NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 281, 26 November 1932, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Big Carpet Order. ; ' > A Wanganui business firm lias received one of the largest orders for carpets ever placed in New Zealand. They have secured the carpet contract for the Masonic Hotel, Napier, where between two and three miles of carpeting will be used. It is pleasing to note that all the carpets will be of British manufacture. Early Pohutukawas. A favourable spring has induced the pohutukawa to bloom earlier this year than usual. About a month ago a New Plymouth correspondent reported the first glimpse of crimson on trees overlooking the sea, and the same might have been said of a certain tree at Devonport that is famous for its early blossoms. Last Monday a tree on the cliff that slopes down from Point Resolution Park to Hobson Bay burst into flower, and ie now well covered with blossoms on its upper branches.

Ker&sene. A well-known Wanganui commercial traveller had for some time past adopted the practice of carrying a spare gallon of benzine in a tin on the running-board. Once or twice he found that the, tin had been emptied, so he decided that in future he would carry a gallon of kerosene and see how that would act. Sure enough, during avisit to Palmerston North the other day, some person stole the kerosene. The traveller is now wondering how the engine of the thief's car functioned.

Tobacco and Excise Duty. On 16J acres of tobacco land in the Nelson district one grower has raised 20,0001b of tobacco. This yield has borne an excise duty of 2/8 per lb, or £2666. "It is hardly probable that the Government gets anything like an equal return from the use of land in any other way," said Mr. P. Higginbottom to a Wanganui "Chronicle" representative. "It would be of interest to learn what is the value of the tobacco industry to the Dominion Exchequer." ; t ' . Farm Labour Conditions.

That it wae impossible to get men to go on to farms because of the conditions of employment was the statement made by Mr. A. Swinbourn, and endorsed by other speakers, at this week's meeting of the Matamata Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Swinbourn said that many employers were offering only 15/ and £1 per week, and gave the hours of employment as being from 4 a.m. till 9 p.m. He had no motion to move, but just mentioned the matter to the chamber. Members remarked that such offers were fairly general, and men would not leave the towns for work under such conditions. It was decided to draw the attention of the Prime Minister to the matter.

Unique Case. The question of whether the Palmerston North City Council has the power to prevent vehicles and horses from being driven or ridden over the cultivated grass plots in the streets of the city is being tested in an action which came before Mr. J. L. Stout, S.M., in the Palmerston North Magistrate's Court, when Mrs. Doris Martin was prosecuted for a breach of the by-law, which was framed to prevent such an offence. She was represented by Mr. Relling. The case is unique in that the Court of New Zealand has never been asked to decide this question before. Mr. H. Cooper, appearing for the City Council, said that defendant did not deny riding her horse on the plots. The real question to be decided was the validity of the by-law.

Ten Acres and a Cow. City folk and others, who have so freely designated the Government's ten-acre scheme a failure (says the "Star's" Dargaville correspondent), would, be well advised to visit Okahu, near Mititai, where one man, formerly an upholsterer in the city of Wellington, has been given an opportunity by the Government of owning his own little section, and well,satisfying he finds it. In three months since arriving on the farm he and his wife have made for themselves a small but steady income, and, better still, happiness and deep content. These people, after a period when the husband was with the relief workers, are congratulating themselves on the move they have made. Whilst the work has been hard, they can see some prospect ahead. The bright little house, the vegetable garden and panorama of rolling hills, is a sight worth beholding.

How to Get a Job. Discussing a statement by the headmaster of the Takapuna Grammar School yesterday that many of his boys had sought interviews with business men and got their names placed on the waiting lists for jobs, a young woman, who holds a good position in a large local drapery establishment, reminded a reporter that it was practically useless to go once and rely on getting placed. In times like the present, when so many were after one opening, it was best to concentrate on securing one position and show your prospective employer that you really wanted to become part of his business. "When I found myself out of a job," she said, "I determined that I wanted to get into the firm that I happen to be working for now. Consequently, I told the manager that I wanted to work for him, and that I was going to get in. I called upon him every other day, and at last, probably because he admired my tenacity and because I would not leave him alone, he took me, and I hope he has not regretted it."

A Moa Hunt. A search for moa bones on the Coromandel Peninsula and at Waitomo has resulted in more bones being added to the Auckland War Memorial Museum collection. A party organised by Mr. F. C. Mappin, and including Mr. Gilbert Archey, director of the Museum, Sir Carrick Robertson and Mr. A. T. Pycroft, went first to a beach near Coromandel and in the sandhills found a partial skeleton. More success was met in the limestone country south of the Waitomo Caves. Many of tHo numerous caves in this part were searched, and tlie party got two nearly complete skeletons of small moas, and other sets of bones as,well. The Museum authorities have been getting as many skeletons as possible in order that more may be learned about the moas that inhabited the northern parts of New Zealand. To the layman the name moa always conjures up a big bird like an ostrich, but the moa had a wide range in size, some of them being no larger than a turkey.

The Ngaere Gardens. The origin of the beautiful gardens, set amid the bush at Ngaere, which district of Taranaki celebrated its jubilee on Thursday, has been explained by Mr. C. Sanders, a horticulturist now residing at New Plymouth. About 52 years ago, when he was walking to Hawera to see his brother, a narrow track leading into the bush caught his eye. He followed it, and ate his lunch beside a filial] stream in the virgin forest, here and there marked by'the remains of old camps. He was charmed with the place, and immediately conjured up the possibility of a home in the beautiful surroundings —cool sheltering bush, with giant ratas and rimus, and undergrowths of luxuriant ferns. After a wander round, he noticed that the land was fairly level and fertile, and he decided to buy the section, which was one of many awaiting settlement. In this way a garden that became the delight of thousands of tourists and visitors was started. Much of the bush was gradually cleared and the timber used for fences, some being cut and split for railway purposes for the Government. Eventually the gardens were disposed of, but successive owners have preserved the. beauty of the property as a public retreat. Besides natural bush, rare shrubs and flowers, other attractions are in an ideal setting.