NEWS AND NOTES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 2789, 25 September 1924, Page 1

NEWS AND NOTES.

Old cinematograph films, after boil)"' boiled down, and having: a certain proportion of silver removed. are used for making: patent leather.

One of the strangest deaths recorded in Now York is that of a man of 79, who died recently of shock caused by a cricket dropping' into bis month. He was in (he habit of taking an afternoon nap under a tree. He slept with his mouth open and the cricket fell in. The largest illuminating advertisement in the world has-been erected at Loughborough. It is 5.12 ft. long and 40ft. high, and consists of lettering painted on the side of a corrugated iron building. Twentysix flood-light projectors are used lo illuminate the siern.

Beachy Head is one of the highest of the English cliffs. Its summit is sC4ft. above the sea. The Welsh coast, has several cliffs higher than Beachy Head. Holyhead is 719 ft and Great Orme’s Head f>7Sft. St. Catherine’s Cliff, Isle of Wright, beats all these. It is 83ft ft. high. Opponents of Sunday games at Margate have been taking a postcard poll of the ratepayers on the subject. Since permission was given to play howls and tennis on Sunday. there has been organised opposition by several of the clergy. The question is to be made an issue at the council elections in November. Wlien going into accounts the secretary to the Wellington Acclimatisation Society said they lmd a share of 35,090 opossum licenses to came, and also about £950 from the controller for game licenses. There were 22 accidents to the public on the Christchurch tramway system in July. Seven were collisions with motor vehicles, six eoiisions with other vehicles, two collisions with pedestrians and seven accidents were caused through alighting from cars in motion. “T withdraw the information," reported Mr. G. Paseoe, attendance officer to the Taranaki Education Board, in making a reference to a summons issued against a country resident, for the irregular attendance al school of his children. Inquiry had shown, continued Air. Paseoe, that there were 14 children in the family concerned, ten of them a! home. Both parents had lo go our to work to keep thing's moving, and a girl 13 years old had been kept a I home at times to mind a tbild a few months old.

The folly of tampering with electric light wires was illustrated in Palmerston North on Priday (says the Times) when a window dresser in olio of the large drapery establishments, Mr R. Dredge, received a vat her sudden jar to his nerves. He had been arranging the wire to sail the position of the materials lie was arranging and instead of tying the cord up, lie pierced the insulation with several pins, (hereby causing a short circuit to the steel fittings. The shock so upset Mr Dredge that he lost consciousness for some little time, though beyond a slight lull'll, he was not injured. The current which passes through the wires is 230 volts* which is capable of shaking a man severely if, be is not expecting the connection. The weather is the usual subject used to introduce a conversation, but it is wise even on such a topic to exercise discretion (states the Star). An Auckland business man went to Pnkekohe the other day and remarked to the first, man be met there, “Beastly Weather,” whereupon the farmer replied indignantly. “No, it's lovely weather. We have been praying fur a downpour of rain to benefit the potato crop.” Having got the local point of view, I lie Auckland man for the rest of the day introduced the conversation with “Very beneficial rain, ’ and was never contradicted.

An interesting' experiment is at present being carried out at the 80-lame lame Gardens, Christchurch, by the curator, All' James Youug. Hie experiment consists of the installation of a set of electric lamps in one of l he propagating houses, with a view to forcing the growth of a number of annuals. The electric lights are switched on automatically at. 8 p.m. and turned oil' at 1 a.m. By this means the plants are given live hours’ additional light daily, and as a resell, the growth is stimulated. It is not considered that the period of sleep the plants are thus deprived of will in any way adversely affect them, this having been already demonstrated by experiments in Britain and the United States. The benelicial results of Ah- Young’s experiment are already obvious.