NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 37, 13 February 1931, Page 61

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Sporting Spirit. An appeal to supporters of the sport of boxing to give every assistance to the New Zealand Cricket Council in its endeavour to get the touring team away to England was made by Mr. Marcus F. Marks at the Wellington Boxing Association's welcome to Mr. Earl Stewart this week. Troubles such as the earthquake, said Mr. Marks, amid applause, should only serve to make all sports stick more closely together and help.one another. Pheasant Shooting Prospects. It was reported at last night's meeting of the council of the Auckland Acclimatisation Society that prospects for tlio pheasant-shooting season, which will open in July, are excellent, particularly in Rodney County (which was closed last year). In many districts nearer Auckland the young birds are plentiful and strong on the wing, and prospects are bright around Henderson. An allocation of 1350 young birds has been made for the coming season. These are three months old, and were bred at Pokeno and Franklin. Nearly 300 have already be liberated. Power for the Bay of Plenty. Strong disapproval of the action of the Public Works Department in cutting off the supply for 21 hours and making no deduction for the cost of power, was expressed at a meeting of the Bay of Plenty Power Board this week. It was decided to refer the matter to the chief electrical engineer of the department. The engineer's report stated that no serious damage had been done to lines or plant by the earthquake, although a large number of faults were reported in the Opotiki area due to twisted lines. The total revenue for the quarter was £8899, against £7924 for the previous quarter. "At a Profit." A curiosity at Carlaw Park has gone, but not exactly the way of all flesh. "Where's the horse?" smilingly inquired a delegate when the Auckland Rugby League was discussing the necessity of a new mower. The present machine had blade and other mechanical peculiarities, accentuated by the cunning developed by the decrepit steed which drew it. The working methods of "Darkie" earned for him far more than his homely title from the caretaker-driver, who, however, has no further need to strain his vocabulary. The horse, it was stated, had been sent to the Zoo "at a profit." Public Memory Short. The financial crises through which the United States has been passing of late have been a blow to the tourist trade, the present year being the worst for many years past, declared Mr. J. L. Wheeler, who is conducting a party of Americans through the Dominion. Asked if he thought that the Hawke's Bay earthquake would have any effect on the tourist traffic to New Zealand, Mr. Wheeler said that it was no^v. getting late in the season as far as the United States was concerned, and he thought that when a few months had passed the disaster would have been fairly well forgotten. The memory of the public was very short. From Affluence to Poverty. Three men, all over (50 years of age, who had gone to school together in a Southern district over half a century ago, were comparing notes outside the office of the Auckland Hospital Relief Board this week and bemoaning the fact that they were all now in need of help. One of them at one time had had an income of £12 per week. Another said that lie reckoned 20 years ago he was worth about £8000, and the other said he had saved enough just after the war to take a trip around the world. Now he had to borrow his fare for a ferry ticket across the harbour. They were all hoping for the time to come when they would get the old age pension. Bush Fire at Te Aroha. When fire swept over 100 acres of scrub and bush at Te Aroha oil Wednesday and invaded the reserve above Wilson Street, fears of its spreading toward the Domain and the Morgantown end of the township caused the Mayor to order all borough employees and men from relief works to the scene. Helped by other volunteers, they checked the flames by cutting a break alongside the bed of a stream. The lower slopes were saved, but the flames swept up the mountain. Late in the afternoon the wind changed and the velocity of the fire was reduced, and although flames could be seen in the evening leaping from the heavy bush near the peaks, the danger is now over. Some "Traffic." The small daughter of Mr. and Mrs. F. C. Malaquin, Hanmer Springs, discovered a new game, and was busily engaged acting as traffic director to bees, heavy laden, making their way into a hive. It was" not long before the bees in the hive attacked the child, who is three and a half years of age, and she was badly stung, her parents removing more than 20 stings from her face and legs. Mrs. Malaquin, remembering a saying that in the case of bee stings people rush for the blue-bag instead of the honey pot, rubbed honey over the injured places, and in a quarter of an hour the youngster was at play again without showing any marks of her experience. Scarlet Bloom. The scarlet bloom of the Australian flowering' gum tree is giving a vivid touch of colour to Auckland suburban gardens. The colour is more striking than that of New- Zealand's own pohutukawa, although there "are many who prefer the annual bloom of the true New Zealander. Of recent years the flowering gum has come into favour throughout New Zealand. It seems untroubled by the vagaries of climate, and is just as much at home in Auckland as it is farther south. In Mr. M. J. Sheahan'e garden at 19, Arabi Road, Sandringham, there is at the moment a gum flowering gloriously. It is a wonderful storehouse of nectar for the bees, which come from all directions to search the petals of the flowers. Mud Springs Active. A Gisborne correspondent states that mud has once again erupted from the site of the old springs on Mr. Victor Savage's property. The earthquake has caused renewed activity where only last year thousands of tons of semi-liquid mud were forced above the ground level. The mud overflowed into a creek bed a quarter of a mile from the actual outburst. The level of the crater has been raised many feet, while down the glacier-like overflow into the creek, bed an enormous volume of mud is spread. The creek bed is blocked, and although there is very little water draining into the creek at present, a small lake has formed above the overflow. .In addition to the activity on the sits of last year's eruption, fresh vents have been made by the imprisoned gases, and these now find escape -at various points .on. Mr.. Savage's - property - and -on the adjoining land occupied by Mr. J. J. Rogers. "In Like a Lion—" A plaintive request for a food allowance and bread tickets was made at the office of the Auckland Hospital Relief Board this week by a young man. He gave the number of the street where he was living, and also the name of the owner'of the house. The case as it was presented looked like one of real hardship, but just at the moment another social worker entered the office and heard the man's request. "You scoundrel," he said, "you have been living at our shelter, for over three weeks and we have been looking after you well. Get out or I'll boot you but." The humorous part of the incident was the quick way in which the man left— a marked contrast to the pensive way in which he came in. "My, word," said the message boy, "that chap could easily win the 100 yards championship." The chairman of the board, Mr. W. K. Howitt, remarked later that the worst feature of such faked applications is that it often makes it hard for the honest, genuine cases.