Citizens Say-

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 445, 29 August 1928, Page 8

Citizens Say-

(To the Editor.)

HARD ON SHOES

Sir. — There has recently been great talk of the council’s methods of administration. One question has been brought to my notice by numerous ratepayers and that la the wasteful and futile manner in which gravel has been spread on majy roads and footpaths in the city, on hard surfaces incapable of absorbing the gravel, which remains loose, is uncomfortable for wearers of thin shoes, and most destructive to all footwear. There is no sense in putting* any soif of gravel on roads or paths without providing some means of blinding or consolidating the same. SINE NOMINE. August 24, 1928.

“ODERINT DUM METUANT”

Sir.— “A E.C.” asks: Is it permissible for Christians to pick and choose among the laws ascribed to the Lord? Decidedly, no! Neither do Christians beg for the privilege of doing so. But Christians, through Christ, do accept the law of Moses as a guide to correct morals, and a lead in righteousness before God. “A.E.C.” quotes Exodus xxxi., 12-17 , as a text of information for Sun readers. a While he credits Christians with a loyal observance of Sabbath ordinances, he is evidently chagrined to know why they don’t enforce the death penalty upon the offenders, and because it is an ordinance of a covenant between God and the Children of, Israel, he is anxious to shirk his allegiance, and acknowledges that he is an alien to Christian attachments, and nationality. Whatever may be the tender susceptibilities of Christians, it cannot be said they are intolerant of freedom, else they might use his own petard and entreat God to pour down his vengeance upon the aliens ot our Christian commonwealth creed. Does “A.E.C.” wish to abolish law, and destroy the virtues of Christian instruction? Christians do not claim to be “unco guid,” and we are not afraid of the scorner’s jeer. Quite the reverse. They welcome A.E.C. b criticism and all his logical or illogical references to “Sunday Observance y J. WILSON-

COLONIAL AND ENGLISH BOWLING GREENS

Sir, — In New Zealand one hears many and varied accounts of bowls, bowlers and greens in England. Much of this discussion apparently arises from the fact that new bowls have so often to be somewhat “taken down,” the draw being excessive for our kind of green. The question constantly arises, “What are the English greens like and how are they made?” I think I can answer that question and in so doing clear up some misunderstandings. It simply comes to this: the construction of greens is largely ' a question of climate. For instance, in Auckland, it is essential that a considerable body of built-in soil should lie directly under the turf; but it is quite another question whether such construction is really conducive to the making of first-class greens. The English climate is . totally different. A heavy body of soil under the turf is not required which leads to this; that the greens are constructed,

i broadly speaking, much as a billiard table is built, the slate bed being represented by a foundation of rubble, topped off with sand, and the familiar green cloth by a layer of turfs, 1J to 2 inches thick. The beet turfs are brought all the way from Cumberland and are the product of a particularly tough non-seeding kind of grass, somewhat after the nature of our own particular enemy, the couch grass. The result of this construction is a turf delightfully springy and elastic. Further, this thin body of turf makes heavy rolling inadvisable, only a few ’•ight rollings being given each season. The mowing machines used are of the light hand-driven type. In the case of extra careful preparation scything down is first carried out. The comparative absence of rolling seems at first very extraordinary until the first principle of green construction is 'fully understood. And that principle is apparently that the thin layer of turf answers so rapidly to the effect of play that artificial beating down is neither necessary nor desirable. Iron-hard, razor-like keenness, in the sense it is understood in Auckland, does not seem to exist, but in its place one gets a silky-sweetness of running which is really delightful (you can neither hear nor feel the woods as they travel up and down), with a “drawing” capacity which makes the “3 FULL” bias just about right. With us. as we have so often fqpnd out, the “3 FULL” is apt to be too high. The first cost of these English greens is very high, but once well laid with care and attention they seem to be ! everlasting. The unsightly worn and bare patches one finds with us you never see. Rarely does an English player carry a polishing rag, the greens being so beautifully clean and silky-sweet that really there is no need. This ultra-cleanness of the green itself, with its appurtenances, is a characteristic of the English bowler. As a case in point, until I dropped to it, I rather scandalised my hosts by using (in good old New Zealand fashion) a not-over-clean rag as a means of directing my team, much , as one might scandalise one’s host by taking a pair of sheets when making a week-end visit. It is a trivial thing but indicates better than a long sermon of words the viewpoint of the Englishman regarding the running surface on which he plays. Perhaps after reading this it will be better understood why the generality of - the English and colonial models of “woods” differ, the heavy, broadbacked and plump English model being better suited to the particular kind of turf used than is our generally lighter and more “pancakey” model. ; It simply comes to this, it is all a matter of the turf played on—which k is only another way of saying “It’s a matter of climate.” J. Y. DEXON. London, July 28.

TEST IN ENGLISH

Sir, — Question two in English for Term 11. examination, 1928, at a crfty secondary school, reads: “Write sentences using correctly: Auspicious, assuage, mien, vindictive, symphony, augury, descried, minion. In what way is this a test of good English No doubt the boys were puzzled, if that was the examiner’s intention. But why? I wonder if first-year boys know of our useful trees, as pohutukawa, puriri, kahikatea, taraire, macrocarpa, etc.? Or (Continued In next column.)

do they know well names of fish, a*: Hapuka, tarakihi. kahawai, maumau, etc., or names of flowers, as dahlia, daffodil, freesia, fuchsia, chrysanthemum, etc.? Take the last name and teach its relation to the marigold and ox-eye daisy, showing that its origin is from Greek —chrysos, gold and arthemon, flower. How much more interesting and beneficial for the student, for parents and relatives, for New Zealanders, and for British visitors, to know more of names common to onr daily experiences than the knowledge of isolated words as mein, minion, etc. DALMOX.

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS

Springbok (Tauwhare). —Gisborne is ~ the province of Hawke’s Bay.—Ed. The Sun. “Inquirer” and “W.J.C.”——'The charge to which you refer has neither beer brought forward nor proved and ** axe therefore unable to publish yocr comments. —Ed. The Sun.