Local & General

Chronicle (Levin), 22 August 1949, Page 4

Local & General

Serviee. , An incldent in an Auckland tearooms. last .week cau'sed a patron to . remark, "Good heavens — I I -haven't seen that don'e for a long time." Cause of his surprise Was the action of a waitress, who, on notieihg. tea leaves floating In his cup, took it away and replaced it with another. Oldest Cow. In a few weeke, one of New Zealand's most famous cows, Barhara of Hikumutu, will celebrate her 33rd birthday. Last year she had her 29,'ch calf. When her owner, Mr. S. P. Miller, retired to Taumarunui he took Barbara with him, and it seems that she will end her days in 4 paddock at Hangaroa, one of Taumarunui "s main residential areas^ ' 1 I The Pessimist. . . 4 "How longNdoes -one have to live in New Zealand before one gets a ,vote?" agked the captain of an Qverseas ship at Auckland. Twelve hionths, he was told. "Oh, that's perhaps a bit too long ... I thoitght I might haVe got a chance of voting at your general election if the Government ha'd sat on the fence much longer!". Burns From Coal Steel. Workmen employed at the Lake Tekapo hydro-electric power project have to wear heavy duty leather gloVes when handling cold steel because if the steel is touched with the bare' hand the flesh is burnt as if the steel were redhot. Some of the working sites are hidden from the sun and the temperature in those places rarely goes above freezing . point. False Fire Alarms. The Wellington Fire Board delcided on Friday to. discuss further with the Justice Department the question of penalties for malicious alarms. The opinion was expressed at a meeting of the board that the penalties were too lenient and that fines should excfied the cost of the turnout of the brigade which was not less than £10 per call. There have been 28 malicious. alarms in Wellington since April 1. Worms As Currency. , 'Worms will be currency at the Auckland Zoo for the next month, as every child who arrives wi'th a pint jam tin full of worms will be admitted free to the zoo-. The worms will form the nucleus of a "worm farm" which will be established to feed David, the kiwi which was caught at Opotiki in an opossum trap. The bird will eat about a quart of worms a day, and children'^ oontributions .will be put in a bed of manure, leaf mould and soil, where it is hoped they will breed in sufiieient quantity to s atisyf the biMys appetite. Similar preparations had to be made in an Ameriean zoo when a duck-billed platypus. was received from Australia, .