NEWS IN BRIEF

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 200, 22 May 1944, Page 4

NEWS IN BRIEF

Meat Schedule The New Zealand Meat Producers Board advises that the iamb, wether and ewe schedules in the North Island will be increased by one-eighth of a penny per lb. from today. In the South Island, the wether schedule will lx 1 increased by one-eighth of a penny per lb. Cycle Rider Injured. Knocked off a cycle he was riding in Waiwetu Road, Lower Hutt, about 6.30 p.m. ou Friday by a motor-car, Mr. A. Addis, 5 Collingwood Street, Lower Hutt, was taken to the Wellington Hospital by the Free Ambulance with a fractured right collarbone, concussion and internal injuries. Dehydration of Apples. The new dehydration plant at Motueka is practically completed, and it is hoped to begin operations early next month. The “Orchardist of 'New Zealand,” official organ of the New Zealand Fruitgrowers’ Federation, says that from June till early in August it is estimated that tbe plant will handle 50.000 bushels of apples, including the Statesman, Granny Smith, Stnrmer, Ballarat and M ashington varieties. Power Failure. Inconvenience was caused yesterday to users of electricity in the Wadestown-Ngaio-Kaiwarra area when_the power was off from 12.3 p.m. till 12.55 p.m. The cause of the break, which occurred at a time when most people were cooking their midday meals, had not been ascertained late last night. AS linesmen were working in the affected area, power was pur- < poscly not restored for nearly an hour, till it was known that all the men were safe.

Youthful Experimenters. Two little boys, whose home is in One Tree Hill, Auckland, recently read of the adventures of Puss-in-Boots in the wellknown fairy tale, and were greatly intrigued with the wonderful feats of that famous cat. Their delight knew no bounds when an aunt, who is a glovemaker, made a pair of diminutive boots to fit a cat. 'lt was not long before they were making an attempt to put tbe boots on their own household pet in the expectation that it would repeat the deeds of Puss of story-book fame. Record Silver Coinage. . . , . The value of silver coins in circulation in New Zealand in 1913 reached new high levels, according to statistics compiled by the Reserve Bank. The value of the five denominations of silver coin last year totalled £2,31)7,000, compared with £2,064,000 the previous year, and £1,771,000 in 19411. The numbers of coins in circulation last year were: _ Threepences, 24.7 million (20.3 million in 1942), sixpences, 10.5 million (8.8), shillings, 7.4 million (6.4), florins, 7.0 million (6.1), and halfcrowns. 6.0 million (5.3).

Sausages and Soup in Bulk. Since the difficulty of obtaining supplies of casings forced butchers to discontinue the use of sausage skins they have been selling sausages with a covering of breadcrumbs or in bulk. Now one Christchurch firm of ham and bacon curers which formerly manufactured a popular brand of sausages is retailing sausage meat in cardboard cartons. Each carton contains enough meat for nine sausages. The sale of vegetable soup in bulk is another development in the supply of food in Christchurch. Some shops offer vegetable soup in a jellied form, and people who do not wish to make their own soup can buy a “block” of soup aud heat it up. Air Force Entertains Boys.

The unusual privilege of a visit to the R.N.Z.A.F. establishment at Rongotai was allowed the boys who have been attending the Boys’ Institute city camp as a conclusion to their fortnight’s re creative and educational activities. The air force band played for them in the auditorium. They saw the repair and maintenance of aircraft at the factory of the de Havilland Aircraft Company of N.Z., Ltd., and watched fighters, divebombers and torpedo-bombers, specially present for the purpose, in the air ani on the ground, being allowed to try the pilots’ seats. The boys were given lunch and afternoon tea during their day at the station.

Pillaging Complaint. “Reports from manufacturers indicate that Dunedin has had a clean sheet in regard to pillaging from the wharves in the past month, but the same state of affairs has not existed where goods have been dispatched through northern ports.” said the secretary of the Dunedin Manufacturers’ Association. Local manufacturers had suffered considerable losses during the month and information to hand revealed that the pillaging had taken place mainly at Wellington, he said. A large biscuit and chocolate manufacturing firm had been selected each month since Christinas for special attention on the wharves in the north. In one instance 1500 cakes of chocolate, representing a whole case, had been stolen. Local clothing manufacturers had also suffered losses, usually of goods in short supply.—P:A. Children’s Reading. For a period two or three years ago children experienced some difficulty in securing supplies of their favourite reading material —comics. This was due. to the cut in the importation of English newspapers, which provided the great majority of all.comics imported. At the present time, however, there is no sign of any shortage in this line, due to the publication in Australia of comics with an inimitably Australian flavour and in New Zealand of American syndicated strips. In some cases drawings by New Zealand artists are being retailed. A striking fact is that Australian artists produce work far superior in craftsmanship. story and moral tonp to that of any other country, the United States included.