we are all going to hang on to our sections in the hope that some relief may be forthcoming after the report of the commission has been laid before the House, s As to the last harvest, a farmer nronounc-ecj

c ! the other day that it had been the worst sinov, he came to the estate, owing to the excessive c wind. Some of the settlers who have more turl nips than they will require for their own sheep r have sold the balance to be fed off. At present Mr David Murray has some 3500 sheep (mostly lambs) on the Downs. The r price —Id for lambs and l|d for sheep —is not ) so good as was going last year. ! The Pomahaka School. —Miss M'Dougal, tha i teacher, returned from her holidays about a. :• fortnight ago, and has been conducting the , school in the hut which was lent by the Government last winter. I see from the report s of the Education Board that teaching is still to be carried on in the hut during the winter. The following committee was elected at tho annual meeting: —Messrs M'Gregor, Erskine, Harvey, T. M'Kee, and Clements. The House. —The last session of this Parliament will soon begin now, and I suppose candidates for the general election will be already starting to put their election speeches on paper. I see Mr William Roy, of Wai runa, has taken time by the forelock and advertised that he will be a candidate. Ms Roy is a son of Mr James, Roy, an early settle* in the Wairuna, and one field in great respect by all who know him. Should fortune nod favour Mr Roy at this his first attempt to entwr into political life, his candidature will at anyrate give him a good opportunity of becoming known to the electors of Clutha. Farmers' Union. —A meeting of this union was held in the Council Chambers, Clinton, last Thursday, when the secretary read tho balance sheet, showing a credit balance of £2 19s 3d. Mr Clark, the president, then gave a short resume of the past year's operations. The membership was 105 and 9 hon. . members. This was one better than the previous year. He explained that when in Wellington as member of a deputation to tho Premier, the union approached Mr Seddon on . three questions. The first was the land question, when the Premier said he thought & commission should be appointed. The second was the constitution of the Assessment Court, when the union suggested one assessor fot the Government and one for the farmers, with the S.M. as the third. The third question was technical education for farmers. Th« union had also put the mutual fire insurance scheme through Parliament last session, and I may say that the Otago mutual fire insurance scheme is now in active operation, as the secretary (Mr Pram) has been round inspecting all risks that have been offered. auctioneers had also been requested to reduce their commission on sale of horses, and on their refusing to do so the union intimated that they would start selling horses on their own account, charging 2| per cent. This will, j no. doubt, be started after the election of the provincial president and committee. Very ! sincere and hearty votes of thank 3 were ac- | corded to* the president and secretary (Mr D1 Wallace) for their labours during the pasfc yeaj. Mr Clark, in thanking them, said he felt the whole farming community was at the back of the union. The farmers were perfectly willing to pay their subscriptions and leave the work to be done by the few. The election of the new office bearers for the ensuing season was then proceeded with. Although Mt Clark waa again nominated for th» position of president, he declined, as after three years in that position he thought some - one else should take >tne position, as he was of opinion that the office should be a rolling - one. After hearing tha* the de-legates to the various conferences^ —at lesst from this"" branch —had the-pleasure of paying their owa ■ expenses, even to Wellington, I should be inclined to look on the honour of being- presi- ' dent as a* very doubtful one. Unions must see that delegates have their expenses; paid. '" To return, however. Our vice-president,- Mr • Donald Williamson, was proposed for the posi- - tion of president, and although at first ho refused to accept of it, eventually he waa safeJy installed in the chair. Mr • Tait, of Waiwera, was elected vice-president. All the members of the previous committee were reelected, Mr Clark taking the place of Mr Tait, Mt Gopeland, Kuriwao, being proposed to take the place of Mr Alexander, who is now agent in Clinton for the National Mortgags and Agency Company; and Mr Edwards beinff elected to represent part of the Waiwera district. After a vote of thanks had been • passed to Mr Douglas as auditor, a conversa* tion took place on the carriage of ground • lime, when Mr Taylor made a proposal thafe the Colonial Executive- should urge the Minister of Railways to put ground lime on the free list. Mr Miller wished to see all manures carried free. ! i i