Manawatu Herald THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 1929. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume L, Issue 3893, 10 January 1929, Page 2

Manawatu Herald THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 1929. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The next meeting of the Foxton Borough Council will lie held on Monday next.

The clearing sale conducted locally on behalf of Mr. IT. Osborne yesterday was well-attended and everything offered was disposed of. There! will ibe no sitting of the local S.M. Court this month. The next sitting •will be on the ld!h February. The first parachute to be released from a New Zealand Air Force machine was dropped from a DHSO machine at a height of 2000 ft. above Wigram aerodrome, Christchurch, on Tuesday. The parachute carried lead weights equivalent to the weight of a man. The following statutory holidays will he observed this year:—Good Friday, March 29; Easter Monday, April 1; Anza-c Day, April 25; King’s Birthday, June 3; Labour Day, October 2S; Christmas Day, December 25; Boxing Day, December 20.

Electricity is being used to catch fish in parts of Germany. One copper cable is laid at the bottom of the water to be fished, ■ and the other held near the surface by floats. An electric current passes through the cables, and all the fish in their neighbourhood are painlessly electrocuted.

A notable feat of .mountain climbing was accomplished last Sunday by Miss K. Gardiner, of Liverpool, England, when she made the ascent of Mount Cook, 12,347 feet, in 153 hours, which is record time for a lady climber. She was accompanied by a guide, Vic Williams, and a porter, Lud Mahan-. 'ln conversation with our representative yesterday a visiting racehorse owner said that lie felt tempted to transfer his training operations _to Foxton. He said that the local “plough” was second to none in 'the Dominion while the climate and nature of the soil for winter work was everything that a trainer could desire.

The colour scheme of a young Maori man’s nether garments attracted the attention of observers in Main Street yesterday. The original “seat” of his blue serge trousers had either worn out or was purposely made the centre for the attractive display which consisted of a large yellow patch edged with bright red stitches.

Levin possesses a centrally situated Plunket room and ladies rest room. It is a self-contained building and possesses comfortable rooms and modern -appointments. Money has not been wasted upon an ornate exterior, the design having the appearance of a bugalow. The money for the building was raised by public effort and the property is vested in the Borough Council. The rest room is much appreciated by lady visitors to the town.

Although figures have not yet been taken out, it is anticipated that the railway passenger traffic for New Zealand over the holidays will show a substantial increase in volume on the returns for the corresponding period of last year and that a record may possibly he crea - ted. Preliminary returns from the Central Booking Office, Wellington, where the facilities provided have been the subject of much praise by tourists, indicate a heavy increase, while from Auckland advice has been received that all previous records have been broken there.

The orchards of Los Angeles are a. wonderful sight, said Mr. Waters at the Foxton Lunch Club to-da-y. They are not fenced off from the highway and the traveller may stop and pick any fruit he desires. He may eat as much as he likes and the only rule is that he is not to carry any fruit away with him, other than what he has eaten. The trees are planted in lines in perfect straightness and a person standing at one end'of a row can look along the trees into the. distance. The rows of trees, in many cases, said Mr. Waters, three and four miles long.

According- to an officer at present visiting Napier, nof| the least of the effects of the change of Government has been its addition to the troubles of departmental heads. From all over the country Government departments are receiving letters raising grievances which they imagined had been settled for all time. The change of Ministry has inspired many persons with unsubstantial claims to “give it ai go” in the hope of obtaining something from a benevolent Government. Chief among the sufferers is the Pensions Department. Numerous applications, previously refused, have been renewed during- the last few weeks. As might be expected, the new members are being asked to sponsor a good number of claims. Some of the [applications are not without their amusing- side. One department has received a letter from its Minister enclosing an application from “an old Liberal,” who recently abandoned his attempt to convince the Minister’s predecessor that -lie was an “Old Reformer.”

The annual conference of the New Zealand branch of the British Medea] Association will lie held in Wellington on February 19, and the ■meetings will extend over four days. liis Excellency the Governor-Gen-eral will open the conference. The Commonwealth Government has decided that 11.M.A.5. Sydney, which destroyed the German cruiser Emdeu during the war, must he scrapped. The Prime Minister (Mr. Bruce) announced that this course would be taken without further delay. A t The inquest on James Johnston, who was found dead in a hut on Sunday morning, a verdict was returned that death was due to heart failure, states a Press Association message from Napier. The deceased had refused to adopt the necessary diet prior to an 'operation for a carbuncle, and left the hospital. The doctor said death was due to a toxic condition affecting the blood. A motor-ear of English make was stolen from a parking place in Bridge Street, Nelson, during a picture performance (states a Press Association telegram!). Another car of the same make has been found abandoned on the Wiangamoa Ilill with the number-plates removed. This car has been found to belong to a Christchurch resident, from whom it was'stolen a few days ago.

The detectives investigating the recent burglary at Mr. J. R. Hebden’s premises, in Otahuhu, had little difficulty in sheeting home the crime to the pal - tics concerned (says the Auckland “Sum”). Included in. the haul were some suits, which the thieves donned before taking their departure, discarding their old wearing apparel under the building-. Unfortunately for them, however, they omitted to remove from their clothing some correspondence, hearing their full address. The rest was easy for the police, Rona Bay (Wellington), fishermen secured a splendid haul of kingfish on Monday, probably a record ea'teh (says the Post). One net totalled over 60 -huge king-fish, some of which were over 301 b. in weight. Those who witnessed the net being pullecT in were treated to an exciting sight, the fish .churning the water to foam when the net was some fifty yards, from the shore. There was a great commotion when the net was pulled in. It taxed all the power of the fishermen to deal with the squirming fish, as they fought vainly to get hack to the sea.

Mr. Hans Andresen, of Union St., possesses -an interesting relic in the form of a ribbon fish.- The fish was picked up 27 years ago by one of Mir. Andreson’s sons on the local beach and stuffed later being shown at the Christchurch exhibition when the present King and Queen visited New Zealand as the Duke and Duchess of York. It was later exhibited in Wellington, afterwards being returned to its owner. The fish, a particularly large specimen, is about 16 feet in length, 4 inches in thickness at the widest part and about 16 inches deep. It. is light grey in colour but unfortunately the head is not very well preserved and the outlines of the features cannot easily he discerned. A dorsal) fin entends almost the full length of the fish, the body of which tapers at the tail to almost nothing.

The late Mr. Jollife, film censor, was fond of his pipe and declared he could from his own personal experience, explode the ‘theory that smoking was bad for the eyesight. Of course the enemies of the weed are always inventing stories to its detriment. There’s nothing wrong with tobacco, provided it is the right kind. Brands containing an excess of nicotine are certainly injurious, and most, if not all, the imported tobaccos are open to this objection. The'purest varieties are produced here in New Zealand. Containing -only a minimum percentage of nicotine these tobaccos may be freely indulged in with safety. Another point is that the leaf is toasted in the process of manufacture. This develops flavour and aroma in a very -marked way. Even the doctors have nothing- but praise for these tobaccos, which are manufactured in several strengths so as to suit all tastes. Ask any tobacconist for “‘Riverliead Gold” a mild aromatic, “Navy Cut” (Bulldog) a delightful medium, or “Cut Plug- No. 10” (Bullshead), a fine full-flavoured sort.

The Old -Stone Jug, an historic building on the Great North road, Auckland, which has 'been unoccupied for many years, is to be utilised as a chemical factory (states the “New Zealand Herald”). The small building has played many parts since its erection in 1858, first beingused as an inn, then as an outpost during the Maori Wars between 1860 and 1866. It was a wellknown gathering place for the militia then stationed at Point Chevalier, and such famous names as those o'f Major Von Tempsky, Lieutenant Chevalier, Lieutenant McDonnell, and Major Gundrey are associated with its history. Even although the Old 'Stone Jug has remained vacant for years, with its slate roof falling in places and its windows warped and broken, a special interest has always surrounded it as a relic of the earliest days of the district. The property has been leased by the City 'Council. The new tenant intends to repair the building and renovate the interior. The ground floor will be used as a factory and the walls are to be decorated with Maori paintings, and the ground floor Aviudows will be left open for the benefit of passersby who may desire to see the interior.

Speaking at the luncheon to-day, Mr. W. A. Waters, of Palmerston North, who addressed the club on “A Trip Across America,” said that in travelling to Los Angeles from San Francisco one could not help but he impressed by the wonderful irrigation schemes in force. Los Angeles, famed for its fruit-grow-ing had a rainfall of less than 10 inches a year (Foxton’s was somewhere in the vicinity of 40 inches) and Consequently had to depend on irrigation systems for its fruit farms. The traveller passed 'over a river in one part, approximately the size of the Manawatu, and carrying as much water as the latter river, but twenty miles further on the same riverbed not not a drop of water left in it, it all having been used for irrigation purposes on route. Over 180,000 horse power is used in raising water for irrigation work.