LOCAL & GENERAL

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 59, 2 December 1937, Page 4

LOCAL & GENERAL

. -L — i. SeaHng hakowhai road. Tbe contraotbr wbo is tarrsealing the Waiohiki-Pabowhai road espects to flniph the first poat of the entire lengc.^ of about 276 chaius to-day. Sealing was ' started on Tuesday, 170 and despita a breakdown on Tuesday, 170 dhains had been finished yesterday. Soil Moistur© Tests. Soil moisture tests eonducted in the labor&tory of the Public Workg Department at Temuka illustrate the differenee in fertility value between irrigated and non-irrigated land. On November 18, just before the recent drought broke in South Canterbury, two samples of soil were taken from irrigated and non-irrigated portiong of the LjSvejp Pl&in, TJie percentage pf moistiire in the irrigated poi! was 21.73 as pompared with a soil moisture content pf 3.22 per pent. in the npn-iprigated soil. School pf Drama. Apthority has been obtained frorn the Education Department for a Se]iopl of Drama tp- be started next year in Auckland in conjunction with the Elan, School of Art, It will be the first schopl of its kind in New Zealand, and it represents tbe ideal of training of youth in the art of the theatre, which enthusiasts consider must form the necessary prelude to the creation of a national theatre. Fhilomel Docked. For the first time for four years the naval trafining ship Philomel was moved into Calliope Doek at Auckland on Tuesday. The Philomel waited at Galliope^Wharf until the cargo steamer Gabriella left the deck early in the afternoon, when two tuge breasted her to the doek entrance and moved her inside. This will probably be the last time the training ship is docked, as she wili be scrapped when the sborp bgrracks are cQmplet§d. / Bird in Ship. Waterside workers engaged pn thp Island motor ship matua were surpfis* ed, pn opening the linal bold pn the ship at Auckland, tp find that a boatswnin bi?4 hnd been trapped in the hold for some days. Jt i§ surmised that the. bird hit he trigging pf the ship at Suva and fell into the hold. jt was rpleased and flew out of sight in the dtrection of N°rth Head. ' They have a flying Tange of about 1000 miles, and the bird would probably fly to the Kermadecs, where the species nest. Appreciation of Dogs' Services, A novel presentation was made to a dog, well-known to Aucklanders for his asspciation with street appeals, at the annual meeting of the Auckland Soeiety for the Prevention ' of Cruelty to Animals. The dog, Mr E. Whiteley 't. Great Dane, '■ ' Tony, 5 ' was led to the dais, pn which ofiicials pf the society wme seated, and Mfs Speneer 11, Maion, wife of the president, tied rouna his neek a silver medaJ, engraved with a dog 's head and bearing the inscnption, "for services rendered to r.he S.P,C,A. during 1P37,'J A similnr me'lal WiH be presented to Miss M. Campbell's spaniel, " Jeff," which was not present at the meeting. Rxpenditure on Boads. An answer to those who criLieised the expenditure pf moneyp on the improvement of main highways, was given ,by Mr M. H. Wynyard, representative of thp motorists pp. the Mgin Highways Bpard, wben speaking at » oonference in Palmerston North yesterday. "We are spending the motorists' money for their benelit, ' ' be stated, ' ' and it hap to be remembered tbat the maia bigbways carry over 80 per cent. pf tbe traffic in the rural areas. I also view the tpurist traffic as one of New Zealand 's best Tevenue'-earning iuduSs tries and encomiums passed by tourists who use our roads will be a big inducement for others tp cpme to this country." Swam With Mail. An Englishman wbo on 112 occasions in tbe course. of 10 years swam witb tbe MTin Can" mail from Niuafo'ou Island in the Paeiflc to waiting steamers half a mile from sbore, Mr C. Ramsay, arrived by tbe Matua this Week tp sp.end five months on bpliday in New Zealand, Mr Ramsay Wae born in England, He bad lived in Tonga for somp timo Wben thp iGreat "W^r bTpkp out, and in 1915 he left to jpin thp New Zealand Exppditionary Fprce. He serv ed in France, was wffunded, and af thp elose pf the >yar he went tq Niuafo 'op island, where he has lived ever siucp Since the Tofua, and later the Majua paid regular calls to the island, the islanders have not felt so cut off from the world aa they were previously. Van Gogh Raintings. The Hawke's Bay Art Gallery in Napier is now r showinai a special oxhibition of the works of the Dutch painter, Vincent van Gogh. At first profoundly influenced by the work qf Millpt, he was drawn Jater- to the impressionists and thep became one pf tbe tbroa leaders of tbe post-impres-sionist group, witb Cezanne' and Ganguin. Van Gogb's art aimed at expressing tbat aspeefc of a sub^'ect wbicb most strpng]y appealed to tbe sepses. Towards tbe end of his life — be died in 1890 — a sunstroke affected bis Ijrnip, already not very strong, and be died by bis own hana, after spending some three years in an asylum at Aries, wbere be paintefl some of bis best pietures. Probably tbe largest polleetion of bis work is doiniciled in Moscow.

No Fire, Tbe Napier Fire Rrigade received anptbpr pall from tbp automatic alarm ht "Williams aud Nettle's No, 4 wooistore at Port Aburiri at about 2.2Q o'clock yesterday afternoon. However, tbe brigade did not turn out, beeause eleptriei&ns wbo were repairing tbe apparatus rang to say it bad spt itself pff. Interhousq Sports, Tbe allocation of the receipts at tbe recent inter-bouse sports meeting at Napier has now been made. Gate receipts amounted to £255. Of tbis amOUftt £88 was distributed amongst tbe competing bouses to go towards tbe unifcrm funds, donations to bpnd, complimentary danee to competing girls, and ineidental expenses total £27, and tbe balanee, £140, is to be banded to tbe Napier Borougb Council for improvements tq M?Lcan Rark, Christiftas Fruit. Preparation for tbe increased consumption qf fruit whicb is a usual feature of tbe Christmas and New Year holiday season, are now being made by fruit retailers in Hastings. This is ' reflected in the arrivals pf fruit consignments at the Hastings jailway station, where during this week there has been a large increase for various types of fruit. Both this morning and yesterday, two trucks of bananas arrived from Auckland by yw.il, and further consignments are to pome. Grapes and oranges also have boen arriving in increased numbeTS.