NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 96, 20 October 1936, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Glass on Road. "The duty of all parties involved in a motor accident is to clear the road of glass," remarked Mr. H. W. Bundle, S.M., in the Oamaru Magistrate's Court during the hearing of a civil claim (states the Christchurch "Press"). A witness had said that he visited the scene of the accident six days afterwards when he noticed glass on the road. The Magistrate said that it was apparent from the amount of glass one saw on the roads that the regulation in the Motor Vehicles Act which governed the matter was honoured more in the breach than in the observance. Even as a small matter of courtesy people should clear the road of glass. Seniors Keep Off! "I think they have a perfect right under the circumstances to make that statement," remarked Mr. J. H. Phillipps, chairman of the Wellington. Cricket Association's management committee when notification was received from the Petone Cricket Club at last night's meeting of the association's committee that the Petone Oval would not be available for senior cricket this season. It was also stated in the letter that the oval would not be available for any other match in which a Petone team was not engaged unless with the consent of the club. There was a notification, too, that the oval would be required for a sports meeting next Saturday. ■::.,,:., A Record in Postings. Miss Jean fatten posesses a sealed and addressed envelope which is unique (states the "New Zealand Herald"). She addressed it to herself and posted it in London by registered mail on October 5. She received it back just before she left England, and carried it with her to Australia. In Sydney she again posted it on the day of her arrival, October 13, and it was returned to her with the post mark of that day. Soon, after her arrival in Auckland she posted it once more, and within 10 minutes a messenger delivered it to her with the post mark October 16. The reason the post office broke all records in the delivery of the envelope is that the Postmaster-General (the Hon. F. Jones) heard of its several postings, and arranged for its quick dispatch. ' «* ■' is ' Native Timber for Aeroplanes. The possibility of using whauwhau, the lightest timber in the world, for the construction of aeroplanes, is to be investigated by the New .Plymouth Airport Board. Numbers of whauwhau trees are growing in Pufcekura Park, New Plymouth, and the superintendent of the park, Mr. T. H. Hortoh, told the board there would be no difficulty in growing thousands of the trees in Taranaki. He said the timber is lighter than cork, and might be eminently suited for the construction of aeroplane frames. Mr. P. E. Stainton, who is chairman of the Airport Board, told the park committee that it was not beyond the realms of possibility that aeroplanes might be manufactured in Taranaki in the not distant future. Imported Sitka spruce, known in New Zealand as Abies Mengiesii, was very expensive, and the possibilities of growing spruce in Taranaki were being investigated. Order Him Off! If an ambulance man states that a football player is unfit for play the referee should be empowered to uphold the ambulance-man and order the player off. That is the opinion of the Auckland Football Referees' Association and its receipt at last night's meeting of the Council of the New Zealand Football Association caused a smile from members, who thought it too drastic. The secretary (Mr. Alf. Williams) recalled that some years ago the council had issued instructions that if a player received or appeared to receive concussion he should not be allowed to continue playing. Members of the council thought the Auckland suggestion if put into effect would place too much responsibility on the referee and on the ambulance-man, and it was decided to inform the originators of the idea, through the Auckland Football Association, that the council's opinion was that the decision as to whether a player should continue after an injury rested with the captain, who should be advised by the ambulanceman. Christinas Lamb Appreciated. A Hawke's Bay lamb was forwarded by the Napier Chamber of Commerce last Christmas to Viscount Elibank, president of the Federation of British Empire Chambers of Commerce, who presided at the recent Congress in Wellington reports the "Daily Telegraph," Napier. For this reason, Viscount Elibank will shortly visit Hawke's Bay. "Viscount Eilbank is an outstanding man, with a charming personality," said Mr. L. C. Rolls, president of the Napier Chamber of Commerce, in addressing a meeting of business men in Napier, "and the manner in which he controlled the various remits showed'that he had a wonderful grasp of world affairs. You will recollect that this chamber forwarded to him for last Christmas a Hawke's Bay lamb, and in conversation with me he expressed his great pleasure at *ur kindly thought, and stated that the lamb was one of the finest he had ever tasted. He added that his main reason for visiting our town was to acknowledge his appreciation- oJLour action."

Effect of Ragwort on Honey. A new aspect of the effect of ragwort was referred to with concern at a meeting of the South Auckland branch of the Beekeepers' Association. It was said that ragwort not only did great damage to farm lands, but it affected the quality of honey. Districts which were formerly free of ragwort used to produce clear white honey, but now produced dark, inferior honey, because of the incidence .of ragwort. The weed, it was stated, had become very prevalent in several*'honey-producing districts, and was a serious menace to the industry. Trafalgar Day. Tomorrow is Trafalgar Day, the anniversary of Nelson's greatest and last victory.. As is customary, the Wellington branch of the.Navy League will observe the occasion with an appropriate ceremony, which this year will take the form of a tree-planting function at the National Museum and Art Gallery. Members of the ladies' auxiliary of the branch will plant sixteen trees in memory of sixteen men who died in the war while on the books of H.M.S. Philomel. Members of the public are invited to attend. "Shut the Gate." Memories of the old song "Shut the Gate—Bother the Gate. Gee up, Neddy" were brought to mind at a meeting of the Hataitai Ratepayers' Association last night when a complaint was received concerning the failure of the milkmen to shut gates behind them, One morning, it was stated, a certain woman resident had chased her roundsman down the road to complain about this matter to him. The man denied the charge of leaving the gate open and after a heated argument the woman had exclaimed angrily: "Very well, then, come back with me and see for yourself." Launch Propeller Stolen. The discovery that the propellershaft of his launch had been sawn through and the propeller removed was made by Mr. E. Kerr yesterday. The launch is drawn up on the beach at Balena Bay, and the shaft was cut through by means of a hacksaw. The propeller could have been removed by unscrewing the holding nut, but the thief seemingly did not wish to risk the noise. The damage done will cost £9 to make good. Guy Fawkes and Synod. The youthful tribe that gathers coins about this time of the year in commemoration of Guy Fawkes has about as much respect for august assemblies as their patron saint had for the Houses of Parliament. During the deliberations of the Auckland Diocesan Synod at the end of last week business was interrupted by a clinking of coins in tins at the door, followed by a plea, "Penny for the guy, sir?" and three small, masked figures, adorned in finery; made a noisy appearance before the bewildered assembly. For a few minutes their intrusion was rewarded well, and they were then persuaded to leave with their funds augmented and their spirits buoyant. Samples of Ghee. Commercial tests with ghee so far have not proved very encouraging, remarks the annual report of the Dairy Research Institute. The prices offered have not exceeded those for whey butter, and, in addition, there would be fairly heavy working and packing expenses. Samples have been made in the laboratory ifiider conditions giving different flavours and colours in the product, but the Hindus to whom these samples were submitted for appraisals expressed preference for the pure, pleasant-tasting product made by evaporating the water from New Zealand butter without any attempt to imitate the flavour of certain Indian ghees. The position is complicated, adds the report, by the fact that some of the ghees sent from the East are adulterated, or are synthetic products, and it seems doubtful whether the Eastern merchants actually handle, or could recognise pure cow-butterfat ghee. However, samples of six types of ghee, with a wide range of flavour and colour, have been sent away to about twenty merchants for appraisal, although the ruling market prices for ghee have been distinctly discouraging for some time compared with the present selling price of our butter in the United Kingdom.