LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVI, Issue 57, 12 July 1913, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Manawatu and West Coast A and P. Association's tweniy-eigkti Metropolitan Spring Show will take place on the sth, 6tii and 7th Novem ber. .....

A euchre party under the auspices o the Oddfellows' Lodge will be held i; the Foresters' Hall on Monday ev^n

A white bittern was seen the othei aay in the Onerahi Swamp, jicaj Wliangarei, says the Northern Advocate. who saw it tool, it at first for a piece of paper amongst the ti-tree. It was only when tin creature boomed at him after the manner of its kind that he recognised a lusus naturae. He did his best l(. capture it, of course. He was without his gun, but the wary bird eluded him and got away amongst the cuttygrass. Albinos of any species arc comparatively rare, and'though whit? pukakas may he met with now ano again, a white bittern is as much ;. frealc as a white kiwi.

"Big potato" records arc Hying ! round in Xew South Wales. The Sydney Daily Telegraph says: It was reported recently that Mr P. Murph; had exhibited in Orange a potato weighing 81b 20z., and had thu; broken all records. In this connection our Taralga correspondent reports: Mr William Spicer, a local farmer, has exhibited three Manhattan potatoes weighing in the aggregate 191 b. He challenges Mr Murphy to produc three heavier potatoes from his farm, failing which Mr Spicer claims tin championship. The three potatoes are being forwarded to the Tourist and Immigration Bureau, Sydney, for exhibition.

Examine the next 1912 penny that is handed to you (says the Daih Mail). Jf you see a tiny "H" stamped imediately in front of the date (tJni; H 1912) you will know that it is a Birmingham penny, one of the rare coins put into circulation in England that has not been produced at the Royal Mint. It is quite genuine and has been issued "by authority." Such an extraordinary demand for bronze coins arose last year that the Mini could not cope with it. In 1911 the Mint issued 210 tons of them; last year the issue ran to 606 tons—an unprecedented issue, due to the deduction of the insurance 4d from wages, the increasing use of coppers in slot .machines, and the copper harvest reaped in motor omnibuses and tramway cars. The Mint authorities were compelled to put out a portion of the issue to contract at a private mint in Birmingham, where monev for some of the smaller European countries haf occasionally been made. Formerly this mint was known as Heaton's Mint, the tiny "H" on the pennies being retained as the initial letter of the old firm.

A cribbage match between teams representing Stratford and Ngaore is to be played in Stratford next Friday evening. At the Court yesterday a land agent's license was issued to Mr W. Saywcll, late of Beaconsfield road. Mr Fookes appeared for applicant. The final payment due to suppliers to the Stratford Co-operative Association's factory for year ending 31st May will be payable next Saturday.

Tlio partnership existing between Messrs. Bright and Backhouse, known

as "fhe Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Company," lias been dissolved, and tho business will henceforth be carried on bv .Mr Backhouse.

Yesterday afternoon was very cold, and a good deal of snow came down in the rain showers. After sunset the rain cleared off and a bard frost set in, though there was a heavy rain' shower about eleven o'clock. The lowest reading last right on the school thermometer was 29—three degrees of frost.

The executive of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals held a meeting in New Plymouth on Thursday evening, and passed a resolution regretting that the Magistrate, in the case of alleged cruelty to a horse which came before him at Waitara, did not express the opinion that it was a proper case for investigation. , k

A lecture will be given in the Coronation Hall, Toko, on Monday even-

rag by the Rev. J. Pattison. The suhject of the lecture is "A Trip through Egypt and Palestine." The lecture will l)e intersi>ersed with suitable music. It is not often Toko .residents have the oportunity of hearing a description of Egypt and by one who has personally visited these fields, and there should be a large attendance. The lectui'e proved most instructive and enjoyable when given recently in Stratford.