NEWS OF THE DAY

Main Trunk Line Clear. The subsidences and washout north of Taumarunui on the Main Trunk line were repaired yesterday and the line was clear at 6.15 p.m. Normal traffic was resumed last night. A Carrot's Find. Greenstone rings have frequently been sold at auction, no doubt, but seldom thrown in with a parcel of carrots. At Messrs. Thompson Bros.' mart, two parcels of carrots were sold to a Khandallah greengrocer. On examining his purchase, and knocking off a clod of earth on one of the roots, a greenstone ring was found threaded on it. The root bulged above and below the ring, securely holding it. The district in which the carrots were grown has not yet been ascertained definitely, but it is thought likely that they came from the Manawatu. The ring is at present being retained at the auction rooms.. Like The Hague. "There are more bicycles in Christchurch than in The Hague—and Holland is supposed to be the greatest cycling country in the world," said Dr. W. F. Gisolf, geologist to the Java Government, who is on a holiday visit to New Zealand. "Christchurch and The Hague are very similar in lay-out and in type of architecture." Dr. Gisolf spent some days in Dunedin discussing New Zealand rock formations with Professor Benson, the famous geologist, whom he met in Japan twelve years ago, says the "Star-Sun." His furlough has been curtailed and he now has to leave Wellington on December 17, but before that he proposes to visit Napier, Rotorua, and Waitomo. He is keen to see reconstructed Napier, of which he has heard so much. Rescues from Drowning-. A boy named John Ford and a girl, both attending the Leeston School picnic at Sumner, narrowly escaped drowning near the boat harbour, Scarborough, on Saturday afternoon, reports the "Press." The boy, who was about seven years old, was unconscious when the beach patrol, Mr. A. Simpson, who was specially engaged for the picnic visit, reached the shore with him. The boy responded to resuscitation treatment and later was able to leave for home with his mother. It appears that special arrangements were made between the headmaster of the Leeston School and the Sumner Town Clerk (Mr. J. F. Menzies) for the engagement of Mr. Simpson, who does not take up his duties till the beginning of the school holidays, and this certainly prevented a tragedy. Lambs of Two Kinds. A laugh was raised at today's meeting of the Wellington Education Board when the safety of school children when being conveyed by motor transport i'o and from school was being discussed. One member said that a contractor for transport in one district on one occasion used a lorry which on the outward trip conveyed lambs and on the return journey children. "Lambs one way and lambs the other," came the interjection. "Well, he certainly looked sheepish when tackled about the matter," added the original speaker. Name for New Motor-ship. The new cargo motor-ship, for which an order has been placed with Harland and Wolff, Ltd., Belfast, by the Shaw Savill. and Albion Co., Ltd., will, according to advice received by the Wellington office of the company, be named Waiotira. She will make the I fifth of the company's "Wai" ships, the other four being the Waiwera, Waipawa, Wairangi, and the new Waimarama. The new vessel will be similar in design to the other four, and will enter the Anglo-Australasian trade. She will have over half a million cubic feet of refrigerated space, equipped with the latest system of refrigeration. Accommodation will be provided for twelve passengers in single- and two-berth rooms, and the public rooms will include a lounge, smoking-room, and dining-room. The principal dimensions of the Waiotira will be 11.250 tons gross register, length overall 535 ft 6in, breadth moulded 70ft, depth moulded 43ft 4Jin.