NEWS IN BRIEF

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 260, 1 August 1939, Page 11

NEWS IN BRIEF

Scarcity Of Eggs The supply of eggs in Wellington, according to a market report yesterday, is still short of a demand which is noticeably active. The continued cold weather is affecting production and another two weeks may elapse before there is a change in the position. Wholesale prices’ in Wellington remain the same as last week: Specials, 2/9 a dozen; A grade, 2/7; B grade. 2/5; duck eggs, 2/7.

Seal On Greymouth Beach. A large black seal which seemed not to be afraid of several motorists who approached it was seen on Sunday afternoon about half a mile north of the stone crusher at North Beach, Greymouth. It is not often that a seal is seen at Greymouth.

Wliitebait Season In Waikato. Very little whitebait has so far been running in the Waikato River this season. Only a few isolated catches have been received by buyers on the river. The water has been very muddy during the past week, a condition which always militates against good runs. It is now becoming clearer and considerably larger catches are expected soon.

Infectious Diseases. For the week ended yesterday, 11 cases of infectious disease and four deaths —two from tuberculosis, one from diphtheria, and one from puerperal sepsis—were reported to the Wellington office of the Health Department from the central Wellington area. The cases were as follows: —Pulmonary tuberculosis (6), diphtheria (2), erysipelas (2), and puerperal fever (1).-

Motor-Car On Fire. An outbreak of fire in the back seat of a motor-car attracted a large crowd to Lambton Quay, near the Bunny Street corner last evening. When the Brigade arrived, in response to a call received at 6 p.m., the owner of the car, Mr. 0. W. Houchen, Miramar, was absent, and the doors were locked. Firemen opened a luggage box at the back of the car and quickly extinguished the flames. The origin of the fire was not known. The back seat was slightly damaged.

Aircraft Weather-Bound. Three of the Wellington Aero Club’s fleet of light aircraft, including the Waco cabin machine, are weather-bound in Palmerston North. They were flown to the Manawatu centre last weekend for the official opening of the Middle Districts Aero Club’s new buildings at Milson aerodrome, but high southerly winds and unfavourable flying weather prevented the machines from returning to Wellington. They will leave Palmerston North today if the. weather moderates. Commercial airliners operating 'on trunk and interislaud services were flown to schedule yesterday-

Long Ski Trip. A Christchurch skier, Mr. J. F. Kinghorn, made a long ski trip over the summits on Saturday from Little River to Pigeon Bay, via the Hilltop, to visit relatives. He crossed drifts as high as 50 feet and had a difficult journey. Mr. Kinghorn went along the Summit Road route and the cattle track from the Hilltop, then down into Pigeon Bay on fairly soft snow. The trip back to the Hilltop was made against a stiff wind which, with snow, turned into blizzard. Taking advantage of the exceptionally fine opportunity for ski-ing in an area where it is seldom provided, a party of members of the Christchurch Ski Club visited the Hilltop during the weekend. On Saturday there was a good depth of snow on the slopes, and conditions were ideal and well varied. A novel aspect of the sport was provided by the discovery of glades in patches of bush where skiers were able to enjoy wood-running, which is not often possible in New Zealand. There was a good deal of skiing on the Cashmere Hills on Sunday.