LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 52, 16 October 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

As showing the keen demand for dairy farms in the Stratford district, we understand that Messrs. C. and E. Jackson have during the past week disposed of Mr. ft. Witt’s 200-acro dairy farm on the Stanley Road, also Mr. W. Colson’s 100-acre dairy farm, and, Mr James Kerrisk’s 168 acres, all at satisfactory prices.

Mr. Stark, City Electrical Engineer, Dunedin, who is acting for the .Borough Council in valuing the plant of the Electrical Supply Co., arrives in Stratford on Saturday, and Mr. Black, Wellington, who is acting for the company, will arrive on the following Monday. A letter written in December, 16C0, to a prominent member of the Body rf Friends in Durham -has just been found in the Public Record Office, havirg boon undelivered. A copy of the letter has been forwarded to the descendants in the eighth generation of those for whom it was intended. The letter is addressed : “For mv L-weing ffrievyd Richard Hickson, a butcher in Durham, to bee delivered to Win. Byivatcrs, Durham, paid 9d.”

Owing to the unsettled state of the weather there have been no visitors to the Mountain House during the past week, with the exception of Mr. R. McK. Mori son. a member of the Board, who visited the House on Tuesday last, and inspected things generally. Mr. J. Christiansen, the caretaker, is still proceeding with the work of improving the track, and when the weather settles down the track should he in excellent order, v'wral improvements to the house are in contemplation.

Catalogues for the forthcoming flow of the Stratford A. and P. Association can now be procured at tire A asocial ion’s office.

A public- meeting was held at Wiiangamomoua last Thursday evening tor the purpose of' considering ■. no question of procuring the serenes of a doctor for the township, lucre was a good attendance, and Mr Joseph MeChiggage presided. "It was resolved that a monthly subsidy for fix months be paid to a resident medical man, and the trustees in charge of the funds in hand were empowered to act in the matter.

On Thursday next Mrs. Barton, an cx councillor of one of the most progressive cities in the world, Glasgow, will deliver an address in the Town rial! at 8 p.m. In the afternoon a meeting for women will be held at 2.30 p.m. Mrs. Barton, according to press accounts, is a fluent and witty speaker, and her quaint sayings and Scotch accent make her a host of friends wherever she speaks. At the meeting of the general commiotee of the A. and P. Association on, Saturday there were present:Messrs. Dingle, Peterson, Dobson, Good, Malone, Kirkwood, Webb, Masters, Belcher, Shotter, Morison, and Porritt. The following new members were elected;—Proposed by Mr. Din-, glc : Messrs. W. H. Rutledge, V. Miller, J. Archer, G. Kaspar, F. Peterson, C. Hazelton, Walter Goodwin, William Newland, Albert Scott, G. S. Ferguson ; proposed by Mr. Malone: * Messrs. T. Grubb, R.'H. White; W. Collins, D. Cullen, T. McEwan, R. Tones; proposed by Mr. Watkins: Mr J. Barron; -prpposed by Mr. Kirkv.'ood: Mr. J. R. Sutherland (Inglewood) : proposed by Mr. Dobson: Mr. F. C. Middleton; proposed bv Mr. E. •Dickson; Messrs. W. Mills, W. Drake (Tarata), C. L. Mowlem. 1 A. Brown, •T. Wilkes; proposed by Mr. Sangster: Mr. G. Morris. • , .

Why is. the big gooseberry in French called a duck j* (the “Telegraph” asks). The opportunity of cue season has been taken' to recall tiie etymology of “canard” in the pejorative journalistic sense. A Paris reporter, once upon a time, in the hot weather, could find no news, and he fell back upon his imagination. He published an account of a remarkable experiment conducted in a farmyard. A farmer took.twelve ducklings, chopped one up fine, and gave it to the eleven others to eat. A second was chopped, and the remaining ten gobbled him up. For eight mors days one duckling was served up the other to eat. This remarkable were left, one of the two was given to the- others to eat. This remarkable experiment resulted, therefore, in the one remaining duckling having eaten up his eleven brothers. The story of the “Twelve Little Ducks” sprang at once into fame. A “canard” in a newspaper has ever since meant , a statement nearer fiction than 'fact. The death is announced from Los Angeles, California, .of Major W. A. Lhipps, the multi-millionaire, and on,e of Mr. Andrew Carnegie’s first partners in the huge steel business which made both. their fortunes. Major" Phipps, who was very eccentric, was known, the “Chronicle” says,,' as the “millionaire hermit,.”, because he had not left his suite of rooms at the • Hotel Van Nuys for eight years. One of his eccentricities was the' beliefthat the Black Hand Society was trying to kill him, and about ten. years ago he bought a big ranch near Los ■Angeles* only to abandon it after eighteen months, when he hid himself in the hotel. .Ho was accompanied by his beautiful young wife, who devoted, herself to looking after him, and was practically : if' 1 prisoner’ for the eight years of the stay at the hotel. He was never seen by the guests at the hotel, for all .his meals were taken to his room, and a small staff of guards had a very easy and profitable time “protecting” him from the machinations of the Black Hand. He died very shortly after the death of a pot dog, to which he was greatly attached. ; Extraordinary circumstances have surrounded the birth of certain Polish twins in Massachusetts. A Polish woman was on her way to Springfield when, at Agawam, about four miles from her destination, she gave birth to a daughter. Agawam being a small village without a doctor, the mother was placed in a motor-car as soon as possible and hurried to Springfield. There a second daughter made her appearance. The chief difficulty is connected with the birth certificate. The doctor must report the birth to the local boards of health, that is, he

must renort the birth of one twin to the ' Springfield authorities, and tho birth of the other twin to the Agawam authorities. In such case he will certainly be asked where the other twin is, and possibly a special law will have to be passed in the Massachusetts States Legislature to allow the proner registration of the double birth. The London “Evening Standard” says the twins ought to become unite famous in the hands of a competent agent.