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Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 114, 15 May 1924, Page 4

In order to show her patriotism an elderly lady who went out on the Ripple at Napier to see 11.M.5. Hood, endeavoured to throw a bouquet of flowers aboard the battleship, but the distance was too great, the flowers falling into the water. The ladj- was greatly disappointed, but her action had been noticed by some of the sailors aboard the Hood, and they lowered a boat and recovered the bouquet much, to the donor's delight. ,_. l __

A green parrot, at liberty in Albert Park yesterday, attracted a good deal of attention, especially from the small boys i in the vicinity. Polly had evidently escaped, and enjoyed climbing up and down the flag-staff, biting the signal I halyards, and fluttering about. Several j ! j'oungstcrs almost got hold of him, but i j he proved too wily a customer for them, ! I which was perhaps fortunate for the | children. The death of a bull from clectrocut : on !by one of the Manawatu-Oroua Board's lines was mentioned in the report of the ' engineer to the board on Tuesday. Mr. Waters stated that the accident was dus jto the carelessness of one of the linesi men in failing to bind a 3300 volt wire ', Ito the insulator. "Thank heaven it was ; mot a human being!" remarked one of the members. The chairman, Mr. J. A. | Xash, M.P., stated that circulars would i be printed for distribution in the j schools, by which means parents would . also become acquainted with the danger from the wires. "Dogs on Cheltenham beach arc nothing but an unmitigated nuisance," de- \ dared Mr. Fraer at the Devonport | ■ Borough Council meeting last night. ; i "Complaints are continually reaching 'mc about their dangerous behaviour. I They travel in packs, and gallop at full ' 1 speed along the sand, to the special die- j 1 comfort of elderly people and children." j I Auother councillor suggested disposing j of the nuisance by arbitrary method of powder and shot, but the majority pre- | sent preferred to leave the matter to ; ' the constitutional methods of the dog ; .registrar, with strict instructions to I eliminate all collarless canines. j

People who in the early days bought land for 5/ an acre and have lived to see it sold for £1000 a foot, will be interested in a Sydney case. A lady arrived in Sydney, and, declaring that her grandfather had been granted a. piece of land, produced the plan delineating the section. The clork in the Lands Office ma/dc a search and discovered that the Sydney Post Office was on part of it. Of course the land had been transferred uncounted times, and the lady was bound io depart without a transfer in fee simple of the Post Office and the land and hereditaments thereunto appertaining.

An interesting communication re .an underground water supply was reviewed last evening at the Devonport Borough Council meeting. In company with the borough engineer a visiting water diviner claimed to locate several strong streams of water flowing into the borough in the vicinity of North Head and Mount Cambria. He claimed that they were sub-marine in origin, and it was consequently a matter of doubt whether they would be too saline for human consumption. The fact remains, however, tliat the pump at the power station in Church Street, on the line of one of the streams, discharges daily a flow of thousands of gallons of pure water. The Mayor stated that he was in favour of investigating this possible source of supply, and the writer of the letter was thanked for his communication, the pros and cons to be later considered when the annual estimates were framed.

In conversation with a Wanganui "Herald" representative, a farmer gave a striking illustration of the havoc wrought by wild pig-s on his up-river farm. One day recently, whilst making his daily inspection of the property, he found one of his cheep bogged and in an exhausted condition. He extracted the unfortunate animal from the mud, allowing ;t to rest on firm ground until it recovered. When he returned to the spot an hour later the farmer was amazed to find only the' bones and skin of the beast remaining. Wild pigs had attacked the sheep and devoured every particle of flesh. Needless to say, the farmer is now an enthusiastic pig-hunter.

"I do not believe' in teachiug a child to read too early," stated Professor Shelly during a lecture in Timaru on "Education in Relation to Agriculture - ' (reports the "Post"). "I have a boy," he went on, " and he did not want to read until he wanted to, which was about eight. I may mention that he did not go to school until lie was ten, and after he was a year there the teacher said that he was the only boy in the class who could read. Nor" is he particularly brilliant." The professor explained that he did not think a child should learn to read until he had learnt to know the things about which he read. It was through children's not associating the symbol with the article that there was so much monotonous reading in schools.

Anyone interested in Jersey cows can easily train the horns in any direction required, said Mr. H. E. B. Watson, the noted Jersey breeder during a demonstration at Richmond (states the "Nelson Mail"). The horns on the heifer generally appeared to .point backwards. A hole could be bored in the ends and a wire inserted pulling them together. Then later a small weight attached would keep them down and other adjustments made later. In no sense could this be termed "fakinar." It was "perfectly simple, anyone could do it and it greatly added to the appearance of the animal as well as making them much less dangerous in a herd, by removing outstanding horns.

During the storm recently tremendous quantities of wood were washed ashore at Otaki. The long expanse of beacb there was heavily littered with wood, and residents secured a great supply for the winter. All hands (states an exchange) carted the wood away in all sorts of vehicles, and the harvest was a rich one. Even now much good fuel remains along the sands.'' It is thought the wood came from the Wanganui River, having been carried out to sea by flood and washed ashore miles south of the place where it entered the sea.

A tradesman in Oamaru sold a number of packing cases piled in his back yard to a resident, presumably for kindling wood. The buyer carted away his purchase with their internal litter undisturbed, and on clearing them out found in one case a dozen bottles of whisky carefully' stowed away. The seller, on being informed of the facts, repudiated ownership and denied any knowledgo of the existenco of the whisky or how it came into its hiding place. The mystery remains unsolved, and exactly wbat has been the fate of the whisky, report sayeth not.

Mr. A. V. Udy, of Hukanui, was very badly mauled by a. boar recently when shifting it from one paddock to another. The animal savagely atacked him, inflicting several gashes on his face, bit a finger off, and severely gashed his hands as he was endeavouring to keep it off. Mr. Udy found it necessary to enter the Pahiatua hospital for treatment.

An inquest touching Hie death of Mr. Augustus Streat, who succumbed to injuries received from being thrown from a dray in Mountain Road, Mount Albert, on Tuesday morning, was opened before Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M., to-day. After formal evidence had been taken the inquest was adjourned sine die.

A lad of six years, Ernest Macpherson, residing at 54, O'Xeill Street, Ponsonby, jumped off a motor car before it had stopped last evening, and falling on the road-way, received slight injuries to his dead. Suffering from a severe cut on the back of the head a married roan, John Whitlow, was admitted to the hospital last evening. He was found by hie son lying unconscious at his residence, 17, Belgium Street, and it i 3 thought he must have tripped and struck his head an the floor. During the voyage of the Ulimaroa from Sydney, states the Ulimaroa "Wirelees News," Sir. Hoey, one of the passengers, gave a unique "turn" while a concert was in progress. "It is not every man" (says thi; "Wireless News") "who can play a concertina, smoke a cigar, whistle, and keep time with his feet." The "News" also mentions Mr. Hoey's attempt to swim the English Channel. The presence of the fleet in Auckland this week has proved a big attraction to residents well outside the city, and railway pasensger traffic, particularly on Monday and Tuesday, was exceptionally heavy. All express trains running to the city from Thames and Eotonia have been taxed to their full capacity, due in no small measure to the thousands of school children who came in to see the licet. The secretary reported at last night's meeting of the Auckland Automobile Association that he had been informed jopics of the Motor Vehicles Bill would not be made available by the Government before the bill was brought before the House, and several members expressed strongly the desirability of giving highways boards and local and motoring bodies an opportunity of'becoming acquainted with the proposed regulations before they were made law. It was decided to ask the parent body to make further representations to the Government in this matter.

J A Canterbury scheme of road mainI tenance was partially adopted by the ! Auckland Automobile . Association last night. It was explained by Mr. M. H. ; Wynyard that the Canterbury AseociaI tion had tried the experiment of paying a labourer to maintain a seven-mile stretch of roadway, all materials being supplied by the local body, and the man being kept continuously at work maintaining the surface in good condition. ' After 12 months' trial the scheme had been declared a great success. The Auckland Association decided to offer to pay , half the wages of a labourer to supervise the road from Panmure Bridge to ' Howick, local bodies to pay the other , half.

j The annual report of the Morrinsville ■ Beautifying Society states that during I the year a number of tree ferns and shrubs along the riverbank had been ret moved. In one case an individual, whose sense of humour was on the same level as his honesty, had removed a j hornpitu and planted in its stead a inahoe or white wood. In other cases trees and shrubs had been found pulled up from the ground and left lying alongside where they had been planted. Probably seme of the actions referred to had been committed by lads in a spirit of larrikinism, but this -would not apply :to the removal of the shrubs. The report recommended prosecution, and probably :if it was possible to detect a couple of offenders and bring them to account i "free shrubs" -would cease to be so I popular.

The Mayor of Dargaville, Mr. R. E. Hornblow," telegraphed to J. P. Hannan, the Australasian sculling champion, as follows: "Don't be foolish. Give it a go. Good prospects for race on Juno 7. Regards." Hannan replied as follows: "Thanks for your suggestion not to be foolish. I will act on it, and retain my championship won fairly in open cotnpetion under properly drawn rules. I would be foolish to agree to any other terms drawn up by a group of busybodies without any real authority. Apparently the good people of Dargaville have been bluffed by some second-class Australian scullers, and I wonder whether the people of the Dominion are going tp stand by and see a New Zealandcr hocussed out of a jtitle which he won fairly and squarely; but Lam quite prepared to accept a challenge by the winner of your competition for my title. I wish you every possible success."

The policy of the Stratford Hospital Board in respect to the administration of the maternity annexe again came under consideration at a meeting of the board on Tuesday, when, after hearing a deputation representing various friendly societies in Stratford, the board decided it could not see its way to make any alteration in its policy of allowing only the medical superintendent to treat patients within the hospital. Women had protested against the necessity for abandoning the services of doctors whom they preferred when entering the hospital, yet the expense of home treatment was, for many mothers, prohibitive. The deputation went so far as to say that the hospital maternity ward might be boycotted if outside doctors were not to be* admitted. The chairman of the Hospital Board replied that it was essential for some one man to be responsible for all cases in the ward, and the board refused to agree to the suggestion of the deputation and voted unanimously in favour of one-man control, outside doctors to be admitted as ordinary visitors only.

The Tecent rise in wool apparently has not as yet had any effect on the prices of woollen materials in NewZealand, and there is 110 indication that the prices will increase in the immediate future (remarks the "Wanganui Chronicle") An informant stated that his experience with certain highgrade serges had been that there was, if anything, a tendency for the prices to be reduced; but several special lines much in demand had shown an increase. It was also pointed out that the prices quoted by those selling forward did not show any increase, as prices of materials depended largely upon competition.

When the Defence Department, through Lieutenant McMurtrie. of the 35th Company, of Senior Cadets, requested permission to erect an iron shack at the salt pans, Rahgitoto, for the training purposes of the non-coms, of the company, its application was ironically attacked by Mr. Hislop. "Aren't they afraid some of the Department's big guns will make a target of it"? he asked. "But I suppose they won't worry over that—why, sometimes they even miss Rangitoto itself. Apparently they shoot at random, and hit the mark by accident. I shouldn't like this particular building to suffer, though if its windows got broken, it might make the Department a little more sympathetic toward a lot of Devonport residents who periodically suffer from broken panes when the big guns are firing." Other councillors rebuked the objector's persiflage, as being at variance with national principles of defence, and the application was granted subject to a peppercorn, rental.