NORTH OTAGO.

Otago Witness, Issue 3889, 25 September 1928, Page 50

NORTH OTAGO.

NEWS FROM THE DISTRICT. OAMARU CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. At the annual meeting of the Oamaru Chamber of Commerce Air B. B. Walton presided over an attendance of 15 members. The chairman stated that it had been hoped to secure an outside commercial man to address the meeting. bu» their efforts in this direction had failed. Mr Walton stated that it was frequently asked what service the chamber was rendering. In reply, he had to say that many matters of common interest were dealt with, and when the necessity arose they found men who were willing to shoulder the burdens. They had enlisted the assistance of the Farmers’ Union, and now had two members of that body on the executive. The report and balance sheet were ■adopted. The latter showed a credit balance of £ll 3s Id. The election of officers resulted as follows:—President, Mr John Fraser; vicepresident. Mr J. Wilson; hon. auditor, Mr A. W Woodward; executive —Messrs R. K. Ireland. R. A. ATDowell, W. K. Tomlinson. A. Hamilton, B. B. Walton, J. T. Calder, and D. L. Paterson The Retailers’ Conimitttee of the previous year was re-elected, with the addition of Ale«sr' J. N. Al Kenzie, D. S. Bain, and J. H. Milligan. OBITUARY. Mrs Mary Jane Paterson, wife of Mr George Paterson, whose death was reported on Tuesday at the age of 71 years, had been a resident of Oamaru since 1880. Born in Leith, Scotland, she came to New Zealand with her parents in 1859, and her first home was in Dunedin. Mrs Paterson was of a kindly disposition, and had a wide circle of friends. Besides her husband, she leaves 10 children —Messrs Gavin, George, David, and Earl Paterson, all of Oamaru, and Mrs C. Doran. Mrs V. Doran, and Mrs L. Cayford, of this town. Her daughters also include Mrs Donovan (Invercargill), Mrs Healey (Waimate), and Mrs G. Robertson (Waimate).

OAMARU LANDMARK. A landmark in Oamaru in the shape of the Ribble Street Brewery has just been disposed of _ to Mr G. T. Gillies. This building, which is the only visible evidence of those days—unknown to the present generation—when hops and malt were converted into liquid form, was erected in 1870 in concrete. It was the fourth brewery to be established in Oamaru. A SUCCESSFUL SCHOLAR. Master John David Murray, a pupil of the Waitaki Boys’ High School, left Oamaru on Wednesday to catch the Aorangi at Auckland, en route"" to England. Master Murray, who is 15 years of age. has received cabled advice from England that he has passed the entrance examination of the Pangbourne Nautical College, and has been accepted as a cadet. He graduated from the Junior High School at the beginning of this year, and sat for the Nautical College examination last July, the paners being sent out from Home under seal. It is his intention tn enter the mercantile marine as an officer. METHYLATED SPIRITS. Several persons who have been-arrested in Oamaru of late on charges of drunkenness have been in a bad way as the result of consuming methylated spirits. "Unable to procure the “ real Mackay,” these unfortunates have adopted the alternative of endeavouring to fortify themselves with methylated spirits. ’ PLUNKET SOCIETY". At the' monthly meeting of the Oamaru Plunket Society, Mrs Smith Morton presided, and there were also present Mesdames Jones, M’Dowell, Panekhurst, Al’Gulloch, Fox, Preston, Gaitt, Crawshaw, Al’Diarmid, Grave, and Hamilton. The resignation of Mr G. W. Al’Dowall as treasurer, owing to his transfer to Waimate, was received with deep regret.

The secretary was instructed to write Mr M’Dowall, conveying to him the warm thanks of the committee for his manifold services to the Plunket Society. Arrangements were made for the holding of a social afternoon, when the committee, as a new departure, will entertain present Plunket mothers. It was reported by Mrs Smith Morton that Mr C. W. Naylor had offered the receipts of his pupils’ concert as a donation to the society.—The offer was re ceived .with thanks. The resignatjpn of Mrs Stubbs from the committee was received with expressions of regret. It was reported that Mrs R. A. M’Dowell, who had represented the town branch at the recent conference in Wellington, had entertained members of the committee at her home on her return, *nd given an interesting account of the work done at the conference. Nurse Slater was given leave to take her holiday during October, and during her absence she will be relieved by Nurse Andrews. The Kurow branch was congratulated upon the handsome gift made by Mr and Mrs Walter Cameron. DAYLIGHT SAVING. Although Mr T. K. Sidey’s Bill empowering local authorities to effect daylight saving by special order has been abandoned, a movement is being made among Oamaru firms to open their businesses half an hour earlier during the summer months and close at 4.30 in the afternoon. From inquiries made it is ascertained that there are very lew who would oppose this proposal. The concession would be greatly appreciated bjemployees, and it is not thought that country residents would be inconvenienced. It is expected that the Retailers’ Committee of the Chamber of Commerce will take the initiative in giving effect to the proposal. If the change is made it will probably cover the months extending from October to the end of March. FARM EDUCATION. A party of about 50 students from the Waitaki Boys’ High School, in charge of Mr Blackmore, their agricultural instructor, visited the farm of Mr G. P. Johnston at Alma on Saturday to witness a demonstration given by experts in various classes of live stock. About 50 settlers of the district were also present, and displayed the greatest interest in the practical talks that were given. Air J. M’Gregor opened the proceedings with a critical examination of the wool o. Border Lei ester and Corriedale sheep. He made comparisons between the close and open staple of different types of Border Leicester that were shown. He emphasised the value of a good crimp, texture, well-defined staple, and lustre. He urged that in the selection of rams those with a good crimp should- be preferred. In dealing with the Corriedale he said it originally belonged to the wool breed, b t in recent years more attention had been paid to carcass. The carcass development was, he said, at the expense of the wool. Air M’Gregor claimed that as soon as they tried to feature the carce.s they took strength out of-th wool. He urged that they should maintain the characteristics of the breed, and he favoured a leaning to the strong side. Air D. J. Ross, of Hillgrove, a wellknown Corriedale breeder, who followed Mr Al’Gregor, dealt with the economical aspect of the Corriedale as a dual-purpose sheep. He traced the origin of the breed, and stated that it was only by careful rossing and culling that the present standard was reached. He said the standard breed of Corriedale should have a wool count from 48 to 56. The carcass should be suitable for home consumption as well as for export. He brie. described the main features of an ideal Corriedale. The wool, said, should have length and density, evenness throughout, and a good staple and crimp. The Corriedale Society had fixed the standard 'f the Corriedale -at 55 per cent, for carcass and 45 per cent, for wool. In conclusion, he advocated that great attention should be paid to the selection of rams.

Air G. P. Johnston then introduced a Border Leicester ram, which he claimed to be the aristocrat of his stud. It was, he said, the finest type of the Border Leicester he had ever bred. In explain ing to the students the various points of the animal he said it stood correctly, had a fine muzzle and a typical strong head, with the slight Roman nose which was now essential. The ears were wel l set, and the eyes were full, and thene was strong character in the face. The breast should be full and wide, as the Border Leicester was chiefly a mutton breed They should have the carcass and the right quality of bone. The neck should be tapering from the body. The back should be as flat as possible, and the backbone should be straight. Air Johnston said he favoured short sheep with full loins. He urged the students to select an ideal in sheep and work up to that ideal. He stated that if they went all over New Zealand they would probably not find a Border Leicester sheeji of equal type to that before them. Air T. Portis, of Airedale, gave a demonstration with two Jersey heifers of bis own breed. He stated that in selecting profitable cows the animals should show constitution, capacitv, nervous tern perament, .blood circulation, and the ability to produce milk He described what in his opinion were the essential qualities of a typical milk producer. He added also that he had ' found no disadvantages from a moderate degree of inbreeding. He regarded the quality of the sire as of the greatest importance in the building up of a successful dairy herd. The demonstration was concluded by Air T. Cunningham, veterinary surgeon, describing the various points in a Clydesdale stallion and showing where diseases such as spgvin splints, grease, etc., were to be found. .A parade of draught horses, the whole of which had been well groomed and decorated by Air Johnston’s staff, was then held, after which afternoon tea was served. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded the lecturers on the motion of Air Finn, anil as the stud left for tlieir homes they gav? resounding cheers for Air Johnston and his staff.

THE CORRIEDALE SHEEP. At the stock demonstration at Alma on Saturday Mr D. J. Ross gave some interesting details concerning the founding of the Corriedale breed of sheep. He stated that the Corriedale cross was first made by Air James Little when in the employ of Dr Webster, of Corriedale Station. These Corriedaies, which were a Romney-Leicester cross, had no connection with the Corriedale of to-day. Mr Little had gone to Canterbury and crossed with the merino but it had remained for Mr Davidson, of the New Zealand and Australian Land to make the cross in 1879 with the Lincoln, from which the present standard type had been obtained. It was only by careful crossing and culling that the standard was reached. It was not until 1915 that the Corriedale was accepted by the Sheepbreeders’ Association as a standard breed of sheep. The Corriedale Society was now endeavouring to standardise the wool i n the Old Country. NORTH OTAGO SHEEP. In the course of an address at Alma on Saturday Air G. P. Johnston stated that since he had brought his stud Border Leicester ehcep_ from Southland to North Otago be had found that they had much improved in constitution. Hp considered the North Otago climate more suitable tor Border Leicesters than the climate of Southland. THEN AND NOW. Air George Finn, of Auckland, who is at present visiting Oamaru, was a resident of this town 48 years ago. He remembers the old Show Ground on the hill, the holding of coursing meetings at Awamoa, and the Grand National Steeplechase meeting being held to the south of Oamaru. Among other celebrities in the town in those days was Tom Long, the hangman, who made his hme in a boat in the bay. Air Finn is much impressed with the growth of Oamaru and with the potential wealth of the district. He states that he knows of no b tter stockraising country in the Dominion than North Otago. TESTING OF COWS. There is one Hairy farmer in North Otago who is not impress d w th the value of herd testing. This is Air T. Portis, of Airedale. After he had given an address at Alina on Saturday on the points of a Jersey heifer he was asked by a visitor what was the milking record of the animal. Air Portis stated that he had made tests for two years, but he had found them of little value. He believed in breeding from type and not from socalled milking strains. He cited ca-'es where the progeny of record milkers had tinned out to be duffers. Air Portis claimed that it was unnecessary to have cows with pedigrees to build up successful milking herds, and he questioned the wiMoni of importing dairy stock from the North Island.

FOOTBALL TOURNAAIENT. A seven-a-side football tournament was held at Kurow on Saturday. As the day was fine a large crowd was present to witness some good games. Although the ground was fairly hard, the games proved fast and interesting. The Alalieno team was successful in winning the competition after some keenly contested games. The Ngapara team, who were runners-up, put up some good performances, being defeated by Alaheno by 6 points to nil in the final game. There were five entries for the schools’ competition, Georgetown winning by defeating Enfield, the runners-up, in the final game. In this game overtime was played, and a force down by Enfield gave Georgetown first place by half a point. The games resulted as follows:—

SENIORS. First Refund.—Georgetown A 3 beat Oamaru B nil, Alaheno won by default from Ngapara B, Omarama A 3 beat Public Works A nil, Windsor 7 beat Tokarahi 3. Kurow A won by default from Tokarahi B, Duntroon won by default from Georgetown B, Kurow B won by default from Public Works B. Second Round.—Omarama 8 beat Windsor nil, Kurow A 8 beat Duntroon nil, Ngapara A 5 beat Kurow B 3, Alaheno 8 beat Georgetown nil. Semi-finals.—Ngapara won by a force down from -Kurow A, Alaheno 3 beat Oamarania nil. Final. Alaheno 6 beat Ngapara nil. SCHOOLBOYS. First Round.—Georgetown 8 beat Duntroon 5, Ngapara 16 beat Kurow uil. Second Round.—Enfield 3 beat Ngapara nil. Final. Georgetown won by a force down from Enfield. TAATION ON DIVIDENDS. At the me'eting of the Farmers’ Union in Oaamru on Friday the president (MrD. J. Ross) read a statement made in the House by the Alinister of Finance in regard to the income tax as affecting dividends of companies. The Alinister had said: •“ In the case of a taxpayer with an income of £4OO or under from all sources the commissioner may treat a dividend received as part of the sharholder’s own assessable income and refund to the shareholder the amount of tax paid by the company on such dividend. Relief in such cases is confined to shareholders whose dividends plus any tax refunded amount to less than 6 per cent, of their share in the paid-up capital.” Air Ross said it was not generally known" that a refund could be secured of taxation paid on company dividends. A BROKEN AVEEK. The past week has been a broken one in North Otago, rain falling on two or three days. The moisture was welcome, and will do much to stimulate the crops and pastures. The conditions have been al! that could be desired for lambing, which is now well advanced. Sowing of oats is still in progress, but the area under this cereal will not be as large as in former /ears. Dairying is well forward,* and Che cream supply is well up to the average for ..this season of tha year.