MISCELLANEOUS.

Hokitika Guardian, 6 January 1927, Page 1

MISCELLANEOUS.

[by TELEGRAPH —per press association

HOT WEATHER HATS

LONDON, Jan. -1

The Duchess of York’s hats include fifteen planned by herself, and made by a girl milliner formerly employed by a firm which supplied most of the Duchess’ trouseau, and who lately set up in business for herself. With the milliner’s help, the Duchess planned hats to wear with hot weather frocks, mostly of crinoline straw in white, pink or blue, and of a shape which her Royal Highness prefers—wide at the sides, turned up in front, with an arch-shaped brim, and usually iusl a simple flower or feather ornamentation. None indicates startling changes of fashion. NOXIOUS WEEDS. EMPIRE MARKETING BOARD’S OFFERLONDON, Dec. 30. It is now announced that the offer hr the Empire Marketing Board of £2OOO a year for five years for research. by the Cawtbron Institute for the entomological control of weeds, especially the blackberry has been accepted. 1 This oiler is conditional upon £IOOO annually being contributed by both the Now Zealand Government and the Cawthron Institute.

Some particulars of this scheme have now been given bv Dr Tillyard. who has been over here in connection with the negotiations. In England, experiments will be carried out for two or three years under the supervision of Dr A. D. Bums, of the Roihamstcd Experimental Station. AD 1 AY. Muldwyn Davies ,M.Se., has been appointed to carry out the work, and his business will he to obtain supplies of suitable insects, rear them in large numbers, and test them before they are shipped to New Zealand. It is hoped that a suitable appointment to the post of chief field entomologist at the Cawthron Institute will soon he made. The position was offered to Air Fred Muir, well-known for his work at Honolulu, hut his health prevented him from accepting. The first piece of work in New Zealand will be the testing ol the weevil, “apion ldiei.s,” which feeds on the seed pods of gnr.se, and destroys the weeds, ’flic economic value of this insect will have to he tested on plants allied to gorse, such as peas, beans, lucerne and clover. If it does not attack any of those, experiments will he made to see how far it can control the seeding of gorse. After this work on the blackberry insects will l»egin. Alter a short term of years a report on this work will he made to the Empire Marketing Board, and if the report, is satisfactory, the work will continue. INTERESTING DISCOVERIES. LONDON, Jan. 3. An expedition comprising Englishmen and Americans has resumed excavations at Ur of the Chaldees.'

They unearthed numerous tablets giving lists of square root numbers up to 60. also hymns and records of the early Kings.

Tile excavations reveal for the first lime the appearance of a city in Abraham’s times. The ruins show narrow streets filled with comfortable twn-

storeved houses, resembling the lxtst houses in modern Bagdad. As it was the custom to lvury the dead beneath the houses, many discoveries arc reported of clay coffins in brick tombs with food in various vessels. An unusual discovery was a long narrow room in number seven of a quiet street, containing an altar and thirty howls filled with the bones of children. It is believed to have been a shrine dedicated to a diety kindly to children, to which" relatives brought their infants for burial.

EDUCATIONAL IDEALS. LONDON, Jan. 1. Tho Educational Conference list ened with rapt attention to Dr 0. W. Kimmins. Chief Inspector of the Education Department of the London County Council, when he laid down the •axiom that the management of children was immensely important. There should be perfect harmony in the borne in the early child life. He did not know of nervous breakdown occurring in after life when a boy had had a joyous home. TTe should be encouraged to laugh and develop a sense of humour. Tf children’s dreams were used judiciously a tremendous amount of important information could be gleamof the chief wishes, and unfulfilled wishes. It was impossible to estimate the evil resulting from over-mothering children who, under this treatment ceased to bo independent creatures. Kinimins said he had been engaged latterly in the fascinating study of

henpecked husbands. He found fin every case that they had been mothers’ darlings and had lost the power of looking after themselves. “Tho world.” said the 'lecturer, “wants a recognised profession of parenthood. Anybody can commit matrimony and enter into tho profession of parenthood. This must all be altered. People will have to produce suitable certificates showing that they are physically and mentally capable for such a profession.”

GERMAN COLONIES. BERLIN, Jan. 4. Count Von Schee, ex-Governor of German East Africa, replying to the recent interview of Air Amery (British Secretary for the Colonies) cabled on December 31st says:—“Mr Amery wants Cobden’s doctrines applied _ to Germany, but not to Britain. Thirty years’ progress in the German colonies compared favourably with a similar period in Britain’s colonies in Africa and the. South Seas. Tf her colonies had not been taken away. Germany would have obtained important supplies ot fats. oils, phosphates, rubber, cocoa and coffee from them. We are neither thieves nor robbers. We only desire the return of our.own colonies which were taken away from us under false pretences.”

SPAHT.INGER SERUM. LONDON. Jan. 4. Tho “Daily Express” is carrying on a vigorous campaign in order to force the whole question of the Spahlinger cure into the open. The “Daily Express” says: “It may he the greatest boon ever conferred upon mankind, oi it innv he ineffective to the point of harmfulness. M. Spahlinger may he the leading bacteriologist of the qpe. or he mav he a misguided, and even a seltseeking fanatic, but the time has come when M. Spahlinger can no longer refuse to submit his serum to a complete and open investigation, conducted b\ impartial authorities.” M. Spahlinger. replying to Sir Warden Chilcott’s offer of £IOOO if a want of money is witliolding his , serum from England, says: “I do not think further charity necessary. The sale ot the bovine baecine will soon provide all that is needed to continue the preparation The delay is chiefly attributable to the fact that I have been engaged in simpliyfiug the vaccine, so that it is now. procurable at a cost which will make it available to everyone.”