Prestatyn Weekly

Contributions to this column will be welcomed, and may be made direct to Mr T. Edwards, Brynteg, Chester, who invites residents and others to send any information relative to Prestatyn district which they may possess.

AGRICULTURE (continued). This was the best time, in the opinion of our ancestors, to sow oats. At the expiration of the five days, they expected the rawness of the weather to be at an end. Their antic- pations were at times not realized, and in such cases the following adage would perhaps better suit the complexion of the weather Haf tan galan, A gaua' liyd,wyl Jeuan." (Summer till the calands of January, And Winter till June). Ebrill (April) is a term that conveys to a Welsh ear an idea of reviving pleasant and temperate weather, therefore the old people will not have their favourite month to com- mence its genial sunshine and showers according to the Gregorian style, which they considered as a stretch* of power, and rash presumption, endeavouring to control the seasons. Hence their great veneration for old Christmas Day and their expectation of old March (the tempestuous) to be ushered in with the tury of a lion," and to go out, to make place for their revered Ebrill, with the gentleness of a lamb." SOIL. — Our district has long been noted for the fertility of its soil, the meaning of the word Meliden (Gallt-mel-yd) signifies abundance and quality of the crops grown. The chief substances of the hilis surrounding the Vale of Clwyd are :— argiilacious shale, sandstone, limestone, and decomposed lime- stone or marl—all excellent components of fertile soil; hence the washings into the soil below the hills provides that which in turn gives the abundance of crops so noted in this district Should the price of foreign eorn again rise to such a standard as to enable home supplies to enter into competition, our district will undoubtedly be well to the fore in supplying the demand. Land in Gwaenys gor which had been attended to in 19U5 produced some excellent crops, whereas the lands below the hills which received little or no attention produced a fair result. The maritime coast from Prestatyn to Abergele possesses a strong loam, excellently adapted for the culture of wheat, beans, cabbages, etc., or for permanent pasture. Interspersed among or adjoining the stiff loams just specified is a free loam adaptable for general purposes of tillage, which does P, not appear to any groat extent until the pasture above Ruthin is reached. p On the sides of the hills the ferny soil or hazel mould products fern, broom, and the larger ulex or gorse. There is an old saying which refers to the dwarf ulex or lesser kind of gorse "Under a broom-stalk, silver and gold, Under a gorse-stalk, hunger and cold" A third kind of gorse called by Welsh people, eithin y gath (cat gorse) or, as called by others hen-gorse, is an infallible sign of a cold hungry clay. The larger ulex flourished upon sound and deep hazel mould, as, also underwood, especially the hazel and hawthorn of which we see so much in Bishop's Wood (Coed yr Esgob). Lime produces greater effect upon this kind of soil than any other owing to the great quantity it contains of vegetable matter, roots, etc, for the lime to act upon. It is of various colours, according to the portion of carbon it has obtained by the dissolution of decayed vegetable and other matter. I On sheep-walks, where overgrown heath has smothered every other species of herbage, the shepherds in some places, in dry summers, taking advantage of the course of the wind, set fire to the standing heath, and reduced large tracts of land to ashes. This conflag- 0 ration is called by the Welsh people llosyi poethwal. The tender shoots of the new heath, permitting a few natural grasses to spring up with them, are better replenished by the hardv stock which depasture these alpine tracts. But the improvement can be but of short duration heath, recovering its wonted vigour, soon ejects every vegetable intruder from this its native soil. Heathy sheep-walks may be brought to produce nat- ural trefoils in good abundance by a plentiful top-dressing of lime, and in our plentifully supplied tracts of limestone the improvement would be carried out economically, especially as we are also contiguous to coalfields, and therefore aupplied with the means for burning the lime. Parts of the Vale of Clwyd have their soil tinged by a substratum of a reddish, loose- textured sandstone from which probably the borough towns of Ruthin and Rhuddlan derive their names. Nature seems only to have brought toge- ther the materials in detached masses, and left to the skill and industry of man to mix and form them into fertile soil. There can hardly be a peasant who does not know that clay gives adhesion to sand and gravel; and, on the contrary, that the latter diminish the superabundance of that quality in the former. Why then not reduce the knowledge to practice, since the separate ingredients of fertile soil are frequently laid by Nature so conveniently to their hands ? (To be continued),

Correspondence. rHE RE-OPENING OF TALACRE SCHOOLS. To the Editor of the" Prestatyn Weekly." Dear Sir,—May I ask you through the medium of your paper to make it known that Dr Williams' (of Holywell) injunction that the ralacre Girls' Schools should be not only fumigated but the old colouring scraped off to the roof and be recoloured and glazed has not been done by the County Council. The schools as at present will be inspected by His Majesty's Inspectors, and the scheme )f Christian instruction will include the syl- labus of the provided schools directed lately by the County Council. Miss Wood, who was elected by the Talacre managers and the County Council in March, will be responsible For the children, the present head teacher having refused the authority of the Talacre managers. Upwards of 70 children have asked to be immediately re-admitted, but till the school is disinfected the girls' portion must remain closed. By Sir Pyers' refusal to sell his schools his tenants are saved 95.000 (the cost of the school), which, with the Trelogan and Gro- nant schools about to be built, would have made the rates of the Llanasa Parish excep- tionally high if Sir Pyers had thought only of the gain to his own pocket. By the original trust deed the schools are obliged to be carried on as R.C. Schools, so that Sir Pyers cannot accept any tenants that are not of his own creed but as this has been the same for 48 years, the locality is perfectly acquainted with the freedom Sir Pyers grants his servants and tenantry.—Yours faithfully, A. M. MOSTYN. ■-—;—♦

COUNTY COUNCIL AND TALACRE SCHOOLS. To be Handed Over to the Trustees. Preliminaries for a New School at Gwespyr. At a meeting of the Education Committee held at Mold on Wednesday the Secretary reported having received a communication with regard to Talacre R.C. Schools stating that the managers gratefully accepted the offer, of Sir Pyers and Lady Mostyn, and they agreed to hand over the schools to the trustees on January 20 next. The Board of Education was satisfied that the transfer could be legally effected, providing the building grant were repaid to the Treasury. It was pointed out that it would be necessary to make immediate arrangements for the provision of elementary school accom- modation to meet the deficiency caused by the Talacre School ceasing to be recqgnised as a public elementary school. The secretary was instructed to issue notices for the provision of a new elementary school for about 150 children at or near Gwespyr. A sub-committee was appointed to visit Gronant and Trelogan. and prepare a report on the whole question of school accommodation in the district. The secretary read a letter from Miss Lombard, the head mistress of the Talacre Schools, stating that the managers had given her notice that her services would not be required after the 20th January. She desired to know whether the education authority had given their consent to her dismissal, and, if not whether they proposed to do so. On the proposition of Dr. Oliver, it was agreed to withhold the consent to the dismissal until the report of the sub-committee had been presented. We understand that Sir Pyers and Lady Mostyn have repaid the Government grant advanced 48 years since on the Talacre Schools.

The PRESTATYN WEEKLY may be had from Mrs Hugh Jones, Ffynnongroew. Ite ms of interest for insertion in the PRESTATYN WEEKLY may be delivered to Mr Owen, Kidder- minster House, as early in the week as possible. [FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.]

Reading Room. This institution is to be opened at the Church Schoolroom (kindly lent free by the Rev. Howell Harris, Vicar, for the use of the village), next Monday evening at 5 o'clock. A temporary committee, consisting of Church- men and nonconformists, has been formed, in order to give the movement a start. In a few months all members will have an oppor- tunity of selecting their own officials and committee. The movement is of a thoroughly non-sectarian nature, and deserves the support of all lovers of books. It is hoped it will be the means of creating a liking for more exten- sive reading among our young men.

HWFA MON. Y Darlun Du yr helyg,-du'r delyn, Dn rhedle'r ddychymyg Du, araul Fon,—du Rhyl fyg, Du yw y wlad a'i diwyg. Wylo'n fud ar lan afon-ddu hiraeth, Heddyw'r y'm, O Feirddion Och I Alaeth, ty'r gwlad ei chalon Am yr hyf y mawr Hwfa M6n Ow I Hwfa! yntau hefyd-a giliodd O'n golwg i ellfyd A llwyfan gwell i fywyd Gwiwlan gadd yn gan i gyd. I goryn bryn trugaredd—yn fyw aeth I wan enfys gorsodd Yno hidla. hyiwdledd Eurfyd oalau awdlau hedd. Iattii areuliai athrylith-a feddai, laith fuddio), ddiragrith Yn fwyndeg ca'dd yn fendith Enwog lais Awen a'i gwlith. Y dawn hylithr diniwlen--yrai ef Yn wefr pob llythyren; Yn byw y bardd ni bu ben Doethach yn ngwynfyd Athen. Ei gu hudol deg awdlau -a eiliodd Ni welant fyth feddau Bri eu swyn bery oesau l'w lafur hir heb lwfrhau. Ffynnongroew. GLAN CORON.

STOPPING A TRAIN. Dr David Owen, of Irlam-o'th-Height, Lancashire, was charged before the magis- trates at Rhyl on Tuesday with committing a y "I breach on the railway regulations by pulling 0 the communication cord and stopping an express train just beyond Rhyl on Sept 14th. From the evidence it appeared that Dr Owen's family resided at Prestatyn during the summer, and he travelled between here and his Manchester residence. Just previous to the date of the charge his daughter had met with a cycle accident, and he journeyed to Prestatyn every night, travelling by a train the first stop of which was at Rhyl, from whence he cycled to Prestatyn. On the date in question he must have fallen asleep, and woke up to find he had just passed Rhyl Station. Fearing he would be carried on to Holyhead he pulled the communication cord and stopped the train. Dr Owen did not deny having done so, but said it was the impulse of the moment, as he was anxious to get home. The magistrates, who were divided on the point, imposed a fine of 10/- and costs.

Distress at Rhyl. A considerable amount of distress exists at Rhyl. The complaint is general that the last season was not a good one, and many people began the winter with very slight resources. It has been decided to open a fundi for the relief of distress in the town.

Robert Owen, Ffynnongroew. A New and Varied Stock of CHINA of every description. Tea Sets, Dinner Sets, Toilet Sets, etc,, at low prices. Please note that in future this establishment will be closed at 7 o'clock on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Lecture. On Monday Evening, next at 7 p.m., a lecture on Gardening will be given at the Council School, by a Professor from Bangor University College. The chair will be taken by Mr Thomas Roberts, Chairman of the Parish Council. A similar lecture on "Fowls" which was delivered about two years ago, was a most interesting and instructive one, and many fowl-breeders who were present received useful advice. It is to be hoped the attendance will be numerous, as a full house gives great en couragement to a lecturer. The subject should be the means of attracting all who possess a garden—large or small. — ♦———

NOTES BY "REX." It seems that certain persons find fault with me forcriticising and complaining. I simply do nothing of the kind the criticisms and complaints are those of other people. These notes are simply the echos of the people's sentiments. It gives me great pleasure to learn that means are about to be provided at the Church Schoolroom for our young people to enable them to improve themselves—to extend the knowledge they have gained at the Elementary Schools which they used to attend. Below I y append a few lines of poetry on reading, quoted from the works of different writers:— Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man."— Bacon. What is twice read is commonly better remembered than what is transcribed. Johnson. And better had they ne'er been born, who read to doubt, or read to scorn."—Cow per. I would like to remind certain people that there are three things now that wait for no man. It used to be two. Now it is as follows: "Time, Tide, and TRAIN wait for no man." A question often heard in the village is the following :—" When are we going to have the village lighted ?" People do not mind whether it is paraffin, acetylene, or electricity, so long as they have it. What are the five parish councillors of this ward doing in the matter ? I would like to hear that they have called a public meeting to discuss the matter. Could they not hold a meeting after the lec- ture on Monday night at the Council Schools? No doubt many will attend the meeting. Try it friends, and then, if you fail, no one will blame you. Another important question which could be discussed with advantage would be "better train accommodation for the i-illage." Why can we not have a Motor Carriage (similar to the one running between Dyserth and Pres- tatyn, or Wrexham and Ruabon) running between, say, Connah's Quay and Rhyl, and stopping at convenient places ? A small platform could easily be put up opposite the centre of the village. There is no difficulty about having a way fro^ji the railway to the main road, as there are two roads already in existence (1) The one running between the Council School and Mr Hugh Blythyn's house, and which, it should be known, is a public one right to the railway, although a gate has been recently put up. (2) The road (a private one, and which the property owners on both sides would gladly transfer, I am told) running parallel i to the one already mentioned, Thus, it is > seen, the principal difficulties disappear at once. Let us pester the Company with ) petitions, as they are, it seems, rather inclined to accommodate the public just now.

MR. MORUS GRUFFYDD (TRYDANYDD MON), Y DDYSGWYLFA, PRESTATYN. Gwr hoff yw Morus Gruffydd- o edrych Drwy wydrau arsyllydd Efe ar ei safle sydd Yn dra mad iawn dremiedydd. Tra mwynfoes o fewn tremynfa—hynod Yw yr lienwr yma; Gwr lion yw yn hinon ha' A gwywol wynt y gitua'. Da oriau mwyniaut ar y mynydd—mawr Fo i Morus Gruffydd Dewr ddal y bo drwy ei ddydd Yn y wlad yn wyliedydd. Yn ei wyldwr morwriaeth-yw da bwnc Di baid ei efrydiaeth Pwy ddfitgan y gwasanaeth Yn ei oes i longwyr wnaeth Dyry y dyn i drydaniaeth—o'i fodd Khyfeddol warogaeth Iddo'n wir gweinyddu wnaeth Oes y brawd llawn ysbrydiaeth. Hoonuswawr wiw hanesydd-ymroddu9 Amryddawn yw Gruffydd; Mae wrth goffaii effeithiau ffydd Ein dewr Dadau'n dra dedwydd. Morus Gruffydd sydd yn son—a mawr hwyl Am yr hen genadon, A'r pregethwyr pur goethion, Tra mad o ddewisiad Ion. Hir ddal y bo hwyr ei ddydd—yn oleu Hob niwlog ystormydd Caffed lieulwen llawenydd A di ffael gynaliud ffydd. Awr drygfyd gadwer o'i d- igft-dra hardd Drwy hwyrddydd ei yrfa Rhoed Ion i'r tirion frawd da, Mwyneiddfoes ddinam noddfa. Prestatyn. J. MYRDDIN THOMAS.

Gwespyr. Benefit Concert. On Thursday, December 14th, a benefit concert is to be held at the Groes Wesleyan Schoolroom, the proceeds of which will go to the aid of Messrs Richard Hughes and Roger Evans, both of whom have suffered from ill- health for a considerable time. In addition to several well-known soloists, the Gwespyr Male Voice Choir and the Gwespyr Brass Baud have promised to give their services. The president of the concert is Mr J. H. Eccles, and Mr Gunstone will occupy the chair, Mr H. Hughes acting as conductor.

LIGHTING-UP TIME j next week: 4-40 p.m. |j^t0cellatt £ xnt0+ HOME-MADE BRAWN every Friday, Potted Meat. Miss Hawley, Ty Mawr Tea Rooms. FO WLS for sale, large quantity of Hens and Pullets, owing to removal.—Roberts, Ty Isaf, Gronant. FOR SALE, ORPINGTON COCKERELS, March hatched strong, healthy birds; 3/6 each.-Miss K. P. Hawley, Ty Mawr, Prestatyn. WALLIS AND SCOTT, Auctioneers and Estate Agents, have houses to Let at the following rents J613, P,21, J628, and £ 35; also Modern Villas and Building Land for Sale privately. Offices: High St., Prestatyn. MISS Winifred Yeoman, Teacher of the Mandoline and Theory of Music, has vacancies for pupils. Terms 10/6 for 10 lessons.—Apply, Linden Walk, Prestatyn Pendre House School, PRESTATYN, NORTH WALES. School and Kindergarten. Principal: MISS ETHEL HICKSON (Teachers' Diploma University of Cambridge). MR. BRYAN E, WARHURST, Professor of Music. Member of the Incorporated Society of Musicians, Prepares Pupils for the Associated Board of the Royal Academy of Music, the Riyal .College of Music, the Trinity College, London, and the Incorporated Society of Musicians Organ, Pianoforte, Singing, Harmony, Tbeory, «c. LATEST SUCCESSES: April, 1904, Advanoed Senior, Pianoforte, R.A.M. 11 ■> Theory „ July, M Advanced Sea., Piano. (Honours). Trin. Coll., London „ „ Advanced Senior, Organ, I.S.M. „ „ „ „ Pianoforte, I.S.M. Dec. „ Third Grade, „ „ „ Second Grade, „ „ „ Singing July, 1905, Third Grade, „ „ „ „ S'nd Grade, Pianoforte (H'rs), „ >, M >• (Pass).. „ „ First Grade, „ „ „ Mr. Warhurst makes a Speciality of preparing Candidates fo the above;Ki aminafions, and visits Prestatyn on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Organ Recitals, Concerts, Eisteddfodau. For terms, Address-Haydn House, Brighton Road, Rhyl. HENRY DOWELL, Coal Merchant, Office: Station Yard, Prestatyn, Orders promptly attended to. Best House Coal always in Stock. J. R. Williams, BOOT & SHOE MAKER Repairs neatly and promptly executed. Boots made to order with Best English Leather. High Street (ffifaSL), Prestatyn. A. E. WILLIAMS, Pastry Cook and Confectioner, HIGH STREET, PRESTATYN. Wedding & Christening Cakes made to order. Tea Llooms. Luncheon Rooms. Pic-Nic Parties catered for. Thomas & Walkley, Architects and Surveyors, PRESTATYN. Preliminary Sketches Free. Reasonable charges. For Regular Supplies of Farm Produce Fresh Milk and Butter, New-laid Eggs, etc., send Postcard to R. AND J. WHITEFORD, Kelston Farm, Gwespyr, Holywell. J. P. Linnell, CIVIL ENGINEER, Architect and Surveyor, Land and Estate Agent, WELLINGTON CHAMBERS, RHYL.