NEWS IN BRIEF

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 107, 30 January 1935, Page 11

NEWS IN BRIEF

Butter Dearer To-day

.Butter will rise by lid. a pound today, ami standard brands will sell at 1/ojcl, a pound, with tlie better grades at 1/1.

Mount for the Duke. .Silent Bill, the horse presented to the Duke of Glqueester by Air. T. A. Duncan, is to be shipped to England by the Akaroa on February 6. Costly Haircut.

Charged with obtaining credit by fraud from Meyer Berman in the form of a haircut valued at 1/3, William John Maben was fined 10/- by Air. E. Page, S.AL, in (he Wellington Magistrate’s Court yesterday. lie was also ordered to pay witnesses’ expenses, amounting to 4/-. Default was fixed at seven days’ imprisonment. Presentation for Waikawa.

When tlie Shaw Savill motor-ship Waikawa, at present discharging cargo on the New Zealand coast arrives at Napier, citizens of the Hawke’s Bay township after which tlie freighter is named, will present an engraved plaque as a token of their appreciation. This plaque will be mounted in the .ship's vestibule. .Some 250 school children of Waipawa will make an excursion to Napier to visit the ship: they will be shown over her and will be entertained to tea aboard. A Specialised Study.

When an unusual kind of spider was taken for identification to the Canterbury Museum, an attendant said that such a task might be beyond any entomologist in New Zealand. Though there were many species of spiders in this country, there was no first-class expert on the subject, which was one calling for minute study. Inquiries were made fairly often, mainly by collectors who would bring along 200 or 300 specimens to be identified. They had to be sent to America for this purpose.

Rainbow Trout in Canterbury. There has been much speculation lately on the question whether rainbow trout are to be found anywhere in the lower reaches of the South Canterbury rivers, states an exchange. Three years ago the curator of the South Canterbury Acclimatisation Society released at the “Horseshoe Bend” of the Seadown Lagoon some fish of this species. Since then nothing had been seen of them or their progeny, and the opinion was expressed that they had gone out to sea, never to return. However, recently, at night, Commander Steward, of Timaru, caught the first rainbow trout in this lagoon. The fish weighed 21b. soz.

Early Racing Cycles. "The first bicycle race held in Christchurch took place in the early ’sixties,” said Air. A. Selwyn Bruce, speaking at St. Paul’s Anglican Church schoolroom at Papanui. “The contraptions used were known as velocipedes. the name bicycle not having been evolved. The machines were veritable ‘bone shakers,’ and the competitor who won the first velocipede race was mounted on two wooden wheels with iron tyres, the frame and handle-bars being constructed of gas piping. Art unions at that period were legal speculations, and it is on record that the winner who rode this fearful and wonderful machine raffled it at 2/- a ticket and netted £24 from tlie transaction.” “They Tell Me ”

It has often been said that tourists in New Zealand see more of the country than is known to a great many New Zealanders, but an amusing example of the naive indifference of a native to the beauties of his own district was given by Dr. Ewart Duthie, of Johannesburg, South Africa, who has just completed a tour of the West Coast, states the Christchurch "Press.” Dr. Duthie was talking with a resident of Murchison, who made the casual remark, among others, “They tell me the Buller Gorge is very fine. I’ve never been down it myself.” j

School Drinking Water. Drinking water was the subject of a memorandum received by the Auckland Education Board from the Education Department at its meeting last week. Tlie department suggested that in view of complaints received by the Department of Health about the condition of drinking water supplied to children, especially wl »'o school tanks were in use, the attention of school committees should be called to the necessity of seeing that all tanks were thoroughly cleaned before the beginning of the next school term. The department gave the opinion that that course was especially advisable in view of the recent period of hot, f.ry weather. “That is all right, but who is going to refill the tanks while this dry spell continues?” a member asked. The board decided to issue a circular to school committees.