TOWN AND COUNTRY NEWS

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 37, 7 November 1933, Page 6

TOWN AND COUNTRY NEWS

Items of Interest From All Quarters

It was, only'a small meeting, but one member, possessed of a penetrating stage whisper, was inclined to express his opinions while the minutes were being read'. This part of the business over, 'he wanted to know if certain business had been recorded . by- the secretary. The chairman replied in the affirmative, and-added: “It was read out while you were talking.” The rebuke served its purpose, and there was no repetition of the inquiry. “The methods adopted by the New Zealand Fruit Control Board are the envy of every other country in the world,” stated Mr. Dan Wuille, principal of a Covent Garden firm of fruit salesmen, when addressing fruitgrowers'at Hastings. “No country in the world produces such a uniform pack, and it is surprising to me that this has, been achieved in a country where the fruit-growing areas are so far apart.” It was a pleasure to handle New Zealand fruit, continued Mr. Wuille, and he congratulated the board' on the excellent results it had achieved in this connection. “Stick to your board," concluded the speaker, “and you will remain'the envy of the world.” “The feeding of birds during the last few months has been on an expensive scale throughout New- Zealand,. :and those who have,been active in, thej matter can congratulate themselves That they have done much good from ;an economic point of view,” states the October bulletin of the New Zealand Native Bird Protection Society. “New Zealand can winter only a certain number of birds unites artificial means are ■adopted. In the late spring insects increase at such a prodigious rate that it sometimes happens there are not enough birds to overcome the enemy, and the result is an insect scourge. It is necessary that a large number of , birds,, should have been saved by this winter feeding ready to take up the fight in the spring against man’s ever aggressive enemy—the insect.” j’ The'motor ship Winton, which has ■arrived at Auckland from .New York, via the Guli of Mexico, was on the tailend of dirty weather in that region about a month ago. The hurricane ’Which Wrecked the seaport of Tampico, -struck two days before the Winton was near the town. The vessel did not call at Tampico, but on her way across to .Galveston, Texas, she practically followed the track of the storm. Tampico [Streets were completely under water after the hurricane, and every building was damaged by wind or flood Waters. Several ships were marooned at the port, owing to the silting up of the harbour entrance, so the Winton was fortunate that the did not have to call there; as is usual when ships are bound from New York' to New Zealand via the Gulf of Mexico. Beneficial results arising from the adoption of the scheme of white walking Stites by blind persons are referred to by Mr. Clutha Mackenzie, director of the New Zealand Institute for the Blind, writing in the September issue of the “Chronicles of the Institute. “All the automobile associations in New Zealand have agreed to recognise the carrying of white walking sticks as the indication that the user is blind, and that due caution is necessary,” states Mr. Mackenzie. “Many blind people using the sticks report that they are receiving very kindly consideration from passing traffic—both motor and pedestrian. The Auckland Automobile Association has made the suggestion that every blind person should carry a white stick.” A copy of the issue of the “Chronicles” was received recently at a meeting of the local advisory committee of the Sir Arthur Pearson memorial fund for the blind. “The German owl is undoubtedly the farmers’ friend and rids the ground of many pests,” said Mr. I. Howes at a meeting of the Otago Acclimatisation Society. He had examined a number of these birds, he said, and the contents of their stomachs did not disclose that they were destructive to young birds. Instead, it would appear that they fed largely on mice, beetles, snails, and worms. No doubt they were responsible in a few instances for the death of small birds, and evidence pointed to introduced birds falling a prey to the owl more than native birds, for the reason, no doubt, that the-native birds had been accustomed, over a long period, to protect themselves against another enemy, the morepork. The introduced birds did not possess that instinct, though it would ’evolve in time. Mr. Howes added that some of the birds’ sent to him had evidently been •shot'in the evening, before they commenced to feed, and it would be preferable in order to determine their feeding habits to examine birds shot about daylight or in the moonlight.

’ It is essential for every prospector working under the gold subsidy scheme to forward to the nearest'branch of the :Labour Department a plan'of the claim he proposes to work, and he cannot move off the claim as given on the plan without notification. One prospector, evidently desiring to keep on the one. claim, and yet apparently anxious to prospect more widely, recently surprised a West Coast official when he sent In his plan. It embraced Kumara, Bell Hill, and the Kopara, an area of many square miles. It might have been difficult to move off the claim to another on the West Coast in less than a week. The only drawback was that no claim under the subsidy may lie more than ■lO,OOO square feet in area. Christchurch had only' . one. bank” riiptey in October, compared with three in October last year, and six in October the year before. There have been 35 bankruptcies this year, as against 48 in the same period last year and 70 the year before. The opinion is expressed, however, that probably many creditors are standing out of their money just at present because they felt’that even if they made the debtor bankrupt they would have little chance of realising on their accounts. A considerable increase in bankruptcies is expected when conditions begin to improve, as creditors would then consider that they had a better prospect of getting their moneyback. . . Fireblight has made its appearance' in Nelson, pear trees in several domestic orchards at Wakapuaka being; affected. Mr. J, H. Thorp, orchard instructor for the Nelson area, stated that specimen branches of pear trees from a domestic orchard at Wakapuaka, about five miles from the city, which were sent to the Plant Research ►Station at Palmerston North for examination, were found to be infected by the fireblight organism, erwinia amylovora. A survey of the position is being made by inspectors '. of the Horticultural Division, who will at the same time instruct owners of fruit trees as to their responsibility for the control and'destruction of the infected material. A history of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce from its inception in 1859 is to be prepared for the 75th anniversary of the chamber, which falls next year. The suggestion that such a history should be published was made to a meeting of the council ■ of the chamber in a letter from Mr. ,F. M. Warren, who stated that the chamber’s history from 1859 to 1899 had been assembled in 1921 by Mr. H. A. Adley. It seemed to him that this could now be brought up to date. The president (Mr. A. F. Wright) said that lie thought, the suggestion was .excellent. Already a good deal of information had been got together, particularly about the Lyttelton railway. The house committee of the chamber was authorised to take the necessary action. A noticeable trend in strawberry culture in the last few seasons has been the increasing popularity of the Captain Cook variety with Auckland growers. The Marguerite is still grown most, but the demand for Captain Cook plants exceeds the'supply, as it takes some years to cultivate sufficient plants to meet with the demand when it suddenly increases. The Captain Cook strain was introduced comparatively recently on the Auckland market from the Coromandel Peninsula, where it appears to have been cultivated by early colonists.' The berries are smaller and the plants do not bear quite so freely as some varieties, but they are less susceptible to certain plant complaints, and carry better, while some people prefer the flavour. Dr. Elizabeth Gunn, medical inspector of schools for the Wanganui district, who is Inspecting the various classes at the Te Kuiti School, commented that too many children had defective eyesight unattended to, and unless treated at the right time these defects would become serious. She pointed out that owing to defective eyesight even bright children might become nervous and backward, both in the classroom and on the playing field, and they thus lost heart. It was also found that a number of children were suffering from enlargement of the thyroid gland. In spite of articles in the Press and the activities of medical inspectors, it was found, according to the children, that the use of iodised salt in the home was almost unknown in the district. The daily use of iodised salt, for table and household-purposes was held by authorities to prevent, incipient goitre and to cure goitre already present.