NEWS OF THE DAY.

The Stork's Nest. Two storks have found an appropriate nesting place at Insterburg, East Prussia. Tliey arc building their home on the roof of a maternity hospital. School Accommodation. A return presented to the Wellington Education Board yesterday revealed vacant accommodation in city schools for 4117 pupils on attendance figures, or for 3572 on roll numbers. A committee was sbt up to consider tlje,return, and report whether The Terrace or any other school should be closed, and what further action should bo taken. Tunnel Under Harbour. At a recent meeting of the Devonport Borough Council in committee the Mayor, Mr. 1 H. F. W. Meikle, submitted, plans of a proposed traffic tunnel under the harbour. It was decided that the engineer who prepared the plans should be invited to discuss the proposal with the council at the next meeting of the council in committee. " Double Charts." Speaking in -support of the protest against the price of milk as fixed by -the Milk Council, Mr. I<\ McLeod, representing the Relief Workers' Union, told the audience at the Town Hall last evening that tliere were plenty of hotels and race meetings, and on every relief job could, bo found a "double chart." "The workers seem to pay more attention to those tilings than they do to their own economic welfare," said Mr. McLeod. " Mother-in-law Complex." A state of mind which he described as a "mother-in-law complex" was referred to in the course of his evidence in a recent maintenance ease in the Dunedin l'olice Court by a medical witness. When asked for an explanation of this term by Mr. 11. W. Bundle, S.M., he stated that it was a case of a man conceiving an extraordinary hatred for his mother-in-law for no real reason. He had met it on previous occasions, but had found that in sonic cases it eventually disappeared. Racecourse Under Water. The Takapuna racecourse was covered with a sheet of water yesterday, which might have given to a casual visitor the impression that Auckland was not at all badly off in the way of lakes. Slightly higher portions of low levels of the course showed up as islands, and hundreds of seagulls spent a pleasant and profitable day in search of worms. The flooding of the course was an indication of the heavy rainfall in the immediate vicinity of the city. Trials of a Storekeeper. The trials of the country storekeeper are many, but a recent experience will take some beating. The customer, a farmer, usually pays cash for his goods at the store, but occasionally books articles when not in funds. By paying cash, of course, lie saves the surcharge for booking. Tlio other day he went into the store, and up to the office, where he borrowed a £1 note "until the 20th." Then he returned to the counter, and paid cash for the goods he required. * Floods Delay Case. Through the floods in the North, the hearing at Dargaville has been delayed of the appeal by Mrs. Daisy Silich, sole teacher at Red Hill School, against her dismissal. The magistrate, Mr. G. N. Morris, who was to preside, arrived at Dargaville from Whangarei on Tuesday, but officials of the Teachers' Institute and the Education Board failed to reach Dargaville, having been marooned on the train which left Auckland on Tuesday morning, and was held up at Helensville. The case has now been set down for hearing on June 28. National Flower for N.Z. Members of the Wellington Horticultural Society at the annual meeting were given the opportunity to vote for the flower they considered most suitable as a New Zealand national emblem. The voting was: Kowhai 59, pohutukawa 42, manuka 33, clematis 25, and rata IG. These flowers had been selected by Mrs. Knox Gilmer, president of the society, for a trial vote. It was high time, she said, that New Zealand had a national flower. She had tried unsuccessfully in several quarters to get something done. She felt, however, that it would only require a widespread canvass of opinion to achieve a definite result.

Fiji Flood. At the time of the Hawke's Bay earthquake the Ba, River, in Fiji, rose Sft higher than the previous highest mark, some 38 years before, eaid Mr. F. C. Clapcott, formerly a borough engineer to Napier, in the course of an address to the Napier Rotary Club. Unfortunately, the peak of the flood occurred at about midnight, and the flood waters were backed up by a hurricane. There were 125 lives lost in that flood. The river, Mr. Clapcott added, was tidal. People in Fiji blamed the earthquake for the flood, but whether there was any connection between the earthquake and the flood he was unable to say. Bare Legs in June! The torrential rain found the weak spot in scores of roofs, and convinced many a watch dog that a new kennel was overdue. But that is not all. On Monday the ladies put silk stockings in the washtub, and after being out in Tuesday's relentless downpour put the remaining couple of pairs on the drying line, the result being that quite a few housewives were yesterday to be seen doing their "round the corner" shopping in bare ankles. Of course, mere man, not immediately linking cause and effect, was greatly puzzled at this display of bare legs in June, and was almost persuaded that summer had come again. Chef Praises N.Z. Butter. A letter from the chef of the Cafe Anglais of the Hotel Metropole, at Brighton, praising New Zealand butter, was read at the Auckland Chamber of Commerce recently. The letter had been sent to a New Zealander in England, who had sent the chef samples of both New Zealand and Danish butter. The chef's reply reads as follows: "We have received the samples, for which we thank you very much. After having tested and sampled the two kinds, we decided that they were both excellent, more especially the New Zealand butter, which was exceptionally good." In the opinion of the president of the chamber it xeveals the necessity for improved marketing and advertising methods for New Zealand dairy produce in England.

Native Garden Competition. The winner of Lord Bledisloe's trophy for the beet use of native plants in home gardens is this year Mr. A. R. Pereton, of Seatoun Heights, and the presentation was made at the annual meeting of the Wellington Horticultural Society on Monday. The judges of the competition, for which a number of admirable gardens were entered, were Mies E. M. Heine, Dr. L. Cockayne, and Mr. J. G. MacKenzie, director of parks and reserves, Wellington. The judges' report upon Mr. Perston's garden was as follows: "The greati feature of this garden is the effective use made of the native flora for shelter. The garden is on a hillside, where, to use the owner's expression, it was so exposed that even grass would not grow there. This had all been changed by using native trees and shrubs to i form shelter belts. With the liberal use of ' pittosporums, ngaios, karaka, • senscio Forsteri and Soprosma, shelter for less hardy plants is provided. . . . By his enterprise, Mr. Pereton has made a garden that reflects great credit on him."

Farm Losses. I The existing legislation which allows] farm losses to be charged against income other than salary or wages was criticised at a J meeting of the' Auckland executive of the Farmers' Union last evening, when it was pointed out that it penalised those who had farms but were dependent upon other salaries for income. Employer and Employee. It is not often that an employer and an employee are seen playing in opposing Rugby teams, but such was witnessed in the early game on Sprigaens Park, Wanganui, on Saturday between Old Boys and Marist. It was an embarrassing moment when the "boss," who was toiling vigorously in the Old Boys' forwards, came charging out of the ruck, and was upended by his employee on the Marist side. " Official Opposition," "ilr. Meikle, Mayor of Devonport, and myself are the official opposition in the Milk Council," said Mr. I. Goldstine, Mayor of One Tree Hill, and chairman of the Suburban Local Bodies' Association, at the Town Hall last evening, when he addressed a public meeting called to protest against the price of milk. Mr. Goldstine raised many laughs as lie traversed the experiences of himself and Mr. Meikle at meetings of the Milk Council, when numerous motions had been put, and the voting had always been seven to two against them. Scenery Preservation. On the recommendation of the scenery preservation committee, the council of the Auckland Institute and Museum decided at its meeting yesterday to write to the Minister of Lands suggesting that legislation be introduced in the coming session with a view to protecting scenery and native forest _ along lines proposed last year by the council. On thai; occasion it was suggested that 110 kauri tree within 50 miles of Auckland should be destroyed unless it was first offered to the Government, and that the l'iha busli should be preserved. Out of the Depression. Dr. P. R. Cross, late of Papakura, has just returned from a visit to Great Britain. He was much struck in his journeys through the Old Land with the vast improvement in trade and industry generally, the' effects of which, he thought, must soon bo felt here. He instanced that the steamer upon which he. returned, a few days ago, brought out a bigger cargo than the vessel 'had carried for years; in fact, previously they had come out in ballast. England was undoubtedly well out of the depression. The Christmas trade had simply surprised everybody; it was the best for years. Arbor Day Observation. Advice that in future tlje first Wednesday in August each year will be observed as Arbor Day was received by the Devonport Borough Council from the Minister of Internal Affairs at its meeting last evening. The day fixed, said the Minister, had been recommended as the most suitable for the whole of New Zealand, and lie expressed the hope that, in view of the value of tree planting, every effort should bo made to organise suitable celebrations. The Mayor, Mr. H. F. W. Meikle, said that the school children of the district were keenly interested in the observance, and on his suggestion it was decided that the same procedure as last year should bo adopted. It was mentioned that last year some 800 trees were planted.

The Port of Napier. "Centralisation is a matter that I can tell you something about," said Mr. W. Tucker, when speaking during the inspection of the Napier Harbour by residents of the Haunioa.na and Te Awanga districts. "As lias been pointed out, Napier is the second port in New Zealand for wool. Wellington is ahead of us by a small margin—lo,ooo or 15,000, or perhaps 20,000 bales a year. Wellington draws on the northern part of the South Island, the West Coast, and well up the North Island, up the Main Trunk line. If Hawke's Bay gets the name of having ■ a good port and secures the shipping of wool through it, Wellington will run us a very poor second for the export of wool—and also frozen products, I should say."

Maori Relics. By way of exchange the British Museum has sent a small collcction of Maori articles to the Auckland War Memorial Museum, and these were displayed at a meeting of the council of the Auckland Institute and Museum yesterday. The collection consists of three onewa • meres, one long whalebone mere and five adzes, two being of greenstone. The name of a, German collector is attached to some of the exhibits, and they appeared to have been obtained many years ago. The collection was sent as the result of representations made some months ago by the Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe, to the trustees of the British Museum. The council decided to thank the trustees for the collection, and to write to Lord Bledisloe expressing appreciation of his efforts to secure the return to New Zealand of Maori objects in the possession of museums in Britain. New Tramway Shelter Needed. "Handy Andy" writes: "As one of Auckland's many well-drenched pedestrians in Tuesday's downpour, may I plead to the Transport Board, the City Council, or whatever authority has charge of these matters, for a shelter at the tramway stop near Grafton Bridge. (I refer to the stop for incoming tramcars, just outside the small reserve at the junction of Karanga'liapo Poad and Symonds Street.) I did not suffer yesterday so much as the many women and girls, whose clothing was less suited to the downpour. It was pathetic to see them waiting and shivering in the rain. Occasionally one or two would dash across the road to the covering afforded by the verandah on the opposite corner, to dash back when the tramcar they wanted appeared, and to have to wait in the heavy rain until they could climb aboard. Surely a small shelter could be built; it might even give a job of work to a few of the carpenters and bricklayers at present out of employment. I am writing this note while my working clothes are still damp—one immediately forgets such things when the sun shines again. " Remarkable Things." "During the two or. three months that I have been in New Zealand I have been toid some remarkable things concerning dairying in the Dominion, and told them so often in such different places and by such different people that I am forced to believe them," Dr. A. J. Harrop (London) told members of the New Plymouth Rotary Club, when he touched on the situation in New Zealand and in Great Britain with regard to dairy produce" (reports the "Taranaki Daily News"). "Conditions on some farms are eaid to leave much to be desired," Dr. Harrop continued, "and, more serious still, factory managers seem to lack the power in practice to reject unsatisfactory cream. They have the power in theory, of course, but it is with the practice that we are concerned. It eeems 'to me very remarkable that while farms supplying towns wiui milk are rigorously inspected, those whose milk goes to factories to make or mar our reputation abroad are apparently not inspected at all. Government inspectors are employed for almost every conceivable purpose, but not here. To be Effective, inspection would have to be frequent and rigorous, and it would have to be supplemented by close control over the factories, where the managers must have the power to reject tlie cream, even of the chairman of directors."