NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 306, 28 December 1931, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Esperanto and Peace. J At the New Zealand Esperanto Congress, which opened at Christchurcli on Saturday, a motion was carried urging the Government to approach the League of Nations with a view to having Esperanto taught in all schools of the countries belonging to the League, because of its influence in promoting world pcare. The present congress is the third of the series. Last year's gathering was held in Auckland. Tribute to Auckland's Trams. A tribute to Auckland's trams was paid by Mr. F. Thompson, general manager of the Christchurch Tramways Board, wlio returned by the Aorangi yesterday from a tour of investigation of tramway systems in Britain, Canada and the United States. "I have never seen better-kept or finer-looking trains than you have in Auckland," he said. "In design and cleanliness they compare favourably with rolling stock I have seen anywhere on my travels. Auckland has something to be proud of in its trams." Train Traffic Heavy. There were iftany evidences of heavy holiday traffic at the Auckland railway station yesterday, the South expresses last evening at 7 p.m., 7.40 p.m. and 5.5 p.m. being well patronised. Country people who had spent the week-end in the city were taking their leave in large numbers, and others had utilised the Sunday excursion from the Waikato. The expresses outward this morning also carried full quotas, the North Auckland (Opua) and the south expresses for Tauranga and Rotorua being filled with , gay holiday-makers. The ebb and flow of passengers is likely to be heavy until well into next week. Cricket Mementoes. The Eden Park cricket gallery is to be enriched by three souvenirs of the New Zealand team's recent visit to England. These mementoes, gifts to the Auckland Association from the New Zealand Cricket Council, consist of a photograph of Lord's cricket ground during the progress of the first Test match, a copy, on silk, of the scores in the match, and a copy of a menu of the dinner given to prominent cricketers and cricketing enthusiasts by Tom Webster, the famous English cartoonist. Cricketer's Day Out. Probably one of the most notable performances in the country week cricket tourney at Eden Park on Saturday was that of It. Kaho, a student at Wesley College. Playing for Pukekohe against Kaipara, he made a good all-round score of 131, retiring when there was no more space left in the score book for the record of his runs. Bowling in the first innings, ho took six wickets for eight runs, and in the second four for two. The latter performance included the "hat trick," and all three batsmen were clean bowled. In the first innings he had eight overs, and of these four were maidens; in the second innings he had four overs, two of which were maidens. Money in Poultry. "Each penny a dozen rise or fall in the price of eggs means a gain or loss of £200,000," said Mr. A. H. Cockayne, Assietant-Director-General of Agriculture, when addressing a gathering at the Government's poultry experimental station at Wallaceville. Mr. Cockayne said that the poultry industry occupied a far more important place in the life of the country than was generally realised. That was indicated by the fact that over 150,000 families kept fowls. They kept some 4,000,000 fowls, and, taking the average production at ten dozen, it meant that 40,000,000 eggs were laid annually. These, together with, poultry sold or used as food, with eggs at 1/ n'er dozen, meant some £2,250,000, or, at 1/(3, £3,250,000. A New "Rotten Row." A few years ago all the laid-up or derelict shipping of the port used to swing- at anchor off Shoal Bay. Following the post-war passing of the sailing ship, the stately Rewa lay solitary for years in the upper harbour. Then trade depression brought a small fleet of colliers with cables down beyond the eastern tide deflector. Accommodation there seems insufficient for the growing number of red-funnel freighters temporarily withdrawn from commission, and the locality once sacred to the Rewa now claims four Union Company' vessels that nightly hoist riding lights. _ A trans-Pacific trader and three cargo carriers known in the Tasman trade lie in line ahead off the Watchman. A Ponsonby waterfront resident points out that, though these craft do not add to the beauty of the harbour, they serve as excellent tide indicators for the many who wander down to the little Waiteinata beaches for the daily dip. Okahune Vegetables. Town dwellers have been puzzled when told by their greengrocer that tlieir cabbages came from Ohakune. Why go so far to grow vegetables? Ohakune has a colder climate than Auckland, being on the 3000 ft plateau in the centre of the island, but it has admirable soil. Moreover, it has sonje indefatigable Chinese gardeners—and they probably are the main reason why this Main Trunk township figurds so frequently in the market news. A visitor who was recently at Ohakune was astonished to see the amount of work the Chinese do in that district in the way of vegetable growing. They were responsible for getting hundreds of acres stumped and put in cultivation, and they are getting excellent returns. He saw one Chinaman engaged in what looked at first glance like a buckjutnping .competition. Ho was driving a tractor, to which a plough was attached, breaking up the land for the first time. It was pretty rough, but John stuck to his task and kept the tractor forging ahead in spite of all the bumps. He did not even tako the trouble to look around to see whether the plough was in or out of the ground. North Versus South. There is a quite unfounded belief in the minds of many okl-fasliioned folks in the South Island that there is a conspiracy on the part of the North to monopolise all the tourists that come into the Dominion. Mr. A, W. Gent, passenger superintendent of the P. and O. Company, now on a business visit to New Zealand, disabused these misinformed people. Interviewed in Christchurcli, he commented on the lack of provincial jealousy in the Dominion. He said he was told time and time again, when he was touring the North Island, that he must see the scenic wonders of the South Island before lie left the country, otherwise lie "would not have seen all that New Zealand had to offer the tourist. Even in Rotorua, a town which considered itself the principal show place of New Zealand, he was told the same thing. , Birds Not Taught to Fly. Naturalist writes: "The time of nesting among birds is passed, and the fledglings have left the nest and are making tours of discovery on their own account;. Seeing the uncertain flight of apparently immature wings, many people are heard to remark that, havinj been taught to fly by.their parents, they should not have been abandoned so soon. Experiments, as a matter of fact, have proved that to be contrary to fact. Nestlings are not taught to fly. It is a question of natural development of strength. As soon as the wings of a young bird are strong enough, it leaves the nest and flies. It does not have to be taught, except by what is commonly called 'instinct.' This lias its parallel in the first tottering steps of children. Many parents and aunts and grandparents like to believe they have encouraged the first steps of a one-year-old; but though it is difficult to prove, scientists are sure that walking among children is analogous to flying among birds. They do not have to bo taught. They walk w'.en they have learned balance, and when their legs are strong enough."