NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 131, 4 June 1937, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Thunder and Rain.

A brief thunderstorm visited the city and neighbourhood this morning, but it was not severe and did not last long. Further heavy rain fell at the same time. Some of the showers earlier this morning were particularly heavy, but the heaviest downpour occurred just before midnight last night, when 15 points of rain fell in the space of four minutes. . - Yesterday's Earthquakes. Yesterday's earthquakes reported from the Thames and Waihi region were probably of local origin, although they were felt over a fairly wide region. The tracings they made on the instruments at • the Dominion Observatory, Kelburn, were quite small and feeble and did not give much information. Hastings reports a shock as having been felt at 1.47 a.m. today, but this was not recorded at all at_Kelburn.. Divorce and the Church. During a discussion on divorce and remarriage at the Waikato Presbytery recently one speaker contended that only a very small percentage of marriages celebrated in churches ended in the divorce court. He stated that he had been ordained for a lengthy period, had been stationed in four charges, and had officiated at many weddings, but up to the present he had only had'to place one divorce endorsement on his register. From his experience he deduced that the vast majority of the divorces recorded were the outcome of civil marriages. The Dangerous Speed. "Accidents always occur when parties involved are travelling at 15 miles an hour; it seems to be the dangerous speed as far <as accidents are concerned,"; said Mr.. W. B. McKean, S.M., when a motorist involved in an accident stated in the Auckland Police Court yesterday that he was travelling at 15 miles an hour or less (reports the "New Zealand Herald")., "The same old speed again," remarked the Magistrate when another witness said he had been travelling at from 10 to 15 miles an hour. Early Daffodils. The distinction of being the grower of what must be the first daffodils to flower in New Zealand this year belongs to Sir Algernon Thomas, who celebrated his 80th birthday yesterday (states the "New Zealand Herald"). In the garden of his home in Mountain Road are. six daffodils in bloom. Usually daffodils do not appear in Auckland gardens in great numbers until the end of this month or the beginning of July. Two of the six daffodils, however, came out on Sunday, and the rest during the week. Last year Sir Algernon had daffodils of this particular variety in his garden on May 29, which must be a record for the Dominion. They were grown from one of Sir Algernon's own seedlings. Diseases in Stock.

,"A very serious problem for the farming community today is the increase in disease in stock, and it is one which calls for more urgent scientific investigation," said Mr. A. Ward, in his address as retiring president at the annual conference of the South Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Farmers' Union at Timaru on Wednesday (states the "Press"). The increased carrying capacity of land had brought in its train more disease and losses in stock, and particularly was this the case with sheep. It had been estimated that out of the Dominion's 30,000,000 sheep last year 2,000,000 were lost through disease. A very startling fact indeed, this was by.no means the total loss, as there was also the setback to flocks caused by diseases which, were not necessarily fatal. It would appear to warrant the expenditure of much greater amounts and more extensive research than was at present the case.

Aquarium Ills.

The ills" that ,befall aquarium . fishes are many, and members of the Aquarium Society at.their meeting this week discussed remedies, Mr. T. S. Abbott leading the discussion. Beside the. remedies recognised by standard authorities, there is an experimental field open to amateur audacity, and the result is that the piscatorial pharmacopoeia is extending rapidly. For instance, methylated spirit is used externally to cure certain ills, and one member of the society has used brandy, either externally or internally, with apparently good effects. The president (Mr. W. J. PhillippsV reminded members that release of extra fish into creeks or running waterways or rivers is unlawful and that accidental release should be guarded against The Last Bearer of "Moko." Fifty odd years; ago,-Tawhiao, the Maori King, visited London, and one place which interested him exceedingly was the big'printing: establishment of the "Illustrated: London: News." The man who showed him over the works, Mr. H. Wisdom, visited New Zealand this year. When inspecting the' Alexander Museum at Wanganui, he was greatly interested in the pictures of celebrated chiefs displayed at the museum, and yesterday a fine reproduction of Tawhiao arrived at the museum . from Mr. Wisdom. He had had a fine sketch, done from life by the "News" artist in 1884, copied. The picture' is 'of particular interest just now, as the museum is displaying the Napier Carnegie exhibit of "moko." According to Archdeacon Williams, when Tawhiao passed away in 1894, the last fine specimen of moko on a living face was gone, probably never to bo seen again, as the art has died out.