Man attempts to drown dog in harbour

A comedy, which was not without its serious side, was enacted in the harbour the other evening (says the Timaru Herald). A man had grown tired of his old retriever dog, and hit upon a novel way of getting rid of him.

He rowed to the harbour mouth in company with the dog, and there tipped the weighted animal out. The dog's death-struggle was greater than the owner has reckoned upon, however, for he succeeded in paddling boatwards and sprang so suddenly into the fragile craft that the man lost his balance and was tipped into the water.

It was then that the funniest scene as viewed by a watchman and some wharf workers took place, the dripping dog squattingly carelessly in the boat and watching his master splutter and splash for a place of safety. Assistance was soon at hand, and the man, thoroughly exhausted, was rescued.

The dog was towed ashore and will now be disposed of by another method - anything but drowning.

• The Greymouth correspondent of the Lyttelton Times states that for about six years the 10-year-old daughter of Mr and Mrs J Stewart, of Kumara, has been suffering from deafness, and apparently was getting worse. Syringing and other treatments have been carried on without effect, but the other day Dr Phillips, by the aid of electric light, discovered a piece of foreign substance in each ear. The obstructions were removed and on examination proved to be peas. The peas had evidently been put in by the child when very young, and had lodged in her ears for the past six years.

• INVERCARGILL: James S Stirton, an endurance piano-player, finished a feat on Saturday night which, it is claimed, constitutes a world's record for endurance piano-playing. Stirton, whose performance was supervised by a local committee, commenced playing at 9 o'clock on Wednesday morning, and by 11 o'clock on Saturday night he had been playing continuously for 86 hours.

He finished strongly at 5 minutes past 11, amidst great excitement on the part of some 600 people who had assembled in the hall. Stirton, though a little haggard looking, was apparently none the worse for his self-inflicted ordeal and was warmly cheered at the conclusion of a brisk address to his audience.

• Referring to the purchase of Conical Hills Estate by the Government, the Tapanui Courier suggests that the Minister of Lands should set aside a considerable area of the land with a north-easterly aspect for fruit culture in small areas. Strawberries grow to great perfection on the property, and its immediate vicinity to the railway makes the land very suitable for fruit culture. There is no soil better adapted to the growth of hardy fruits in Otago than Conical Hills, and far better strawberries can be produced there than at Teviot. The stock-raising qualities of the land are second to none, but for closer settlement nothing will pay owners of small areas better than strawberry culture.

• The objects towards which the Government will grant a subsidy of for up to 250 to commemorate the Coronation were enumerated by the Hon J. A. Millar at Picton. They include town halls, public libraries, band rotundas, avenues of trees or swimming baths. For these objects it would grant the subsidy on contributions which did not come out of loan monies. Recreation grounds were not included, but the subsidy could be paid on a swimming bath.

- ODT, 15.5.1911.