General News

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 21010, 11 November 1933, Page 12

General News

Display of Rhododendrons. Much attention is being attracted to the Millbrook Reserve, Fendalton, at present, by a magnificent display of rhododendrons. Among the plants are specimens of the Pink Pearl, White Pearl, Alice, Doncaster, and Loderii varieties, and a number of other hybrids, some of which are blooming for the first time in a public reserve in Christchurch. The azaleas, which for the last month have been the centre of much admiration are now beginning to die off. ! Busy Governor-General. ! On their present visit to Christchurch the Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe, and Lady Bledisloe have been asked to undertake a programme of public duties which would perhaps exhaust even an experienced political campaigner, but their Excellencies have faithfully fulfilled every one of their many engagements. The exhaustive nature of the calls made on him were referred to by Lord Bledisloe when speaking to members of the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association at the luncheon yesterday at the Show Grounds. "I enjoy nothing more than the warm friendship of the Canterbury people, but I find that they are a little exacting in the number of speeches they expect from a somewhat exhausted gubernatorial brain," he said. | River Pollution. "There appears to be special need to recognise and to deal with the menace of pollution in our rivers," states Mr A. E. Ilefford. chief inspector of fisheries, in his annual report. "The law is as definite as legislation on such a subject can be, but the fact remains that in certain places sewage, sawdust, dairy and works effluents have been and are deteriorating fishing waters and fouling what were once resorts for pleasant and healthy recreation. The newness and relatively sparse population of the country should not be allowed to encourage an attitude of indifference or a mercenary viewpoint with regard to these dangers when older countries have recognised the error of such policies in the past and are now paying a heavy price to remedy the damage to fisheries and the blight to riparian amenities that have been wrought by pollution. It is desirable that steps should be taken under Ihe powers conferred by the Fisheries Act to prevent the pollution not only of trout and salmon waters, but of all fresh waters containing indigenous fish or acclimatised fish. There is real danger m the tendency to ignore the exiguous beginnings of water contamination." Disguised Cabbages. Chinese market gardeners in Wanganui have hit upon an ingenious plan for combating the white butterfly. Although they have not actually set out to destroy the pest, they discourage it by spraying their cabbages with water in which lettuce has been boiled. The fastidious butterfly finds the latter vegetable most unpleasant to the palate —if butterflies have palates—\Vith the result that it is fooled into leaving the sprayed cabbages alone.

Little Known Legal Term. In giving judgment in a case in Auckland concerning a bequest to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, his Honour Mr Justice Herdman made use of a seldom-used term." He said: " . . . This court has jurisdiction to direct a scheme cy-pres." Cy-pres, in law, is a rule for construing written instruments so as to conform as nearly to the intention of the parties as is consistent with the law. Cy-pres is a word in Norman French, a language which was widely used in framing the earliest English statutes. Helping the Argentine. The "extraordinary generosity" of New Zealand in sending sheep stock to the Argentine which eventually enabled that country to become one oL the Dominion's most serious competitors in the Home market was referred to by the Governor-Gen-eral, Lord Bledisloe, when speaking to members of the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association at the Show Grounds yesterday. "When I was in the Argentine some years ago I saw some of the worst sheep and some of the best. All the best sheep were the result of breeding from the Corriedales from New Zealand, with the help of which (some of the owners of the freezing firms .told me) they hoped to capture the British market," said his Excellency. "I wondered what New Zealand would have to say about the result of their extraordinary generosity." Modern Sportsmen. To travel 356 miles, fish morning and afternoon and have a night's rest all within the 24 hours was the experience of two sportsmen during the past week. Messrs Home Kidston and C. R. Havergal, of 11.M.5. Diomede, left Dunedin in a racing Moth aeroplane during the early hours of Thursday morning and arrived at Lake Wanaka in time for breakfast with the first gong at the W'anaka Hotel. The full day was spent in fishing on the lake, the night was spent at the hotel, and then the following morning at dawn the naval sportsmen set out to fly back to the warship.

No Dearth of Applicants. There may be a dearth of men and youths available for ordinary farm labour, but there seems to be no dearth of men for other work in the country. A Warea settler who recently advertised in the "Taranaki Daily News" for men to split firewood on a contract basis was inundated with applicants. Considerably more than 100 men inspected the bush—no fewer than 57 in one day. He has engaged 50 of the applicants, some of whom are already camped on the job prepared to earn a cheque for Christmas. It is expected the wood splitting already in sight will keep about 30 men occupied until the end of March.

"Undoubtedly the best hay and ensilage making machine I have yet seen," was the opinion of an experienced farmer as he witnessed the Duncan Hay Sweep attached to a motortruck working in a heavy, newly-cut lucerne crop. The Duncan special sweep can be fitted to any motor-car or truck, and will do the work of any two-horse sweeps or six hay rakes, and onlv costs the price of one rake. P. and D. Duncan, Limited. 196 Tuam street, Christchurch, and at Ashburton. — 6

Racegoers, note that you can go to the races at half the price of elsewhere in Gold Band Taxis, whose prices are as follows:—Riccarton and Brighton 6s, Addington 2s 6d. Show 2s. all for five passengers. This is cheaper than trams. Our lowest fare is Is, and 4d per mile for 10 miles out, —6