LOCAL AND GENERAL

Te Aroha News, Volume XLI, Issue 6439, 17 January 1924, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

. The Te Aroha Chamber of Commerce will meet on Tuesday evening next. It is hoped that there will be a large atendance of members.

A well-known Manawaru farmer who milked 70 cows last year and is milking 80 this year states that although he is milking ten additional cows this year his yield of butter-fat was less by about 4001bs during October, November and December.

“Humour,” the illustrated paper of the world’s wit, is now being published weekly to meet an ever-growing demand. The magazine is an excellent threepenn’orth. The N.Z. office of the paper is Box 965, Wellington, where specimen copies of the paper may be secured. A big cash competition is announced in the January issues.

Old Pakeha settlers in the North have apparently adopted some of the superstitions of the Maoris, among whom they live (says the Auckland Herald). Twice during the tour of the lion. J. G. Coates in the North, deputations have spoken of a “makutu” being over a place Makutu means a spell, or blight, cast over a thing by a witch. In one case it was stated that there was a makutu over a farm. No one had prospered on it. In the other case it was a road, the improvement of which was always expected, but never materialised.

Mr F. E. Hughes, chairman of the Hungahunga Drainage Board, accompanied by Mr R. Johnson, engineer, and a Te Aroha News representative, on Tuesday inspected a number of the drains in the area under the control of the Board. At Waharoa Mr Thompson, another member of the Board, joined the company. Visits were paid to-the farms of a number of settlers. Matters affecting the operations of the Board were discussed. A great deal of ground was covered by car and also on foot, and the day was - satisfactory to the members of the Board and settlers alike.

While farmers are not going in for growing green maize to the same extent as in the past years there are some good paddocks of this succulent crop to be seen in the Te Aroha district. Mr Murch, of Te Aroha West, has a particularly fine field. No doubt the recent falls of rain are benefitting it a great deal. In other parts of the North Island farmers are increasingly going in for green maize, which they claim to be the most satisfactory of all green crops. It .is claimed by growers in the Bay of plenty and elsewhere that when the volume of food and effect on the milk yield is considered that this off-sets the extra labour necessary for its production.

The ordinary meeting of the Piako County Council will take place on Monday next.

About 120 men are at present employed on construction work on the Waihi-Katikati section of the East Coast railway line.

If u little bran is fed to cows in the bail morning and evening it will go a long way to arrest the decreasing flow of milk, which is becoming a serious matter for dairy farmers.

For the period ended December 31 the Waihi G.M. Co. crushed and treated 15,646 tons of ore for a result of 5549 ounces of fine gold and 35,454 ounces of fine silver. This was the final clean up for the year.

A clipping from an Irish paper which has just reached New Zealand states that in his native town (Limavady, County Londonderry), the Right Hon. W. F. Massey declared that “New Zealand had room for 250,000 of Ulster’s men and women.”

Probably the largest cheque to be received by any farmer in the Wanganui district for his wool clip will be one of £IO,OOO for realisations at the recent sale (says the Chronicle). At a rise of twopence per lb it represents an increase of £ISOO over and above what he anticipated.

Maoris working on farms in the neighbourhood are making good money, and the Eltham Argus was informed that some of them are getting up to £l6 per acre for thinning mangolds. At this figure mangolds are going to be expensive winter feed for some of the farmers this'year.

The Chief Drainage Engineer, Mr J. B. Thompson, promised that he would pay a visit early in the year to the Hauraki Plains, but business has so far prevented him from fulfilling his promise. He has advised the Kerepeehi office that it will probably be within the next fortnight that the visit will eventuate.

AVe understand from the police that the quantity of liquor imported into Waihi last year showed a falling off compared with the previous twelve months (states the Telegraph). On the other hand the brewing of homemade beer has materially increased, and this no doubt accounts for the decrease in liquor procured from outside the no-license area.

The ’phone number of J. E. Wild, housepainter, signwriter and paperhanger, is 208. *