NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 136, 11 June 1929, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Blind Musicians' Trip,

The band of the Jubilee Institute for the Blind will be guests of the Kotorua Rotary Club at Kotorua this week-end. Hotels and boai'dinghouses have offered to provide accommodation for the visitors. The purpose of the visit is to demonstrate what cavi be achieved by the formation and training of a boys' band.

The Zoo Kindergarten

The name Pondo has been bestowed tipon the baby hippopotamus which is an object of such interest to visitors to Auckland Zoo. Pondo is making splendid progress, and his antics in the pond are a source of much amusement. A baby has been born to one of the kangaroos brought from Australia recently, and Tommy and Kitty, the pair of lions in the show cage at the back of the large den, have two cubs. Mother and children are doing well. Dairying Arithmetic. Much amusement was created at the New Plymouth Jersey Cattle Club's social gathering by a breeder's description of his initial efforts as a vendor of milk. In those days the price of milk was Sd per gallon, and it was a poor cow that would not give three gallons of milk a day. In endeavouring to ascertain what profit couid be made in supplying milk, the young man went to an old and experienced vendor, who had met with considerable success. "Well," each cow gives three gallons of milk a day," said the older man, "and you get Sd a gallon. Multiply 8d four times, and you will soon be independent." Lost in the Crowd. Queen Street was at its busiest yesterday afternoon when a tiny child, who was very obviously lost, was seen running distractedly amongst the busy throngs on the footpath. There were many women about at the time, but none of tliein appeared to take much notice of the little one, and it was left for a business man to save her from running in front of a motor car and to cscort her to a kindly policeman. She was taken to headquarters, and it was not long before she was returned to her parents. "I was only too glad to help," said the business man, "but I must say I was surprised that none of the women came to the rescue before I did." Lucky Motorist. Speeding through Devonport and along the approach to the vehicular ferry stage 011 Sunday evening, a motorist was just in time to see the ferry move out from the wharf. It was the last boat, and it looked certain that the car owner would have to leave his "bus" in a garage and ci'oss to the city by the passenger ferry. But not all ferry skippers are hard-hearted, and it ] was the motorist's luck that the glare from his headlights was noticed on the steamer. The | engine room telegraph tinkled, and in a minute the ferry was on her way back to Devonport. The whole job was done in quick time, and as neatly as any shipmaster could wish. Motor Registration. Owners of motor cars in Auckland, who have not obtained their new blue and white number plates, and who now drive their cars on the city and suburban streets with the old green plates, are liable to prosecution. The police have had the matter in hand since last Tuesday, and it is expected that prosecutions will follow. Sixteen thousand Auckland motorists have relicensed at the main depot in Wellesley Street, but there are still between live and six thousand who have not carried out their obligations. At present the authorities are forced to adopt a go-slow policy, for only about 100 owners a day apply for registration. The depot will be transferred to the Chief Post Ollice from next Monday.

Forest Cultivation. Emphasising the Importance of establishing new forests, Professor Hugh Corbin, in his address to the Auckland Rotary Club yesterday, pointed out that only 4 per cent of the North Auckland district was planted. Of the Waitexnata Comity 1.2 per cent was covered, and this was due solely to the foresight of the Auckland City Council in preserving a forest in the Waitakere Ranges. A proper amount of cultivation should be encouraged, so that sawmilling might be continued indefinitely., New Zealand was in a position to do this more cheaply than almost any other country. Eventually the Dominion would be exporting timber, and, he believed, Australia would be taking timber from New Zealand within a few years. One of the best schemes for cultivation was the communal system, which had been operated with unusual success in Germany. When the Light Failed. Reporting to the Power Board yesterday upon a complaint from John Court, Ltd., and a number of other Queen Street business people about the failure of the light on Friday night, the general manager (.Mr. R. H. Bartley) explained the technical details about the fault 011 one of the feeder cables, and added that when Arapuni was available such a long .break would not happen. The station was overloaded owing to the delay at Arapuni, and that was why the rectification took so long. The chairman (Mr. W. J. Holds worth) sympathised with the shopkeepers, who, he realised, must have been greatly inconvenienced, but he pointed out that it was the first time in 20 years there had been such a delay, and when Arapuni was through it would not recur. The board decided to write to the customers concerned and fully explain the position. Power Board's Lighthouse. A sketch of a light-tower to cost £350, for the top of the Auckland Power Board's new building at the corner of Queen and Durham Streets, was put before the board yesterday afternoon by the general manager. The suggestion was that a light shown on the top of.the tower should revolve or remain stationary, showing a light north, south, cast and west. The chairman said it would be a structure after the style of the lattice piers carrying the current from Arapuni. Mr. M. J. Bennett thought that, as they were going to have the most up-to-date elevators and the most up-to-date building, they should have the most up-to-date beacon it would be a good advertisement. "Yes," added ilr. J. Dempsey, "an advertisement of the board's extravagance." Mr. 11. T. Goldie suggested there would be, trouble with the Harbour Board over such a prominent light. A motion to postpone consideration of the matter indefinitely was rejected, and the board decided to consult the Marine Department and the City Council to see if there would be any objection to the struc-

ture. Double Hibiscus. In stories of Island life the hibiscus crops up as surely as the poliutukawa in New Zealand in a Christinas, story. The Island belle always "wore a flaming hibiscus in her raven hair." The flower possesses one of those catchy names :which stick in the memory, like the pomegranate among fruits. It belongs to a genus of plants mostly tropical or sub-tropical, and grows quite well in Auckland. Mr. C. Hinton, of Alison Avenue, Devon port, has a bush which lias just produced a very handsome double bloom, in spite of the lateness of the season.. Single blooms are more common. In appearance the single flower is rather like a hollyhock (a relation), and of a rich deep crimson, which shows up well against the dark glossy green of the leaves. From one species of the hibiscus in India the natives get a fibre, which is used instead of hemp. The hibiscus is to-day very widely distributed in the tropics. Like the banana and the breadfruit, it lias been carried from one island to another, until to-day it is far more at home than' some pf the indigenous plants-.