Local and General

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 6, Issue 48, 16 February 1943, Page 4

Local and General

Cloril Dairy Cleanser Messrs Mussctt. and Littlejohn report that fresh supplies of Cloril Dairy Cleanser, a preparation which has been unprocurable for some time have now come to hand.—Advt Saboteurs A visiter to Amsterdam saw , a trainload of cattle being sent to Germany. He *sk ed a local resident to explain it. "It happened, this wav," was the reply. "A cow bit into a telephone cable. The Nazis shot her because she was a saboteur —and now are taking fifty other cows as hostages to Berlin to provenl a recurrence.*' The Orphan of Whakatane Speaking of the happy effect of the new street lighting in the Borough sfince the lifting of the blackout restrictions, the Mayor at: the Borough Council meeting last week caused a smile by mournfully remarking that Hillcrcst was 'the orphan of the Borough, being the only place where there were no lights at all.' Summer Heat an<d Battle Dress The merits of the army -battle dress have not been apparent to wearers in the hot humid Aveather experienced of late. An old soldifcr of robust build, obviously feelin{£ the heat, spoke in Auckland in envy of a group of American soldiers wearing their shirt and trouser drill cloth outfit., "However," he said, "it >i.s not quite .so bad as drilling in Egypt as the first New Zealanders had to do in the last war. in scrviec uniforms, with putties." Premises Change Hands Messrs. Mussett and. Littlejohn, the well known farm machinery and dairy requisites firm have completed the deal' for the ownership of the premises in which they have carried on business since the inception of the firnj. The premises include an important business: corner b!ock which previously belonged to the estate of the late Mr G. S. Whiteside. Steps are now being taken to have the entire building repainted and attractiA'cly fronted. Solitary Teaspoon • A New Zealand novelist with an overseas reputation once referred to "steaming porcelain baths' of coffee," served at New Zealand railway refreshment rooms.' Those wellknown thick china cups were of eggshell texture compared to- the yellow mugs now generally used—and coffee is frequently not obtainable. But. the chief sign of the times, is the absence of teaspoons. The Palmerston North refreshment room apboasts of a solitary spoon fixed firmly to the counter by a length of string. Monarch Butterflies A number of residents have interested; themselves in the breeding of those splendid insects Monarch butterflies. The caterpillar feeds almost exclusively on the foliage of tjje swan plant and is recognisable by its black and markings. The butterfly emerges from a cap-sule-like chrysalis and has a mag-j nificcnt spread of finely marked wings. Mrs Patterson of Goulstone Road has some fine specimens, whilst' the staff of the Herd Improvement Officc on the Strand recently captured one or two of the cacoons and have had one. of them successfully 'hatch out.' Believe It Or No»t! Mr Joe Hignet of Whakatane>, has a remarkable tale to tell of a still more reiparkable motor cycle. Riding on the machine *0 Te T'eko as is his daily wont, he yesterday arrived at his destination ami rested his machine against a post. On his return it refused, to 'kick over' and a short investigation • revealed the battery to be missing. He took a short walk back along :the road but failed to find; it. However he realised that as: the machine had been pulling smartly right, up to the time of his arrival, that it could not be far., To his amazement however, on retracing liis journey by car, he did not pick up the missing battery until at AAvakeri, a distance of approximately nine miles. Puzzle • how did the machine run all that distance without a spark. You say its impossible! Well we:- have Mr Hignet s word that it did, and like Brutus know that Jo'e is» an honourable: man.