NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 208, 3 September 1927, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Sixpence a Quart. From to-day the price of milk in Auckland and suburbs will be reduced by one penny' per quart, the new rate being 6<L Incipient Blaze. Shortly after the passing of a train about 5 p.m. last evening, a sleeper on the Parnell railway bridge was found to be on fire. The Parnell Fire Brigade was called, and suppressed the outbreak before any damage was caused. Tank and Truck Collide. A collision occurred between an oil tank belonging to the Vacuum Oil Company and a motor truck driven by Mr. A. Ruge, carrier, Henderson, on the Great North Road, with the result that both vehicles had to be towed away. The drivers escaped injury. The damage to the truck was estimated to be in the vicinity of £100. Colonial Forces Decoration. _ The Colonial Auxiliary Forces Officers' decoration has been awarded to Lieutenant-Colonel £. G. Fraser, the Officer Commanding the Ist Bat- 1 talion, Auckland Regiment. Forwarding the decoration, the Governor-General, Sir Charles Fergusson, writes: "Please accept my warm congratulations on the long and meritorious service which has gained for you this distinction." Nurses' Refresher Course. The Health Department is at present conducting in Auckland a refresher course for trained nurses. It is the first of its kind to be held in the city. The intention of the Department is to make the course an annual one. The lectures, which are given daily by experienced doctors and senior nurses, include matters of public health, such as housing problems, rural sanitation and the treatment of certain classes of social diseases. Both the practical and theoretical problems of public health are dealt with. South Road Flooded. The Auckland Automobile Association reported this morning that the Waikato River is still rising at Mercer. There is now 12in of water over the road at the rear of the railway station, which shows a rise of Jin since yesterday afternoon. It is expected that the water may during the day increase to a depth <»f about 15in. If the rise is greater, horses will be available. Yesterday motor vehicles were able to pass through without assistance. At Ohinewai the Great South Road is about 9in under water, and the surface is awash between the two bridges at Rangiriri. Otahuhu Water Supply. Steps are being taken by the Otahuhu Borough Council to augment the present water supply, which is obtained from a spring at Mount Richmond. In this locality a well was sunk to a depth of 16ft fourteen years ago, and the depth has since been increased to 60ft. The flow, which is good in quality, is a million gallons a day, although the water does not rise above a level of 2ft, nor does it fall below a depth of Gin. The council is seeking an additional supply beneath a similar volcanic code in the locality known as Panama Hill. Galifornian Fruit. Interesting observations are n::i<U' by an exAucklander, formerly associated with the fruitgrowing industry, who is now in California. Writing> from San Jose, he says that California has had a late season for fruit, with a light crop of apricot? and a heavy crop of peaches. For the latter the factories were offering the equivalent of a half-penny per lb. In the equivalent of American currency, apricots and grapes were selling at 41b for !/, rock melons at eight for 1/, and prunes at 61b for 1/. Sugar, which was in demand in connx-ii m with jam-making, cost 2Jd per lb.

A Theatre Christening. Conjurers claim that it's the quickness of the hand that deceives the eye, but it was the quickness of the hand that deceived the conjurer at a local theatre last evening. A lad had been called on to the stage to assist in one of the magician's illusions, and was handed a glass of water. When the water was no longer required, it became a question of what was to be done with it. The conjurer, who had previously scored heavily at the youngster's expense, suggested that he should throw the contents of the glass over the orchestra. It was evident that the suggestion was made in the way of a joke, but in a twinkling it had been carried into effect. The lad's aim was good, and the orchestra received enough water for half a dozen christenings. The incident delighted the ~h o:isc." and was the hit of the evening. Te Humble Tuber. Probably not ten out of every hundred people in New Zealand fully realise the important position that the potato holds in the list of human foods. Wheat heads the list, and the potato is a very close second. But while the potato is of very great importance as human food in New Zealand, it is (writes Primrose McConnell in the September issue of "The New Zealand Farmer") infinitely more so in other parts of the world. We all know how valuable this food has been, and still is, to the Irish people, but it is perhaps not generally known that, previous to the Great War, while statistics were still available, Russia had ten million acres devoted to the cultivation of the potato. Germany then had a total area of 8,145,000 acres planted with the humble tuber, and the total annual yield was 46,000,000 tons. "Better Than Tanpo." The members of the Auckland Acclimatisation Society are regarding with keen interest the progress of the Arapuni hydro-electrical power scheme, part of which is the impounding of the waters of the Waikato River and the creation of a lae over 20 miles in length, a huge sheet of water which will drown hundreds of the little valleys converging on the river. When Lake Arapuni becomes an accomplished fact, the intention is to stock it with both varieties of trout, and it is expected to become the best fishing water in New Zealand. "Better than Taupo," was the forecast given by one of the members of the society to-day. He also pointed out that the lae would provide sport for anglers at much closer range to Auckland. "A Crying Shame." "Of all the funds that have been introduced by the commercial travellers the fund for the blind soldiers and sailors stands pre-eminently above the rest," stated Mr. J. Browning, senior vice-president of the Auckland Commercial Travellers' Club at the anniversary gathering last evening. "If we as an association had not done anything for charitable purposes, had not taken an active part in patriotic work during the war, or had done nothing else but inaugurate this fund we would have justified our existence," he added. "The .fund, however, should never have been needed. It is a crying shame and a disgrace to the Government of New Zealand for leaving the blind soldiers and sailors in a position that they have to be supported by voluntary contributions. I say that it is a disgrace to the Government that the fund should have wanted starting." Early Spring? If the Albert Park wiseacres are to be believed, spring will be early. Two unfailing portents are a kowhai tree near the entrance which faces the University, and a silver birch on the Kitchener Street slope of the park, almost opposite the Society of Arts Hall. This tree is the first of all growing things to respond to the influence of the vernal season. More than a month ago' there was a mist of green amongst tho topmost twigs, and now the birch is in full foliage, a picture of graceful beauty amongst its still leafless companions. The kowhai has been in flower for over a week, and hundreds of yellow blooms, heavy with pollen, lie scattered on the grass below its branches. The kowhai is one of the very few trees or shrubs which flowers before it puts forth its leaves.