NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 128, 1 June 1936, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Flag for Yachting. The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron has received a burgee from the Royal Ulster Yacht Club, Ireland (states the "New Zealand Herald"). The flag was brought from Ireland by Mr. M. M. N. Corner, a member of the 1935 All Black football team, who was a guest of the Ulster Club during the tour of the All Blacks in Ireland. In a letter asking Mr. Corner to present the burgee to the squadron the secretary, of the Royal Ulster Yacht Club (Mr. R. A. Barbour) extended his club's hearty greetings and good wishes for the success of yacht-racing in Auckland, where the Ulster Club had no member to fly its flag. In accepting the burgse on behalf of the squadron, the commodore (Mr. A. E. Gifford) thanked Mr. Corner for the gift, which, he said, was very much appreciated. The burgee is blue, with a crown over the "Red Hand of Ulster," on a white ground. Jelly Fish Numerous. Remarkably large numbers of jelly fish are to be seen floating in Auckland Harbour, while at night the phosphorescence is noticeable on the water (states the "New Zealand Herald"). This is decidedly unusual at this period of the year. It is attributed by Mr. A. W. B. Powell, of the staff of the Auckland Museum, to the persistent northerlies experienced, which have brought into the harbour the jelly fish and the organisms responsible lor the phosphorescence, both of which normally.float off-shore. Mr. Powell explains that at this period of the year it is usual to experience a series of westerly depressions. The jelly fish blown into the harbour are of the type known as aurelea. They are small and harmless, possessing no sting. On the other hand, a violetcoloured jelly fish, known as the Portuguese Man-o'-war, commonly found in the West Coast waters, is definitely harmful, its sting being painful, while the effects often last for days. Parents in Demand. For probably the first time in their lives, the true value of having a parent in the offing was borne home to several thousand youngsters at the motor-car demonstration on Saturday afternoon. They appeared in full force outside the Kilbirnie Stadium, only to be told by the &rim guardian at the gate that they would not be admitted unless accompanied by a parent. "Would you be our father for the next five minutes, mister?" implored a grubby urchin of a young man about to go in. "Not today, thank you," said the intended victim, looking apprehensively at a "line-up" of about fourteen eager faces. But it was strange that, when the display started, not a' youngster could be seen outside! British Railway Grades. Apropos of the comparison of railway grades in New Zealand and in Britain, given in a statement by the General Manager (Mr. G. H. Mackley), a correspondent writes disputing the correctness of the remark that the grades on the main lines in Britain did not exceed 1 in 100. The correspondent cites Shap Fell on the London, Midland, and Scottish main line to Scotland, where there are some miles of 1 in 70. In Scotland there is the Beattock bank, five or six miles long, even steeper, on the main West Coast line to Glasgow, on which a number of trains make the run from London in under eight hours. On the Highland line between Perth and Inverness there is a long stretch of heavy grade, and on the Great Western, near Plymouth, there is a very steep bank. Naming of Rail-Cars. When the seven rail-cars for the Wellington-Masterton-Palmerston North service and the three for the Welling-ton-New Plymouth night service were ordered by the Railway Department, a competition was held by the Department for the naming of the vehicles. A total of 1050 entries was received, and it is a sad feature of the competition that the competitor who submitted the winning entry, Mr. F. H. Porter, of Petone, died before the awards were made. Second place in the competition went to Miss P. R. Haylock, Christchurch, and Mr. G. Meek, Oamaru, was third.