NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 70, 24 March 1937, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

New Roof for Nurses' Home.

Plans and specifications are at present being prepared for the work of renewing the roof of the Nurses' Home at the Wellington Hospital. The replacement of the old tile roof is regarded as a work of urgent necessity and the board has on its estimates for the present year the sum of £.1150 to reroof the home with iron. A Memorable Visit. Appreciation of the hospitality extended to the delegation from the London Chamber of Commerce to the recent congress held in Wellington was expressed in a letter read at the meeting of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce last night from Mr. A. de V. Leigh, secretary of the London Chamber of Commerce. "I am to say that the visit will always remain a memorable one to the members of the London delegation," said Mr. Leigh. Proposed Hospital Buildings. Representatives of the Wellington Hospital Board are to meet representatives of interested local bodies to discuss the proposed new hospital buildings, with particular reference to whether a new hospital should be erected in Wellington or in the Hutt Valley. A decision to this effect was made at last night's meeting of the Hospital Board, which also decided to ask the Director-General of Health to have a representative at the conference. New Active Geyser. An added attraction to the many boiling mud and water pools in the Ohinemutu native village is a small geyser which broke out some days ago on the shore of the lake and has since been playing ■ fairly consistently ■ about every three hours, to a height of about 40ft (states a Rotorua correspondent). This is the only geyser in the region. Its unexpected appearance is attributed' to the fact that recently drainage was carried out, with the result that much of the colder water which once mixed with the boiling water has been withdrawn. Artesian Bore at Hospital? The possibility of obtaining an artesian water supply in the extensive grounds of the Wellington Hospital has been considered by the Hospital Board, which at its meeting last night decided to approach the Geological Department for an opinion on the subject. The general purposes committee, upon whose recommendation the decision was made, reported that the Town Clerk had intimated that the City Council was unable to grant any reduction in the rate charged forwater supplied to the board's institutions. Saving to Hospital Board. Between August 31 and March 2 the Wellington Hospital Board has been saved £2650 by the increases in certain pensions and the.-introduction of others, according to. a report supplied to the board meeting last night. The sum comprised £1620 under the heading of invalidity pensions, £570 as old age, £275 as widows, and £185 as deserted wives. Approximately 300 cases were affected. Because of having received retrospective payments of pensions certain cases which would otherwise still be entitled to relief were not at present receiving assistance but might reapply when their money was exhausted. Hospital Receipts. Increased amounts collected as fees were pointed out by Mr. A. H. Carman and Mr. A. W. Croskery at last night's meeting of the Wellington Hospital Board as justification for the board's drastic reduction in its charges made in January, 1936. That that action had been the correct one they said, was proved by the fact that the people were paying, and the board should feel proud of it. The report of the fees committee stated that, the maintenance fees' collection in February was £1933 compared with £1570 in February the previous year and £1282 the year before that. The total collection for the eleven months., to the end of February each year, with the outstanding amounts at February 28 given in parentheses, were £22.979 (£54.867) in 1937, £21.208 (£55,886) in 1936. and £18.443 (£93,588) in 1935. The collections per occupied bed and the number of occupied beds in February, each year were given at £2 IBs 7d (660) in 1937, £2 9s lid (629) in 1936, and £2 4s 4d (578) in 1935. Fees collected in other departments also showed increases. In the opinion of Mr. G. Y. Berry the improvement in some measure was due to better financial conditions.

Urban Drift of Mosquitoes,

The drift from rural to urban surroundings, somewhat manifest in the human population of the Dominion, seems to have affected the mosquito population also. With all the wet weather there has been, the last summer, so-called, might well be deemed to have been a particularly good one for the multiplication of the mosquito, since water is necessary to it for breeding purposes. But curiously enough in many places in the country where the mosquito is usually to be found there is a marked absence of the pest this year. On the other hand, some areas in the city of Wellington seem to be particularly favoured by mosquito families which apparently urban to rural residence. And what is worse, they are literally making their presence felt by bites on any portion of the human anatomy which they may chance to find exposed. In some instances the current mosquito generation appears to be particularly venomous, and when it has well and truly dined, its unwitting and unwilling host has large and irritating swellings to indicate the exact spot where the meal was taken.