WAITARA.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 144712, 22 June 1915, Page 3

WAITARA.

FROU OUR OWN CORRESPONOTZNS. ' June 22.—Mr. Newton King has called attention in a letter to the editor! to a paragraph in one of my letters | which might be wrongly construed, and ; I thank him for the courteous way-in ; which he has made the paragraph clears ,< I meant, qf course, the total output of slag from Europe being two-thiidk i, German, not that two-thirds of the imports into New Zealand was from the land of “kultur.” Among the list of wounded in Sotnr- ' day’s list is the name of Private W. J. Smith, who went with the first expedi- ' tionary force, and who was some time ago wrongly reported killed. His many friends in Taranaki will be glad to hear of his recovery. As a vocalist be had no rivals hereabouts. In the course of a conversation with a well-known and one of the most enlightened farmers in tho neighbourhood, after dwelling on the question of young farmers and farm hands joining tho expeditionary force, he i views* which go to show that it is not in thobest‘interests of the F.mpire that farmers should be depleted ot tho necessary labour for carrying on the work of the farm successfully. For instance, he spoke of cases where men, had sons who were old enough, and physically fit, to, fight the Germans, and although the farluers would not say* one word against their sons going to Trentbam, it meant that, if they did go, the fathers would have to stop producing foodstuffs, which, were quite as important to the success of the troops as more men. Of course if and when it was essential that this class of men were heeded for tho fighting line, then they would be found there with tho least possible delay. In the meantime, however, there were others who were willing and could be better, spared. It was in no sense a question, of inclination, for it must be evident that there were hut comparatively few healthy-minded and healthy-bodied men who would not be prepared to take their part in the defence of the Empire. Our conversation dirftod to the question of wheat production in Taranaki, and I asked my farmer friend for his opinion on grain growing, to which he replied that he believed that a good crop of oats could be grown and a useful crop of wheat on almost any of the land between New Plymouth and the White Cliffs, following the coast Hne. He thought that every farmer on this class of land should grow a few acres of grain (even if they produced less butter-fat). They could do it very much easier and cheaper than the farmers further inland, where the timber becomes much larger, and would be too costly to clear. If every farmer in the district would exert himself to the extent of growing a few acres of wheat he was surd that there would be no difficulty in getting it harvested, for, with the growing sympathy between the towns and the country, there were plenty of men who would put in a few days in the harvest field; ,and town employers who might not themselves bo physically able to do a fair day’s work in the harvest field would, nevertheless, do their part byrelieving those of their employees who could. United action on the part of New Zealand farmers in this way would go far to solve tho problem of dear foodstuffs, which some people are making such a fuss about. For the third and last time this-sea-son Rennie’s offer you an all pure wool colonial-made flannel at a shilling a yard, in white, pink and greys —splendid for children’s wear. Your last,, change, grasp? it I*-