NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 217, 13 September 1930, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Disfiguring Signs.

The ■ Botorua City "Council lias set its face firmly against the erection of advertising signs on county roads. Several- members pointed out at the meeting on Wednesday that wherever a beauty spot existed, which was likely to attract attention, it was spoiled by some glaring sign, which completely spoilt the view. The engineer was instructed to take prompt action to have all such signs removed. Sir Robert Stout as Judge. .. In an obituary notice of the late Sir Robert Stout, formerly Chief Justice of New Zealand, the London "Times" says that on the Bench Hie failed to win the same eminence that he had won at the Bar. "Though few men," says the "Times", "could see more at a glance, Sir Robert Stout seemed to profit less than most men of equal ability by prolonged -.deliberation, and a less nimble wit was sometimes able by patient effort to get near to the- heart of a subject. The result was that his most conspicuous success was as a judge of first instance, and that in the more abstract regions of the law less brilliant colleagues moved with surer sttep." "Tenakoe, Pakeha." Arrangements made by telegram from Durban to be met at Ndolo, 4000 miles away,- in Rhodesia, by the storekeeper, -when the. train arrived, said Mr. C. H. Bould in an interesting talk on big game shooting in Africa, provided him with a pleasant surprise. He told a Wellington audience the train was late, but the only taxi met it and took him. to the only hotel, the storekeeper having gone to bed. In the morning, when he made, himself known, the storekeeper responded with "Tenakoe, Pake'ha," and it transpired that he was a. Wellington-born resident, who had done well and settled there. University Colleges Conference. The-second annual conference of representatives from the four colleges of the University.of New Zealand will take place in Wellington on Thursday, September 25. The report of the Parliamentary Recess Committee on education as it affects the University will be the main subject of discussion, and- the conference, will also consider the system of training teachers, which was before it last year. The Auckland University College will be represented by the president of the council, Sir George Fowlds, the registrar, Mr. M. R. O'Shea, Mr. T. U. Wells and Professor H. W. Segar. A Farmer's Loss. Mr. J. Mackay, a fanner in South Taranaki, has just suffered the loss of a very valuable cow under peculiar circumstances. A day or two ago, when feeding out ensilage, he laid the hay knife down on the ground outside the fence which surrounds the stack, and unfortunately forgot it. On the following morning he had the misfortune of seeing one of his cows fatally injured, and although lie could not determine the cause at the time, lie eventually traced the matter through the trail of blood which the cow had left in her endeavour to get out of harm's way. The cow had evidently trodden on the handle of the hay knife, causing it to turn upwards and the sharp point to penetrate the animal's stomach. The occurrence is one of those accidents which may happen once in a thousand years. Geography Astray. From time to time one sees some strange addresses of places, showing that the people in tho United Kingdom are not conversant with the geography of New Zealand and Australia. The latest is from tho "Kerryman," of July 26, a weekly paper published in Tralpj, the chief town of Kerry, Ireland. Under the heading of "A Notable. K.erry Pastdr" and giving a report copied from , . the "Bendigo... Advertiser," of a welcome extended to the Right. Rev. Monsignor T.-Rooney, pastor, of St. Kilian's Church, Bcndigo (Victoria), on his return after a holiday to his native county, Kerry, it states: "The venerated pastor, who was feted on his return to the parish, is a brother of the Rev. Edward Rooney, Eaglehawk, Victoria, Aria, New Zealand." New Zealand in the News. New Zealand figures quite prominently in tho latest issue of "The Times" weekly edition, which is published in London. On the main photographic page is an excellent picture of the Wellington War Memorial carillon, and special mention is made of the fact that the winning design was submitted by tho Auckland architects, Messrs. W. H. Gummer and R. Ford. The news columns feature a description of Lydney Castle, the ancient building that was recently unearthed by the. Society of Antiquaries at Lydney, on tho borders of the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire. It stands in the deer park of Lord Bledisloe, Governor-General of New Zealand. Incidentally the report records the regrettable fact that many of the stones have been removed by "souvenir" hunters. It is difficult to imagine what value a piece of brick or masonry can have when removed from its true position, but vandalism would appear to be an ineradicable trait in. the make-up-of many people.

Remarkable Dutch Friesian Herd.

If any New Zealand farmer possessed a herd of cows whose milk,' for six weeks of the year, was so thick that it could not be drunk, he would be a celebrity in the land, and the fame of his herd would be bruited abroad. This is what is claimed for some 15 Friesian cows, the "Belted Friesian Herd," in Holland. Their milk during this period can be used only for butter and cheese. They are jet black in colour, except for one patch of white, in almost the same, position on each, which looks just as though a white blanket had been thrown over them. Mr. R. J. Anwyl, manager in New Zealand and Australia for Thomas Cook and Son, .who was much taken with the intensive cultivation' practised in Holland, says a farm of 50 acres there will carry 30 cows, as well as a few sheep and pigs, and will provide four crops of hay a year. Switzerland, he says, is not quite so good. On the same acreage there only 25 cows can be supported, and there are only three crops of hay in the year.' • .' :

A Trusting Thrush. ' "Manu" writes: "A fearless little thrush pleased me greatly the other day by building its nest in a houhere (lacebark) growing right alongside my verandah—so close that by reaching out one could rummage the nest. And being within a few minutes' walk of Queen Street makes the incident all the more piquant. One would never., for , a moment think a bird could be so trusting as to build so close to where people pass frequently. . Noticing her making frequent visits! to the .tree, and hopping from branch to branch in a .purposeful manner was what drevy my attention in the first place. I could scarcely believe- my eyes when I saw in.a fork of the branches the ifoundations of her little home. Watching her one morning I must have seen .her make -half a hundred trips. She went all over the garden rummaging for building material. Straws, bits of dry grass, bits of leaves, were pounced upon, and selected deliberately. From the. ground she could not fly direct to the fork where she was building,, and her progress, from, one convenient branch to the next, by a series of hops, was. most interesting to watch. When she reached the edge of the nest she dropped her latest find neatly within, and from time to time deliberately shaped the growing nest by getting in, squatting down,- and con-, solidating the material with her breast, her tail aiid'her feet, making a circling sort of movement with her body, much as a dog does -when he circles round on a mat or anything to make himself comfortable, at the present time the thrush has evidently finished her house, and it will be interesting to see how she comports herself in such a public spot when the family comes along/'