The Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1929. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume L, Issue 40014, 24 October 1929, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1929. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A cold southerly, wind yesterday and to-day changed 'the summer conditions of the days previous to i hat, of winter:

A Greytown resident had over 1500 tomato plants destroyed by the severe frost .on Wednesday morning'. A reminder is given that, a meeting of the 'Foxton Horticultural .Society will be held in Ross’s rooms at 8 o’clock this evening.

It is estimated that it costs the Hawke’s Bay Hospital Board over £SOOO a year for the treatment of -tubercular patients, taking into account the patients treated in shelters'in ithe hospital and those dispatched to sanatoria.

The King has Aent the following message to Sir Douglas Mawson. who sailed in the Discovery on Saturday from, itkipe Town on his expedition to:; the Antarctic : “The Queen and I send you and all the members of,..yoitV expedition our best .wishes for your success and safe■journey.” ' “Theii'e iS a. grave danger that the English .speech is going* to be affected by the American talking pictures,’’ said Mr.. William Bailey, .judge in the elocutionary section of the Auckland Competitions Soj cicty’s festival. are‘so;apt to -copy, and the mere fact of., the concentration on a ‘talkie’ has the effect of stamping it indelibly on the mind. I notice even now traces of the American twang in many of competitors’ voices.” The. appearance on ACuriwa i ‘Beach of a racing car capable of travelling at from 140 to 150 miles an.hour is promised, according to advice received by the Murhvai Ra - cing iCluh from Australia. The driver, will ‘be Mr. Norman (Wizard) Smith, who established an Auck-land-Wellington record of 13 hours 10 minuted in 1024. M,r. (Smith wiil bring his car to New Zealand in January. It is a special machine throughout, with a 12-cylinder en-

gine. / . Before the late Mr. S. Percy Smith gave the name of Pukekura to the park in New Plymouth it was" always known as “the Rec.” It Is still known to many by that name (states the |“Taranaki , Daily News”). At the commemorative gathering in New Plymouth last week Mjr. C. Hi. Burgess related that when he first arrived at New Plymouth by steamer lie was asked if lie had seen “the Rec.” “Yes,” he replied unwittingly, “We saw it this morning as wo came in.” The steamer Wanaka lmd been wrecked in the vicinity not long before. No’ cessation of the annual decline in the number of births registered in New Zealand was witnessed for the year 1928 (statesthe annual report on the vital statistics of the Dominion, which was just been issued from the Census and Statistics Office). The actual number recorded was 27,200, this figure being -the.lowest since 1910, and (581 - below the ; tqtal for 1927. The registrations consisted of 14,082 males and 13,108 females. Coinciding with the fall in the total births recorded, the birth rate during 1928 fell to the unprecedentedly low level of 19.50 per 1000 of the • mean population. This figure compared with 20.29 for 1927, a decline of 3.59 per cent. Interesting figures relating to the material status of Levin were quoted by the Mayor, at the meeting of the Borough Council on Monday evening (says the (Chronicle). Starting with the subject of sanitation, lie stated that there were 351 septic tanks installed in the Borough, and he added the comment, “'We would not have much chance of carrying a sewerage loan in' the near future.” The number ■of properties served by the sanitary contract was 305; and the occupiers of 33 habitations were allowed to use their own methods of disposing’ of sewerage, their properties being respectively over an acre in extent. The total of habitations in the Borough was 089, and the population had reached 2700.

Torrential rain foil in Auckland

yesterday

The Power Board employees have now completed the shifting of street lights in different’ parts of flic borough to more suitable'positions as recommended by' the Chamber of Commence and Borough Council. It is not generally known that trout will not live.in the Wangaehu River, which Hows through the Wanganui district, not very far south of the Wanganui River itself. The reason for this is believed to be the mineralisation of its waters at certain points by springs either in the banks or the bed of the river. Years ago attempts wore made to populate the stream, and fry and yearlings have been liberated, but they have never thrived, and long ago the attempt to make it a fishing water was given up.

A correspondent to the Otaki Mail writes as follows: —“It may interest some of your readers to know that a cow with a weak quarter can be (restored to normal by a simple and natural remedy . that costs nothing. By bringing the cow in with the milkers two or three weeks before sire is due to calve and milking the weak quarters, not tombing the sound ones. Thus the Weak quarter is stimulated into action and when the cow calves she will continue to milk even in all quarters. This plan has been prored successful and I would l commend it to those who value the cow as man’s best animal friend.” Failure to take the necessary precautions' after using electric irons has.been responsible for many outbreaks of tire, some with serious consequences. A further instance occurred in Nelson. /An iron had’ been in use, after which the occupant went out and did not return for shine time. It was then found that a hole had been burnt through the table, the iron then fell on to the floor, burning a hole through it alsio.and jneidenlnlly.lhe carpet. The occupant of the house was considerably alarmed to, find the room full of smoke, but a bucket or two of water removed all danger.

. A copy of the maintenance estimates for No. 9 District for the year ending March 31st next, was received from, the Main Highways Board by"the Levin ’Borough Council on Monday. The estimates provided £BB for Levin. Of this ■amount, £54 was for maintcnanire of Oxford Street, on the northern section, from above MV. Morten - ■ sen’s .to the Borough boundary. The remainder, £l4, was foil* maintenance of Queen Street East, on No. •fit) Highway (Palmerston North via Shannon). His Worship stated that the ,Board’s maintenance subsidies were on the basis of £2 for £l, and with the Council’s contribution of £34 the amount would he £lO2 for the Highways in the Borough.

An unusual incident caused a short delay in the-discharging of the cargo of guano from one of the holds of the steamer Commandant Dost reman, which arrived at Port Chalmers on Sunday from, Walpole Island. While one of the men was . shovelling -loose guano into the baskets conveying it to the railway wagons, lie uncovered a live snake, which had presumably got on board while the guano.was being loaded at Walpole Island. The snake, which was marked by" white and black rings round, its body, was nearly 3ft. long, and the workmen stood aside to observe its' wriggling movements. One Of the crew, an islander, went down into the hold, placed his foot on its head, caught it firmly by the nock, and carried the snake up the ladder to the (leek, where it was killed.

To receive a. £5 note wrapped up in a summons was the experience of. F.- W. A Her by, a farmer, of Cotyton,; according to wjhat was told in. the; Magistrate’s Court at Foil ding ' when C. Ruddell,. bailiff, sued tAllerby for the return of £5 10/-; Ruddell stated in evidence that lie had a. summons in his pocket' wiMr tlie. money. He served AJIcrhy iii public and did not open the summons out iof consideration for defendant. Laler he .missed the money and approached Allcrby, who denied that lib.had found the money in. the summons. Defendant gave evidence that he had not opened the summons for several days and did.not lifid any money in it. The Magistrate believed the bailiff’s story and gave judgment for the amount claimed.

‘Sir Julius Vogel, John Ballance, and the Rt. Hon, W. F. Massey are amiongst some of the men' famous in New Zealand history who have lived at “Ariki-'Toa,” the. offlieial Prime Minister’s residence in Wellington. The fate of this historic house is now being discussed by Parliament, who is considering whether it should be sub-divided and sold, or reserved as a public park. An artistic picture of the ’house, giving an idea, of the beautiful grounds in which it stands, appears as title page in the current issue of the “New Zealand Free Lance.” The first of the season’s, shows, that of the Bpwke’s Bay A. and P. Association, held at. Hastings last week, is also given prominence in the pictorial section. Sporting enthusiasts will be interested in the victories of two New Zealand horses at Randwick, and the return of Limerick after his breakdown in Australia. Other subjects dealt with include the Hokitika Amateur’s production of “Rip Van Winkle,” spring flowers at the Botanical Hardens, Wellington, sensational wfestling at Auckland, and health week in Christchurch. The . double page feature deals with the cultivation of flax in the Waikato district. Of particular interest- to southern readers is a line full-page aerial photograph of Titnaru.

Last- night’s gale at Palmerston North interrupted telegraph communication between that centre and Wellington. The Greylown Standard says that the South Wairarapa district is being systematically combed by representatives of outside drapery linns in motor ears laden with wares. “It seems to us,” (says the paper), “totally unfair that these people, who do not pay rent or local taxes, should be permitted, without restraint, to canvass the district in opposition to South Wairarapa traders.”

Yesterday afternoon a rink from, the local Bowling Club comprising Messrs F. Woods, D. Christie, H. Hamer and B. Hinds journeyed to Bulls to participate in the opening of the Bulls Club’s green. Inclement weather was experienced in that part of the district, however, and the rinik returned home early, where despite the fact it was raining in Bulls they were able to enjoy a game on the local green in excel - lent weather.

The chairman and secretary of I lie -Palmerston North Hospital Board (Messrs J. lv. Ilornblow and A. J. Phillipps) in conjunction with the secretary of the Health Department (Mr. A. Y. Keisienbcrg’), inspected tlie Otaki Sanatorium yesterday in connection with the pi ( posed giroup sfstem of control of those institutions by Hospital Boards . The of Hospital Board delegates in the North Island t/o discuss this matter will Im held at .Palmerston North on December 3rd. The school teacher called.the attention of the class to a. newspaper advertisement which was: “Wanted, an office boy,” etc., and-told them as a. home lesson, to each write an application. Little Charlie, in the presence of his elder brother, wrote-as- follows: “Dear Sir, —tin reply„ to' your advertisement of the 17th instinct.” His brother burst"out laughing. “That’s wrong; it isn't instinct,” he said. The little chap laughed, too. “What a funny mistake,” he said; “I mean •inset.’” He had never seen it written anv other wav than “inst.”

The godwits, whose annual migration from North Auckland is closely followed by scientists and lovers of birds, have now arrived in North Auckland (states the “Auckland Star”). The first lot were seen ,to arrive at a river bank ■opposite Te Kopuru last Thursday. •It was -a (lock of fjroni 400 to 500 birds, emaciated after their long (light from Siberia. On a previous occasion some years ago the same observer ’ witnessed a wonderful sight of a black- cloud of godwits' stretching from Tikinui to the Awa-roa Creek, below Rnawai.

A monster eel, measuring about live feet and weighing about 251 b. came to the end of his sinuous career in a peculiar way recently (reports the Christchurch Times). The eel, which was in Ihe headwaters of the Avon as it flows through Ham, the residence of Mr. Edgar F. 'Stead, attempted to pass under'a water wheel which is wo iked bv the stream, and too late found that the free space was not sufficient. It became jammed between the wheel and the bed of tho river, and it was held there as by a vice. It struggled frantically, as was evident, by the marks on the bodif, but could not free itself, and death followed from the inexorable pressure. The water wheel was stopped, and an investigation -showed that the blocking agency was the body of the eel. It is said that a similar occurrence took plaice in the Heath cote river many years ago, an eel weighing about 751 b. trying conclusions with a waller wheel and being crushed to death in the process. A change in the method of parking cars in Broadway, Rangitifcei and Cuba 'Streets was decided upon by (he Palmerston North 'Borough Council on Tuesday. 'The areas alongside the kerb in -these three streets will he abolished in favour of a central area, with sufficient room to accommodate.a double line uf cars palrked head to tail while traiffi,c on each side of the central line will move iu one direction only. The new scheme also prorides for an additional parking area opposite (lie ’bus stand in the Square, by setting back the kerb to the path running through the reserve to the wan- memorial.

When a letter from the medical officer of health stressing' the necessity for talcing' steps to exterminate mosquitoes was being 1 discussed, the borough’s sanitary inspector stated that the Mosquito Control Board favourably reported on conditions in Devonport. The report showed that Devonport was l lie first- local authority to take steps to control the pest, and that mosquito larvae was practically non-existent in the borough. The inspector has already taken steps this season to minimise the nuisance, and extensive kerosene spraying of open drains and ditches in the vicinity of the racecourse and environs has been completed.

“The glorious uncertainty of the Law.”—Wilbraham.

And, like the law, summer weather can be very uncertain —unpleasantly so, for it often leaves you with a bad cough or cold.,- You need a bottle of Baxter’s Lung Preserver by you always. It gives relief from the very fist dose. “Baxter’s” is a dependable remedy for all kinds of coughs and colds, bronchitis, asthma and influenza. Also acts as an excellent tonic.' All chemists and stores. Gener-ous-sized bottle 2/6; large, economical size 4/6; bachelor’s size 1/6.—6.

Yesterday the s.s. Himatangi ■took away one of the largest consignments of live stock yet shipped from .the port of Fox toil. Seventyfour head of cattle and sixty sheep were taken to Lyttelton for the Addington market. . A little tragedy of bird life, which oecurrcfl in a,.marine suburb of Auckland recently, was witnessed by. two residents on their way to business. They were interested in watching two sparrows busily engaged in putting the finishing touches to a new nest-. Suddenly one of the birds darted from a branch and returned immediately with a long piece of string, which it thrust into the nest. The bird then prepared to fiy off again, but. by some means or other the string became {twisted around its throat. In endeavouring to free itself the sparrow fell and was neatly hanged, mutch to the distress of the other bill’d, which flitted helplessly about its suspended mate. -

Four bales of flax were received at the Harbour Board sheds for grading by the Government grader or Monday (says the Dominion). On Wednesday last week it was in the green loaf. Thirty hours later it was stripped, bleached and dried, and was baled ready to forward to Wellington. The work has hitherto taken about, a fortnight from the stripping- of the leaf to the export stage, as it has required some days to drf the flax on wires and bleach it. The inventor of the process has been at work on it fifteen years, and the machinery to carry it out was only erected a short time ago. It is the first time flax has been through the process in so short a time, and it is claimed- that the fibre is not injured in any way, as' regards eoluor, strength, etc. A small party, including members of Parliament, was expected at the Harbour Board shed on Monday afternoon to witness the grading process, but did not attend. The flax was graded, but the graders’ report .was not made known.

Arrangements are now well in hand for .the visit to Buxton over Laboulr week-encLof the South Wellington 'Salvation Army Baud and Songster Brigade numbering forty strong. The programme of events as drawn up by the local Salvation Army is briefly as follows:—-Sat-urday night, march from the Salvation Alfmy hall,to Main Street at 7 p.m. (Civic reception by Mayor in Royal Theatre at 8 o’clock after which a first-class musical festival will be given in the theatre. On Sunday, all. meetings will be- held in the theatre when a;feature of the night meeting at 7 o’clock will be a service of song entitled “From Manger to. Gross.” On Sunday afternoon, -weather permitting, a musical progriamlme will he given in front of Hart’s store at the beach. On Monday a picnic will -be given to the (visitors at the beach and on Monday evening, . commencing at 7.30 o’clock a complete change of programme will be held in the Royal Theatre after which tk* visitors will he entertained to supper prior to their departure for Wellington.

The mind of a man sometimes takes a queer turn when lie is in liie.st of something to which he considers himself entitled. An evidence of this was given in connection with the registrations for .employment- under the Premier’s scheme of providing work for- all the unemployed in the Dominion within a few weeks. One -man called at an office a few days ago and intimated that he wanted to register. He was-given the ordinary card, and proceeded to give thereon the required information. He omitted, however, to fill in the name of his last employer, and when asked to do that he said he could give the name of his present employer. When told that the only persons whose registrations could be accepted were those actually out of employment, the would be applicant was very annoyed, and threatened to report the officer for refusing his application. He said he. might he out of work, in a shoa’t time, and he considered he ought to he able to make "his registration in prospect of being out of work. He was told to come back when lie was out of a job, and then his application would be accepted. Another man who was out of work applied at the same otfijee, hut made the stipulation that lie must have work in Wellington.