NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 21, 25 January 1930, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY.

"Best Christmas of All. Jt ■ "It was the best Chrislfanas we have ever spent," said onepf the oldeßt inmates of the Auckland Infirmary yesterday, when conversing with, a visitor, and expressh ig thanks to those who sent gifts to institution forthe Yuletide festivities. The gifts were £peatly appreciated, and in the opinion of many or the older people Christmas, 1929, at the. Infirmary eclipsed all others, he said. , ' f Cream with Porridge. "New Zealand is claimed to fbe the dairy farm of the Empire," said a visiting | Canadian bowler at Wanganui on Monday. "Th at' may be so/' he continued, %ut it appears a ', bad policy not to supply cream with porridge for the breakfasts of tourists from overseas. Some, of us relish cream with the morning meal, both ini tea and on porridge, and the matter of cost not enter into consideration. Your hotels in thei'.Dominion would do well to cater for this taste," be concluded. A Bright Alien., One warm, weather resident that has apparently not been inconvenienced by* the remarkably wet'and cold summer we have bcjen having is the red gum in the Bowen Street pai't Of the- Albert fark. It stands in a big area \of greensward, surrounded by trees that do hot flower, and its vivid red blooms show up all thie more by contrast. It is now nearing perfectio h, and is a mass of scarlet. It"is rather reminiscent of the pbhutukawa, but the. red of the ali en's blooms is richer —more of a blood-red. , . Canadian Visitors' Impressions.k While at Kotorua, one of the j visiting Canadian bowlers remarked that, if Elotorua were in Canada, no town would hold all ,fche*people that would come to live in it. Another; remarked that the farmers in New Zealand had no work. In Canada they had to house their cattle for six months and. feed them, the following six months being wholly occupied in growing' feed under strenuous conditions. He .would recommend young men to see the land here and thet conditions of farming before starting on' the h iard life of a farmer in Canada. ' w v Music Hath Charms. ; A combination of music with €Jurhythmics is having a valuable influence upon: subnormal children, states Mr. E. Douglas Taylcr, Supervisor of Music in Schools, who has retinmed to. Wellington after a visit to Britain and Europe. One of the places visited by Mr. Tayler was a large school for mental defectives in London, where the children were just one grade above mental hospital level. Music had produced result b which left no doubt about its value when cOmpi trisons were made with schools run along older liifees. In the first instance, children lacking:in the* control of their limbs were trained to respond to the beating of a drum, and rhythmic piano, music. Gradually it became possible for the teachers,to introduce control of the mind, and the result was that 87 per cent Of the children were [ made employable, and 25 per cent were able to'.undertake an ordinary course of education, r » • "Hoodoo Cow." T Misfortune befell most of the speed boat com-j petitors at Wanganui oh Wednesday, und. those given to superstition blame a dead cow for, their bad fortune. The river was in heavy fkxid, shags,) logs and trees passing down the t coursev. Two Auckland boats, Meetun and Miss Arawff., struck; floating debris during the day, and weiie temporarily put out of action, while another Auckland' craft behaved most erratically at the. start of each race, and Wanganui's pride, "J. .and J.," the fastest boat of the lost a-pitopeller. Just before the commencement of the racetf a dead and well-inflated cow drifted right aloi»g the course, and, as it passed the judge's line, hft rt gat6 it the gun"—the first winner of the ifloating home easily at steady three knots.; The* -crowd shrieked With laughter, ,but, unkind thing« • Were said later concerning: the "hoodoo" cow. *'.-'' Lizards as Pets. . ' ,■ ■ ■.■/;■■ ■ ; a An Avondale resident, Mr. John Grahafm, is the possessor of an unusually fine ' collectilon of tree lizards, the majority of which came .from Ijejgh, near Matakana, in North Auckland. They live under what are obviously very congenial; surroundings, then- home being a dry aquarium .tank with glass sides and top. The tank has a floor Of damp'moss, and; the receptacle is filled with tea-tree branches on which the little, crealhiresdisport themselves, and from' Which they thatch their food—live housefiies. One or two &*.&'<■ so tame that they will allow'.themselves to be picked up, and nearly all "will come forward for a tiaste of honey, which appears.to be,a favourite <4elicacy. Their colours range from the greyish brawn of tea*tree: foliage to a vivid apple gx-een arid a brilliant shade, of yellow which is not unlike the tint of a canary in full plumage. The lizards," (of which photographs appear in the main illmttrations page of this issue), have lived in their house of glass for moire than a year/iand early in the present month two lively young 'fraes were born. These, like their parents, are qiuite' tame, and disport' themselves amusingly Wfhen released from the case. Mr. 'Graham states that the' tree lizard is confined to the northern ](>art J of New Zealand, and that the species is rare owing to the depredations of birds. Titirangi Road. ■ • " :' ; ' ' ■ ; : :. : ' Progress, slow but sure, is being made by the contractors' who are levelling and straightepaing thei which 5 is to- be .concreted. Several of the worst corners at the top, near Titirangi, "haVe been cut back, aiM?i in .places-the roadway is. over, a chain wide. The work necessitated ,the shifting of? the city's water supply pipeline,, which here and there was laid right under'the, road, for-in; those' days no one ever dreamed that such an out-of-the-way road would be concreted, Some of.the poles that carry the wires : will also have to be inOired, bilt the question of cost is" in dispute .between the Power, Board- and the Waiteimata Couaity Council,-and a' friendly action at : the Supreme Court may be necessary because there is. nothing in; the Acts under which they- work to: say vAo would be responsible, a : similar case never haViilng arisen. To: those' who have known the road for many years an interesting feature of - the work now going on is that at the;bend at the top of the nse where it joins Pleasant Road, the <Ad route has been resumed. Some years ago, to get an easier, grade, the hill ■ was,' abandoned, and the road "was taken round the shallow gullies a ;Mt lower down, -ahd, though the grade was.. easttd, there were innumerable turns; Now the'twisty road is beihg abandoned the old route followed. By heavy cutting '. down. of. the. rise, a decent grade is being obtained. This rise wis abandoned some years ago because it Avas difficult for, horses,,but a horse is as rare to-day as rijpe blackberries are in June.' ' •

:'lm and 'Er.; '■.' ,; ,': ."■■'■-'At a farewell gathering to :the GovernorGenerdl, Sir Charles Pergiisson, at the Wellington Commercial Travellers' Club, his Excellency said that some time agO;he attended a gala at Nelson and put on his best uniform coat; They were l _on the bandstand when a boy went up holding two ice-creams. Someone askedjif they were f,or him, to which the boy replied: "No, they're for s im a,nd. ?er,'? nodding at their ]■' The next thing, said his Excellency, he and his wife werfe sitting in the middle of the bandstand eating .icecream, arid wefe : Very thankful that the- photographers did hot catch them',' ItTecalls an advett-' tiire-which befellariotlier; vice-regal pair, Lbfd and Lady -.Islington, on the first occasion; that they visited Wharigarei. An elderly native chief attended the public reception arid brought with him _ a musket which had:; been presented to one Of ancestors by King William TV". .The musket was liberally'smeared with mutton;fat in, order ,to :preserve it. The old chief the greasy gun into the lavender-gloved hands of Lady Islington,; and : after she ..had smiled in somewhat .wry . fashion,,he.next handed it to ;Lord Islington. Citizens who'shook hands with his Excellency , afterwards also had reawsti to f©member the care j lavished on the" old musket. 'I » : ' : ' . :*. : *'' -'■.----. ''■.:■'