NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 256, 29 October 1934, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Visited by Wild Ducks.

A flight of grey ducks visited Canterbury College on Tuesday afternoon, "many endeavouring to gain an entrance into the physics building. After a brief inspection of the quadrangle, all departed, except one which, to its delight, .discovered the swimming baths behind the engineering school, and enjoyed a swim before its departure. Lucky Boy Cyclist. To fall some 12ft to 14ft on to large blocks of shell rock while travelling fairly rapidly on a bicycle was the unenviable experience of a Maori boy at the north mole of the Wanganui River" this week. With ,a companion from Katana, the- boy was cycling along the narrow'planking when he misjudged his track, landing on the rock with the bicycle on top of him. Severe cuts and bruises resulted from the fall, and an' onlooker stated that the boy was lucky not to have met with a more serious mishap. Preserving Native Flora. The New Zealand Alpine and Rock Garden Society has initiated a scheme to collect and propagate the rare species of Xew Zealand flora and to distribute these amongst the public parks and gardens throughout Xew Zealand, thereby saving them from extinction, which would otherwise be the fate of many owini to the ravages of imported pest.-, the progress of settlement and unscrupulous collection for commercial purposes. The first distribution under the scheme lias just been made. Old Boys' Social Welfare Work. Ten Auckland children will again spend a week at Sister Pat's camp at Waiheke this summer at the expense of the King's College Old Boys' Association. Two years ago the association, as a first effort towards doing something in the way of social welfare work. presented a rowing boat for use by the children who annually spend a health-giving holiday at Sister Pat's camp, the boat being appropriately named the Kingcockcr. Last year the association gave £5 to cover the cost of sending ten children to the camp for one week, and now the Old Boys' executive has .decided to forward a similar amount towards the expenses of the camp this summer. Costly Visits to Town. A judgment debtor who was examined at the Inglewood Court recently proved unusually and refreshingly frank. The debt was for board, and defendant, who stated that he was single and employed by a farmer 13 miles out at 25/ a week, out of which he had to keep himself, admitted that when he went to Inglewood once every six weeks, he spent on an average 10/ each time on liquor. Sometimes he might go back home witli 3/ in his pocket. To the magistrate's query whether on those occasions other people shared in his generosity witness replied, "It's fifty-fifty, sir." In ordering him to make a monthly reduction of the debt, the magistrate advised him that it would be preferable for him not to make a trip to town to pay the amount. Sharks and Sea Lice. A party who began fishing in the Tamaki River late on Saturday afternoon were sorely troubled by sharks. Within half an hour they suffered four broken lines, the sharks merely biting through the lines as soon as they were hooked. As they-were not equipped with shark-catching gear, the party decided that it would be best to wait until nightfall before trying further to catch snapper, but more disappointment' was ahend of them. When the sharks had disappeared, the fishermen found that they were gutting no bites at all, and it was not long before they discovered the reason. One of the party, on hauling in his line a few seconds after it had been lowered to the bottom, found it smothered with sea lice. Under these conditions fishing was hopeless, and the party turned in for the night. Sport yesterday was much better, and a number of large fish were landed. Onerous Task. With the Mayor, Mr. G. W. Hutohison, attending the Melbourne Centenary celebrations, the onerous task of signing 10.f)f>S debentures, to the value of £1,804,17."», representing the City Council's conversion loan, has fallen upon tlie shoulders of the deputyMayor, Mr. A. J. Entriean. The scheme has been successful, 09 per cent of the loans having been taken up, and only £19,50Q being outstanding. Xo cases of dissent were recorded. The debentures are in six classes, ranging from £25 to £10,000. There are only twelve of the latter. The council had 130 loans at varying rates of interest arid terms. The new issue bears interest at 4j per cent, and the term ranges from January 1, 1935, until 1907. The different values of the debentures are distinguished by varying tints. The debentures, in addition to bearing the name of the deputy-Mayor, have all to be signed by Mr. A. Messer, city treasurer.

Impressing the Young Mind. The value of the use of material objects to illustrate addresses to children in church is believed in by the Rev. L. McMaster, of the Onehunga Presbyterian Church, who brings •into his pulpit each Sunday morning thin"* "encrally familiar, but sometimes unusual, with which to teach a lesson. Among those have been lately tovs of various kinds, the forerunner of the Braille system for the blind, a football and a model aeroplane. At last Sunday morning's service the young people's cariosity as to what would be the menus of fixing in their minds the minister's "talk" to them 5 was satisfied when an Australian kookaburra in celluloid form appeared, and was hung on a branch of the day's floral decorations, and their delight was added to when the- "laughing jackass" rendered his "song'' per medium of a gramophone record. This cheerful bird, said the minister, provided an example of a quality God sought in His human creatures, both young and old. Young Man's Folly. "You arc a very foolish young man. Behaviour such as yours takes a lot of explaining. It cannot just be glossed over. You have rendered yourself liable to a stiff term of imprisonment. However, you appear to have been a reputable citizen hitherto, and your counsel has stated that you are not likely to offend again, so you will be admitted to probation,' on the special condition that you make restitution of the £22 you stole from vour employer. To give you every opportunity of making good, I order that your name is not to he published." These remarks were addressed by Mr.. E. C. Levvey, S.M., recently, to a young married man who appeared before him in the City Tolice Court, Invercargill. Accused pleaded guilty to the theft, and elected to be dealt with summarily. Detective T. Smith explained that accused had been oiven an envelope containing £22 by.his employer on September'l4 to bank, but instead of banking it he used it to pay his own bills. Mr. Gordon Reed, who appeared for accused, said the young man had been married a short time ago" He came of a respectable family, and had an unblemished record apart from.this lapse. When his employer found that the monev had not been banked, accused denied all knowledge of what had happened to it. Had he been frank, the matter would not have been placed in the hands of the police. It was not until investigations had been proceeding for some time that accused confessed that he had taken the money. His employer, who was a well-known resident of a country district, would keep the young man on his job despite what had happened.

" Home Earlier." "Where would wo lie without the Press?" asked Mr. G. Benstead at a meeting of the Tiuiaru Borough Council, when a matter affecting the Tiinaru newspapers was under discussion. Later Sir. W. H. Hall replied to Mr. Bonstead's question thus: "Mr. Benstead asked where we would be without the Press. If they were not here, we would get home earlier."

Exhibition of Models. Tlie exhibition of model yachts and ships, working and stationary engines and aeroplanes closed on .Saturday evening. Before the close, the chairman of the committee, Dr. G. Stuart Moore, thanked all who had assisted to make the exhibition a success. He was [ileased to announce that tlie funds of the six model clubs taking part would benefit to the extent of about .€lO each. The attendance of the public on both days indicated the interest taken in models in Auckland. Generous Gift. For some time now efforts have been made in Hunterville to raise funds for the laying down of up-to-date swimming baths, but in these difficult times it has been no easy task. Over 500 was required, and only £100 was in sight when the organising committee received advice that Mr. T. A. Duncan, of "Otairi," would give the remaining £400 eo that the work could start Immediately. The work is being put in hand, so that tlie baths can be opened this summer. Rather Slow in Palmerston. During evidence in the Supreme Court at Palmerston Xorth. a motor engineer who had been called as a witness stated that the average reaction of a motorist to the necessity for applying the brakes in an emergency occupied one or one and a half seconds. "Are they as bad as that in Palmerston Xorth?" asked his Honor Mr. Justice Blair, amidst laughter. He estimated that if a motorist travelling at 30 miles an hour stopped in 12ft after applying good four-wheel brakes, his mental reaction occupied about a quarter of a second.

New Zealand Kindergartens. The opinion that on the whole Xew Zealand kindergartens compared very favourably with those abroad was expressed by Miss Rene Wilkie, a Dunedin kindergarten teacher, who has returned from a visit to Great Britain and the United States, where she made investigations at the invitation of the Carnegie Foundation. Miss Wilkie said that although there were some well-equipped and modern Kinkergartens in the United States, those in Xew Zealand were generally on a higher plane. In the Dominion there were fewer poor and foreign children, and, in consequence, it was possible to have kindergartens of a more uniformly high standard. Boat Life on the Harbour. Further evidence of the approach of summer was to be seen on tlie harbour yesterday, when a large number of yachts and launches; spick and span under their new season's paint, added life to the Waitemata. With the sky overcast for the greater part of the day, the harbour did not look its best, but there was a good sailing breeze that was not so strong as to make conditions uncomfortable for the launches. A number of boats were having their first outing, and full complements were the order of the day. Despite the choppy sea, at least two speedboats spent a noisy afternoon dashing about at a great speed, and at times sending up wide walls of spray.

Dog Poisoner in Dunedin. The miscreant who is strewing the streets in Tainui and St. Kilda with poisoned baite for the destruction of man's most faithful friend has brought regret to several homes, states the "Otago Daily Times." During the past week or so many dogs have been poisoned in these two localities, a circumstance which ■will no doubt be a source of great satisfaction to the distorted mentality of the individual who presumably finds delight in sending a dog to his death in the greatest agony. A friendly fox terrier, the playmate of all the boys and girls as they went to and fro from the Musselburgh School, came home to die on Saturday morning. He reached the gate of his home, gave one or two barks, and then fell to the ground in convulsions, a passer-by securing an instrument and mercifully putting him out of his agony. Relics of Te Rauparaha Raid. Several stone adzes of ancient Maori construction were turned up recently by workmen on the Pelorua Bridge Reserve, when obtaining some soil for top-dressing, states the "Marlborough Express." From time to time Maori curios, including some articles of the valued greenstone, have been found on various parts of the reserves. The old Maori name for the locality is Titi Raukawa,' and there are fragmentary traditions of a big fight or massacre that took place in preEuropean times, when it was occupied by the Xgnitara. tribe, who were forerunners to the Ngatikuia, the tribe that held it when Te Rauparaha invaded the district. The relics were found about a foot under the top soil, and are interesting mementoes of the early Maori occupation of the Pclorus.

A Maori Display. Mr. To Ari Pitama, at a lecture at the Canterbury Museum, said that the South Island Maoris were anxious to give a display in Christchurch during the visit of the Duke of Gloucester. At first it was eonsiuered impossible, but now that the Duke's itinerary has been altered it was hoped that Maoris from all over the South Island would be able to gather in Christchurch, camp in one of the parks, and give a display of hakas, war dances and even a mock battle. Mr. Pitama suggested that if such a display could be arranged it would be a good time to bring before the public of Canterbury the desirability of erecting a Maori meeting house, as" the South Island did not possess one, while the North Island had several, a beautiful example having been recently opened in Petolie.

"Lo! The Merry Mutton Bird." Such is the headline across a whole page of the latest issue of the Port of London Authority"s magazine. A mass of useful information regarding the mutton bird has been sent to the editor of the "P.L.A. Monthly" in response to what he describes as his call for light in darkness regarding the nature, habitat and commercial uses of this creature. "Silence brooded for a space," says the editor, "but now readers in Xew Zealand and Australia have added a store of information which may cause the-eai-s of the mutton bird population to tingle—at least metaphorically." Captain T. F. Pond, of Wcstport, states that the flesh Is looked upon as a delicacy, and that its oil is rich in vitamin A, and is esteemed for medical purposes. The mode of cooking is to boil for about 30 minutes, so as to remove the coat of fat from which the oil is derived, and then to bake the.bird in a hot oven for another half-hour. The properties of the oil, states Cr.ptain Pond, aro by no means sufficiently appreciated. It is useful for chest complaints, as a cosmetic, and, with paraffin, as a hair tonic. Another correspondent, Mr. V. G. Carter, of Christchurch, remarks significantly that the oil, though of groat medicinal value, is much stronger in taste than raw cod liver oil, so lie will leave it to the reader's imagination to realise the force of will required to swallow a dose. Mr. Carter mentions that means have been found of removing the oiliness from the feathers so that they can be used to stuff eiderdown quilts. Curiously enough, not one of the correspondents mentions that the mutton bird is of the shearwater family. However, it receives a whole lot of valuable publicity.