NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 173, 24 July 1930, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Arbor Day at Grey Lynn.

Arbor Day was celebrated at the Grey Lynn School yesterday, when over 40 trees, mostly native, were planted in the school grounds. The work was done by the boys under tlie supervision of the headmaster, Mr. J. M. Warn, and tlie first assistant, Mr. J. H. Bocock. The trees were provided by the school committee, and the chairman, Mr. W. H. Newton, and tlie secretary, Mrs. F. E. Swann, each planted one. , Garden Thieves. A sneak thief paid a visit to a Mount Albert garden late on Tuesday night or early yesterday morning and raided a large anemone bed., So eager was he to get the flowers picked that he pulled up more than half of the plants. \At first it looked as if a child had been responsible, but the discovery of laTge footmarks on the garden proved that the mischief had been committed by someone who should have known better. At Takapuna a week ago a resident lost a number of newly-planted rose cuttings. Revenue from Wireless Sets. Reference was made at the conference of electric power board secretaries and executive officers at Wellington to the fact that wireless sets are becoming an increasing source of revenue to power supply authorities. One speaker gave an instance of a consumer in his district who had an all-electric wireless set, and used between six and eight units a month. In addition to the current actually used for the set, which . was going for two or three hours each day, there was the extra current used for lighting as the result of tlie late hours kept. Forgotten Burial Grounds.

'The existence of old Maori burial grounds was revealed in the Native Land Court the other clay, when an application was being heard in which a Maori woman wished to partition some 400 acres of sand dune near Waiuku. Evidence was given by an elderly Maori that the foot of a sandhill in the property was an old burial ground, the applicant's grandmother having been buried there in 1883. Mr. E. P. Earle, commissioner for the Waikato-Maniapoto district, granted the application, but reserved from sale the old burial ground. In olden times, it is stated, the Maoris often placed the dead at the foot of a sandhill, and by walking on the hill covered the bodies with sand. Twenty-five Years a Fireman. Twenty-five years' service with the Newmarket Fire Brigade stands to the credit of the superintendent, Mr. T. J. Watts, and the Newmarket Borough Council last evening decided to tender congratulations to him. The brigade's annual report showed that Mr. Watts had attended 70 out of 77 fires and practices during the past year, while during his full term of service he had been present at 1015 musters out of a total of 1654 held. He had gained the Fire Brigade Association's long-service gold star, an honour which had not previously been held by a member of the Newmarket Brigade. The council decided to place their appreciation of Mr. Watts' services on record. Trials of a Motorist. A Hamilton' music teacher narrowly escaped an accident while motoring to Auckland in the; early hours this morning. He left Hamilton at 1 a.m., and about 3.30 he stopped at the foot of the hill, after passing through Bombay township, to help a truck driver who had engine trouble. When the track was started again and the .motorist was ready to continue his journey, he fpund the car Avould not budge. One of the rear wheels had snapped off the axle, and the chassis was balanced precariously. A mechanic was summoned, and the motorist set out on a seven-mile walk for Drury station. He related his experience during the train journey to Auckland. Community Songsters. The popularity of community singing in Auckland was revealed when yesterday: .approximately 2000 people crowded'into the Town Hall to drive dull care away by indulging in a little vocal exercise. The chair at the popular gathering was taken by <Mi\ Grey Campbell, and with him were some of the leading' soloists of the city, including Miss Ivay Christie and Mr. Walter Brougli. "Uncle Tom" was the leader, and lie succeeded in putting the community songsters in good humour by his gift for repartee, and in imparting enthusiasm to the singing. It is interesting to note that the mid-day sing-songs are patronised to a large extent by distinctly middle-aged audiences. Although the idea of community singing at its inception was intended to provide "cheer germs" in the lunch hour for city toilers, at least 50 per cent of the peop'#; who delight in the pastime seem to come to the city solely for the fun. Old-time song rounds and impromptu solos were the order yesterday, the accompaniment being provided by a piano, saxophone and a concertina. Thar and Chamois. "Point 303" writes: "Some people must.have been very much surprised at the unanimity with which the Southern acclimatisation societies offered the chamois and the tliar on the altar ■to appease the anger of the country at the fearful depredations made all over the country by the deer. It seems only the other day that both thar and chamois were liberated, ani glowing pictures were painted of the splendid sport they were, going to afford the countless tourists, who would come miles for the privilege, and so on, and so on. As a matter of fact, the chamois is a much over-rated animal, and the. thar is a .disgusting travesty of a poor-conditioned goat with a head that no one in his senses would care to see hanging up in his hall. Why the wretched beast was ever allowed in the Dominion only the acclimatisation societies and the Government can tell us, and they are silent. It was one of the most senseless acts of acclimatisation ever attempted in this country—and that is saying a good deal. Not only is the thar a useless, hideous thing, but it gets mixed up with the sheep and has other objectionable habits. The chamois has all the glamour of the fox as a quarry, but if the old-time hunters of the Alps had had anything respectable to hunt they would not have bothered the agile chamois. Obviously the people who allowed the animal to get a footing in New Zealand knew nothing about its characteristics;, it is a useless addition to our fauna, and the sooner it is wiped out the better. These two absurd attempts at acclimatisation show ' Mito what inexpert and dangerous hands these matters have drifted in New Zealand." Reading the Kumarahou. "Tuhi" writes: "So far there has been no word from the kainga about the prospects of an early summer. Generally by this time of the year there has been a paragraph or so to the effect that we are in for. an early summer. It is generally the flax flowers that are quoted as the authority, of the dusky weather prophet's prognostication. So far he has been very remiss, and has left readers in the lurch... Filling his place for the moment, I would chance a guess that we are in for a late summer, that is to say, that it. will be well on to Christmas before we can bring out the bathing togs and rely on fairly steady summer weather. Last November was "a good old-fashion eel summer," but the indications are not so favourable this year. So that there should be no impression that there is anything Conan Doyleish about the prognostication, I may say that mv inference is drawn from the condition "of the ' buds of the kumarahou,- or 'poverty,' the plant that grows so abundantly on the gumfields, and in early spring .clothes the countryside in yellow. It should be out in bloom in the middle of next month, but judging from the present state of the buds I* should say it would be at least two/weeks later than usual. This pretty plant is peculiar in the long while it carries 'its buds. They form in the previous summer, and take several months ■ to reach the blooming stage. It is such a charming plant that I am surprised it is 'not cultivated m gaidens. If it had to be imported, perhaps we would pi ize it