NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 201, 26 August 1931, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

"Services Rendered." "There are more snails, slugs and slaters over here than in any other place I know of," said a Birkdale strawberry grower in referring to a statement 'by another amateur gardener that the best way to exterminate blackbirds and thrushes was to set mouse traps baited with strawberries. Hβ said that much as strawberry growers resented the damage done by birds, it had to be remembered that they played a very useful part in keeping down insect pests, and with wholesale war on birds there was a danger of increasing damage by ground pests. "The thrushes and blackbirds take a lot of ripe fruit," he said, "but, personally, I regard it as a toll for services rendered."

Repairs to City of Kimberley. Good progress is being made with the work of repair and replacement of the damaged machinery in the steamship City of Kimberley, which lies off the naval wharf at Devonport after her breakdown in mid-Pacific. One of the three cranks in the ship's engines was damaged when she broke down, and a new crank is now on it 3 way from England. In order to make sure that the remaining two cranks are Dot strained by the breakage, but are perfectly true, they have been hoisted from the ship and removed to the workshops of the Victory Engineering Company. There they will be tested, and any inaccuracy adjusted. Chilian Naval Cadets. It is hardly to be wondered at that the cadets on the Chilian training ship General Baquedano, which leaves Auckland for Valparaiso to-morrow, found some difficulty in speaking our language. One or the midshipmen explained before the ship sailed to-day that at the naval college at Valparaiso only two hours a week are devoted to the teaching of the English language. A similar period is set aside , for the study of French. In past years boys joining the Chilian Navy spent five years at school before treading on the deck of a warship, but under a new arrangement the cadets have four years at college and one year on a naval vessel in port. It was mentioned with some pride by one of the company of the General Baquedano that Chile was one of the few nations of the world which still retained a sailing ship for-training her naval cadets. New Zealand Ignored. "Theatre-goer" writes: "The attitude of certain American films in deliberately ignoring New Zealand calls for a spirited protest from this country. A well-known newsreel, for instance, has as its trade mark a revolving globe of the world, but there is not the least sign of the Dominion on the sphere, although Tasmania and Japan are clearly marked. A recently-screened drama of aerial exploration, again, used the globe of the earth to illustrate the flight of an airship through the Pacific, but New Zealand was again conspicuous by its absence from the map. We all know that it is the habit for Americans to regard the Dominion as a suburb of Sydney, but surely, if this country is important enough to be regarded as a purchaser of Hollywood's exports, it is at least worth a place in the sun when the globe is illustrated on the screen.* What have the Government and our own film exhibitors to say about it?" All Hands Aloft. If only for an incident which occurred aboard the Chilian training ship General Baquedano yesterday afternoon, certain members of the crew will not forget Auckland. The young sailors were hoisting to the corvette a number of cattle and sheep as provisions for the voyage to Valparaiso, when a lively young bullock got free from a sling, which struck against a high railing. Infuriated by its handling, the animal took temporary charge on the deck. Evidence of the fitness and agility of both men and officers was most manifest as they sped in all directions to safety, including up the rigging. Baffled in an attempt to reach a fleeing 6ailor across an overbridge, the bull turned and tried to go down a companionway, but altered its mind and raced round the other side of the deck and towards a mast base, where several buckets about the marlin pins were knocked helter-skelter in the panic. It became hopelessly tangled in ropes, and was soon recaptured. Real ranch thrills are rarely experisnced on ships, and the visitors laughed about it—when the danger was past.

Forms in Divorce Court. A needed amendment in the present form of application for a divorce, when made on the grounds that the respondent has failed to comply with an order for the restitution of conjugal rights, was pointed out by Mr. Justice Herdman in the Supreme Court yesterday. His Honor said that it would be of much assistance to the Court if the forms stated not only the date on which an order i r or restitution was made, but also the date on which the order was served, and the date on which the time expired for the respondent to return to the petitioner. He said he would mention the matter to the proper authority and suggest that the form should be amended. In 1928 the Divorce Act was amended extensively, but the form to which his Honor referred and also a number of others, are the same as tnoee used under the old Act. Until three years ago an application was always for a "dissolution of marriage." Those words remain on the form of application, and for these the word "divorce" must be substituted.

Town Clerk's Odd Duty. The revelation that one of the duties of the town clerk of Northcote was to scrub the floor of the council chambers was made at last evening's meeting of the Borough Council, when Mr. T. Jo]] said that the state of the room was disgraceful, and doubted if such conditions existed in any other borough. He raised the question of renovating the chamber. The window sashes were very dirty, and looked as though they had never been touched. The walls and ceiling urgently needed painting, and the linoleum needed renewing. Mr. H. W. Wilson, the town clerk, said he had scrubbed the floor of the council chamber a fortnight ago, as it was one of his duties and he had done it for the past eight years. Mr. A. W. Christmas said Mr. Wilson was the only town clerk who had ever scrubbed floors. It was suggested by Mr. J. F. Potter that the floor might be scrubbed by one of the unemployed in the borough, and it wae decided to instruct the borough overseer to prepare estimates for the painting of the premises, both inside and outside, and to make arrangements for the floor to be scrubbed regularly.

Free Firewood. Working in conjunction, the Auckland Harbour Board and the Auckland City Council are making rapid progress with the new road which will skirt Point Erin. The work has reached a stage now where it is necessary to cut down a number of trees in Point Erin Park. Tall pinus insignis are falling under the axe of about a dozen council workmen. The timber is cut into reasonable lengths; some is sold, and some is given to the Little Sisters of the Poor and other charities; a lot of the small stuff is taken away by the children of unemployed parents. Over a hundred kiddies, with trolleys, sacks and improvised trucks of all kinds, worked with a will yesterday to cart timber away for fuel. Armed with tomahawks, they cut branches into handy lengths, filled up their trucks, pulled their firewood home, and went back for more. Men and women, too, were picking up an odd load. It is reported that recently* one man who lives close by arrived with a lorry and took away a whole tree. Those unemployed who liavp been working on the job have got enough wood to see them through this winter, and probably half next.