Leaving the Colony.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 1, Issue 50, 18 July 1890, Page 3

Leaving the Colony.

A Eeefton gentleman was in Christchurch last week, and hearing that the Jubilee and Tekapo steamers were to leave Lyttelton in the evening on their cheap excursion trips to Melbourne and Sydney, decided to go down to the port to see the number and class of people who were leaving "the colony. He was surprised to" find the train, an unusually long one, literally packed with people who had booked to Australia. Hundreds aud hundreds of fine, strapping, young fellows, glad to get away anywhere out of New' Zealand, for in it they were unable to find employment of any kind. The labour mark.-t in Canterbury is said to be in a deplorable condition, and with no prospect of work and the wretchedness of a hard winter staring them in the face, they eagerly embraced the opportunity of a change of location, if only tor changed sake.

Prune Growing.

A Northern journal speaks of a new industry, in the shape of prune growing. A well-known lruit grower of Mangapai showed the representative of the Herald two samples of prunes. One contained French prunes, dried and packed by himself at Fairview,, Sata Clara, California, in September, 1889, and the other contained Italian prunes grown and dried by himself at Mangapai this year. It shows conclusively that prunes can be grown and dried bere as well as in California, where the prune industry has assumed such largt) dimensions,: and has become so profitable. A Whangarei settler who examimd the samples said the locally-dried prunes are the better of the two. He had seen prunes grown and dried in France, and the iSew Zealand fruit were more like them than any he had ever seen. The prunes from the south of France commaud tlie best price in the London market.