NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 29, 4 February 1939, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Ejecting a Swarm of Bees.

•A novel method of dealing witli.".a,;swarm; of bees which he found in his milking.-shed; near milking time was adopted -.bjt. a Lichfield, farmer. He wanted the bees out .of the. shed quickly. He drove the farm truck up to the shed and attached to the exliaiist a length of piping, on to which lie fixed lengths, of. milking machine rubber. Having, started the engine he inserted the tube through the wall on to the bees. Carbon monoxide-is a deadly gas, and the bees were soon asphyxiated. The farmer says he received only one sting. Brotherhood of Scouting. For nearly 30 years the ten laws which govern the eonduet and set forth the ideals of a boy scout have remained unchanged, but the latest edition of "Policy, Organisation and Rules" advises a slight alteration, but one which provides an interesting reflection; upon the trend of international relationships. 111 the world to-day. The fourth law, which deals with, brotherhood, has two sigrnifieant words added, "country" and "class." The law; now reads: "A scout is a friend to/all. and a brother to every other scout, lio matter-to what country, class or creed the other -may belong." * j Not So flot. The sight of a man dressed in tropical garb on the terraces at Eden. Park during the Tlunket Shield cricket play moved observers to expressions of envy. It was, they said, the ideal garb—cool and refreshing. The deep cream suit, the solar topee, and, in fact, the general ensemble was just what all Auck-; landers should wear. Envy: raged in. their breasts until such time as the man hitched up his trousers and displayed a generous quantity of the bottoms of heavy woollen underpants. The touch of incongruity efTce- | tually dispelled any false ideas that the tropical kit wasrworn for coplness. That Christmas Bottle! They were, talking together in the bus— the braw Scot and the rather mild looking man, and the Scot introduced the subject of Christmas gifts from firms with which he did business. The subject apparently rankled, for it was a long time now since Christmas. "They were pretty stingy with it this year," he said. "All I got wurr some cigarettes, and I dinna. smoke. Ma brither-in-law got them." "Yes, it wasn't too good this year, was it? But I didn't fare so badly. I was given a bottle of whisky. You know, I don't drink, but I told a friend of mine about it, and he offered me G/G for it. That wasn't bad, was it?" The Scot had the appearance of suffering, and he stared wonderingly at his friend. "Whusky!" he said. "Whuskv! Ye tuk G/6 for a bottle of whusky. Michtv guidness. . . . Sax and sax fur a bottle of whusky!" Football Trophy in Fire. In the big fire at Wellington on Thursday, involving the destruction of the new Social Security Building and other premises, the Trans-Tasman Cup, played for between New Zealand and Australian Rugby League, teams was endangered. It was eventually saved with difficulty from a guest house, where it was in charge of the donor, Air. Roy Courtney. The trophy was slightly damaged. Members of the household were awakened by the spectacular blaze. Belongings were hastily gathered and rushed to the street. Mr. Courtney had no time to properly encase the cup and base. Mr. Courtney, who was slightly injured when helping an elderly man. from a house, has the Trans-Tasman Cup (which is insured by. the New Zealand Rugby League) for the purpose of carrying out certain improvements, and he is awaiting the arrival of the Courtney International Goodwill Trophy from England for the same purpose. The Trans-Tasman Cup was retained by New Zealand in the 1937 Tests against the touring. Australian team, while the Coodwill • Trophy honours rest with England as the result of the 1936 aeries of Teat matches. . Brilliancy Prize. Information has been received from the New Zealand Chess Association that Mr. D. I. Jones, of the Auckland Chess Club, won the brilliancy prize at the championship meeting held in Wanganui during the Christmas holidays. Numerous entries were submitted, and the adjudication was left ill the hands of Air. W. E. Mason, of the Wellington Club. The game selected by Mr. Jones for his entry was that against .. D. Lynch, of Hastings, Mr. Jones having rtlie handicap of the black ; pieces. It" was a queen's pawn opening, Mr. Jones using, the .— Nimzovitch defence. In the end game lie sacrificed a rook to bring off a- mate in fouiy-aiul. succeeded in his tactics.. Mr.- Jones is the Auckland Chess Club's strongest player, and lias been champion of the club, on numerous occasions. He played exceptionally well at congress, and at one stage his prospects of winning the championship were bright, but he did not have the run of luck that is as necessary with chess as with any other form of sport. On a former occasion the brilliancy prize was won by a member'of the Auckland Chess Club, the Rev*.H. B. Wingfield, the present patron of the club.

Walking Sticks Barred.

It happened 'in a tramcar recently. An absent-minded fellow, carrying a reversed .walking stick.under, his .arm, prepared''to''dis-: embark in Lower Queen Street;- As.-he-started for the -doqrflie- felt" a-tug :ahd ; i6im.d..tlia.t 'he .was. making;little'.progrcsi; He gave;.a jerk' and,- as -something- had 'to' goj^ifc'-was■ the ■walking stick;"which Jell to --the ; -iloor with ;i clatter. An' -inquest revealed ■ tli'at : th&- crook of tlie i stick "was' still entangled 'm' the front of .tlie overcoat, of a ' feminine • strapJianger.Ail apology followed, tlie lady was satisfied, the mail:got off.'with Hhe offending ;walking, stick, carefullyjlehl. so that 110 more accidents would; occur—and-tlie tram went on.

N.Z.'s Own Mickey Mouse.

. A mouse of the lioine-grown New variety caused considerable am usement •• in Queen. Street yesterday afternoon,* attracting a-crowd large enough "to'-block the pavement. As far as entertainment:goes, Walt. Disney's creation had nothing on this rodent, whose: simple actions provoked many smiles. He was nibbling ice-cream cones in a- confectioner's window! Emergency Air Raid Plan. Questions relating to the emergency pre-, cautions scheme as drafted by the Government last year for civil organisation in the event of a national crisis were discussed informally yesterday, at a meeting of Mayors, and chairmen' of-local authorities in the metropolitan area. The meeting was addressed by ~ the 'Mayor of Auckland, Sir Ernest Davis, who explained the organisation and the • ;morerecehtly drafted suggestions for training in air ra.id precautions. The meeting expressed its support for the special committees that have been appointed to further the schemes. Helensville Show. After 24 hours of heavy rain and every prospect of a wet day to follow, the executive of the Helensville A. and P. Association made a decision last Monday morning to abandon the "annual ,show fixture. Despite the heavy rain the show grounds did not show much, surface water, but a few events would have made a big difference. The approaches were almost impassable, and with the continued rain it was very doubtful whether many exhibitors or spectators would put in an appearance. In place of the show as scheduled, the executive has now decided to hold a horse show on Easter Saturday. The programme will include all the classes in the show schedule, with the addition of several interesting competitions for riders. Moonshine. How the whims of their Mayor keep the citizens of a small town in Massachusetts guessing wa,i told by an Aucklander who returned the other day from a visit to the United State s - The Mayor's latest example of novel ideas . ; n administration was presented to an astour-ded public last month, when, observing that the moon was full, he ordered the local power plant to switch off the street lights and leave them off on future moonlit nights. He justified his policy by claiming that it saved the town nearly £20 a night in power charges, and by pointing out that combined fnoon and street light was so bright as to blind motorists. However, he had to hire i two relief workers to watch the moon in case clouds blew over it and the lights had to be switched on again. Crackers Out of Place. A warning to Auckland's blighter spirits that there are proper times aiul proper places for fireworks was implied in a case heard in the Police Court yesterday. A youth ivas charged with setting off fireworks in Quay Street ten minutes before midnight on New Year's Eve. The street was packed with people, said Sub-Inspector Fox, and the youth was seen by a police officer to throw a cracker over his head. The officer considered it was a dangerous thing to do. Mr. Fox added that others were letting off crackers at the same time, but defendant was the only one actually seen. For that reason the police did not wish to press the charge too strongly, but the fact that it was an offence' should be known. "Just be more circumspect next time," said Mr. F. H. Levien, S.M., in dismissing the information. It's a Small World. ' . A peculiar coincidence is being retailed in Te Awamutu, concerning a well-known professional, gentleman and a. member of his family. It appears that the junior member, While spending some time in a Taranaki town, was imbued with the idea of playing a trick on passing motorists by making a parcel and leaving it 011 the roail. .To add. a touch of realism, the address of the Te Awamutu parent was given. The parcel was duly picked up by a passing motorist, who, as it happened, was from the Te Awamutu district and travelling to Wellington. Noth-ing-further was heard, of the incident, and the -perpetrator of the hoax returned home to To-Awamutu. Then came the parcel, by delivery, .the finder having arrived homo also. When the parcel was opened it was found to contain several discarded articles of wearing apparel and rubbish. The writing on the parcel was recognised as that of the perpetrator, and explanations followed. When it ;s realised that the trick was played on the main south road in a large town, it is remarkable that. the parcel should have been picked up by a To Awamutu district motorist and eventually delivered to the addressee.