NEWS IN BRIEF

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 119, 13 February 1941, Page 9

NEWS IN BRIEF

Acts Of Vandalism A floodlight has been installed at the soldiers’ memorial, Brooklyn, but the globes have frequently been broken by pea-rille bullets. Reporting to the Wellington City Council last night, the reserves committee said that the Brooklyn Electors’ Association has been requested to endeavour to have these acts of vandalism stopped. Waste Collections Suspended. In the interests of petrol conservation, the collection of non-ferrous waste metals by the Metropolitan Waste Reclamation Committee of the Auckland Provincial Patriotic Council is being suspended temporarily. Very Small Calf. A male calf only aljput ISin. long was born a week ago to a young Jersey heifer on the farm of Mr. Albert Bowers, Henderson Valley. It had to be bottle-fed. It is active and healthy and is showing signs of growth at what appears to be a normal rate. Kaiwarra Traffic. The one-way traffic rule is to be established at Fore Street, Kaiwarra. A recommendation to this effect by the by-laws committee was adopted by the Wellington City Council last night. Traffic proceeding from the Hutt Road to Fore Street will use the lower end of Fore Street, and traffic from the upper end of Fore Street will go via Pickering Street to the Hutt Road. Fann Workers’ Cottages. During the last six months, the Hamilton branch of the Public Works Department has constructed 145 married men's quarters and 26 single men’s units, and has erected them on farms throughout the Waikato. The construction of the dwellings has done much to relieve the farm labour problem in the district. Research on Milking Machines. Research work on milking machines is being done at the Animal Research Station, Wallaceville, where experiments arc being conducted to determine the possible effect of various adjustments in the operation of milking machines in tlie production of mastitis. Investigations are also being made into the relative efficiency of the different types of accessories available. The Chewing Gum Habit. Reference to the practice on the part of some people of spitting chewing gum on the street pavements was made at last night’s meeting of the Wellington City Council. The by-laws committee reported that tlie surfaces of footpaths and pedestrian crossings where a new type of brick-finish flagging had been laid were severely discoloured by chewing gum. “This is not a nice habit,” said Cr. M. F. Luckie, “and it does not reflect credit on the citizens responsible.”

Tame Young Tui. Though tuis are considered among the shyest of native birds, a resident of Titirangi, Auckland, is visited regularly by a young tui for bread crumbs and cheese rind placed on a windowsill of the house. If the food is not on the sill on its arrival, the bird pecks sharply on the glass, and retreats to a. nearby bush to await results. The house is also visited by a large number of other varieties of birds, including blackbirds, thrushes, chaffinches and silver eyes. Fence-Jumping Horses.

A North Island farmer recently described a method he had seen adopted to prevent a horse from fence jumping —a habit which is a nilisance on a farm and one hard to break. A bridle

and bit was placed on the jffending horse and the bit fastened to a length of plough chain. The horse was then put into a paddock fenced with an electric fence on full charge. The horse jumped the fence once, but the shock he got quite broke him of his habit, and lie will now always stay in the paddock in which he has been placed. A Manacled Magician.

As part of the "Learn to Swim" movement in Melbourne last week Levante. a visiting magician, consented to be manacled under expert supervision and then thrown off five centre of the Princes Bridge. The heavy manacles. handcuffs, neck chains, and other paraphernalia weighed about 3111 b. He was tossed off the bridge at a height of 51 feet above the water, yet in less than 20 seconds he was above water, with the manacles held high in his hands. Movie cameras took a shot of the feat. Shoals of Dogfish.

Shoals of dogfish in the favourite trawling grounds for lemon sole have caused Port Chalmers fishermen to curtail their operations over these grounds in the last few days. Dogfish have constituted such a nuisance in swarming over the grounds that the men do not consider it worth while to continue trawling in this locality because of the numbers of them taken in the net, which is not Infrequently broken by the weight. The last few weeks have been rather slack for fishermen, mainly because of unfavourable weather. Canteen Prices Criticized. Further complaints about canteen prices at the New Zealand base camps in Egypt were made by Auckland soldiers, who arrived during the weekend after lining invalided homo. Compared with those of the Australian canteens, which were conducted by an Australian organization, it was stated, the prices charged for some goods were almost double. One soldier said they had to pay the equivalent of about 2/- for a meal which cost only 1/- or 1/3 in New Zealand. Tobacco was also expensive, and soldiers complained that they were not able to get the tobacco they were accustomed to smoking.

Child Swimmer’s Feat. A small girl, Rose Marie Raper, aged two years and eight months, performed a remarkably fine feat in the tepid baths, Auckland, this week by swimming the length of the pool, a distance of 33 l-3yds. She is the youngest swimmer to gain a beginner's certificate in Auckland, if not in New Zealand. Rose Marie is the daughter of Mr. A. Raper, prominent Auckland backstroke swimmer, and Airs. Raper, formerly Miss Al. Bolton. Dunedin, recognized as one of the Dominion’s most competent coaches of women swimmers. Model of the Mayflower.

Made by Mr. G. 1,. Timms, Christchurch, during his spare time in the p.-isi three years, a model of the Mayllower. Ihe ship that took the Pilgrim l-’al tiers to America in IG2O, has been added to the collection of models of ships in the Canterbury Museum. Air. Timms has made his model with the greatest care for detail, even to the rigging blocks cut from wood and the oiled I hi-end rigging. According to Dr. 11. A. Fulfil. curator of the museum, natllienl experts in New England have done much research into the ships of the Mayllower period, with the result that fairly accurate knowledge has been gained of their characters. It is interesting to note that the tings on the model lire the original ting of England, the white linn with the red cross of St. George- which, after Hie union of Englund and ScoHiind, continued to be flown by merch.'itit ships -and the old union Hag. in use from IGO'l to Isol. composed of the rod cross of St. George with tin- white cross of St. Andrew mi a blue ground.