HANDEVILLE.

Otago Witness, Volume 06, Issue 2899, 6 October 1909, Page 38

HANDEVILLE.

October ♦— Th© pa«t <for«e w«fa **** seen a large acreage put under cereal crop* in. this part of the globe. It miv* be nwigj years since the farmers put aucib aJairga portion of their farms in grain, as uiey «T* doing this season. Mu#on and Ugab tn*

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fun down to such a ruinous price %t Home that farmers saw the need of turning their .attention in other directions, so that the ' ever-increasing expenditure may be met. The larger acreage cultivated necessitated zan increased amount of labour, and although on© hears of the great number of unemployed in the towns the difficulty of getting men to work horses was never co <acute as long as I can remember. The fact of til© matter' is, people nowadays have j dislike for team work. Working in towns is far more fascinating, as th© hours are much shorter and fehe holidays -more numerous. If the farmer is to retain suitable labour, then he will have to give more attention to the comfort of his ©nrp!oyees. One would thini. in this democratic age that the employed and employer would naturally be gjrowing closer together, but I am constrained to think that the span is ever becoming wider. I remember when I was a schoolboy how the interest of the farmer and his servant seemed to be bound up in each other. Indeed, it was often difficult for a Stranger to distinguish which was superior. The fanner took his man to the market with him, and there discussed together the advisability or otherwise of making a purchase. They lived under th© same roof and sat at the same table. What a contrast to what one seea x>day, although but a few years have elapsed f The fawner no longer, takes ibis servant into his confidence. Nothing is farther from his thoughts i/than to take trim to the market with him on. market days. He does not live in the same house as formerly, but the employee is provided with some indifferent quarters elsewhere, and* the -two-table system is by no means unknown op the farm to-day. One can't kelp thinking that luxury and self-indul-gence is becoming moix and more the yule. Fewer spam to be giving their r houghts to real patriotism or care for the nation as a whole, including those in poor circumstances. Entertainments. — There have been seveTil functions of importance in th© township this past week. On Tuesday evening Mr arid Mrs Overton. entertained the choir of •-^c Anglican Church' with a few of their 'liends in the echoolhouse, where a very 1 !?a6ant evening was spent in singing, rcci<iting, games, etc. On Thursday Mrs Taylor gave a delightful birthday party in the Public Hall, the occasion being th© birthday of her daughter. The hall was tastefully decorated, and great preparations ha.A V>een made, so thai IMuri-el's schoolmates and friends might spend an enjoyable afternoon, which they undoubtedly did — an afternoon that they will have cause to look back on with pleasure for many a year to come. / Public Hall. — The annual meeting of the Public Hall is to be held next week. lam credibly informed the past year has been an extremely bad one, th< takings not being half what they were in the year that preceded it — in fact, if the young people -lo not make more use of it it wiU be the painful duty of the directors to utilise it for other purposes.