TOWN AND COUNTRY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12243, 15 February 1918, Page 5

TOWN AND COUNTRY.

To-day’s river report states that all the rivers are clear.

Ihe Commissioner of Grown Lands (Mr W. H. Skinner) is at present paying a visit to South Canterbury. The Agricultural and Pastoral Association’s Fire Fund, for refurnishing the association’s rooms and library, now stands at a total of about £250. Recent contributions include a Member of Committee, £4 10s; Mr Murray, Riccarton, £1 Is. The Hon G. "W. Russell to-day spoke gratefully of the late Mr Duncan Rutherford's gifts to the Queen Mary Hospital at Hanmor. He specially referred to the verandahs erected at the hospital by Mr Rutherford and said that it was intended to recognise his services on a brass plate with an inscription on it.

A small boy, aged about throe years, who was neatly clad in a. velvet suit, with large white collar and white hat, was the subject of much attention from numerous wayfarers in Cathedral Square this afternoon. The youngster, who was setting a course southwards on his own account'. was pulled up by a lady and gentleman, who desired to know whither lie was going. This query, caused the little one to burst into tears, and between Ids sobs he stammered that lie wanted “to find his mother.” Other kindly people then interested themselves in the whereabouts of the missing parent, and endeavoured to discover from the boy the locality of his homo. On the theory that the wandering one had deserted his mother while she was in a tearoom or a drapery store, a gentleman took the lad under his charge and commenced a search of the shops in the vicinity to restore the hope of somo family to a mother who had by then doubtless become aware of her loss.

A call at the Agricultural Department this morning elicited the information that the yield of wheat for this season does not seem likely to come up to expectations, and will be below the farmers’ own estimates in the Ellesmere, Lincoln, Ashburton and South Canterbury districts. The wheat generally, it is said, is showing too much straw. Questioned on the subject Mr IV. G. M’Douald, the Wheat Controller, said that there were no official returns yet available, as it was still early in the threshing season. However, advices from independent sources and a few figures from* men who had threshed, indicated that the yield would be below the estimate. In New Zealand this year there wore between 270,000 and 280,000 acres in wheat as against 224.000 acres last year. The area, approximtely, sown in wheat in the North Canterbury, South Canterbury; Ashburton aiid North Otaco districts was 240,000 acres, and in tlie whole of the South Island about 203 000 acres. The Rangitikei district grew about four-fifths of the wheat produced in the North Island, and Mr M’Donnld stated that when in Wellington tlie other d;ty representative fanners from that centre had told him that the yields were very disappointing. They had anticipated a return of about fifty to sixty bushels to the acre—and this it is said, they get about once in every six years—but this season tlie results were panning out at about half.