NEWS AND NOTES.

Hokitika Guardian, 24 September 1923, Page 4

NEWS AND NOTES.

The George Washington story has lost some of its prestige, for New Plymouth has something better to offer i states the ‘'Taranaki Herald”). Anyway, though the famous American told his father the truth it is not on record that he had the courage to be frank with a Minister of the Crown —at least, not when he was young. ‘‘You’re all getting tired of listening to my pearls of wisdom, aren’t you?”snid the .Minister of Education (the Hon. C. .1. Parr) at the conclusion of his address at the Fitzroy infants’ school on Thursday. There was silence among the assembled children,hut only for a moment. “Yes sir.” replied a small, shrill voice, amidst laughter. “There is only one little girl here who will make herself famous some day,” commented Mr. Parr. “She always tells the truth."

Writing with reference to giant trees suggested by the finding of a monster pohutnkawa on Mayor Island, Mr. A. H. Murray of Avondale South. Auckland, writes to the Auckland “ Star” to say that when he was engaged surveying inland from Keilding he saw and measured a huge rata that had a girth of tiiift. and a diameter of 22tt. —the largest iree he had met in either island. The next largest was a totara measuring lift. -1 in. These trees had a clean barrel of over 30ft. In the same valley the Orouit, were to be seen hundreds of rimu up to eight feet. Ten miles further inland was a fine pot of beech trees anything up to lOft.in diameter Up in the Tutamoe district, near Dar-

garville. Mr Murray once found a fallen kauri 10ft. through, that had fallen, and over the top of if other trees had taken seed and grown—one of them being a rata 2ft. through, and another was a rimu of similar size. Those trees could not have been less than 201) years old, says Mr .Murray, yet the kauri log was its good as ever with the exception of the hark and the sap. Thai, was in a peat swamp that contained other such fallen monsters, of which the timber was so wonderfully well preserved.