Coursing opens at Forbury
There was a fairly numerous attendance at the initiation of the New Zealand Waterloo Cup meeting at Forbury Park yesterday afternoon, and a good deal of interest was manifested in the courses that were run off.
In view of the rain that had fallen the plumpton was surprisingly dry; nothing worse than a few shallow pools of water lying about in odd places. The judge was Mr H.S. Irving (Roslyn, Southland), and the slipper was Mr E.G. Price. Hiroa and Slocum lost sight of the first hare released. On
being again released on a good hare, which was given a generous lead, Hiroa led by 4 yards to the game, and increased his advantage before what looked like a joint kill eventuated.
The next pair were Foulden Field and Pretty Mickey, and the latter had all the best of the course, which ended in the hare getting away. Pretty Mickey led, and did practically all the work that followed.
In the second round, which will be commenced at Forbury at 11 o’clock this morning, Hiroa meets Pretty Mickey.
Crown land harbours pest plants
At a time when increased production is recognised as urgently necessary it is important that attention should be given to the growth of noxious weeds throughout the dominion. It would be foolish to ignore the fact that the spread of weeds is becoming a serious menace to successful farming in various parts of the country. In some places it is
gorse, in some it is sweetbriar, in others it is blackberry, in others it is foxglove, in others again it is St John’s wort that is troublesome.
There is no greater offender than the Crown itself in omitting to take precautions to prevent the spread of noxious weeds. There are no lands that are more seriously infected than Crown lands are. What the Crown is empowered to compel settlers to do on their properties it should be prepared itself to do on the Crown lands. The first duty of the Department of Agriculture in connection with the campaign which must be undertaken to check the extension of a rapidly growing evil is to put the
Government’s own house in order. — editorial
Silverware pilfered
Yesterday morning it was discovered that ‘O’ shed on the Rattray street wharf had been broken into during the night, two cases of goods forced, and an assortment of
electroplate and silverware stolen from one of the boxes. The outside door of the shed is doublelocked by the Customs authorities and the Harbour Board, and both locks had been burst open.
According to the London invoice for the case out of which the ware was taken the value of the burglar’s haul was £25 17 shillings 6 pence. The thief made a careful selection from the contents of the case and took away with him enough to equip a small household in the way of knives and forks, teapots, jugs and tea and dinner pieces. The most valuable articles that were stolen were a line of nine teapots, a tea set worth £2 7s 6d, and a case of cutlery valued at £6. The police have the matter in hand.
An unabashed peasant
The episode detailed in one of Rudyard Kipling’s poems of the ass who went to church has had a parallel in Italy. An Italian peasant rode a donkey into a church near Rome while the priest was celebrating Mass. He was arrested and accused of violating ‘‘sacred objects.’’ For such violation the Italian code prescribes heavy penalties. The peasant declared he was unaware that he was offending. He believed that he could enter a church the same as a home with his donkey, which was his faithful companion. The case was taken to the court and the judge dismissed it, holding that the actual church building was not a sacred object. — ODT, 25.8.1922