Local & General

Chronicle (Levin), 17 February 1948, Page 4

Local & General

In Opposition Tp Sun 4 Today Mars was in opposition,. as astronomers say, though in not the most favourable opposition. The planet is then bet'ween the earth and the s,up. Mars was. last in opposition to the sun in January, 1946, and was then visible in the Eastern sky in the constellation of Gemini, the Twins. Rising about sunset the - planet was visible throughout the night. The Godwits Leave • Godwits have been observed m large flocks flying over.the Auckland isthmus, as* is their habit just before leaving , ,for the _ nesting. season in Siberia. Thes birds feed near the water's e&ge scS the tide isdropping, and they cross from coast to coast so that they can feed on both tides. The large _ floeks are formed at about this time of year, and at about the end of February or early in March they leave on their long flight. Use Of Sheep Raddle The indiscriminate use of raddle in marking sheep was the cause of greatly reduced yalue in wool taken from skins, according to statements made at a recent meeting of the Temuka branch of the Federated Farmers. This loss in the aggregate throughout New Zealand was very great, it was stated. The raddle-covered portion on the back of the skin was torn out of the fleece and thrown into the second grade bins because diffictilty was experienced in removing the marks at scouring plants. \ A Round A wuness in the Magistrat.e's Court at Rangiro- last week referred to "a round of drinks" which he and a friend had consum'ed, wlienhe meant that they had had two drinks each. The Magistrate (Mr. H. P. Lawry, S'.M.) remarked that' in all his long Axperience he had hever heard ajppiuL of, 'drinks -de.a.v flned^nke'that. If two persons went into a hotel and one bought two drinks that was a round. When the other bought two drinks that was another round. Traffic Officers Take Over Traffic officers had to be called out in Wellington yesterday to clear away lopg queues of cars that were obstructing the, thoroughfare around many city' petrol stations. Obviously endeavouring to lay in as much petrol as possible beforeMarch 1, motorists were out in droves from early yesterday morning. The road beeame so congested in the vicinity of fceveral stations that patrol officers had to step in and break up the queues. The scenes-were reminiscent of the days preeeding the introduction of petrol rationing during the war. Education Of T.B. Patients: The Department of Health is agreeable to the enrolling of adolescent tuberculosis patients in the Correspondence School providing that means can be found to sterilise school material before it leaves an institution. This advice has been sent to the New Zealand Federation of Tuberculosis Associations by Dr. Claude Taylor, director of the department's tuberculosis division. . According to Dr. Taylor, however, tio sure way of sterilising Correspondence School material without damaging it had yet been devised, but inquiries were being made to ascertain. whether equipment he saw in Sweden recently could be adapted for the purpose, In the meantime, the department was prepared to support any tuberculosis officer who was willing to certify that Correspondence School material had been submitted to baking.