NEWS OF THE DAY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 153, 30 June 1944, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Extermination of Hedgehogs A proposal that the payment of a royalty on hedgehogs should be discontinued was discussed by the executive committee of the Otago Acclimatisation Society. Mr. S. H. Barnes said that even if the society paid out all its revenue in royalties it would not succeed in exterminating the hedgehog. "Unless something is done on a national basis," he said, "we might as well leave the whole thing alone." Dr. C. D. Greenslade favoured the spending of money- on an educational campaign. I£ was decided to consider the matter again after the next meeting of the South Island Acclimatisation Council. Dehydrated Vegetables Dehydration of vegetables for shipment to the Pacific has begun at the Internal Marketing Division's factory at Riccarton. Many tons of dehydrated vegetables, it is expected, will be ready for shipment in the next few months when the factory reaches full-scale production. Carrots are already being dehydrated and potatoes will be the next vegetable to be processed. About three hundred men and women will be employed, working two shifts, when the peak of production is reached. The Riccarton factory is the first vegetable dehydration plant set up in the South Island, although there are two similar factories in the North Island. A fruit dehydration factory began operations in Nelson this month, while another fruit factory is operating in the North Island. Responsibilities Heeded A pleasant cnange from the frequent assertions about the unsettling ; effect of war on soldiers came in recent remarks of Mr. C. H. Perkins, a Christchurch member of the New Zealand Society of Accountants. He : said that many of the returned servicemen were studying better than < they did before they went overseas. ; They were older, and had a better 1 appreciation of the importance of 1 diligence. The council is co'ntinu- 1 ing to grant reasonable war conces- : sions in regard to its examinations, 1 but the members feel that it is much 1 better to encourage and help soldier 1 students to pass their examinations 1 than to enter the profession on a l lowered standard, as they would be c thus better qualified to give satisfac- t tory service to the community. Price Differences ' The difference in prices for cloth- i ing in Australia and New Zealand i has been referred to on several occa- A sions in recent months. An adver- £ tisement in a Sydney newspaper of c recent date attracted the attention s of some Auckland women, for it t offered women's long-sleeved wincey- t ette pyjamas made from "heavy f quality winceyette," with elastic at \ the waist, for 15/4 a pair. The mere £ mention of elastic in New Zealand c shops causes women to prick up their c ears ar.d ask what firm has it for i sale Another line advertised in i Sydney is all-wool nightdresses at 1 29/11. Women shoppers state that t on'v at odd tim'es can these lines be 1 Obtained in Auckland. They are not i to be bought at anywhere near pre- t sent Australian prices, which from a c NeSv Zealand point of view date back t to pre-war or early war days. \

Gift Cigarettes Packets of cigarettes issued to sicl and wounded in hospitals in Nev Zealand and overseas bear an over printed indication that they are th< a gift of the National Patriotic Func Board. On the other side of th( e packet, specimens of which hav< been brought back to the Dominior by men from the Pacific, it is statec . that the cigarettes are supplied bj / tne Joint Council of the Order of St s John and the Red Cross Society. 3 Butterfly Collection 2 Classification ana arrangement oi 2 more than 10,000 moths and butter 1 flies in the Canterbury Museum was 3 completed during the year by the 1 part-time etymologist, Mr. S. Lind--1 say, reported the acting-director, Mr. R. S. Duff, in his annual statement presented to the Canterbury College Council. The collection was de- , scribed as probably the most repre- ; sentative in New Zealand, lacking ; only 1300 described species. Seven- : teen of the specimens were unique. ■ Chairs for Hotels '■ Advice of his desire to fulfil a promise made during the campaign for the municipal, control of hotels to ■ give fifty leather-back chairs was received from Mr. Frank Holloway at a meeting of the Invercargill Licensing Trust. Mr. Holloway wanted to know when the trust would be ready to take delivery of these chairs. His cheque for £100 for lighting the first communityowned hotel had already been handed over. The trust commended Mr. Holloway for his public spirit. Inter-Island Shipping In reply to the South Island Local Bodies' request for a fast passenger and cargo service for the south, with an investigation of freights and coastal cargo, the Minister of Supply, Mr. Sullivan, said that before the war plans had been approved for a fine passenger and cargo vessel for the inter-island service, but obviously its construction could not be gone on with at present. Passenger vessels in the New Zealand service I were at present engaged in important war service and it was not possible to say when they would be available for their former runs. Two large passenger and several cargo vessels in the New Zealand service had been lost through enemy action, but when the time arrived the work of replacing them would be undertaken without delay. 1 Older Women Typists A thoughtful suggestion concerning older women shorthand typists in the Public Service is made by F. W. Millar in an article in the Public Service Journal. "Viewing the careers of those who have given the service their full working life, I come to the conclusion that pounding a typewriter and drinking in dictation for 35 years of a woman's natural working life is good neither for the State nor for the individual so doomed," he says. "Mechanical efficiency recedes in the later years. An intelligent woman, however, secures in a few years a good working knowledge of Departmental activities which is at present not utilised. I believe in a wider future for such an employee, possibly by merging the dual role at an age when the odds indicate she is likely to make the service her career for the allotted WO uy wwril."' 1