Local and General

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 40, 21 October 1946, Page 5

Local and General

Animal Week Animal societies and S.P.C.A. groups recently observed animal week which fell this year at the beginning of October. The recognition is world-wide, and it is during this period particularly, that societies big and small, interested in animal welfare, redouble their - efforts to provide for their charges. *• . Pile Cup Final The final match for the; John Pile Memorial Cup was played on Saturday between Paroa and Kutarere,i the latter team challenging. A steady rain fell throughout the game, .mak- •' ing handling extremely difficult, but despite this one of the best displays • of the season took place. Paroa claimed victory by 8 points to 6 thereby completing its record of unbroken victories, and retaining the trophy for the 1946 season. A full report of the game will appear in Wednesday’s issue. Hours of Sunshine

Tauranga was well down in the New Zealand list of hours of bright, sunshine for the month of August. First place honours were captured by Alexandra with 185.3 hours, - while Tauranga was credited with 162.4 hours, a difference of 22.9 hours, to win twelfth place. Manutuke Research Station ■ (Gisborne) gained second place with 183 hours, Napier was next and then camei - Blenheim, Te Paki (Te Hapua), Timaru, Nelson, Gisborne, Waipiata, Wellington, Rudstone (Methven) and Tauranga in that order. Sparks From Engines A letter from Mr J. Sawers, general manager of the Railways Department, to - the North Island Motor Union, acknowledging representations that spark arresters should be fitted to railway engines, came before a meeting of the Automobile Association (Wellington). Mr Sawers stated that all engines were fitted with spark arresting devices, and the Department claimed that as a result of its research and experimentation it had designed appliances which were based on the best, known principles and equal in efficiency to Anything known overseas. The fact that the appliances had been fitted and locomotives altered at very great cost was evidence that ." ! the Department had not evaded responsibility. No device could 'ensure the complete elimination of sparks ' upder all operating conditions. Weather and Stock New Zealand’s weather last month is described as “very varied” in the summary supplied to the Press Association by the Director of Meteorological Services. , Apart from a • wintry spell late in the month ho general abnormalities were in evidence. (Conditions were very favorable for the dairy districts except that there was rather too much rain for calves. An exceptionally good season for sheep was being experienced on the east coast of the North Island. Prolonged rain within the cold period towards the end of the month, coming at the height- of the lambing season, was responsible for some serious losses in Canterbury and Otago, and this change to cooler conditions checked growth in most places. The frequency of rain delayed agricultural activities. In the Auckland district, where rainfall was above normal, the largest excess occurred in the Bay of Plentyregion. Hawke’s Bay, on the other hand, received only half its usual total.