LOCAL AND GENERAL

Taranaki Daily News, 21 January 1933, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Rain has fallen at New Plymouth every day since last Saturday and the .18 inches on Thursday night brought the total up to .97 .inches.

Inquiries were made yesterday by dairy factory suppliers whether the new exchange rate would affect returns Immediately. The position is that the increment will not be added to the monthly advance but will be added to the account sales when the produce is sold.

The fall in the price of butter-fat was forcibly illustrated by a coastal farmer yesterday who said that three ’ years ago he paid his sharemilker 7d per pound butter-fat. This month he and his sharemilker had to share 7ld per pound between them.

Following a period of dead calm seas and measured breakers over the days of the spring tide last week, smashing rollers and more turbulent seas have been raised at the New Plymouth beaches this of surfing has been exhilirating and the sweeping nature of the breakers precludes accidents.

Many of the visiting Victorian farmers are keenly interested in horses, which are used for farming operation to a very great extent in the Bendigo district, the usual plough team being eight a team for a six or eight furrow plough. One of the visitors had over fifty heavy horses in work, he said. Tractors were used for a while but the horse had displaced the machine. “What! You feed your cattle on swedes?” remarked a visiting Victorian farmer when viewing a patch of swedes at Mr. Guy Bell’s property, Oakura. “Why, we eat them,” he added. He was informed that the farmers also eat them in New Zealand but still had plenty for the cattle, as bn Mr. Bell’s property a crop of 71 tons to the acre had been grown —a fact some of the visitors found hard to credit.

Two young women who left Auckland on Thursday are included in a goldprospecting party which is proceeding to the South' Island. One is an Aucklander and the other a recent arrival from England. One member of the party is a farmer residing near Auckland who has had prospecting experience in America, Australia and New Zealand. The destination of the party is a former wellknown gold-bearing area in Westland. The lack of an orchard around the homes in Taranaki struck some of the Victorian visitors during their short stay. Every house in Victoria, they stated, had around it its garden and orchard from which fruit was obtained all the year. The Victorians were also struck with the well cared for appearance of the farm houses, which they contrasted with many in Australia, where, it was stated, some of the farm houses received a coat of paint when they were built but never afterwards. .

The authorities controlling all the important lighthouse services along the sea coasts of the world are to have a conference at Paris in July. Representatives of all nations will attend. The New Zealand Minister of Marine, the Hon. J. G. Cobbe, stated that arrangements were being made for Mr. Donald J. Harvey, the New Zealand Government’s consulting engineer in London, to represent the Dominion at the conference and to submit reports for the consideration of the Government.

The Victorian farmers’ party who visited North Taranaki yesterday were very enthusiastic over the fernery at Pukekura Park, which they described as unique and striking. They were particularly impressed with the velvety Prince of Wales Feathers fem (todia superba), which they regarded as the finest fem they had ever seen. They made inquiries as to their availability so that they might take specimens back with them. Unfortunately the todia is not easily transferred, even when conditions are suitable, which fact may account for its not being seen in Australia or other places.

Mr. Robert Butter, at one time assistant at the School of. Art, Dunedin, and now of Perth, Scotland, writes interest ingly to a Dunedin friend on trout and trout fishing in Scotland. He will be 85 years old next March, and says regretfully that he will not be able to fish any more. He has now been fishing for the last 76 years, starting when he was nine years old. Mr. Butter is. very methodical, for he has kept a record of his catch over all these years, the total exceeding 23,000 fish of all kinds and weighing five tons and a quarter. Mr. Butter says there were 47,000 trout caught in Loch Leven last year, weighing 36,0001 b. The annual international competition was held on May 25, Scotland being first with 137 trout, weighing 881 b. loz.; Ireland second with 104 trout, weighing 741 b. 8oz.; England third, with 103 trout, weighing 66 lb. 140 z.; and Wales fourth with 79 trout, weighing 571 b. 2oz.

Since camping has become so popular campers’ requisites are becoming proportionately demanded—but such requisites! Those who have been accustomed to going camping in the “good old days” —for there are good old days connected with camping, as with everything else — to-day stand amazed at what the modern camper considers essential. He is reminded of that phrase used in the luggage taken by women going away on a week-end. In these days of ultra comfort, campers take mattresses, potted meats, pillows, tins of biscuits, tennis clothes and silk shirts, pots, and a portable stove. In the old: days the camper had to pack everything on his back, and the miles make a rucsac heavy. To-day the family car is loaded. A few miles are nothing; no more than a few extra pounds. But the old campers say the old days were the best.

The New Plymouth A. and P. Poultry Club’s young bird show is to be held on March 25 according to a decision of the committee. It was agreed that the system of deciding the best bird in the show should remain as at present. This year for judging purposes the poultry will be divided into two classes, fancy and utility. Messrs. W. Scott and J. K. Hawkins are to be invited to judge the fancy and utility classes respectively, and Mr. E. James is to be invited to judge the pigeon classes. It was decided that canary and cage bird classes be retained in the young bird show this year and that Mr. Moverley be asked to judge this section.-

A well-known farmer, when asked recently for his opinion on the farmers present position in this Dominion, defined it as “filling a barrel full of holes With water from a bottomless bucket, says the Chronicle. “When you have filled it you. are a farmer!” he said. Taihape experienced a heavy thunderstorm lasting for several minutes at noon on Tuesday. Rain fell with torrential force, and for a time visibility from one side of the street to the other was obscured. The downpour was accompanied by a gale that reached hurricane force and actually moved an old car for some yards. Articles displayed outside shop windows were carried away by the gale. Papers and books outside booksellers shops were recovered many chains away. One of the steers exhibited at. the Christmas show of the Royal Agricultural Society, London, was named after the Anglesey village with the longest place-name in the world: gwyngyllgogerychwymdrobwllgerllandisiliogogogoch”! Rather than weigh the catalogue down on one side, the printer abbreviated the name to “Llanfair P.G.,„ and the public appreciated the “P.G.” more than anything else. Arrangements have been made for a conference between the representatives of employers and workers in the biscuit and confectionery trade to take place at Christchurch on February 2. This will be the third conference between the parties. The proposals filed by the employers involve reductions in earnings up to 43 per cent, in the wages of boys and girls, also an increase in the hours of work for seniors from 45 to 48 hours per week. It is also proposed that there shall be no payment for holidays.

A thrilling experience befell Sir Joseph Byrne, Governor of Kenya Colony, when motoring near Nairobi. He was travelling quickly when a lion and lioness suddenly sprang out on the road, the car passing over one of the paws of the lioness. She snarled, and three other fully-grown lions ran up and sprang on to the road, just ahead of the Governor’s car. For a whole hour the animals stood prowling and roaring at the motorcar, which could not pass until eventually the beasts slunk off into the bush. To have completed 38,000 miles on what is alleged to be the roughest bus route in or about Christchurch is the record of a 40 x io| rear wheel tyre which has been taken out of traffic recently by the Christchurch Tramway Board. It has been in use on one of the trolley buses on the North Beach route, and the tread’ has been worn down to the core. The tramway authorities consider that the mileage done by this particular tyre speaks well for the six-wheeled vehicles, and provides evidence that the minimum damage has been done to the road surface from the shock of impact.

“We are in very troublesome and difficult times, but I am not one of those who believe that this is going to last for ever,” remarked Mr. R. A. Wright, M.P., when opening the Karori flower show on Thursday afternoon. “I believe that this year will see the beginning of a change. We may not feel much benefit in New Zealand, but next year we wil find that progress will. be made to a time when everybody will be as comfortable as before. The political situation is somewhat cloudy, but I am hoping for the best,” Mr. Wright said.

A practical joker made his way quietly into the ground floor of the Blenheim Fire Brigade station just after midnight a few nights ago and indulged in a little manipulation of the electric generators which ring alarm bells in the homes of non-resident members of the brigade, says the Marlborough Express. As a result 16 firemen came hurrying from all quarters of the town, only to find that they had been hoaxed, but there was no one to vent their wrath upon, for the intruder had vanished as silently as he had come, even before the sleeping men upstairs could reach the ground floor. Some years ago a Patea resident bought an oil . painting by a Dutch artist at an auction sale for a small figure. He was informed at the time that it had been brought from Britain by the seller’s parents. The picture hung on the wall of the purchaser’s house for some years, and was noticed by a visitor, who is something of an art critic. This visitor spoke of the picture to a lady friend and expressed the opinion that it might be worth a lot of money. This friend in turn passed on her information to a friend who happened to be on a visit to Patea and who was by way of being a valuer of art treasures. On inspecting the picture he gave it as his opinion that it was a very valuable one. Steps are now being taken to ascertain .the true value of the painting.

The re-staging of a wedding ceremony in a private hospital was the unique sequel to a marriage which took place in the Opawa Methodist Church, Christchurch. It was found that one of the important women guests, who had journeyed to Christchurch from Reefton especially for the ceremony, had met with a slight accident which necessitated her removal to hospital. Immediately the formalities of the ceremony and breakfast were concluded the bride set off with her party to the hospital, two miles distant, and re-staged the whole wedding in the room of her friend. The room was quickly transformed by the wedding colours of lemon, green and white, the flowers and confetti and the visitors. The clergyman only, that indispensable person at the first ceremony, was absent at the second and impromptu one.

With wool selling at an average price per pound of 5.96 d., or £8 3s. 2d. per bale, the gross proceeds of the first Dunedin wool sale of the present season were £176,795 Is. Bd. Such a return from approximately 20,000 bales compares very unfavourably with the cheque of £245,249 12s. Bd. which Otago growers received for 18,649 bales at the opening sale of the 1929-30 season, which was the first of the slump years. The season was then described as disastrous for growers, even though the per pound average at the December sale was 9.9 d. and the per bale average £l3 4s. Since that time the average price per pound at a Dunedin sale has fallen as low as 5.28 d. That was at the February auction in the 193031 season, when the mean price per bale was only £7 os. 9d. At the December sale in the same season the average per pound was only 5.54 d. and per bale £7 3s. lid. Only 1667 bales out of a total of 21,668 offered were passed at the last sale.

The truth of the saying, "You can’t eat your cake and still have it,” has always been accepted without dispute, but, according to Lord Melchett, one of the latest scientific developments is going to make it impossible to apply the ancient axiom to beef. His Lordship was addressing the League of Industry at Nottingham last month when he made this known. After stating that he would be surprised if scientists did not discover the secret of releasing atomic energy in the present century, as they had been on the point of it several times, he added that it was known that it was possible to take a side of beef, put it into a tank free from air and microbes, give it the right kind of mixture, and it would grow of its own accord. Indefinitely slices could be cut off it and it would lose practically nothing. On a small scale this had already been done, but look where it was leading! They had radically and fundamentally to alter their whole system to cope with the inventions science would put before them in the next 50 years. A special range of Dress Fabrics at Moreys, priced at lOd yard, is now advertised on page 15 of this issue. Send your order in now, as the goods are specially priced for quick sale.*