NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 70, 23 March 1935, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY.

iMushrppms Plentiful. The recent wet and fairly humid weather has resulted in mushrooms being plentiful on the, Auckland market, and they are selling cheaper' than the}' were last last week. The stocks are quickly cleared, as they are meeting with a ready sale. Plunket Appeal. The annual street appeal made yesterday in aid of the funds of the Plunket Society resulted in over £450 being collected during the day. Some strange coins appeared in the collection, also a ticket in a lottery to be drawn next June. Through the mail an anonymous donor sent £10. The wearing of the society's badge by many people showed that the appeal was a popular' one. Eczema In Sheep. The fine days experienced in the Gisborne district this week have brought a certain amount of relief to flocks of sheep stricken with facial eczema. Farmers report that numbers of sheep showing symptoms of eczema have recovered, and that the spread of the disease has been checked. In the past few weeks many farmers have had to slaughter sheep, and the total mortality may run into several thousands. Close Estimating. To have estimated to within £1 in a total expenditure of more than £.">0()0 on public works is a remarkable' feat, but it was done recently by the Hastings borough engineer, Mr. C. *E. Evans. Better still, Mr. Evans was on the right side, for in reckoning up the cost of a schedule of road surfacing he estimated that it would cost £5250, but it was actually £1 less. The estimated cost of completing the programme authorised by the council for this year is £2110. Royal Empire Society. One of the conditions which the Royal Empire Society laid down for the formation of a branch in Auckland was that there should be at least 100 members before a branch certificate would be issued. The Auckland branch, formed in 1020, has now 150 members, and the issue of the certificate is expected by early mail. The aim of the society is to promote preservation of permanent union between 'Britain and all parts of the Empire.

A Court Exhibit. A somewhat unusual exhibit of a pig's head was produced in the Wanganui Court on Wednesday by Detective Packman in a breaking and entering case. Although the head of the porker had been in cold storage for some weeks, it was able to make its own presence known in Court, and incidentally brought along a following of extra witnesses with it in tiio form of sundry blowflies. The latter, if they did-not take the precaution to follow the pig's head out again, will bo in danger of starvation in the hall of justice. School Forced to Close. Twenty-three of the 30 pupils attending the Hanmer School have been stricken with whooping cougli, and on the advice of medical men in the district it lias been decided by the Canterbury Education Board to close the school for a fortnight. In making this announcement, the secretary of the board, Mr. L. E. Rowley, said that he hq.d had no reports of other schools in the board's district being affected with whooping cough, and the genera] health of school children at the moment appeared to be good.

Teacher Sleeping in Porch. "It will obviate his sleeping in the school porch," said the chairman, Mr. J. A. Valentine, at a meeting of the Taranaki Education Board, when the Department forwarded a memorandum approving a giant for the cost of removing from the workshop the old Astwood movable school for use as sleeping accommodation for the teacher at Puniwhakau. The board is also to inform the Department that it considers that the deduction of half the house allowance for the use of the building is disproportionate. Tea-drinking in New Zealand. "I have never drunk so much tea in my life as I have in the past month," said Mr. H. W. Brierley, a retired English Customs official, on his arrival in Sydney from New Zealand. He commented that it seemed to be the usual thing for residents to take tea seven times a day, but although he had found the practice most unusual he thought tiiat it had much to commend it. "I do not knowNvheiher it is due to the tea," he said, "but insobriety appeals to be very rare in Xew Zealand—in fact, during the whole time I was in the Dominion I saw onlv one drunken man."

Yacht Races this Afternoon. The local yacht clubs to-day took advantage of the fine weather in view of the approaching end of the racing season. The Victoria Cruising Club held races on a harbour course for the smaller classes, and the Devonport Yacht Club held harbour and cruising races, the latter going around Kangitoto, finishing at Matiatia. The Ponsonby Cruising Club resailed a keel claes race., while on the Manukau the two Oneh-.vnga clubs combined their fleet of yachts and launches for a cruising race to Cornwallis, the Manukau yachtsmen's favourite rendezvous. Four model yacht clubs held contests, and two clubs will hold handicap events to-morrow.

King's Silver Jubilee. The Auckland central committee of tlie patriotic societies lias notiiicd the Prime Minister unci the Mayor of Auckland of its willingness to co-operate , in the Auckland programme, which will be held in May in connection with the King's Silver Jubilee celebrations. One proposal is a joint dinner of all patriotic societies on May 24. which the new Governor-General will be invited to attend, the function to coincide with a dinner to lie held in London, which will he attended by the Empire's Prime Ministers. On the same da v addresses will be given fit all the Auckland schools, and in the evening tlio Victoria League's Empire Ball will be held.

Old Comrades Meet Again. Two old soldiers, who fought together in the South African campaign, ami had not met for nearly .35 yeans, .renewed their acquaintance recently under remarkable circumstances. One of them was in a relief camp inFranklin Couiity>.a few miles from Waiuku. and- he, heard the foreman -luentioir that a newcomer, was coming, out to join them. The foreman was not quite sure .of- the name, but •he - thought. it was Frank.- , and he had heard he was a-South African veteran from the■Taranaki (Oth Xew Zealand) Contingent. "If it's Frank ,'" said the: old soldier, "I ehall have found a pal, and the camp a firstclass, cook." His surmise was correct, and the two comrades of a bygone campaign, with regimental numbers 3471 and 3472, are once again in camp together.

National Flower Show. Negotiations are proceeding between a committee representing the Auckland Horticultural . Society, the. Auckland Horticultural; Trades Association and the Institute of Horticulture and the permanent committee at Wellington representing horticultural interests in connection with tlie holding of the national flower eho\y at Auckland next year. Tlie committee in Wellington wishes the'show held in January, whereas Auckland opinion, backed wittifa .knowledge of local conditions, is.'that the display should be in the last week of February. ' So far the national flower show has not Jbeen held in Auckland. In January of this year it was held at Dunedin. and in previous yours the show has been liekl_ at Palmerston Xortli. Christehurch and Wellington.

Local Rain. < There were fairly heavy rain eliowers last evening in various suburbs. Rain fell at Mount Eden, Epsom, Xewmarket and Grey Lynn, but the most of the city area escaped, and dry roads and footpaths were in contrast to those in some of the suburbs.

City Vegetable Market. Much of the vegetable supply for the Auckland markets is now coming from the Ohakune district, but a part comes from the suburbs of Auckland and farther south. Kumaras have been selling at less than half the price of potatoes, the latter being dearer owing to a shorter supply than usual, and the prevalence of blight and rust. Produce on Road. A truck load of fruit and vegetables was strewn on Remuera Koad by a collision between the laden vehicle, which was turning out of Eemuera Road into Garden Road, and an outward-bound tram about 7.30 last evening. Although the truck was overturned, the driver, Mr. Harold Bell, of Morrinsville, was not injured, and after it had been righted he was able to drive the vehicle away under its own power. Memorial to Footballer. To establish a memorial to the late Mr. Alf West, for years an outstanding figure in Taranaki Rugby football, Messrs. J. B. Rowe and J. J. Goodwin, on behalf of the Hawera Football Club, are the sponsors of a scheme by which donations not exceeding 2/ti from each individual are collected from members of all Taranaki clubs. So far over £11 has been collected. It is proposed to close the fund on April (i, when a decision will be made on a suitable memorial. A Feat of Eating. To wager £1 that lie could eat 10 dozen oysters in their raw state and then "polish off" l(i dozen was the accomplishment of a man in a Greymouth restaurant on a rece;it evening. In addition, lie ate a fair quantity of bread and butter, and afterwards partook of a cup of coffee, He was also credited with having previously accommodated 13 "long beers," while he was ready to go ahead with the oysters, only that nobody could be found willing to pay for any more for him. The gargantuan feat, it is understood, did not affect his health later.

Butter Output Keeps Up. Although the dairying season is drawing to its close, the recent beneficial rain in the Waikato has checked the seasonal decline in milk production, and farmers everywhere report that the cows are "holding well." At some factories the output- has increased slightly during the past month, or has shown no decline. A total of 20 trucks of butter has been railed away from Morrineville railway station weekly for some weeks, this representing the present weekly output of the two large butter factories in the town. The satisfactory volume of milk still being produced on the farms is reflected in better prospects for pig production than are usual at this time of the year, most farmers ntill having enough skim milk to meet the appetites of the pigs in their stye*, whereas in drier autumns the feeding of the pigs lias been a problem.

" Technology of Newspapers." "As fresh as a spring morning, as comforting ae a woman's presence, and as cheap as a cigarette—the daily newspaper." In these words Mr. E. Aldridge epitomised his topic when addressing the Auckland Chapter of the New Zealand Institute of Secretaries last evening in Milne and Choyce's reception hall. There was a large attendance of members, who evinced the keenest interest in Mr. Aklridge's subject. He reviewed the progress of newspaper typography, and emphasised the fact that the extensive ramifications of news organisation had been paralleled in newspaper development by the marvellous achievements of inventors and technicians on the mechanical side. He explained the various mechanical processes of newspaper production, and illustrated Ins remarks with examples of the contributing agencies of process engraving, linotyping and stereotyping. Mr. D. L. Bone, chairman of tho chapter, presided, and at the conclusion of the meeting thanked the

speaker. Harlem Town. An Aucklander, who recently passed through Xew York, supplies the following footnote on Harlem, Xew York, the scene of the negro riots. "Having read the novels of Du Bose Hey ward, and visualising Harlem as a place of glamour and romance, 1 decided to visit the district. At Times Square I boarded the subway and asked the guard for a ticket to Harlem. He smiled. 'What part Harlem? , he aisked. 'Just Harlem.' 1 said. Tin sightseeing.' A passenger then spoke up ami declared that 'no body knew where Harlem ended and where Harlem began.' Eventually I was given a ticket to Lennox Avenue, which is about ii> minutes' run from Times Square. At Lennox Avenue the subway bobs up from underground, runs on the surface a mile, and then shoots up into the air and becomes an 'elevated.' I got out and looked about me, expecting to see prosperous negroes smoking fat cigars and Beautiful dusky maidens in check suite and divided skirts. But the place was merely drab. I had a cup of tea in a Jewish shop, and went back to Broadway thinking that it js one thing to know a place through the eyes of an imaginative writer, and another thing to go and sec it for yourself." Watch Your Step. "Safety First" writes:—The time is inevitably coming when pedestrian traffic in Queen Street and Karangahapc Road will be officially controlled, but in the meantime there are one or two precautions which may well bo observed. The principal one is simplicity itself, and is well remembered by a paraphrase of an ancient' proverb. "Look before you leave —-the pavement" is a piece of advice which adults, as well as children, appear to need. Almost every day an accident is threatened by people suddenly .stepping itito the roadway to cross, not at right angles, but with the stream of traffic. The place chosen for this perilous step is nearly always opposite a tramway stop, the presence of the concrete structure in the roadway apparently giving n false sense-of security. It is just as easy to be knocked down in the narrow space between kerbstone and tramway stop as in the main road. Motorists are to be commended for their carefuj driving in the main streets, but they would do well to drive more cautiously in city streets that are less frequented.' "SloWer round corners" would be a good slogan.

The Irritant Flea. On account 1 of the hot summer through which we .have passed, it'has been found in many parts of Xew Zealand, 'especially near sa,nd'y benches, that fleas have been 'more plentiful than usual. In a southern district a week or two ago much complaint was made bv travellers of what appeared to-be almost a' plague of fleas. Recently hi Auckland it was found that a house which had been vacant for some time without being properly cleaned had become infested with fleas, which made savage iEittacks on the person who went to get the place ready for occupation again. The clothing had to* be put under a .steaming hotwater tap before it was cleansed of the pests. The great disease for which fleas are responsible as carriers in many seaports id plague, transmkted to humans in most cases from rats. Rats arc stiil oeing- caught on our own waterfront and sent to the laboratory at the hospital for dissection, and last, month nearly 400 were dealt witlr. The worst type of rat is that which comes from the East, known as the brown rat. Wherever it appears it always ousts the black rat, which in its turn nearly exterminated the native rat, which the natives used to regard as a food luxury. The Ilea invasion, it is thought, will disappear with the coming of colder weather ( .