NEWS AND NOTES

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3517, 29 July 1926, Page 4

NEWS AND NOTES

A correspondent gives this tip against influenza: Purchase Od worth of flour of sulphur from any chemist, and keep in a glass bottle on the hall stand. Every time you go out put a small pinch on your tongue. That’s all! Very many articles may be bought on the instalment system in New Zealand, but Canada leads us in this respect. In that Dominion, under a Government scheme, settlers may purchase cattle for a first payment of £7 down, working off the balance at 12s Cd a week.

Bouquets of flowers and scented herbs are given, every morning in the summer, to judges hearing cases in London’s Central Criminal Court. This is a survival from the days when the courts were made unhealthy by evil odours from the underground cells. The total cost of working the 20,000,000 motor vehicles in the United States is £2,800,000,000 per annum. It is claimed that this money is well spent, the nation’s increased commercial efficiency,.wealth, and buying power being attributed to the speeding-up of its transportation system.

As a result of the rejection by the Hamilton ratepayers of the proposal to raise a loan of £IB,OOO for the erection of municipal offices, negotiations have been entered into by the Borough Council to lease offices in a central position— in the town. The present premises are regarded as quite unsuitable for the borough staff.

Selling “by candle” and “by watch” are old customs still obin parts of Leicestershire. In the former instance bids are made while a one-inch candle is burning down, the winning bid being that made as the candle bums out. In the ease of the watch, bids are accepted during three minutes. An extraordinary geranium, christened “Peppermint Bull’sEye,” was exhibited in London recently. Thick velvety leaves give out a strong scent of peppermint, while the flowar itself, of a pale mauve colour, has no scent at all. When this plant is taken into a room people immediately receive the impression that somebody is sucking “bull’s-eyes.” The necessity of reducing maternal mortality and the infantile death-rate was stressed by the Minister of Health (Hon. J. A. Young) at Auckland on Saturday. The Minister paid a tribute to the investigations carried out abroad in this connection by Dr. Sidey Allen, of Auckland. As Minister of Health he would not be satisfied until the maternal mortality rate was reduced to something .below three per thousand. He was sure that the chief cause of the present death rate was ignorance, for which the remedy was to be found in extension of nursing and information services.