Reciprocity is the watchword .of the farmers of Taranaki, but it does not always pan out as intended. Mouey is not always plentiful among fanners, and one fanner was in the habit of\ exchanging butter for candles at the

little local store. He weighed those once or .■twice,. when he got home, and found them to be short. He went to the store^ and, told t'uein that he believed the".sh<>j)keepei;. yave him light weiglit,:' " Maybo yotr're 1 right, may be wrong, but 1 always use one of of' your pounds of butter for a weight." • Speaking at a dinner of the Post and Telegraph Officers' Association at Wellington, Mr Gray, secretary of the Department, said the revenue for the pastthrqe months, notwithstanding the penny postage, showed a very substantial result. He explained that tho Post-master-General hoped within twelve mouths to make one or two ameudinents in the direction of benefiting the rank and'file of the service. ,. '. , :i\ :• v .•< :

'On arriving at Masterton men soiit by the Labour Department for work on the road to Fernyhursj; were , : with out money and without tools. ..The police has to make arrangement's "for provisioning them. '

' Mr Kiuseila, the Government Chief Dairy Expert,: who judged the butter at the Taranaki Show, said he was more than pleased with the wonder ful improvement in quality of nearly all brands, comparing, them now with whon lie first examined the butters from;-many ..of the same factories some two yearsarid three months ago. He was pleased to note that the managers who were turning,out the ■■highest average scoring butter; from week to week, ana the men wore giving every attention to approved methods of manu facture and of ripening with a • good fermentation starter, were the success ful men at nearly all the recent shows in the colony. Selling cattle by live weight is turning out a good thing for the farmers, and it must also be "satisfac tory to the buyers, or they would not have adopted it,so readily. Now both vendoi aud purchaser' know that jus tice is being done to both, and it is pleasing to find that the railway weights are proving correct. Last week Mr (ieorge Booth, of Hautapu, sent 16 fat cattle to the Auckland Freezing Company, which he valued at £8 os each. 