NEWS OF THE DAY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 256, 29 October 1942, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Churchill Auction's "Sticker"

A water colour by the artist who designed the "sticker" for the < hui'c.hill Auctions throughout New Zealand was sold at the auctions \ ivtorday. The artist was Hilda Wiseman, and her painting, "Changing Pastures," realised £4. The "sticker, which was put on all articles donated to the auctions, is a square white label with the letters C and A in black. For those who bought these patriotic gifts the labels will give ; pecial interest in years to come.

Control of White Butterfly

The use of parasites to control the ■white butterfly, which has already appeared in numbers in Chrlstchurch gardens, is described in the annual report of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. The report of the entomology division states that another parasite for use against the white butterfly has been imported from Canada. It is a tachinid fly, which has not been liberated yet. The pupal parasite continues to exert a major control on the white butterfly, and the larval parasite shows every indication of having become successfully established in the Nelson region.

Cow in Bedroom

When a mob of cattle was being driven through the township of Kanieri. on the West Coast, a cow broke away. A well-intentioned resident, to assist the drover, hit the beast with a stick to drive it back. The blow partly stunned the cow, without achieving the desired object. The cow dashed into a hotel and found its way to a bedroom. It slid along the linoleum and rested on its haunches looking at Itself In a duchess mirror. Tne willing resident again came on the scene, climbed .through a window ana forced the cow back out of the bedroom. Once in the passage the cow made for the open again.

People of Iceland

"We went, ashore in Iceland at a small fishing village which, for the ir.ost part of the year, is covered in mow, and found there were quite a tew things you could not buy in Kngland—oranges, eggs, and rather poor silk stockings, as instances," states Seaman Bryan Philpott in a letter to his father, Mr. A. C. Philpott, of Palmerston North. "The people are all of Scandinavian" dof cent and bear names that suggest it. 1 do not know how many • >lsen.-:, Bcrgsens and Johansens I

saw, hut one could see by their laces and hair that they had come from Scandinavian stock. The children scorned the best-dressed, cleanest and healthiest looking lot I've ever seen. They were all tearing around on skis and any attempt on our part to act. a loan of their skis "illy met with the sternest and immutable opposition." Potato Blight in Taranaki Potato Might in many Taranaki gardens lias spread rapidly as a ■ of humid weather, and it threatens to become a serious danger to the large plantings. About 60 acres oi potatoes have been sown by mc N.,rth and Central Taranaki I'rnnaiv Production Council, said i In.' >upcrvisor, Mr. H. M. Sorenson, I nit. these plants are not above the ground and so should not be affected. Machinery for spraying them is, however. being prepared, and although it is not yet available, it wi-'l when ready spray four rows at •i tune and complete almost three at res an hour. Plight, which is a . pure present in the soii and affects i he plant under certain atmospheric ■ ourlitioiis. can he checked only by p-aying. preferably when the shoots ate about five inches above the vio'iud and with a weakened

No Light on the Problem

U J? a Vr, ou flints for a eas lighter. inquired a woman of a hardware shopkeeper in the city yesterday No, I'm afraid not. madam." But what on earth am I to do' You must have something with which to light a gas stove," she said worfWell, get matches," he replied. The woman stared at him in amazement, asking, "Don't you know how difficult it Is to get matches?" Oh, is it. he said. The woman snook her head and went out wondering where he had been hibernating.

Tank Surprises Remuera

A grim reminder of war created some attention in a peaceful section of Rernuera this morning in the shape of an efficient-looking medium tank which rumbled across the main road and caused clusters of pedestrians to gather on the street corners, familiar enough in some parts of the country, tanks are not often seen in Remuera, and what might be termed an apparition caused no little interest. It was noticed that the driver poked his head forward out of the trapdoor in order to observe oncoming traffic at an intersection.

Heavy Shelling in Desert

Describ ng briefly the battles in Libya and Egypt a few months ago, Captain G. S. Cooper. M.C., of Christchurch, in a letter to a friend, commented on the heavy shelling by ♦ t ® £ es " "Things are prettv sticky, he wrote on August 11, "and the average New Zealander hates fighting defensive battles, but one cannot always make one's own rules ♦Si 1? game. Shelling predominates tnis time, and one of my men who was in France last time considers it heavier than anything he had been up against. However, we hand it out to them, so it's not all one-sided. At present I am in a base camp for a spell from up yonder, where we spent five hectic weeks."

Interest in Bat Roosts

"A Queensland farmer who sought plans and specifications for building bat roosts' in the hope that the bats would eradicate insect pests, while supplying payable quantities of batguano h»s submitted an unusual inquiry," states the latest issue of the Australian Museum Magazine "It was pointed out that the only successfully colonised roost in Texas had not eradicated malarial mosquitoes. Merely encouraging a transference of residence would not increase the natural influence of bats in controlling the balance of Nature where bats are already plentiful because of a rich insect fauna and suitable haunts."

Home Guard Casualty

In the "battle of the Kaimais," in which the Hamilton Home Guard over the week-end reinforced the "attacking Japanese" from the east, many exciting incidents occurred, and one which befell a certain sergeant will not lightly be forgotten by him for some time. It is easy to get lost in the bush, but when the call came for a volunteer to fill the billy from a stream 200 yards away from where his unit was camped, the sergeant had no misgivings as to his ability to fulfil what appeared mere child's play. As time went on, however, it was realised that something was amiss, and a commando unit was detached to tina him. A search failed to locate tne missing sergeant until, in response to their calls, a faint voice, was heard coming from the direction 2-. a P atc 'i of thick undergrowth. h™i'S nt , had tripped and fallen head toiemost in a steep depression, the air S ® uspende <? wit " his in f ♦ k a .Precarious and uncomfortable position he had occupied for over an hour He was in a state of exhaustion when extricated by hi'. companions. J