NEAR AND FAR

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 57, 29 October 1931, Page 2

NEAR AND FAR

Sale of Fireworks Restricfed. Mr. Gixling Butcher, Inspector pf Explosives, states that the only type of "banger" . now' permitted is the English type, which has a fuse giving out a fire, discharge, so that whether it is alight or not can be' s'een. Only small fireworks are being imported for general sale, he said, and all had to be submitted for examiriation. Most of the English fireworks and about half the Chinese met the requirements. Large. and dangerous fireworks, of which some wholesale dealers had stocks, could be us.ed only for demonstration purposes by persons with permits from the inspector of explosives. Mr. Butcher added that Canada had taken the same steps as New Zealand in imposing restrictions on the sale of fireworks. Hearts of Lions. "The men who founded New Zealand must have had hearts of lions," said Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon. Sir Newton Moore in an address at the New Zealand* Club lun'cheoh iri Wellington. "I was amazed when I- tra,velled around your countfy and sa vf the tremendous problems you" had tp tackle iri rallroad building— mouhtains to pierce, ravines to cross, and rivers to hridge. ^7hen Pyemier of West Australia I aimed at rafiway cpnstrucrtion w;hich cost fropa "£llQ0 to. £l20p a mile, and enabled the farmers tp get their produce to market at a cost pf ld per ton, but I marvel at what it must have cost you to build your railways in this mountainous country. German Mail Rocket. Only 200 spectators in a field near Osnabruek, Germany, saw the first mail rocket fired. They saw it flash •straight up ward out of a cloud of smoke and in a few secorids fade from sight. In this test the rocket carried only a few post-eards. The 5ft model that was employed reacheS an altitude of nearly 6500 feet. When it began to fall, a pair of wings automatically unfolded, and it glidecl gracefully to earth. Heirloom Walking-Stick. A distinguished Austrian recently in London used a walking-stick which has been in his family for 200 years. It is black, and on the handle are a gold crown and the monogram of an ancestor of 200 years ago. Farther down are seven monograms and dates, which are most effective on the black stick. "D.T's" Prevalent among Bees. To assist in the discovery of a eure 'for "D.T's" among bees, the Commonwealth Bank, throu'gh the rural credits development fund, has made a grant of £1000 to the Couneil for Scientific and Industrial Research. The bee cpmplaint has caused alarm among apiarists in the past few years, but it has no connection with the D.T's sometimes experienced among humans. In scientific bee circles, D.T. means "disappearing trick." Becaus'e countless bees in some districts quickly disappear, bee experts consider thqt the glands are affected by unsuitable pollen, in certain working seasons. It is hoped with the aid of the £1000 to overcome the trouble by a series off experiments which will be held first at Canberra and later in the open fields.