GENERAL NEWS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCVIII, 29 April 1925, Page 8

GENERAL NEWS.

A Press message from Dunedin states that the inquest opened on the Kurow motor accident victim, _ Olive Jean Ruthorford, and was adjourned after formal evidence of identification.

The competition of motor lorries in the carriage of benzine from Wellington to Milstertoh in a. little more than two years effected a reduction, in the railway freight 6ft this commodity by about, 60 per cent., i.e., from 3/6 to 1/6.

It has been related that a couple of .shootists who were pursuing deer in the VVaikaia district during Easter shot a horse in mistake for a stag. One of the sportsmen said to the other, “There goes a doe and a calf/’ but it turned out to be a horse with a mule following it.

Miss Huia Bloomfield, Mr Beaumont Smith’s screen t*mt representative, informed a reporter yesterday that it was hoped during their stay to take a few ‘‘shots” of Caroline Bay, which Miss Bloomfield considered was one of the best seaside resofts in New Zealand.

Several very large specimens of sunflower brought into town recently attracted much attention , (says the Waipa “Fost”). One crowd was. over sixteen inches in diameter. About an acre of them were cultivated for fowl feed, and the croft Was a most abundant one. .

Some of the wheat crops in ] the Oamar.u district have this year produced very satisfactory returns (says the “Times”). One farmer near. Herbert took fifty-eight bushels .of Dreadnought wheat an acre from a thirty-acre paddock. : This, . .at 7/pOr bushel, represents a gross taking of £.609, or over £2O per acre.

A Press message from Wellington states that in the Full Cbiirt a tie-' cision in the case‘ Edwards .versus Commissioner of Taxes was delivered by Justices Reed, Adams and Sint who held that superannuation allowed to a Judge is taxable as a pension. Sir Rbbert Stout dissented, contending pens)ous.. should..-:net .be considered as income and ;shpuld not be taxed'.'/ r

The recerit increase in .the price of bread has thrown a good' many housewives hack upon their own resources (says the Napier .Telegraph”). 1 Several Napier booksellers report having sold a considerably augmented number of cookery books within the last. few weeks. .. From this it 3eems’ safe to asstime that home-made bread is once more coming'into vogue.

> The annual general meeting/of the Timaru,. Society of Musicians was held at Mr Vine’s residence, The balance sheet was received ■ and gdopted. The following officers Svere elected, for the ensuiftg Fresident, Mr A. Vv. V. Vine: vicepresidents. Mr Av Newton and Miss May Br A m ;-••• Council: Mesdam.es Readdie and Downes, Miss Norrish; hdli. . secretary and treasurer, Miss E: L. Morgan; ■ -. • . :

i Although rabbits are Spften referred to in slighting terms, “bunny” is playing a big part in the export trade-of Now Zealand - and,has, a big commercial value' (says' the- “‘Wanganui Herald”.),. ‘There are cases on record where farmers on. the Main Trunk line have abandoned sheep farming ill. order to engage in What proved.;th,e;jnqrc.lucrative. business of gathering rabbit "skins/ ''.Rahbits thrive on a fare where a , Romney ram or an Angora goat, would languish, and are most prolific.

To April 24 there .were'9;6lo approved applications for enrolment on the Timaru electoral roll. . AH those eligible to vote should take steps to see that their names are included on thr roll, Which has not L yet- been closed. Persons who are entitled-to vo.te, and who do not do so,, are liable to a fine of 5/- for a first offence; if there have' be eft previous offences a more serious view is taken. At present the printers are engaged in publishing a provisional unnumbered main roll for the use of the public *£ihd organising parties, Which will/ be abailabie in three weeks.

At last night’s irieetifig of -the South Canterbury Chamber ot Commerce Mr J. Anstey di;ew attention to the pamphlet on Wheatgrowing in New Zealand, Which had been issued,by tlie Canterbury Chamber of Commerce. Thib, he said, seemed to him to be a very useful, pamphlet, Which dealt with wheatgrowing - from the; point of view of the consudier. as well 1 as "from the point of view of the grower. , On the Motion of Mr'Anstey, seconded by, Mr Hugh Lowry, it was decided toj purchase one hundred copies of the pamphlet for distribution among the local bodies of South Canterbury.'

The use of electricity on farms is becoming common throughout New: Zealand. An interesting experiment in the use of electric cutTeiit is to be tried by a Hauraki Plains farmer. It is recognised .that maize ensilage 'is very :slow in heating, and to assist lit raisiifgj the heat to a proper standard 'this farmer has < conceived the idea of utilising electric power. He lias induced the Thames Valley Power Bottl'd tti make j an experiment. A nietal plate will be provided at the bottom of the pit and another at the top, so that the current will bd transmitted through the ensilage, bringing It up to the desired heat.. The initial outlay will apparently be very costly, but tlie fa.(ner concerned is willing to proviue all equipment and the Power Board will supply the electricity free.

A Marlborough farmer, so the story is told, was possessed of a line of ewes which he decided he would like to turn into money. He hied him to a sheep sale, _ where the ewes were entered and bid for. The highest bid was 14s, but as this was at least 4s under their value, according to the owner’s way of thinking, lie refused to sell, and had them driven back to his farm. It seems that the ewes were wild as well as woolly, for they commenced to damage the fences of the paddock in which they were placed. The farmer could not tolerate this, so in desperation, lie lot the sheep go for i2s a head. A fortnight later the hero of the sale decided that liis place was understocked, and that the ewes must be replaced. Once more he visited the stock sale, and bought a line of ewes ps 19s a head. Of course, all this is a. record of a very ordinary series of transactions; but tho joke is that the farmer bought his own ewes back, and the only difference in them was tlyit they had been dipped I Thus, he wanted 18s for his ewes, refused 14s, sold them at 12s, and bought them back at 19s!