General News

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22343, 5 March 1938, Page 16

General News

The Fishing Rivers The Selwyn Ashley, and Hurunui rivers are Canterbury Acclimatisation Society yesterday. Relaying of Main Railway The heavy work of relaying the. m ain railway line from Christchurch to south of Winlow will be undertaken this year by the District Railway Engineer's staff After some delay, the fastenings are coming to hand and, as a good supply of rails and peepers is available the work will be put in hand shortly. The building of side tracks will not be necessary as the sections of rails to be replaced will be lifted in the times between the passing of trains. Heavy Transport of Sheep All demands for rolling stock in the present exceptionally busy period in the Canterbury district have been met by the Railway Department, and no congestion has been reported. A record for Amberley in the loading out of stock was created after the ewe fair, the trucking of 407 trucks of sheep taking three days to clear. The outward loadings from the Hawarden fair totalled 194 trucks, a decline of 14 on the number handled last year. Fairly big lines of stock are coming to the Canterbury district at present from the southern areas, particularly Otago Central, which are experiencing a drought. The season for the carriage of grain is almost at an end. The shipments to the mills at Timaru, Oamaru, and Dunedin from North Canterbury were very heavy. Fire Risk in Park "I think it can safely be said that the day of extra long grass, with its attendant fire risk, is now a thing of the past," said the curator (Mr J. A. McPherson) in reporting to the Christchurch Domains Board yesterday on the improvement in North Hagley Park since the purchase of a new mower. Mr McPherson said that the whole of the horse ride and the outer plantation areas had been cut, and a start made with the cutting of the open spaces preparatory to the marking of the winter sports fields. Shortage of Carpenters The widespread shortage of skilled labour for the carpentrv trade is giving trouble to the Public Works Department camp at Temuka. Mjn are needed for work at the camp Jtseif, where a new store is being built, and for building accommodation for workmen on some of the larger irrigation schemes, so that the May-field-Hinds scheme and the Downlands watersupply project are likely to be held up for some time because of x the difficulty in finding carpenters. A leading man in the trade in Temuka told a reporter yesterday that most of the carpenters in the district were in business so that none was available as labour. The "small men," he said, had enough work to keep them busy, and if any building iobs were to be done he saw no hope of their finding assistants locally. Another carpenter said that the Public Works Department had absorbed most of the local carpenters and, if State houses were to be put up in the town, there would not be men to erect them. The department also feels the lack of foremen for its building jobs. First Seaplane at Bluff For the first time a seaplane alighted on Bluff harbour yesterday morning. It was from H.M.S. Achilles, which is at present at Milford Sound, and it went over for mails. Worl hart spread of the intended arrival, and children were allowed away from school to witness it. After spending more than a quarter of an hour at Bluff the seaplane left on its return flightPress Association. Planting of Bulbs in Woodland A further planting of 30,000 narcissi during February brought the total number of bulbs planted in the woodland near the band rotunda in North Hagley Park to 230,000, stated the report of the curator (Mr J. A. McPherson) to the Christchurch Domains Board yesterday. Mr McPherson also reported that 5600 grape hyacinths and 850 snowdrops had been planted. Nearly 8000 bulbs had been given for this planting during the month. Busy Day for Railways Provided to-day is fine, the train-running staff at the Christchurch station will have an extremely busy day, for, in addition to the special trains for the Motukarara races, six excursion trains, carrying picnic parties, will be run to Lyttelton, Stewart's Gully, and Southbridge. Gift of Seeds A gift of beech seed from Ireland and the dispatch of Solanum seeds to Singapore for experiment were reported by the curator (Mr J. A. McPherson) to the Christchurch Domains Board yesterday. Mr McPherson also reported that he had received seeds from the Botanic Gardens at Baku, Russia, the Royal Botanic Gardens at Edinburgh, and residents of Devon, England, and Winnipeg, Canada, under the system of exchange. Shingle Movement in Ashley Riverbed So that accurate records can be kept of the movement of shingle in the Ashley riverbed, cross sections have been taken every half-mile, and concrete reference marks established at the end of each section, from which valuable information can be obtained when required. The marks have been fixed while the protective scheme has been in progress. Backward Country Children The lack of educational facilities for backward children in country areas was criticised by Mr Arthur Cates at the recent monthly meeting of the Dargaville-Arapohue branch of the Farmers' Union, which adopted a motion that the question should be brought before the Minister for Education, the Hon. P. Fraser, by direct correspondence, as well as through the usual channels of the union. Mr Cates said that some efforts had been made on behalf of country children who were crippled or suffering from poor health or other disadvantages, but nothing had yet been done for mentally backward country children. "The Government I has talked a great deal about the high standard of physical fitness of the children of this country," said Mr Cates. "It is disgraceful that it should talk in this manner while parents get no help for the education of those children who are unfortunate to be mentally inferior to their fellows." Argentina and New Zealand "The Argentine is not such a big competitor with New Zealand as is often thought," said Mr F. R. Baker, manager of the Buenos Aires branch of the New Zealand Insurance Company, in an interview yesterday. He said that New Zealand could not hope with her chilled beef to compete with the frozen beef from the Argentine. The amount of beef exported by New Zealand was just "a drop in the bucket," and. it could not compare with the Argentine beef for quality. On the other hand, New Zealand had the advantage of quality in mutton and wool. There might be competition in dairy produce, but here again the New Zealand quality was recognised to be higher. The Argentine was improving the quality of her wool, he said, with Corriedales imported from New Zealand. But the rainfall was insufficient, and the best of the land was used for cattle raising, dairying, and crops—maize, wheat, and linseed. The range of products of the country was shown by the successful growing of cotton in the north and of apples, pears, and similar fruit for the London market in the south. In the Argentine there had been a certain amount of Government regulation of the prices of primary products, he said. Some years ago the Government had fixed minimum prices for various products and had bought a small quantity at these prices, making some profits through the exchange rates. But the prices had gone back to a satisfactory levelj and the scheme, which had aimed to give the farmers a bare living and keep them on the land, had been discontinued two years ago. The country was now in a very prosperous condition, with a good Government.