General News

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22505, 13 September 1938, Page 10

General News

A Cheque Received Receipt of a cheque from Mr J. R. McKenzie a gift to the association of the proceeds ot a stake won by the donor’s horse, U. bcott, at the inter-Dominion trotting meeting at Addington, was acknowledged at the executive meeting of-the Christchurch Returned Soldiers Association last night. The warm thanks o the association were extended to Mr McKenzie, notification of whose gift had been re^f™, lP some weeks before. The amount of t“ e c d was £427 15s 6d, and it is to be distributed among various associations as directed y McKenzie.

Experiments in the High Country To combat the general depletion of highcountry tussock lands and to extend facilities for wintering stock, several runholde s in the Mackenzie Country are making tentative experiments by sowing down crops and new grasses. Swede turnips, six inches in ‘Dametei and the first to be grown anywhere Tekaoo. were shown by Mi C. H. Fauceti a representative of “The Press, who visi e the district. Also flourishing on Mi property was a small, experimental plot of oat grass and a paddock of Hawke s Bay iy ®® ia „ S and red Montgomeryshire clover. On Mr I. N. Hope’s station cultivation had met with ® similar success, while in one dry spot weie planted small tufts of grasses new to the district. Among these grasses was a white-rooted twitch (danthonia pauciflora), while another was a black-rooted twitch, for which theie is as yet no botanical name. Milking at Waipiata Although the Health Department has recommended that the cows at the Waipiata Sanatorium farm should be milked by hand, the sanatorium committee has been forced to install milking machines because it cannot get labour to do the milking, said Mr W. Bryant m a report to the Ashburton Hospital Board yesterday. He added that the department considered that milk obtained from the cows by hand was more suitable for the patients in the institution. The cost of installing the machines was £250. Increased Membership A big increase in the membership of the Christchurch Returned Soldiers’ 'Association since last year was reported to last night’s meeting of the Christchurch Returned Soldiers’ Association. The membership is now 2492, against 2249 a year ago. The present membership at Dunedin, it was said, was 2078, so that Christchurch was keeping a satisfactory lead over its rival. Rice-Growing Experiment , It is likely that another experiment in ricegrowing will be undertaken near the end of this month by the reserves department of the Hastings Borough Council.- A small plot of rice from Australian seed was planted last year and progressed satisfactorily until the ripening of the crop was interrupted by the floods and the crop ruined. Excitement at Railway Station There were some exciting moments at the Ashburton railway station on Sunday night when the excursion train from Christchurch to Timaru was departing. Just as the train was pulling out from the platform two or three yOung men made a dash to board it. One missed his footing and fell between two carriages. His plight was seen by one of the train staff, who applied the Westinghouse brake with commendable promptitude, bringing the train to a sudden standstill. The young man was quickly pulled on to the platform, none the worse for his experience. The railway official took his name. Examination of Mental Cases The examination of 20 doubtful mental cases at the Auckland infirmary, resulting in the discovery that five were both certifiable and dangerous, 14 certifiable but probably harmless, and one doubtful, was reported by the infirmary committee at a meeting of the Auckland Hospital Board last night. The medical superintendent reported that steps had been taken to have five dangerous cases certified and committed to a mental hospital. The committee was supported by the board in its decision to authorise the medical superintendent to act in all the cases certified as the occasion warranted. —Press Association. Rhodes Scholarship Nominees Five students of Canterbury University College have made application to be considered as nominees for Rhodes Scholarships this year. The selection of the college’s nominees to appear before the selection committee in Wellington will not be announced till next week. Supply of Bulk Electricity That electrical supply authorities were awaiting a Ministerial decision about bulk supply was mentioned by Mr J. A. Nash, president of the Electric Power Boards and Supply Authorities’ Association, when speaking at the electrical supply engineers’ conference. Mr Nash said they had been told many times that when the losses suffered at the commencement of the scheme were made up, consideration would be given to the application power boards had been making. He recommended the bulk supply Committee’s report to the Minister as a guide. Boards and supply authorities were given a job to do in the early stages, and they could say that they hac. done the job. Charges to consumers had been considerably x-educed, and now 95 -per cent, of the people were enjoying the benefit of electricity.—Press Association Severity of Epidemic in City The Christchurch metropolitan area still appears to be affected by the measles epidemic more severely than 'any other district in the Canterbury and Westland health district. Officers of the Department of Health in Christchurch reported yesterday that whereas the disease was still prevalent in the city there had been a continued improvement in South Canterbury, and North Canterbury was comparatively free. Cases were still being reported from the West Coast. High-country Rabbiting As a result of representations made by the chairman of the Mackenzie Rabbit Board (Mr Bruce Murray) to Mr T. D. Burnett and Mr David Barnes, members of Parliament for Temuka and Waitaki respectively, who waited on the Minister for Labour (the Hon. H. T. Armstrong) yesterday, an officer of the Labour Department will investigate the position arising from a tendency for rabbiters to leave the high country to take jobs with the Public Works Department. The whole, question of subsidised rabbiting in the high country, Mr Burnett said last night, would receive the thorough consideration of the Employment Division of the Labour Department. A Confidence Trick The loss at Miramar on Friday of a wallet containing £l3 in notes had an unusual sequel on Saturday morning, when it is alleged that a man obtained a 10s note from a boy in Hataitai under false pretences. The boy had gone into a shop in Hataitai to pay a bill, when a man came .up to him and explained the circumstances in which the £l3 was lost. He said he was a detective, and told the boy to give him the 10s note, as he wished to check 'its number and see if it was one of the missing notes. When the boy gave him the money he said it was one of the missing notes, and left the shop, adding that he would have to go to the detective office to make sure. —Press Association. Evidence of Oil “There have been definite evidences* of oil at Mikotckhi Beach,” stated the foreman-in-charge, Mr J. E. Hawes, at the monthly meeting of the New Plymouth Harbour Board recently. This had been noticed when stones were being obtained from the beach for the making of concrete blocks. Frequently the stones could not be used in the blocks because there was so much oil beneath them. There were times when because of the oil gas the men could not work on the beach, he reported. i