NEWS OF THE DAY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue LXXIV, 17 November 1943, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Teachers' War Service "Of the Auckland teachers on active service 32 have been killed in action, IS are reported wounded, nine are missing, 19 are prisoners of war, and five are missing, believed prisoners," said Mr. W. J. Campbell, chairman, at to-day's meeting of the Auckland Education Board. Birds Help Win the War Birds, by destroying insects and caterpillars, are a direct aid in maintaining production, says a correspondent of the Forest and Bird Protection Society. It is only when the prodigious amount of insects con-, sumed by birds is comprehended that their value to the war effort is appreciated. 1 Mayors in Sulkies Eight Auckland Mayors have entered for a trotting race to be held at Alexandra Park on Saturday, November 27, at a patriotic carnival to be conducted by the Mount Eden and One Tree Hill Patriotic Committees. In addition to this event, the Borough Mayors' Trotting Cup, there will be other horse racing, a military band, sideshows and refreshments. Mr. R. J. Mills, Mayor of Mount Eden, stated last evening that it was hoped to considerably augment the patriotic funds by means of this carnival. Deterioration on Foreshore Experience has shown that the construction of a wooden building on the foreshore is not a sound idea, states the annual report of the Piha Surf Life-saving Club, as maintenance costs are high through bad weather. It is considered that a new clubhouse of brick or reinforced concrete should be built after the war. The present clubhouse requires renovating. At the beginning of the year a sand drift threatened to engulf the present building, but the partial construction of a road has reduced the menace. Pohutukawa Blooms First signs of the flowering of the pohutukawa, usually at the peak of its massive crimson beauty before Christmas, have been observed on one tree near the* Kohimarama Beach. Warm spring weather has helped to swell the buds on all ' pohutukawas, and it is the younger j trees, rather than the gnarled old- • timers, which first show colour and • when in full bloom make glorious i splashes of colour at the seaside. Soil containing pohutukawa seeds has resulted in a number of younger 1 trees reaching the flowering stage for the first time this year in such 1 suburbs as Takapuna. Supply of Ice Cream Provided the Department of Health ' will allow the reduction of the but- i terfat content of ice cream from 10 1 per cent to S per cent, so that less cream would be required, ice cream < manufacturers in Taranaki hope to be able to supply about the same quantities as last year. The reduction in bytterfat would not lessen the nutritive value of the ice cream, said one manufacturer, because it could be built up wil,h other solids and would be just as palatable. The ' supply of cream to manufacturers sax has been reduced to a third of the Bj| former quantity.

The Awakening FoUr young airmen were sleeping soundly on an earlj r morning train as it approached Auckland. The guard entered, collecting tickets. He looked down at the sleeping boys. Then, in a loud voice, he said, "Breakfast is ready!" The four immediately opened their eyes and sat bolt upright. "Tickets, please!" said the guard, with a slow smile. The Farmer's Friend A plea for the total protection of the goldfinch is made by a contributor to Forest and Bird. During the summer its diet consists of insects and grubs, and the rest of the year it lives on the seeds of thistles, ragwort, dandelion, plantain, etc. As it ' destroys the germinative properties of the seed it eats, it is thus of immense value to the agriculturist. Barbarous Improvidence In the 'sixties New Zealanders took far more interest in the future of their country, according to an article in Forest and Bird. Wanton destruction of the bush was referred to in 1868 in Parliament as "our barbarous improvidence," and as long ago as 1851 the settlers were well aware of the dire effects of soil erosion following the loss of the natural vegetative covering. The Jury Smiled The conclusion of the evidence for the Crown in a lengthy trial in the Supreme Court yesterday afternoon drew the comment from Mr. Justice Callan that the Court could be conveniently adjourned until this morning so that counsel could address the Court refreshed. The early adjournment, he added, had also tne advantage that it enabled jurymen who were in business to see whether they still had businesses, a remark which caused a smile among members of the jury, who had been hearing the case for more than a week. Safety of School Children . With the object of more thoroughly safeguarding the lives of school children travelling by tramcars, the Auckland Headmasters' Association, in a letter to the Education Board to-day, asked the board to ascertain from the Transport Board who was responsible for the safety of passengers boarding or alighting from cars, and also what the two-bell signal given by conductors signified. The association also asked the board to ascertain from the Minister of Trans- ; port his reason for declining the proposal to prohibit double-banking on ; bicycles.

Profitable Beachcombing In recent months a good deal of flotsam and jetsam has been washed up on Auckiand beaches. In many cases tinned foodstuffs, such as fruit, tomatoes, bully beef, milk and so on have been found, particularly along the stretch of foreshore which includes the Orakei and Mission Bay beaches and the rock protecting wall in between. One young lad, with an eye to business, has found it proluable to hawk his finds among householders, and when he picked up several airtight sealed tins of cigarettes of an American brand he found a particularly ready market, tinned provisions have again been washed up and some were discovered lodged among the rocks this week, together with a sizable piece of perspex, the material from which windshields in aeroplanes are made.