POMAHAKA DOWNS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2849, 21 October 1908, Page 39

POMAHAKA DOWNS.

I October 17.— A little rain would now be very beneficial. We have had some very ■drying- winds, which tend lo bake the ground. I see some very ni« brairds of oats about, and -some are still to bo sown. JLamb-marking has been going on, but so fai I have not heard of any very startling , percentages. Sheep are tumbling down in i prioa, and socn, surely, they will be ai | bottom. No doubt the wool market is the 1 chief cause. The rise started about the! I .time of the great drought in Australia and 1 after the Boer war, when consumption cf woollen goods was great and the supjplies of the raw material were short. E idon'b expect to see much «f a rise again until something of the same sort happens. With all the talk about financial crisis and 1 •dearn.3e3 of money or cheapness of money, the whole business, in my opinion, is regulated by the law of supply and demand. Of course money muat regulate the deanand, .and consequently when money is fibqrt the demand is also short, and the supply is tco much, or else 21b of wool must go for tho proper price of lib. But I'll get out of my depth if I don't stop. Personal. — I am glad to hear that our oid friend, Mr John- Herriott, has sailed •from Home, and, I hope, cured and ready •for some more hard graft. Wairung Schoolhouse. — The school having "been shifted a few years ago to suit the majority of children attending it, the distance between the school and the school residence has often been discussed by the* local committee and by deputations to the Education Board. A* last that bo<<y h&s taken action. A few weeks ago the old school residence and glebe was put up for auoticn in Clinton, and knocked down to Mi Jame^ Davidson, brother of our focal blacksmith", but he doesn't get possession! of the house. till January 5. A few more tac;-es have been bought from Mr Francis, an whoee paddock the schcol now stands, •and I see the timber for the residenc-3 is on the ground. Wairuna Ball.— The Wairuna bachelors' ball duly came off on the evening of Friday, 9th inst., in the. barn of Mr Madden, Cherry Farm, which property Mr Madden lately bought from Mr James Taylor. The •bern was nicely decorated with cabbaga tiees, flowers, and leaves. Dancing commenced at 8.30, and was kept going with spine till midnight, when tea and cakes were handed round. Again the dancers ■started with fresh vigour — they reeled, they set, they crcsicd, they el-eeked— until 3.30 a.m., when refreshments w«re again hanocxl round, and all went home thoroughly satisfied with ths night's- enjoyment. Songs wsre given at intervals by Mr Hayes, of Clinton. About 40 couples were present, coming frnm Clinton, Kurioao Gorge, Wairuna, "Waipahi, Pomahaka Downs, Arthurion, and Mcsgiel. The first Wairuna ball passed off without a hitch of any kind — aco even an earthquake.