NEWS BY MAIL.

Hokitika Guardian, 9 October 1925, Page 3

NEWS BY MAIL.

POISON WHISKY. KOCH DMATHS IN NKW YORK. NKW YORK. August 25. I'nusually virulent, "poison hootch” has made its appearance in New York. Four persons, a woman and three men. who were taken to Bellevue Hospital from dill’ereut parts of the city died this morning, all within 12 hours after drinking what they supposed to he smuggled whisky. The police say the liquor they had Leon drinking was made in New \ork fmm redistilled, denatured alcohol by a process in which only a small proportion of the poison is extracted. FUXT-KNAPPKKS. LONDON. Aug. 11. Motoring through Xnrtolk and Kuflollv the other day. writes a correspondent, I turned aside to visit the llintIcuappers of Brandon. Only one man could 1 find at work. The others were ill He told me that at one time llint-knapping was a great industry of the town, but now there are only five principal workers. The flints aro exported to Central Africa, where possession of tlie old Hint-lock gun makes the owner rich.

Mining for Hints was also a great industry in the neighbourhood. A narrow f>it. is sunk into the chalk hod and the miner makes a series of small galleries or burrows.

The It Mapper’s tools are three simple forms of hammer anil a chisel, which have remained practically unchanged for centuries. The flint is first broken into a convenient sirs'. “Flaking” follows. This .consists if “striking oil” hv carefully directed blows. “Knapping” is cutting the flakes transversely into sizes required for gun Hints, each flake yielding two or three squares of proper dimensions. An expert tinker will make 4.000 to 0.000 Hakes a day. and the knapper will finish about 2.000 gun Hints.