NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 136, 10 June 1932, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

The Moon and the Planets. The new moon this month has been a particularly interesting object, on account of its very close proximity to the two brightest planet*. On Tuesday evening it appeared almost alongside Venus-. Last n'.ght it was half-way between Venus and Jupiter, and to-night it will be close to Ji'piter. Feast of Pentecost. • The FeJWit of Pentecost is being observed to-day and to-morrow by the Auckland Jewish community. The festival is known to the Jews Bβ the Feoet of Shevouth. It is of agricultural nature, marking the closing of the grain harvest, which in Palestine lasted seven weeke. Services were held last evening and to-day at the Synagogue, conducted by the Rev. S. A. Goldstein and the Rev, A. Astor. Hon. R. J. Seddon's Death. To-day is the twenty-eixth anniversary of the deaiii of the Right Hon. R. J. Keddon. Mr. Seddou, who was Prime Minister of New Zealand for over 13 years, died on board 1 lie steamer Ouwestry Grange on June 10. 1900, when returning to Wellington from a visit to Australia. According to custom, wreaths were laid to-day at the base of Mr. Seddon'fi statue in. the grounds of Parliament Houise. Mrs. Suddon died in July last, at the age of SO. Society of Arts Gift. An offer or a water-colour painting by A. H. Cook, entitled, "The Grey Valley," to the City Council was accepted last evening. The painting was shown at the recent Society of Arts exhibition, and the chief librarian and director, Mr. J. Barr, *aid it showed a fine appreciation of landscape perspective, and would make a worth-while addition to the New Zealand section of the Art Gallery. Jll accepting the picture, it was decided to thank the Society of Arts for the gift. Noted Boxer's Visit. The famous American heavy-weight boxer, "Young" Stribling, who fought Max Schmeling for the world champioimhip last July, will make an appearance at Auckland this month. Cabled advice has been received from Mr. H. IX Mcflltosh, of the. Australian National Sporting Club, which is sponsoring bouts by Stribling in Australia, that the American pugilist will reach Auckland by the Monterey on June 20, and a representative of the sporting club will arrive, in the city next week to arrange for an exhibition bout ill Auckland by Stribling. Cats as Poachers. "In my opinion there is no greater enemy of game than the domestic cat wiien it has taken to the bush," said Mr. C. H. Drysdale at last night's meeting of the Auckland Acclimatisation Society. "The ordinary cut is far worse than any stoat or weasel," he added. The secretary, Mr. C. M. Gordon, who reported that over £400 had been expended in rewards for vermin destruction during the past two months, said it might be well worth while to give a reward for killing wild cats, but probably it would be a dangerous precedent. It would certainly be no cany matter to distinguish between the tail of the ordinary domestic pussy and that of a cat that had "gone wild." Charges Reduced. Charges made for the playing of football matches on grounds controlled by the City Council were last evening reduced, although the Parks Committee recommended that no action be taken. Mr. E. J. Phelan moved that the charges be reduced for matches begun between noon and 12.30 p.m. from .">/ to 3/ '; for matches begun at 1.30 p.m. from 10/ to 7/<i; and for matches begun at 3 p.m. from 15/ to 12/0. Mr. G. L. Taylor, chairman of the Parks Committee, opposed Mr. Phelan's amendment. He said the present ground charges were very reasonable, and pointed out that the estimates for the year provided for an expenditure of XIS,OOO more than the revenue that would be received from the parks. Handling Golignite. Gelignite, w7ien frozen, becomes super-ecnei-tive, and on no account should any but approved methods of softening it for use bo resorted Jo, an expert in high explosives told a Christehureh reporter, when "commenting on the northern tragedy where a woman and child were killed through gelignite placed near a kitchen oven for softening exploding. This man declared that putting gelignite in a stove was asking for a fatality, and added that the general ignorance of safety precautions in use of explosives in this country was amazing, considering that there were many clear and simple laws of safety. Nearly all explosion accidents arose through carelessness or ignorance. Explosives were quite safe when handled properly. Wekas Seen Fighting. A resident or Aniuri, North Canterbury, watched a fierce light between two female wekas. After standing about 4ft apart, they came against each other like whirlwinds (relates Mr. James Drunimond in the "Christchurch Star"). Their feathers were so ruffled that their bodies seemed to be twice the normal size. The attacks were repeated several times, until one received si knock-out blow, tin a peculiar note being uttered, two males appeared and fought, screeching loudly and making the feathers fly. One was defeated and left the ling. While this was taking place, several young birds stood by, and added their voices to the din. They disappeared, and the females, which seemed to be the mothers of the two separate families, confronted each other again and rushed together. One, finally driven back, retired. The winners of the two duels evidently were mates. Uttering several notes, they brought their young around them, and the victors held a little gathering, apparently of a congratulatory character. Salmon or Trout? The council of the Auckland Acclimatisation Society last evening considered a request from the Wanganui Society for co-operation in a scheme to liberate quinnat salmon in the Wanganui River. A letter hud been received from Mr. D. F. Hobbs, hon. secretary of the New Zealand Fresh Water Research Committee, stating that there was no reliable data on the effect on trout of: the introduction of quinnat salmon in North Island rivers. Until more was known, it was not possible to give a definite answer to the question, and possibly it would be unwise to do anything that might jeopardise the trout fishing in the Wanganui. In the course of a discussion which followed, Dr. T. W. Johnson said the quinnat died after spawning, and there was no doubt they fouled the rivers. "They are poor eating, at any rate, and we are just as well off without them," said another member. It was decided to forward the reply of the Research Committee to the Wanganui Society.

What People Read. Increased use of the librariee in every department was noted in the report for the year submitted by the chief librarian and director, Mr. John Barr, to the City Council last evening. The total issue from the lending departments \vu>3 076,171 volumes, of which fictional works accounted for 357,311, general literature for 179,521, and juvenile literature for 130,339. Compared with the previous year, 33,015 more volumes ot general literature were issued, the increase being at the expense of fiction. "While the increases in the number of visitors and in the books consulted in the reference departments is not so surprising, considering the depressed conditions, which have been conducive to people using these departments, the large increase in the books borrowed from the lending department is quite astonishing," stated the report. "It is perfectly clear that among the bought pleasures library subscribers have decided that that of reading good books from the libraries is one of the last that they will sacrifice. More remarkable still w the increase in the demand for nonfictional works."