General News

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25954, 7 November 1949, Page 6

General News

Power Off for Five Hours Power was off in the whole of the North Canterbury area from 12.17 p.m. to 5.23 p.m. yesterday. The failure was caused by a line failure at Upper Riccarton. The assistant-district engineer of the State Hydro-electric Department (Mr E. E. James) said last evening that the fault had been easy to fix, but very hard to., find. The whole line from Addington to Southbrook had been traversed, and it was only on the way back that the fault had been found. Foxzami May Run in Auckland Cup The Melbourne Cup winner, Foxzami, will be entered for the £lO,OOO Auckland Cup to be run- on Boxing Day, according to his owner, Mr L. G. Robinson, who is anxious to show the horse in New Zealand, where Foxzami was bred. Vagabond and Comic Court may also be entered. Vagabond was also bred in New Zealand and was bought at the sales at Trentham by Mr Frank Spurway for 1500gns.—. Melbourne, November 6. Water Instead of Air in Tyres The drivers of a Liverpool haulage firm who are filling the rear tyres of their lorries with water instead of air say that both acceleration and braking are improved, that the tyres last longer, and there is no wheel spinning or skidding. The firm’s chief engineer began experiments with waterfilled tyres a year ago. With 20 gallons of water pumped into each rear tyre of a test vehicle he mixed a quantity of calcium chloride which has anti-freezing and rubber-preserv-ing qualities. The results were excellent. he said. A driver said that the lorries rode comfortably at all speeds and the tyres could go for as long as six months without any maintenance. —London, November 6. Wide Circulation Some defunct and some unknown Christchurch boroughs are on the mailing list of an Auckland businessman. Last week the Post Office had the difficult task of delivering circulars on bank credit and inflation to such addresses as “The Mayor, Sydenham, Canterbury’’ (Sydenham joined the city in 1903) and “The Mayor, Opawa, Canterbury” (Opawa has never been a separate municipal unit). In each case there was also a circular for the “town clerk.” Most of the circulars found their way to the City Council offices. Car Blown Backwards by Wind A motorist driving on a back road near Linden last evening said his car was blown backwards by the high southerly gale which swept Wellington yesterday. He said he was going up a slight grade at between eight and 10 miles an hour. Then a gust carne over the hill and blew the 10 horsepower car back. “I ripped it into low gear, and that saved me,” the driver said. — (P.A.) Cricketing Brothers Outstanding bowling performances by two well-known cricketing brothers were a feature of a senior club game played at Blenheim on Saturday. Playing for Spring Creek against Wairau B, Fenwick Cresswell, in his first appearance since the return of the New Zealand team, took seven wickets for 30 runs. His brother, Arthur Cresswell, playing for Wairau B, took five for 37. including a “hat trick.” Both brothers bowled unchanged throughout the respective innings, each sending down 15 overs.— (P.A.) Moth Farm A moth farm in England aims at breeding 75,000 clothes moths a year. It is conducted by the laboratory staff of the Bradford Conditioning House as part of the campaign to reduce damage by moths. Tests over the last 20 years have proved that a clothes moth and its family are caoable of eating their way through 92 pounds of wool a year. British firms send samples of cloth that have been treated against moths to the farm. After a 30<lay experiment, during which 10 half-grown grubs are put on the cloth and left to do their worst, a certificate is issued to the makers declaring the material to be mothproof, not very mothproof, or not mothproof at all. Territorial Medical Unit

The Otago University Medical Company will be the first Army formation in tne Dunedin area to go to Burnham Military Camp as a unit since the end of the 1939-45 war. The company will spend two weeks at Burnham from February 19 to March 2 of next year. This .period marks the end of the University vacation, and the members of the unit will return to Dunedin immediately after the camp breaks up to renew their studies. The unit will be nearly 200 strong, and all the present members are over the age of 18 years and are volunteers. The members of the unit comprise medical students, together with a few dental students. Most of them have been students from two to five years.—(P.S.S.) Threat of Tornado A tornado which seemed likely to develop above the sea to the southeast of Auckland early yesterday afternoon claimed the attention of many persons, and caused some consternation among those who feared a visitation similar to that which struck Hamilton last year. Beginning to reach down from heavy black clouds at 1.45 p.m., it hovered like a black inverted cone about 800 feet for 15 minutes. It was almost stationary and gradually dissipated. At the .time the phenomenon appeared, heavy black clouds lay over the area to the south-east of Auckland. The atmosphere was “heavy” and similar to that usually experienced before a thunderstorm.—(P.A.) Tigress Escapes from Zoo Cage A fully-grown Bengal tigress escaped from a cage at the Glasgow Zoo today and mauled the head keeper. It was shot by the director of the zoo. The keeper entered the cage, thinking it was empty. The tigress came through a door connecting the cage to the animal walk and leapt at him. A 60-year-old gardener rushed into the cage and hit the tigress over the head with a shovel until it ran into the open. The tigress bounded into the zoo grounds, where the director shot it.—London, November 5. Fewer Food'Parcels Profound disappointment and sorrow at the fact that fewer Christmas food parcels were being sent to Britain from Auckland this year was expressed by the Mayor (Mr J. A. C. Allum) on Saturday. He had just returned with Mrs Allum after six months in the United Kingdom, and he said the food position there would be more thoroughly appreciated when it was realised that people were better off during the war than they were at present. ‘‘lt is almost useless just talking about it,” said Mr Allum. “If New Zealanders could only go there, even for a month, they would want to send every bit of food they had to Britain. Two things amazed me. The first was the gratitude of the people to whom we gave food parcels. The second was the varied types of people who were glad to get food. They ranged from the poor to very prominent persons.”—(P.A.) First “Automat” in N.Z. It should be possible to walk into a Christchurch restaurant, toward the end of next week, put a coin in a slot and *get a pie. a sandwich, cakes, savouries, or a luncheon or supper packet.' Machines of this type, the “automat.” are common in cities m Europe and America, but the machine now being installed in Christchurch is the first in Australia and New Zealand. It is similar in design to overseas machines, though adapted to New Zealand conditions, and has been made in Christchurch. There are slots for threepences, sixpences, and shillings. Show-Ring Judges The extent to which show-ring judges can differ was illustrated at the Royal Show at Palmerston North during the judging of the champion cow of all breeds. The award was given to the Ayrshire, Eden Park Fuchsia, owned and bred by Mr A. D. Buchanan, of Tiakitahuna, near Palmerston North. This animal was unplaced in its own breed on the previous day. Three of the four judges had some fairly pointed comment to make. They doubted the advisability of conducting that type of competition, saying that there was little common ground for comparing the various breeds of dairy animals, and that it was probably unwise to develop inter-breed rivalry when there was ample scope in the country for all of thejm.