General News

Press, Volume C, Issue 29527, 31 May 1961, Page 14

General News

Women Drivers The old male claim of the inferiority of women drivers was disposed of by traffic officers of the Wellington City Council yesterday. The three officers who are testing hun;dreds of “over-70” drivers for relicensing unanimously agreed that women were smoother drivers than the men. They were finding the women more confident and less jerky at the controls, they said. Complimenting the majority of elderly drivers tested of both sexes, they said the general standard was good. There was no doubt that the older drivers today were “much younger” than they used to be, they said.— (PA.) Orchard Land The rapid growth of Christchurch was absorbing highproducing orchard lands at a greater rate than other orchards were being established, the Committee of Inquiry into apple and pear marketing was told at the opening of its Christchurch sitting yesterday. Questioned by the chairman (Mr G. E. Wood) an officer of the Department of Agriculture. Mr S. Frew, said the present 'tendency was for the size of ■ crop from orchards near : Christchurch to drop, but this , would be counteracted by I new orchards which had been | planted further out. Quite a few high-producing orchards in Papanui had been absorbed for housing, he said. Mr W. D. Turner, a Belfast grower, said the reduction of orchards near Christchurch exceeded the increase in acreage planted elsewhere. 11* was vital that orchards be established near the point of consumption. Hundreds of acres of land suitable for orchards was within 10 miles of Christchurch, he said. Parakeets Arrive Fourteen Rosella parakeets exported from New Zealand last Saturday have arrived at Zurich, Switzerland, none the worse for their 12.000mile air journey. A cablegram to this effect was received by the carriers, Canadian Pacific Airlines, yesterday The birds, bred in Hamilton and believed to be the first to be exported from the country, were sent to a Swiss bird-fancier.—(P.A.) Pope’s Gift Battered, but still capable of producing a tune in the right hands, a piano accordion given to New Zealand prisoners by Pope Pius XII 1 was a focus of interest at the annual reunion of the Southern District New Zealand Prisoners of War Association at Oamaru. The accordion was given to New Zealanders who were in an Italian prison camp, and later went with them to Germany. It was carried on a pole from Italy on a forced route march by Mr C. Ewing and two of his friends. Messrs A. McCart and G. Familton. Later, the accordion was flown to England with the repatriated prisoners. From there Mr Ewing brought it with him on his return to New Zealand. Thunder Several rolls of thunder about 7 p.m. startled many persons in the city yesterday. Heavy rain fell before and after the thunder, driving persons on city streets to shelter. The Meteorological Office at Harewood said that 33in of rain fell between 6 p.m. and 8.30 p.m. The thunder came from accumulated nimbus cloud, which I was caused by the instability of air after the passing of a cold front which moved through earlier in the day. Skin And Hair What is a pelt? The precise answer eluded those at a Court of Arbitration hearing when the word was bandied about and the position was far from clarified when Mr Justice Tyndall produced four (dictionaries. One said that it was the skin of a beast with ■ the hair on it. Two other \ definitions had it both ways, skin with hair on and skin with hair off. Another offered two definitions, skin with ■hair off or just skin. “All I can say is ‘put not your trust ;in dictionaries’,” said his : Honour. Shooting Bags Small Bags were small during the duck-shooting season in the Manawatu and Wairarapa district this year “I’m convinced the ducks know when the shooting season starts, and take evasive action,” said one shooter "There must be something in the cycle of seasons that tells the ducks the season is starting, and so they keep clear.” said another An officer of the Acclimatisation Society said that though I there had been a lot of cloud, and a certain amount of rain. ’ there had been no high winds Ito force the ducks off the sea. and off the big lakes i “There is definitely no ‘shortage of ducks” he said ‘Tm getting complaints from farmers !n the Manawatu The mallard ducks come tn -from the sea after dark, and damage their crops, so there .must be plenty about.’’— (PA) Big Task Ahead I As an indication of the task ahead for the Post Office during the motor-vehicle relicensing period, which starts on Thursday, a total of 894.409 vehicles was registered in New Zealand for 1960-61 This represented an increase of 51.384 vehicles, or 609 per cent., since March 31. 1960 >The 1940-61 figure was made up of 523.847 cars (about one to every tour persons in the icountrv). 33’27? commercial (vehicles, and 39 “’9O motor- . nnwered cycles The number of cars fn the North Island was 356 861 (a 424 per cent increase on 1959-601 and in the South Island. 166 986 (an increase of 422 per cent.).— (PA.)