NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 124, 28 May 1938, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Porpoises in the Harbour. Porpoises are not often found in the inner harbour, but this morning two, driven in probably by the cold conditions, were sighted not far from the track of the Bayswater-City ferry. To the first casual glance the fish suggested a gnarled and blackened branch of a tree, but after watching them a few moments the regularity with which they dived was noticed, and as they passed they could be seen distinctly. Ski-ing and Sowing. Two Hawke's Bay farmers, Messrs. Hill brothers, of Fernhill. have devised & new technique in the resowing of silted land on their farm. .An area of 110 acres ot their l3;*-acre property has been covered by sandy silt, and when resov'ng by hand was co-ii-menced a few weeks ago they discovered thi't they sank in so much that they fixed boaivK to their feet to overcome the difucul y. Both [orsessed old pairs of skis, howcvei, .and < n experiment it was discovered that tr.'-.-t method was much, more satisfactory. New Health Officer. To bring the staff of the Health Department at Auckland up to strength, Dr. Hubert Smith, who has recently been medical officer of health for Northampton county, England, is shortly to take up an appointment here. It. is expected that lie will arrive in Auckland in August, after travelling through Canada and the United States. Meanwhile, Dr. Dawson, medical officer of health at New. Plymouth, is temporarily relieving at Auckland, and will probably remain here until the approach of Dr. Smith's arrival. Demand for Newsprint. Judging by the figures of newsprint consumption in the various countries of the world during 1930, New Zealanders are among the keenest newspaper readers, says the "Evening Post's" London correspondent. The United Kingdom conies first, with newsprint requirements of GOlb per head during the followed by New Zealand and Australia, each with 581b per head. There was after that a bitr drop to Canada, 3C>lb, and then came Argentine, 271b; Scandinavia, 201b; the Netherlands, 231b. A remarkable contrast was provided by the countries where the Press docs not enjoy the freedom it possesses in democratic countries. Japan's requirements during the year wore 131b per head, Germany's 111b, Italy's 31b and Russia's 31b. New Drainage Bill. To consider a draft bill for the constitution of the proposed Auckland Metropolitan drainage district, a committee of the Auckland and Suburban Drainage Board will meet next Wednesday. The committee has been empowered to approve the draft, which will then be lodged at the Magistrate's Court and at the board's office for three weeks, during which it will be open for public inspection. When ready for submission to Parliament the bill will be placed in charge of Mr. W. T. Anderton, M.P. On all essential points the provisions follow the recommendations of the commission which inquired into the question of the boundaries and administration of a greater Auckland drainage area. It is proposed to develop, firstly, an "inner" area comprising Auckland city, the boroughs of Mount Eden, Mount Albert, Newmarket. One Tree Hill, Onehunga, Otahuhu and Ellerslie, the town district of Papatoetoe, the road districts of Mount Roskill, Mount Wellington and Motukorea Island. Later a number of other districts, chiefly on the west of the city, will be added as an "outer" area. These include the borough of New Lynn, the town districts of Glen Eden, Henderson and Manurewa. the Pt-nmure township road district, the portions of the Waitemata county which lie within a radius of nine miles of the Auckland Chief Post Office, and portions of the Manukau county within a radius of 14 miles. The bill will repeal the present Auckland Drainage Act, which has been in force for 30 years. Imported Strawberry Plants. Interesting experiments to test the possibilities of overseas varieties of strawberries under Auckland conditions are being carried out 'at the Government's new plant research station at Mount Albert. During the past 12 months strawberry plants have been imported fiom Australia, America, England and Germany, and have been planted alongside the local commercial varieties. Most vigorous in appearance of all the plants are those from Germany, which have multiplied with surprising rapidity. Half a dozen plants which arrived in January have since produced siiffi- < ient runners for a row 100 yards long. The local varieties, by contrast, are very slow growing. Some of the Australian plants, which the Department has been trying out for several years, have borne fruit of good quality and quantity nt the Palmrrston North station, and are expected to do equally well in Auckland. It is, however, too early yet to form an estimate of the comparative commercial value of the various varieties, as straw berry cultivation is the most uncertain of all soft* fruits. Previous efforts have been made to introduce overseas plants in Auckland, but the results have been generally disappointing. Under field conditions plants which .vere healthy and disease free in \the nurseries have been susceptible to foot rot and rust, and the growers have been compelled to rely on the established varieties, of which commercially the Captain Cook is to-day regarded as the most satisfactory.

Water Mains at Parnell. The Auckland City Council has improved the water supply service at the lower end of St. George's Bay Road, Parnell, where there are a number of large wool stores and other buildings. Pipes have been cleaned and relined, and the flow has been greatly increased. In addition a main from the Strand has been linked with the main in King's Drive. This has doubled the flow for fire-fighting purposes in the locality served. "Is That You, John?" An amusing .story was told by the Rev. E. T. Olds at the John Wesley commemoration service in the Town Hall. Mr. Olds said that during the past few weeks there had been so many references to the great evangelist in his home that his femily thought of little else. As he was leaving for the meeting a friend telephoned, and Mr. Olds replied, "Is that you, John?" whereupon his small daughter remarked, in all innocence: '"That must be John Wesley." Church Anniversary To-morrow. To-morrow will mark the ninety-sixth anniversary of the arrival in New Zealand of Bishop Selwyn. On October 17, 1841, at Lambeth Palace Chapel, England, he was consecrated first Bishop of "New Zealand. His arrival meant the consolidation of the Anglican Church in the young colony. A great athlete and a tireless worker among the Maoris, Bishop Selwyn made many arduous journeys to visit tribes. His name is engraved on the tablets of the Dominion's history. Importance of a Point. By overlooking one tiny dot in an analyst's report, counsel for the defence in a caseheard at the Christchurch Supreme Court rather damaged a vigorous passage in his address to the jury. "The analyst's report," he told the jury, "shows 25 per cent of alcohol in the blood of the deceased." Beneath the ripple of laughter around the Court, and the demand for "Order!" from the crier, those' in the neighbourhood of counsel's table heard the voice of the Crown Prosecutor, issuing, muffled, from behind his hand, "Point two five!" Another glance at the report assured the erring barrister that the alcohol content of the dead man's blood was, in fact, .25 per cent. "A most important point," he conceded, correcting his error. Six New Railcars. Six new railcars of a standard type are at present under construction in the Hutt railway workshops. They are being built with all-steel bodies, and. beside- being considerably larger than the Mahaanui and similar railcars now operating on the Wellington-Palmerston North service, will contain many improvements. The first of the new cars is Hearing completion. It is 06ft in length, will be powered by two 140 brake horse-power Leyland Diesel engines, one at each end, and will have seating accommodation for 52 passengers. The exterior is painted in aluminium with a broad band of green from end to end, the interior walls being finished off in green and the ceiling in silver. Much heavier than the type of railcar now in service, the new standard vehicle is mounted on two low bogies, with four wheels to each bogie. Electrified Fences in Country. A recent report that the Franklin Electric Power Board had approved of electric fences for stock was commented upon by the Minister of Public Works, the Hon. R. Semple. The Minister said that his Department was not yet satisfied as to the safety of fences charged with electricity, and it was unlikely that such fences operated from power mains would be permitted for some time to come. At present they appeared to be contrary to the electrical regulations, and, while he was anxious to avoid holding up any form of progress, he was not prepared to recommend the amendments that would bo necessary to existing regulations to permit such fences until he was satisfied that the fences could be o]>erated without risk to human beings. The question was being investigated, and would be given full consideration. It is understood that the proposed electrified fences would carry a low voltage, sufficient to give a shock that would make animals keep away from wire or wires. Such fences could be erected with a considerable saving of wire and posts. Travelling Library Service. The tw'o country library service book vans are now nearing completion at the railway workshops at Wellington, and will enter service on Wednesday. The opening ceremony for the service will be performed at Parliament Buildings on Monday. The Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage, and the Minister of Education, the Hon. P. Fraser, will be in attendance. One van will toui the South Island, and the other the North Island. Two trained librarians will drive them, and books will be distributed throughout the Dominion. Itineraries of two weeks' duration will be planned by the bead oflkv in Wellington. When country libraries have received the new books the work of the librarians in charge of the vans will be to exchange books throughout both islands. Mr. (I. 'J'. Alley, 'officer in charge of the country library service, and bis assistants are working to have the vans loaded with a full complement of books for the opening ceremony. Each will carry approximately 1150 books. The system of distribution offered by the country library service is the outcome of some years of study and consultation by Mr. Alley, and the service will replace the present system of subsidies to country libraries. The service will make available to country libraries prepared lists of carefullyselected books of a fictional and non-fictional character free of charge.