PAINTING A LINER

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 95, 16 January 1919, Page 4

PAINTING A LINER

A MATTER OF ACRES. One of the_ biggest jobs, indeed, in connection with a warship or the big liners now being used as transports, is giving them a fresh coat of paint. To paint these big ships hundreds of thousands of gallons of paint are required every year, and the paint bill alone of a big shipping company runs, well over four figures a year. About twenty io thirty men on each ship aro often kept busy putting on the" gallons of paint. Most of the large companies used to have their liners repainted at the end of every voyage, or rather at the end of every double voyage. The amount of surface that each had to have painted was; very nearly two and a half acres, so painting a big ship is literally painting by the acre. A warship has to be painted regularly, for otherwise her" life would be. considerably shortened and she would fall to pieces from corrosion. Her. outside platep would be simply eaten through and through. The greatest trouble is with the bottom of the vessel, which rapidly gets encrusted with barnacles and seaweed. This growth on the bottom of a ship is really enormous. The pre-war cruiser Champion, for instance, was taken into dry dock nnd thoroughly cleaned after serving as a training ship for some years in the River Mersey. Over forty tons of mussels alone wrt'o removed from the bottom, and it took a gang of men !i week to clear away the growth of seaweed and barnacles.

The fourth valuation of wools purchased by tho Now Zealand Government under the commandeering arrangement with the Iniperiitl Government has just been completed at Dunedin. Seven thousand bales wovo dealt with, whioh is about (lie same numbor as was offered nt. tho corresponding valuation hist year. Tito condition of tho current offerings wus not uoarly so good as nt (ho unirth valuation in 1918,' tho staple being much shorter. "It is phasing to- noie that growers aro giving Ilum , wools very much bettor attention, s< ml that tho skirting work also shows u m'C«l improvement," snys tho "Oliiuo Daily Times." Growers reap u direct twuo lit by caro in Ibis direction, sir, «.\ivi,v wools nro always put. into iv low grade nnd suffer in prieo. ns i< eons** quonoc. Tlui highest valuation was 23d. per lb,, this beinu nnmoil for a lino of merino comprising boles, This wool was beautifully mfl ! > w ' silky, running us high us "0■ Hnulforil counts. It should bo explained that at each valuation tho lots of wool to he dealt with nro restriototl to 1600— in this Inlest valuation representii<K 7000 bales. Tho WiOO lots nro divided pro rats, amongst all tho locnl. wool brokers."

An Italian ice-cream vendor lenderrrl !)(>!) furthiiijts and IMp threepenny pieces in payment of a fine of iM nt London South-Wcslern Police Court, "Whon payment in this form was refused, ho produced a J-C note.

"Why is emokinpf 60 often attended with results that cause medical men to order their pntients to cither discontinue the hauifr, or groatly modify it?' H is .simply because the percentage of uicotine in mnM imported tobaccos is so high, and it is the nicotine in exooss thnt renders smoking injurious. Now, our Now Zcn-lfthd-grown tobaccos contain so small n ])orccntftgo of nicotine thnt it is practically ft neplißiblc quantity. Both Gold Pouch ami Three Diamonds m-6 almost frco of nicotine, and, besides, tlioy nro now toasted. Toasting develops tho flavour, removes all deleterious properties, nnd makes the tobacco climato proof. Toasted tobacco ie recommended to _ those ivho study their liealth and appreciate a pure tobacco. Two full ounces for ft shilling.—Adrt.