Miscellaneous Items.

Southland Times, Issue 4491, 1 December 1882, Page 4

Miscellaneous Items.

— * Fruit farming seems to be understood in the eastern counties of England, in one district,of which the production o£ gooseberries has been of late years greatly dceJocied. Tbe present h<is been a prolific and profitable season, and tbe prices obtained for crops on tbe ground have ranged from £70 to over £100 an acre. The raising of gooseberries i has been considerably stimulated by the demand made from the north of England for the raw material- for the manufacture of « champagne." A Cat "Mixture in Butter and Cheesr—Cats now form (according to the Live Stock Journal) an ingredient in our butte and cheese. They are not cut up as they are for pork pies. They are utilized in this way : Batter and cheese are fabricated out of oleor margarine. Oleomargarine is made from fat. Fat is made out of the ordinary refue of tbe dust-bin. The dust-bin often contains a cat. in Manchester, during one year, 13 tons of cats were found in the bins, and as much tat was got out of them as possible. The fat, or oil, obtained out of the tanks in which the refrise is placed sells at £2i. There is little wonder, then, tbat it should be utilized. — Globe. Most readers are aware that one of the agricultural importations of the United States to Europe is imitation butter, which subsequently appeared in grocers' shops under the more euphonious name of bntterine. Now we are supplied with an "imitation cheese 1" What is more, neither chemists nor physiologists can find anything to complain of in the new article of diet. It is composed of a mixture of oleomargarine and skim milk, and ha 3 hitherto gone by the name of " American Cheddar." So excellent is the imitation that our best cheese judges could not distinguish "between the oleomargarine cheese and the ordinary ' gennine Americau cheese. Dr Vbelcker, the chemist to the Royal Agricultural Society, has examined these artificial cheeses, and has pronounced them to be perfectly wholesome articles of food. Professor Thorpe tells us that provided that the proportion of skim milk and oleomargarine be properly adjusted, the composition of the imitation cheeae will differ but slightly from that of the best English-made cheese, and. will even be preferable toGruyere and Parmeßany as well as to the ordinary English skim-milk' cheeses. Shall we ever attain to " imitation; beefsteaks V

This Company is projected for the purpose of purchasing, working, and extending the City and Suburban Tramways, and also the Omnibus Plant at present owned and worked by Mr David Proudfoot, and also of purchasing or forming and of working other Tramways in the City of Dunedin and suburbs thereof, and elsewhere in New Zealand as may be deemed advisable, and of generally carrying on the business of a tramway and omnibus proprietor and carrier of passengers and goods in all its branches, for the carrying out of which objects full and ample powers will be taken in the Memorandum of Association, An agreement dated the sixth day of November, 1882, made between Mr David Proudfoot of the one part and Mr William Is&ac (as Trustee for and on behalf of the Com« pany), of the other part, has been entered into for the sale and purchase of the said City and Suburban Tramways at the price of £65,000, and the option of purchasing the Omnibus Plant or any part thereof at the prices respectively therein mentioned is by the said agreement given to the company, to be exercised within the period therein limited. By the terms of the said agreement the Company will be entitled to the reats and profits of the business as from Ist December, 1882. It suits Mr Proudfoot to sell, as his extensive contracts in New South Wales require his constant personal superintendence. On the other hand, the Provisional Directors believe that great public advantage will accrue from the undertaking being owned by a large proprietary, providing as it will a safe and profitable investment for tne savings of all classes of the community. It is confidently believed that, under a large proprietary, apart from what may be termed the natural increase in the revenue, the income will be largely increased through the influence and supervision of a body of shareholders, which will undoubtedly operate as a check upon abuses known to exist, in the exposure and suppression of which each shareholder will have a personal interest. Tramway shares «11 over the world are considered amongst the safest and most steadily dividend-paying stock ; the business being a ready-money one, and free from the hazards and contingencies that beset most joint-stock undertakings. The only question, therefore, to be considered is, is the property offered at a fair yalue, and at that price do the average returns represent a good dividend ? The Provisional Directors have fully satisfied themselves by the valuations of experts, appointed by themselves, that the price to be paid for the Tramway Concessions, Live and Dead Stock, and Plant — viz., £65,000 sterling — is a fair and even low estimate of value. They have also had the Vendor's books for the past two years examined by a competent accountant, and are in a position to state that the net returns, after paying for maintenance, repairs, and all charges and expenses, show a handsome return upon the capital proposed to be called up. These valuations and reports in detail can be inspected at the office of the Interim Secretary. The property is offered to the Public at the price required to be paid to Mr Proudfoot without any loading whatever, so that the Provisional Directors are acting entirely in the interests of the investing Public. The Provisional Directors have purposely made the shares small and the calls light, so as to place it within the reach of every inhabitant of Dunedin and its suburbs to become a shareholder, believing as they do that if the Public liberally respond to the opportunity of becoming the proprietors of the Tramway?, which are now an established necessity in the community, the result will be that the raturns in every way will enormously increase by the greatly-extended use of the Tramway system. It is thought unnecessary to say anything as to the efficiency of the system, as that is a matter of public notoriety, nor us to the quality of tbe plant, as it is well known that the whole is of the very best character, and. \va3 renewed after the fire which occurred about two years ago. The foliowing^statement will serve to show the progress of the business :— Per annum.

(Or nearly 14 per cent, on the proposed paidup capital). The attention of investors is drawn to the enormous advantage of entering into possession of a large cash business in full operation on a definite date without waiting for construction, importation of plant, and free of all the risks and delays, and the heavy legal and other charges incidental to the starting of a new concern. Profits will accrue from the very day the expenses of the Company begin, and it may be confidently said that seldom anywhere can such a property be acquired on terms so advantageous. Commenting upon the amazing increase of traffic fover£ 1 5,0°0 in six months) on the North Metropolitan (London) Tramway lines, the Money Market remarks : — " Facts are better than any amount of argument, and a fact like this goes to prove there reside in Tramway traffic, combined elements of solidity, progress, and elasticity, which will cause them in the futnre to realise the hopes of even the most sanguine amongst holders."Applications for Shares will be received at the Bank of New Zealand and its. Branches, and from the Broke s and Interim : Becietaryr ; If no allotment is mada tbe deposit will be

Receipts between January Ist and 31st December, 1880 £18,150 7 0 Recoipts^betwcen January Ist and 31st December, 18S1 ... 22,757 17 6 Eeceipts between January Ist and 31st May, ISB2 ;* Receipts between January (5 month?, £9,99S 18s) 23,973 7 0 The profits for a period of 21 • months ending 31st May, 1882 (the date of the last balance), after providing for maintenance and repairs, amounted to £10,993 8s 7d, equal to £6,282 per annum. The net profits for the last 12 months of that period, during which higher prices ruled for forage, amounted to 6,595 3 11 The interest on Debentures, viz : £35,000 at 7 per cent will be 2,450 0 0 Leaving a balance available for Dividend and Reserve... £4,145 3 11 I