NEAR AND FAR

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 38, 7 October 1931, Page 2

NEAR AND FAR

Round the World for llb of Honey. According to experts, a bee travels a distance equal to about one and a half times round the world iri making a pound of honey. Bees that were watched made about '10,000 round trips of two miles each to gather enoffgh nectar to make half a pound of honey. Since this material loses about half its weight through evaporation, twice that number of journeys had to be made before the bees had a pound of honey. Airing of Favourite Birds. i The custom of Chinese men to take their favourite birds for an airing in public streets and parks has been forbidden in an order issued by the new Mayor of Peiping (Peking), Mr. Hu Jo-yu. Mr. Hu contends that the" custom is conducive to "idleneSs and indolent habits." For centuries the men of Peiping and most other Chinese cities have taken birds to tea houses, where they are supposed to pick up new notes from other birds. Unusual Chimes. A Wanganui radio dealer is doing his part in keeping business people advised as to the correct time. As the Wellington chimes are broadcast every hour he switches on a radio set near the doorway of his shop and amplifies the sound so that it is heard a considerable distance along the Avenue. The chimes are rather bewild4ring, heard for the first time, and it is amusing to see pedestrians come to a sudden halt with a! puzzled look on their faces when they turn as a matter of habit to look for th© Post Office tower, which is no longer there. Drawbacks of Colour Blindness. "One person in every 25 is colourblind," stated Dr. Beeby during the course of a lecture to the engineering students of Canterbury College. "Colour-blindness is one of the few instances in which psychology can provide an absolute test as distinet from an indication of probability." The result was that failure to pass the speeified test for colour-blindness meant that a man could never pass into the navy or be accepted for railway work. Canada's Mysterious Valleys. For years past a story has been in circulation in Canada of mysterious valleys hidden away among the hills of northern British Columbia, in which tropical animals and tropical vegetation, it is claimed, flourished under equatorial conditions. Notwithstanding the fact that no actual proof of the existence of these valleys has been fortheoming, the idea is widely held that organised search will discover them. The story is now to be put to the test, for an expedition is on its way to the confluence of the Toad and Liard rivers, some 800 miles north of Edmonton. Just where the rivers junction is not known, but it is in this vicinity, when discovered, that it is hoped to find one of the mystery valleys. Electrical Winds. Electrical winds are said to have damaged Kansas grain crops, especially wheat. There is no question about electrical winds, states the meteorologist, Mr. S. D. Floral. They occur in Western Kansas, in dry times when there is a lot of dust in the air, and there is something in the reports that they damage wheat and other crops. Sometimes the sea winds carry so much electricity that they charge wire fences and steel windmill frames to such an extent that a person touching them gets a severe shock. The winds usually damage crops in streaks very much as hail storms do.

Kumeras from Tonga. According to Mr. P. J. McArdle, of Martinborough, who returned to Auckland from the Islands recently, the natives in the islands are turning their attention to the cultivation ,of kumeras for export, with the result that the Tof u's cargo last trip contained 1000 cases, shipped at Nukualofa. Owing to the very low price of copra, planters are returning to the cultiI vation of fruit crops, and the vessel j shipjped 6000 cases of bananas at Suva j "Money is said to be scarce in the is- ! lands," said Mr. McArdle, "and there j are evidences of distress among the | natives. They have to live, however, j and previously they have grown kumeras for their own use, but have never farmed their crops. They have been far too indolent in the past, but . the depression has evidently made them realise that they must be up and doing."

Afflicted Eagle Hawk. For about two months a large eagle hawk was seen near Milton, New South Wales, with a rabbit-trap dangling from one leg. Attempts to shoot it failed till one day recently, when Mr. W. Wheatley succeeded. The bird? which measured 6ft 9in from tip to tip of wings, still carried the trap, which had snapped on to a back toe. The flesh and bone were eaten through, but one sinew still held the trap. The Latin Name. A good story was told by the president, Mr. L. Ashcroft Edwards, at the monthly meeting of the British (U.K.) Manufacturers' Association of New Zealand in Wellington. A man, so the story ran, went to his medical adviser and blurted out: "Now, doctor, I want you to tell me candidly what's wrong with me. None of your high-falutin' Latin terms; let me have it straight from the shoulder." The doctor examined his patient, and then said : "It's nothing but unadulterated 'd d laziness." "Now, doctor,"" said the subdued patient, "would you mind giving me the Latin name, so that I can tell the wife." : : "Snake" at Sumner. Whilst working amongst the shrubs at the top of the Richmond Hill cliffs recently, states a Christchurch exchange, a well known Sumner resident heard a rustling among the grass and saw on the ground what at' first appeared to be a long snake. Closer inspection revealed two lizards about 15 inches long. They had gripped each other near the snout and were apparently engaged in combat. The lizards rolled over the short growth of vegetation and disappeared down the steep face.