RANDOM NOTES

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 127, 22 February 1939, Page 8

RANDOM NOTES

Sidelights On Current Events (By Kickshaws). Stable prices is a question that ia receiving the attention of the Government. But the horse has bolted. * » » The mayor of New York declares that the United States should pick its own enemies. A shovel is also indicated. An Australian visitor considers that there is too much devil and hell about our tourist advertising. “Nick the old Nie out of Scenic” is his slogan. * * • “G.G.” : “The anti-shoutiug” legislation was repealed iu 1020 by a clause in a washing-up Bill dealing with War Regulations generally. Six o'clock closing was the result of an amendment to a proposal iu Parliament for eight o’clock closing, and has been the law ever since.—Kickshaws. “R.8.G.” writes with reference to the “Helen Denny”"When I lived in Fiji nearly 40 years ago, the ‘Helen Denny’ was then a frequent visitor to Suva. Part of my duties with a shipping firm was to enter in certain vessels. We had been expecting the ‘Helen Denny,’ but when I went home at sundown there was no sign of the old warrior. However, on going down to the office early next morning, I found her safe and snug in Suva harbour. It was only a Captain Holm who could have done that, for never before bad I heard of a skipper bringing in a windjammer through the narrow passage in the reef during the hours of darkness. On coming to New Zealand .and living in Hokianga, the fine old barque was a frequent visitor there also. However, the old skipper had retired, and one of his sons was captain. Only a few weeks ago was I having a chat with Mr. McLeod, of Karori, about the old 'Helen Denny’.” “Could you settle an argument for me?” asks 'Fisherman.’ “I’ve always understood that the hapuka of northern waters and the groper were one and the same. I’ve caught many a hapuka off Whar.garei and never a one showed fight at all, yet I’m told the groper in Wellington waters fights fiercely. Does it?” [Mr. W. J. Phillipps, acting-Dir-ector, Dominion Museum, has kindly supplied the following information: — “In regard to the hapuku of northern waters (you will notice that hapuku is spelt thus —not hapuka, as is popularly the.case), I have to state as follows: —The hapuku of the north certainly is the groper of the south. Its habits in both the North and the South Islands, as far as I know, are identical : but it is just possible that in the colder water of the south it fights a little more than It does in the far north. However, it certainly does not fight fiercely. I think somebody has been having a joke.”] ♦ ♦ $ The inspection of farms by aeroplane, it is claimed as a result of flights from Blenheim, not only saves time but gives a 'better Idea of the nature of the land. But this is only a beginning. The aeroplane is destined to help the farmer after he has bought his farm. Russia has sown nearly 3,600,000 acres of farm land by air. The job takes onetenth the time as it does by normal methods. There arc still difficulties to overcome concerned with even sowing. NeverthelSs, the idea is intriguing. As ti means of combating farm pests the aeroplane has already proved its worth. An aeroplane can spray 45 acres of potatoes in half an hour. The task under normal conditions might take up to two days. The cotton crops of the world may yet be saved by this method. A large part of the world’s cotton is destroyed every year by the cotton boll weevil. America alone loses £50,000,000 a year by the ravages of this insect. Aeroplanes have reduced the destruction by spraying poison gas over the crops which kills the beetle and its grub. Thirty acres a day was the oldfashioned pace. Aeroplanes clear the pest from 300 acres an hour. ♦ ♦ * The works committee of the Wellington City Council complains that it hasn’t enough money to give proper attention to, among other maintenance duties, the wood blocks on the streets. Under proper conditions the life of wood blocks for road purposes appears to be unlimited. In these days of synthetic stuff made from cheese and milk, sometimes one is forced to/think that the day of wood is over. We shall have our fencing i>osts made from acid-re-sisting bakelite if, indeed, a mild form of death-ray does not replace fences. Maybe even our ships will be affected. Small craft up to say a couple of thousand tons will give up steely Instead, their hulls will be pressed by huge moulds out of skim milk and formaldehyde, or some such mixture. Meanwhile, time has shown that wood under proper conditions is more durable than has been imagined. The oldest wood in New Zealand is about 25,000 years old, and may be seen to this day at Arapuni, or what is left of it. Moreover. it is said that wooden clogs are far better propositions than leather boots. Maybe the time will come when there will be a wood revival. Instead of our bakelite houses moulded in four easily-connected parts, we shall have real wooden buildings with real wooden piles, like those shrewd old folks in 1938.

If everyone adopted the advice given by a medical practitioner to go in for periodical inspections by the doctor, there might be some curious discoveries. The flesh is prone to a thousand and one ills, some of these extremely rare. There is a fowl owned by a farmer in Memphis, U.S.A., that suffers from what must be the strangest disease in the world. Every week this fowl begins to swell till she is blown up to the size of a football. All that has to be done to deflate the bird is to puncture her with a penknife. A week later the same operation has to be performed. Medical history contains its fair share of freaks such as this. There have even been instances of people who have grown teeth in their ears. There are other troubles of the non-stop'type that have beaten unfortunate i>eople. One person, for example, had continuous hiccoughs for five years. This was cured by an operation on a nerve in her neck, A native woman living in a kraal in South Africa, felt tired and yawned, only to find that she could not stop. She yawned for a week. Iler trouble was not serious, however—only a dislocated jawbone. There are instances of people who have been unable to stop talking. The effect is to cause the individual io waste away. In clubs and elsewhere this .iitling causes listeners to grow restless and melt away. ♦ ¥ * THE CULPRIT. Why slander we the times? . What times Have days and years, that we Thus charge them \vith iniquity? If we would rightly scan. It’s not the times are bad, but man. —Dr. J, Beaumont, 1616-1699.