LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 54, Issue 191, 26 May 1934, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Flag's were flown on the Ashburton Post “Office and the Borough and County Council offices to-day on the occasion of the sixty-seventh birthday of Queen Mary.

A Christchurch message states that a statement published here yesterday that the defence vote this year would be increased by probably £550,000 was contradicted last evening by the Minister of Defence ■(the Hon. J. G: Cobbe). The Minister 'said that the vote was not decided yet, and that if there was to be an increase it was not expected to approach even distantly the figure named. The vote last year amounted to approximately £283,000.

At the thirtieth annual meeting of the Baring Snuaro Methodist Parsonage Guild the following officers were elected :—President, Sister Mildred ; vice-presidents, Mesdames F. H. Knight and'E. N. Johnson; secretary, Mrs J. W. Baker ; treasurer, Mrs S. J. Graham; pianistes, Mesdames T. Pethick and W. H. Higgins. Mrs H. J. Constable sang a solo, Miss M. Kelly played a pianoforte solo, and the Rev. G. B. Hinton spoke briefly cm the Guild’s work-.

Interesting speculations regarding the\easli value of a Royal visit are raised by a comment made by Mr A. E. Ford, manager, in submitting to the Auckland Transport Board his estimates for the current year. “The estimates of traffic receipts are to all intents and purposes the same as for last year,” he said. “It has to _ be borne in mind, however, that Prince Henry is expected to visit Auckland during December, and, if the weather is good all the time of his visit, it can he reasonably expected that there wi be very fine traffic days, from which some £2OOO extra may result to the Board. No allowance whatever has been made for this in the estimates.

In spite of the wet weather, there was a good attendance at the meeting of the Ashburton District W omen s Institute yesterday afternoon. Mrs r. Curtis (president) presided. A large number of parcels for the relief depo were handed in by members It was decided to send a delegate to the Dominion Conference in July. At the combined group meeting to be held on July 6 a demonstration on skm-curing will be given by Mrs Johnston It was stated that at the next half-yearly meeting of the-South Canterbury Federation a-choir competition would be held for choirs of between 6 and 12 vo-icesuand it was decided to enter one. Mrs Corbett gave a demonstration on pastry making and baking and was accorded a. vote of thanks. Competitions resulted: —Pikelets, Mrs J. Bland 1, Mrs W. Joyce 2, Miss M. Hambley 3. Chrysanthemums: Uncultivated. Mrs G D- H. Hefford 1. Mrs A. C. Shaw 2, Mrs P J. Andrew cultivated, Mrs Hefford 1. Mrs Shaw 2- The hostesses were Mesdames Miles, Hunter. Triggs, E. A. Amos and G. Hefford. The mystery parcels were well subscribed to.

There were no notifications of iiv fectious diseases in either the Ashburton Borough or the Ashburton County this week.

“ I got the shock of my life when I was on the slopes of the mountain between the Waiwakaiho and Mangorei rivers recently,” said Mr Robert Burrows, of Egmont Village, a few days ago. It was three years since he paid his last visit to the locality. Then the country was clear of goats, due to the work ofjthe board’s rangers. Now from the radius line to the top of the various ridges he saw mobs of goats, young and old. They were attacking the flora of the forest, and unless they were soon shot lie feared for the future of the plant life of the mountain. ,

A burst of laughter was caused in the Invercargill City Magistrate’s Court by a reply from counsel representing a defendant in a Sunday trading case to a question from the Bench. It was remarked that the defendant, a woman, had 1 sold a packet of cigarettes oh. a Sunday to a constable. “What made her sell the cigarettes?” asked Mr E. C. Levvey, S'.M. “ She wouldn’t have, but she said the constable was such a nice-looking man,” replied counsel (Mr Gordon Reed). Even the Bench smiled.

Using motor-car headlights to attract and dazzle rabbits is a ‘common practice among those who enjoy shooting. There are places, however, where cars cannot go but where rabbits are plentiful, and one evening this week a sportsman was seen using a powerful torch in the Ashburton riverbed. He had some success with his gun. Many of those who go out shooting in the riverbed want only selected carcases, and none of the skins and the dead rabbits are left just where they fell to the gun. Stray dogs are attracted, and it is stated that this gives them encouragement to "worry the sheep which graze nearby.

When out shooting near Putaruru, a sportsman noticed a hen pheasant running through some long grass, with a weasel in pursuit, about 20ft behind. He shot the weasel, which was a large one, and very fat and -heavy. About the same place months ago (states the “Auckland Star”) a hen pheasant was seen with a clutch of seven or eight young ones, and a fortnight ago only two were left. At present none can be found. The sportsman is of the opinion that this particular weasel had accounted for all young pheasants, and that the hen was the mother and solo survivor. It is not an uncommon occurrence to find a dead pheasant that has been caught and bled by weasels and l stoats.

For the next two years the Nelson Education Board will have a unique school—one conducted in a tent. This facility has been provided for the children of men employed at Rakopi on road construction work between Wairoa and Mangarakau, _West Wanganui Inlet. This, is the nfst occasion that a school has been conducted under canvas in this district. The secretary reported at the monthly meeting of the board that it was anticipated the school would be required fcr two years, and the accommodation had been made quite comfortable, with boarded floors and walls and a fireplace. The teacher will live in another tent alongside the school.

An ingenious device fcr flying a kite nearly caused serious consequences for the boy using it (states the “Poverty Bay Herald”). Instead of the ordinary string, he used a length of very light copper wire, and flew his kite from a vacant section. In the strong wind the wife proved effective, but unfortunately the kite came down, and the light copper wire fell across th<Kelectrio power wires. It was lucky for the boy that that particular power wire was insulated, for otherwise he might have suffered a shack sufficient to. cause death. The Power Board lias frequently stressed the danger of even string lines coming into contact with the power lines, particularly if the string is wet, but the boy using a wire line was courting danger when surrounded ’ on nearly every side by bare electric wires.

Missionaries among primitive people have often reported occurrences which seem to verge on the supernatural. 'One such was recounted by the Bishop of Melanesia in an address in Auckland recently. In describing the pioneer work of the Native Brotherhood in previously Untouched districts of the large islands in the New Hebrides and Solomons, the. bishop said the brothers went about in pairs, staying at bush villages and trying to plant the first seeds of Christianity. In one village two of them found the chief very unfriendly, and before leaving went to have a final talk with him as he sat on his heeis at the far end of a path. He watched them approach, and as they drew near he said: “I saw three of you ai moment ago. Now there are only two. Who was the third and where has lie gone?’’ “We saw no one,” replied one of the brothers, “but who knows? Perhaps it was ouj;/ Elder Brother.”

The- honour conferred upon Captain Cook by the Royal Society of England was not for his survey work in New Zealand waters, but because he discovered a method for the mitigation of the ravages of scurvy, remarked Professor R. Speight during the course of his presidential address to the Royal Society of New Zealand. “Captain Cook was therefore the earliest member of the New Zealand Board of Health, and with powers of enforcement of his orders not possessed by the chief of that department now, or even by the Minister in charge. We read an entry in his log, indicating a seaman who shall be nameless, ‘To refusal to drink spruce beer, three dozen.’ Cleanliness, ventilation, fresh, food, and spruce beer, that is a brew made from rimu tops, were his specifics, and I wonder if anyone since Cook s time has made any investigation into their medicinal properties or their vitamin constituents.”

A newly-completed building for the New Zealand Institute for the Blind at Auckland has been called Bledisloe House” in honour of their Excellencies, Lord and Lady Bledisloe, who have recently presented a chiming clock to the new home, which is for elderly blind men. The building cost £BOOO to build and furnish, and is Targe enough to provide a home for 30 men in cxtiemcly pleasant surroundings. It is so constructed that it receives a maximum of sunshine, a feature being a glassed-in sun porch where the old people gather every clay to hear voluntary readers gothrough the newspapers and any other read in o' matter that the residents wish. Upstairs there are two wards, comprising eight beds each, and seven single rooms. Outside the wards are the bathrooms,- so built that the old men mny coni© out <vnd fcol 'tlicii round! jiist past the ward door on the some side of the, bathroom. All such details have had to be studied m the building of a home for the blind. Downstairs, they have their own com-mon-room, cosily warm and comfortably furnished

Gardeners are often surprised to find the length of some dandelion roots, even though the plant is small. When digging this week, Mr D. J. Grmdlay pulled up a root which was over six feet long.

Climbing an electric power-line pole at Tinwalcl the other evening to effect repairs, Mr E. L. Kerr, an employee of the Ashburton Electric Power Board, slipped just as he reached the top, and fell to- the ground 1 , receiving a fracture of the collarbone. He received medical attention, and is laid up at his home.

“Grass studies in schools have cc-me into greater prominence in recent years in conformity with the fact that grass is the principal crop in New Zealand, and that rpucli progress has been made in regard to the classification, production and utilisation*'!)! grass. It is felt that the time is ripe for further suggestions as to the method of handling grass studies in schools with a view to making the pupils more familiar with modern grass husbandry,” stated the Director of Education (Mr N. T. Lambourne) in a letter received at a recent meeting of the Gisborne High School Board of Governors. Attached to the letter was a detailed! list of suggestions to assist in ,the handling of such studies.

Maintaining at the annual meeting of the Ashburton branch of the New Zealand Crown Tenants’ Association yesterday afternoon that there was a definite trend towards lower interest rates, Mr W. R. Hammond urged that the Government be requested to reduce interest on all its mortgages in conformity with the rates on all other loans. He said that all local bodies were converting their loans and one body in Ashburton was making good progress with a loan at a very low rate, while the Government maintained the rate yat 5 per cent. The Government should reduce all its loans to at leats 4 per cent. A reduction of interest to its mortgagors would be tantamount to a revaluation of land. On the motion of Messrs Hammond and C. C. Winn it was decided that the Government be urged to reduce the rate of interest to its mortgagors, in keeping witlx the current downward trend of interest rates.

The complete skeleton of a small moa is stated to have been found in the sand dunes at Tokerau Beach, in Dqubtless Bay, by Mr E. T. Frost, of Lake Ohia, who was riding over the dunes at the time (states a Whangarei correspondent). The heavy gales that have prevailed during trie past fortnight have removed a large quantity of sand from the dunes, and Mr Frost discovered the bones of a moa projecting from a hitherto well-covered spot. The skeleton was stated, to be complete to the smallest detail. It is presumed that the bird had died while on its nest, for beneath it- were the decomposed fragments of a shell. Mr Frost has on previous occasions found the bones of other moa, -but never before a complete specimen. The skeleton, when assembled, stood: 4ft 6in. in height. The director of the Auckland War Memorial Museum (Mr Gilbert Archey) stated that it was unusual to find a"perfectly complete moa skeleton. Mr Frost had not reported his discovery to the museum, but in the past he had forwarded to the museum moa bones found at Tokerau Beach,