NEWS AND NOTES.

Hokitika Guardian, 1 November 1923, Page 2

NEWS AND NOTES.

“The hotels in New Zenl:io'l are very fair: the roads are attractive because one lues i hem to onesell ; the scenery i- remarkable.’' commented an overseas visitin’ al GisUu nc. “The most charming feature of your country is, however, the way in which t v people ateept the strange,.'’ Two young resicb ms of Hnh ombe, who have reccntL returned from Australia state that employment is even harder to get there than in New Zealand. The late opening ol the freezing works has added to the stringency and 2G butchers returned to New Zealand last week,- “W'airarapn Age.” A curious dutibh wediiin:.. took place recently iu the City Mali. New Aork. A young married man married his iormcr stepmother, while his lather, from whom she had obtain'd a divorce married another woman. Ibo younger man’s wife will now call her lortner husband lather, aad she will have a sie]i-iii(>ther of her own. “My dear. I had just got the mirror,'' was the absent-minded reply made by a well-dressed female witness to a solicitor iu tla* Auckland Police Court. “Ob. don't, please, cull me ‘my dear'." said counsel, who could not continue bis cross-examination for some moments owing to the laughter in which the whole court joined. “IT our Hughy footlmllers were as good as our amateur boxers, we could understand why they had been getting tlie big gates" commented a speaker aL a meeting of those interested in boxing, when lamenting the fact tliav the public of Wanganui do not patronise the boxing tournaments.—“ Chronicle ”

A beautiful blue heron made its appearance mi the rocks ai Kaka Point, Southland, the other day (reports the local “Times’’'). This rare bird proved very timid, and when approached it quickly made seaward for some distance before disappearing from view further along the coast.

“When taking moving pictures of Invercargill recently I had great difiiculty in getting the l iwn to look busy enough,” said Capt. MacDonald during his address to the .Southland League (says the •‘Southland Times"). “I persuaded all the taxi-drivers to parade the street, and worked as many tramears into the picture as possible, and thus produced a semblance of hustle: but, it was busier than you'll see it for many a long day.”

A Wanganui wallpaper merchant stated to a “Chronicle” reporter that the British wallpaper trade had recaptured the business of New Zealand which had gum' to the United States and Canada during the war period. During the war British manufacturers had been unable to hold their connection owing to their factories being utilised for munition work, hut by reason of their better qualities, designs, and colourings they had again asserted their superiority. The Dominion lias been recognised as the heaviest purchaser ol wall-paper, per capita, in the British Empire, and one of the wallpaper representatives, when visiting New Zealand, remarked upon the huge stocks carried hv the trade. the British custom was for retailers to eonduet business on orders only.

“Do not chew grass" is a vise dictum. A well-known athlete underwent medical treatment for several months, and had two operations on a mysterious swelling nil a gland. The disease is called actinomycosis, and i- usually found in cattle, pigs, horses, and even elephants and dogs. In the case mentioned, it was contracted through the habit of chewing grass while playing games, a common practice among sportsmen. In chewing grass one may consume a parasite, and there lies the danger. E.irmeily tTiis unp’cnsnnt disease was known as -‘wooden tongue" or “big jaw." owing to the large swellings which developed on the tongue, iaw or skin. Actinomycosis is a chronic inflammatory disease producing pus, and is caused by a fungus, which in the case of a man attacks the jaw and neck, entering through diseased teeth or tonsils. A severe local infection is set up. which burrows its way into the tissues, distorting what it traverses und stopping at nothing unless treated in time.