NEWS OF THE PAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 121, 24 May 1932, Page 6

NEWS OF THE PAY.

Noxious Weeds On Farms. County councils have been notified that the Department of Agriculture has made arrangements with the Unemployment Board that all farmers making application for labour for the purpose of destroying noxious weeds are to be granted relief workers free of cost. ( Long Trek Ahead. J The young Aucklanders, Messrs. George Gussey and Phil Eva, who propose to make a , walking tour of New Zealand and then ship to j England to start a grand tour of the world by < motor cycle and side-car, will start off from the Auckland post ofiice to-morrow morning. League Football Up North. i A Whangarei correspondent reports that ] League football is being playod this season foi the first time in the Bay of Islands district. On 1 ! Saturday a game was played at Kaikohe, and teams arc in process of formation at Kawakawa and Rangialiua, with the object of inaugurating a senior competition (Turing the season. Teams 'from the Bay of Islands expect to take pait 111 ' tlie Whangarei seven-a-side competitions 011 the King's Birthday. ! j A Stitch in Time. Complaints are being made of the lack of ( gum 011 the twopenny postage stamps. Ihis , brings to mind a little episode which occurred to . a citizen possibly 35 years ago, when lie was a boy. He was accosted by a man who rode up to the poet office on horseback and requested him : to post a letter. He noticed that the stamp had i been stitched on with a needle and white cotton, and underneath was the remark: "if this letter i arrives without a .-tamp, well, I have done my best to make it stick on," It is not suggested that such a proceeding will now be necessary. Noisy Dogs in Town. A breeder of a popular type of dogs found himself, before tlio magistrate at Rotorua on Moiulav, chnrgcd with creating a nuisance, big dogs and a slut with puppies were alleged to create a most disturbing noise whenever aroused by the mid-day siren. An order had been served upon the owner to get rid of the dogs, but ho had only sold one. For the defence, it was pointed out that the dogs were valuable, and it took time to dispose of thoin. the case was adjourned for a fortnight to give defendant time to sell the doge. Possible Wool Market. Specimens of laminated wool manufactured in Duncdin by a special process from low-grade wool, and suitable for use in mattresses, quilts, cushions and other household articles, were displayed at the meeting of the Dominion executive of 'the New Zealand Farmers' Union this week. It was stated that the layers of wool had the same uses as kapok and were not only healthier but cheaper. The wool would not bunch or disintegrate like kapok, and the women's division of the union hoped that ultimately, as a result of a campaign throughout New Zealand, it would replace kapok altogether. Motor Car Fires and Rats. A Napier resident finds that his car is almost nightly, a hearth and home for a small colony of rats. His attention was iirst drawn to the nuisance when he noticed smoke issuing fiom the engine of the car while driving. On opening the bonnet, lie found a small conglomeration of rubbish —fragments of rag, pieces of brown paper, light twigs and dry grass—smouldering. Ho is satisfied that only a few more miles of running would have been required before the engine would have burst into flames. He has since taken the precaution of opening the bonnet every morning before setting out for the day, and has regularly had to clear away a small collection of rubbish similar to that which, in its inflammatory state, caused him more than a moment's alarm. Hopes For Thames Gold Revival. The hope was expressed by the president, Mr. William Blomlielcl, at the Old Thames Boys' Association's gathering on Saturday evening, that a revival of mining would restore the old Held to some' semblance of its former glory and prosperity. Mr. Mat. l'aul, a former inspector of the Mines Department, said he did not think all the gold had been found at Thames or the Hauraki Peninsula. There was a chance of a new discovery. The old prospector, he said, thought no more of walking from Thames to Coromandcl than ho did of his dinner. If ho got on to gold, he slept alongside of it. It was necessary to prospect systematically, and, if fossickers lacked knowledge of the art, they should be taught. Unices placed under the supervision of experienced men, such as Government geologists, the prospecting being undertaken might bo likened to men chipping grass off the streets. A new discovery before long was possible, and, if mado, this would mean a big thing for Auckland. Natural Science in Schools. A report on natural science in schools was presented to the last meeting of the board of governors of the New Zealand Institute. The report suggests that the encouragement of school gardens should be extended. Experience had shown that astonishing interest could be aroused by teachers who had an inclination for that kind of work. Similar results followed in schools in which pupils were encouraged to bring to their 1 teachers any object, whether animal, vegetable, or mineral, that interested them. Zoology and geology, it was suggested, should bo included in the subjects that may be taken for the entrance scholarship examinations and for the Public Service entrance examinations. The opinion was also expressed that botany, which had _ great educational value, should have a place in the curriculum of all girls' high schools. Spirit of Pioneers. Remarking that ho had attended the meetings of his first football club in 1875 at the Prince 1 Alfred Hotel, under the Moanataiari aqueduct, Mr. Thomas Aitken, now 74 years of age, a former ' chairman and secretary of the Thames Rugby i Union, told an audience of ex-Thamesjtes on Saturday evening some interesting reminiscences of the earlier history of the game at Quartzopolis. 1 It had been the great ambition of Thames to beat Auckland in the annual representative match. On one occasion Thames was dofeated L by 42 points to nil, but, true to the spirit of their pioneer forebears, they never dospaircd, 1 though beaten. It was a proud moment for thorn ' when eventually Thames defeated Auckland for ; the first time. Thames now had a splendid footI ball ground, and what was particularly moritorious about that achievement was the fact that thia had beon obtained in bad times'—another ' example of the inheritance of the pioneor spirit, i which had no room for pessimism. [ Inefficient Brakes. It is the duty of all motorists to see that the brakes of their cars are in good working ' order. This fact is stressed in the Auckland ' Automobile Association's latest bulletin, which > points out that the defence so often put forward t in Court eases that "the brakes failed to act" is seldom of any avail. The fact that brakes some--1 times fail to do what they are supposed to do, r unless the cause is such a tiling as a broken rod l or a bur«t oil pipe, is merely an Indication of t negleot on the part of the motorist in assuming that his brakes are efficient. "The toll of acoi--3 dents in these days of high speed, congested roads > and careless pedestrians," says the bulletin, 1 "should allow of no inefficient brakes, and owners L . who thoughtlessly disregard life and limb are a source of danger to all road users. The motor 3 regulations require that a motor vehicle shall 3 not be operated on any road unless its brakes are y i n efficient working order, and a fine not exceed--0 ing £50 is laid down as a penalty. Yet repeatedly 1 instances crop up where brakes are hopelessly inefficient in an emergency." The A.A.A., through 3 its bulletin, urges all members to refrain from a using their vehicles unless the brakes give compie to control.