Moreover, the table of first-births, upon which the Statistician offers no comment, is also arresting. It shows that of 3892 legitimate first-births within one year after marriage, as many as 1935, or nearly one-half, occurred within eight months of the marriage. When it is added that during the preceding five years 18 percent of the legitimate first-births were extra-maritally conceived, the revelation suggests that there are great moral issues which are demanding the attention of ministers of religion in the Dominion and perhaps receiving less notice in some cases than is bestowed upon quasi-political issues.
— editorial
Pastoral care
"One of the great weaknesses of farming in New Zealand is the poor attention the farmers give to their pastures", said Mr R.B. Tennent in the course of a lecture on fertilisers at Outram on Friday. "After a farmer has gone to considerable trouble and expense in establishing a pasture he very often proceeds to ruin it by overstocking and by persistent neglect. The proper treatment is to top-dress with lime in July and chain harrow in August. Following this the paddock should receive a topdressing of either 5 hundredweight of Nauru phosphate, 3cwt of basic slag or 3cwt of superphosphate to each acre. One of those fertilisers should be applied at least every three years and the paddock should be chain harrowed frequently throughout the season."
Kōtuku a prized species
A Palmerston North sportsman, in quest of a rabbit, unwittingly broke the law. A large bird, flying low, came suddenly into view over his shoulder and, thinking it was a hawk looking for a meal, he promptly shot it. To his surprise and regret it proved to be a very fine specimen of the now very rare mataku, or heron. In the endeavour to make amends for the accident, the police were asked whether he could preserve the skin and present it to the Palmerston North Museum, but possession being illegal and the penalty heavy, they were unable to help. Regretfully the evidence of his crime had to be destroyed.
At one time this bird of fine plumage and quaint appearance was seen keeping solitary guard over every fishing pool. Now it is a rarity indeed. Apparently the Maori tapu was more effective than the modern law, and its penalties, as a means of preserving it. Perhaps the fact that the heron furnishes the famed egret plume for feminine adornment at high prices did not dawn upon the Maori; but they had some idea of the legendary lore which connected the representative of the stork family with the birth of a child, for they call the rare white heron "kotuku rerenga tahi" (one flight in a lifetime). The reason for this is lost in antiquity.
— ODT, 15.7.1924 (Compiled by Peter Dowden)
