NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 71, 24 March 1934, Page 12

NEWS OF THE DAY

The Habits of Deer. The segregation, of the.sexes in deerherds was commented on by Captain G. F. Yerex, who is in charge of the Government's ' deer destruction wortc, states the Christchurch . "Press." It was not generally known, he said, that except in the mating season any one piece of country would be found to be inhabited either by stag's or by hinds, but not by both together.'So there was stag country and hind country,' each mother hind being 'accompanied... by ; her yearling calf as well as by .this year's calf. . . . " _ .-;'.- ■".,'■ ' ' ; • . " c-.'■■ Keas as Food. ;,; ~ i. ' ' Keas are of ten amusing; visitors to mountain camps, but :they •, can: do; serious damage to gear left in the open.' When the Minister ■~,-. Of Internal Affairs (the Hon. J. A.'Young)-and'his, party arrived 'at their; camp. ■in the valley of the Wills Oliver' in ;i South' Westland last week they/iourid that1 keas had attacked thei tent fiys,'istdtes the "Press." Many, of, the birds were about the camp, worrying :: any gear they could find, and it was decided to shoot some, as it has been found that after some have been shot the rest usually leave. Mr. Young brought down three of them with his .303 rifle, and the birds were left to hang for'two days, afterwards being cooked in'■ a stew, which the members of the "party found very appetising. ..". ■ '\ Ringing of Swans. , : V. '-■ Coloured rings were ; placed 'on the legs; of 409 swans on,- Lake Ellesmere recently by a party organised by the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society', .'states the ."Christchurch Times." Green rings were placed on; the' old; birds, and blue, rings on the birds hatched; this' year. When,a report oh the matter was, presented to the council of the society last evening Professor E. Percival asked if it was possible to get in touch with the Wellington and South Canterbury societies to find out what they were doing in regard to the ringing of swans. Some of the Wellington -people held that; the collecting of swan eggs: in Canterbury interfered 'with their shooting, and it was their' contention that swans from Wellington came to Canterbury. The ringing of the birds might also throw some light on Chatham Islands swans. The- chairman of the game committee said that information regarding the ringing of the birds was sent to the other societies. • An Offer to" Boys. ' A novel proposal for developing the physique of boys attending the Boys' Institute is being put forward by the director. Ho is making an offer of three aeroplane flights over Wellington and suburbs to the three boys under 18 years of age who, in the next three months, make their chests grow the most, the chief condition attached to the contest being that competitors must put in throe hours weekly in the gymnasium under the institute's expert instructor. The chairman (Mr. L. T. Watkins) remarked at the monthly meeting of the institute management committee this week that this scheme, while causing the gymnasium to be fully used, would have a permanent beneficial effect on the boy's who took advantage of it. The director's offer was highly praised. What Constitutes a Hawker? Tho question as to what constitutes a hawker came up for consideration at last evening's meeting of the Upper Hutt Borough Council, when it was reported that there were cases, of men hawking goods without a licence in the borough. The Town Clerk (Mr. R. .0. Major) said he had been informed that the English Court had Tuled that when a man comes to the door with samples and obtains orders, and delivers later, he is not a hawker. The men in this case \ had, taken orders and delivered later, so. ho thought a: prosecution would fail., The Mayor (Mr. A. J. MeCurdy) said the men came up the Valley on a motor-lorry which, contained their goods, and ; after taking orders in the morning, ; delivered the goods,in the afternoon/Councillor W. Fortune said he thought the borough's bylaws were sufficiently wide concerning hawkers to enable convictions to be entered in this case, and it was decided to prosecute. No More Passenger Flights. No more passenger flights will be made in New Zealand by the Southern Cross. Although it impossible that Sir Charles Kingsf ord ;Smith will -fly the aeroplane across the Tasman for the'seventh time next year, he will confine his operations to visiting various towns.; Mr. Wilfrid Kingsford Smith told a "Christchurch Star" reporter that it was extremely unlikely that the Southern Cross would ever do. any more regular .passenger flying in Christchurch or other parts of the Dominion. Sir Charles still intends to keep the Southern Cross ,in commission for special flights, '■'■. however, and next year, after the Melbourne centenary air race, he may fly to China and Japan. The Southern Cross will by then have flown in nearly every country around the Pacific Ocean. . The Melbourne centenary air race "will mark Sir Charles's retirement from record-break-ing flights, but ho does not regard the Tasman crossing as a record attempt, and for that reason it is possible that he will make several more flights to New Zealand. In any case he will bo a regular visitor to the Dominion each year to attend the annual meeting of Dominion Airways, of which he is a -directon,-

Nelson Water Supply. The long spell of drought conditions in Nelson has made very apparent the need for an improved water supply for the city, states "The Post's" Nelson correspondent. At the present time the main dam at the waterworks is almost empty, and the lower levels of the city are served by pumping stations at Novmanby bridge and Hanby Park. The higher levels are supplied from the upper weir at .the waterworks. Several months ago the City Engineer was instructed to prepare reports on all the possible schemes for the supply of the city, and the reports have now been completed. They will be released for publication next Wednesday. Ragwort at Upper Hutt. A letter concerning ragwort was received at last evening's meeting of the Upper Hutt .Borough Council from the Department of Agriculture. : The.; Department- stated that.complaints-i had' been made to the effect "that ragwort was.being allowed to flower and seed unchecked on several properties within the area of tipper, Hutt Borough; and that farming lands :a<ljoining were in grave^ danger' .plft.being seeded therefrom, as the seed of.;this noxious weed was one /.'that was' carried afield by the winds.; /The Department: would be pleased if .'the council would give favourable consideration to the matter of enforcing the clearing of the weed. The matter was referred to the Town Clerk (Mr. E. C.' Major) for investigation and a report. The Port of Hokitika. The seriousness of the position resulting from the silting-up of the berthage at Hokitika was stressed by a deputation representing 'the Hokitika Harbour Board which waited upon the Minister of Marine (the Hon. J. G. Cobbe). yesterday afternoon. The de-; putation was introduced by Mr.- J, O 'Brien, M.P. for Westland, who said that the shingle was now filling up the berthage, and even the small boats could not be fully loaded at neap tides. Competent engineers had said that unless something was done the port would have to close. . Plans had been drawn by Public Works engineers for a scheme estimated to cost about £16,000, but this was too big a project for the Harbour Board, which, however, was prepared to mortgage .its revenue for several ■months ahead to contribute £1000 towards a modified scheme costing between £4000 and £5000. The Unemployment Board was prepared to pay 50 per cent, of the actual labour costs, which represented 90 per cent. of the total undertaking. In the course of discussion, it was pointed out that the board owed £18,000 to the Government on an unmatured loan, and if the port was closed the Harbour Board would go out of existence. If the modified scheme proved a success the full scheme could probably be completed out of revenue. The said-that he. would have the matter referred to the Marine Department and jthe Public Works Department. He added that the Government was anxious to keep the port open and to encourage its'trade. ■'.'■ ' Traffic to Eastbourne. -•-Reporting on the traffic to Eastbourne during February the Town Clerk and General Manager (Mr. C. L. Bishop); stated at last evening's meeting of the; Eastbourne Borough Council that in the omnibus department, the receipts were £30 higher than for the corresponding month last year. As the weather, for the corresponding month last year was very unsettled, it was to be expected that the revenue this February would, exceed that for the corresponding month last year. To the end of February, the revenue' for the eleven months was £100 higher than for the corresponding period last year. The trading expenditure for the same period was approximately the same as the previous year's, and the trading results slightjly better. In 'the ferry department; the revenue for February was £100 higher than for the previous February, and for the eleven months of the financial year the receipts were £300 higher. The expenditure for the same period was slightly higher, and the trading results approximately the 6ame as last year.