NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 7, 10 January 1938, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Blenheim's Progress. | Blenheim's progress in 1937 is re-| vualed by the building figures, £36,319 as against £28,027 in the previous year. Excellent progress has been made with the new buildings of Marlborough College. This work was commenced about ten months ago and is now practically completed. The new Courthouse will be completed about Apri; next, and is a building for which Blenheim residents have long been agitating. Not White Ants. The . alarm expressed recently oy New Plymouth residents that the dreaded white ant had been introduced from Australia in some poles, and that it was already ravaging the timber of houses, has been allayed by the report of a local entomologist, Mr. W. W. Smith. He has identified the specimens submitted to him as a species of New Zealand borer, and definitely discounts the rumour that the white ant has started a raid on New Plymouth. > Chances Missed. Frequently in cricket matches chances are missed, but it is not often that a batsman is dismissed and is allowed to stay because the fielding side fails to appeal to the umpires. This happened twice during the match at New Plymouth between Otago and Taranaki, and on each occasion Otagc was the side that profited. On the first day there was a close decision for a run out, Uttley being the batsman, and a similar case occurred on Friday with Knight as the batsman. The North Taranaki team was later informed that on each occasion the umpire concerned would have ruled the batsman out if an appeal had been made. False Fire Alarms. Apparently malicious false alarms i were the cause of the .Wellingtji Fire Brigade being summoned to Moretoa Street, Berhampore, and to the corner of Argentine Avenue and Devonshire Road on Saturday evening and yesterday morning. Both cases were reported to the police. Yesterday's false call was received at 10.46 a.m. and a minute after the engine arrived back at the Central Fire Station another call was received from the same box. It is believed that small children were responsible for both the Sunday calls. On Saturday evening, however, three genuine calls were received to gorse fires. The first was received at 8.2 o'clock to Highbury Crescent, the next call was to Mitchelltown at 8.24 o'clock, and the third call was to Durham Street at 8.40 o'clock. In each case the fires were extinguished without difficulty. Expenditure on West Coast. "One cannot travel between Reefton and Greymouth without noticing the vast expenditure of public money," said the Rev. W. C. Wood, chairman of the Auckland Hospital Board, at Christchurch on Friday (reports the "Press"). Mr. Wood travelled through the North Island .from Auckland by motor-car, and drove down the Buller Gorge to Hokitika, whence he arrived in Christchurch on Friday. "I passed over, some magnificent roads," he said, "which reflect great credit on the authorities. When I came down the West Coast I could not help noticing that public money was being spent in huge sums in certain districts, particularly between Reefton and Greymouth." Story of Famous Cricketer. . An interesting personal reminiscence of "W. G." Grace, the famous cricketer, was recalled on Friday by Mr. J. V. Dingle, of Graf ton, who attained ' his 80th birthday today, and the 64th anniversary of his weddnig, states the "New Zealand Herald." Mr. Dingle won a world bowling championship at the Crystal Palace, London, in 1901, and one of his fellow-competitors and his marksman was "W. G." When the contest was over Grace congratulated Mr. Dingle and said he was particularly glad that he had won it. When Mr. Dingle asked why, the reply was: "Because of the way you New Zealanders helped us in the South African War." A Candid Motorist. Damage to fire alarm boxes through their being struck by motor-cars is not infrequent, but it is most unusual for responsibility for such a mishap to be assumed in such a manner as was the case in Takapuna last week, states the "New Zealand Herald" A visiting motorist travelling on the North Shore collided with the post carrying an alarm and moved it out of alignment. The Takapuna Fire Brigade received a postcard from the driver, explaining the circumstances and apologising for the mishap. It was a thought much appreciated by members of the brigade. White Man's Prestige Upheld. How the white man's prestige among New Guinea natives was saved was related by Pastor A. G. Stewart, vicepresident of the Conference of Seventh Day Adventists, now meeting at Christchurch, states the "Press." Pastor Stewart has been engaged in missionary work in the interior of New Guinea, where, he says, the natives are very good with the bow and arrow. A white patrol officer had a chief give a demonstration of his skill, and, standing about 50 yards away from a high wooden radio mast, the native was able to graze the bark with his arrows. The patrol officer tried it, and his arrows fell short. A colleague of Pastor Stewart also failed. Pastor Stewart noticed a twinkle in the chief's eye, and decided that the white man's honour was at stake. Taking the bow, he stuck one arrow in the middle of the pole. The chief fell on his knees at the pastor's feet, shook • his head, and muttered amazedly: "Papa, Papa" (master). The story was still going round after three weeks. "Of course I did not have a second shot," said Pastor Stewart. Fish Spawning. As a .result of the high, even temperature of the sea along the coast the season is proving the best reproductive period for snapper that has been experienced for years. This fact has been ckurly demonstrated by tests made by the Fisheries Department in the spawning area between Hook's Point, Waiheke, and Takatu on the mainland I (states the "New Zealand Herald").! The spawning area is closed to all but line fishing from October 16 to January SI in each season, this restriction having been imposed for the past ten years. In the spawning period tests are I made at regular intervals by means of j a small silken drag net containing an I open jar in which are caught the i floating eggs and fry oi the snapper, j The whole area is plotted, and drags \ last for five-minute intervals, so that i comparisons can be made with various parts as well as, with different test periods. Reproduction is largely governed by the temperature. A cold period would spoil the eggs and also affect the fry, so that the warm, sustained temperatures have made the conditions almost ideal. They have also developed the plankton food supply. The tests also reveal high reproduction of anchovy and pilcher, while crabs in the egg or early hatched stage are also very plentiful. The eggs of the sea life mentioned float largely within six feet of the surface, so that it > is possible to make tests reasonably ' complete in the manner indicated. The : Department also anticipates a very I good reproductive season for oysters, j for the conditions that suit snapper j apply equally to oysters. • ' j

rclrol lor New Zealand.

Large quantities of motor spirit and oil are pouring into New -Zealand at the present time. By the end oi this month at least half a dozen tankers will have discharged at Wellington. The Athellaird brought a cargo of fuel oil from Sumatra and left here for Oeban last Wednesday to load again. The Edward F. Johnson arrived at Wellington on Saturday from Lytlelton and Palembang, and yesterday the British Chancellor arrived from Abadan in the Persian Gulf. Thisi morning the Leiv Eiriksson cam'.1 in from Oeban, and the Osthav. irom Balik Papan, via southern ports, is due in a day or two. The South Africa, from Los Angeles and Dunedin, will follow later. Neighbours' Fine Gesture. Nine chagrined men stood helplessly in a field on Mr. H. Brown's farm at Patumahoe at about 5 p.m. on Friday, watching a large haystack which they had toiled all day to build, disappear in flames, states a Pukekohe correspondent. With it was destroyed a stacker belonging to a neighbour. The stack, which contained the hay from 14 acres, was valued at about £60, and the stacker at more than £30. The stack had been completed and the men were raking up around it when the fire started. Fanned by a strong breeze, the flames soon destroyed the entire stack.' The men were helpless against the heat of the fire, which enveloped the ironwork of the stacker, and even set fire to a nearby cock of hay in which the men had placed the hayforks, these also being destroyed. None of the loss was covered by insurance. As soon as Mr. Brown's loss was known, neighbours made offers of fields of uncut hay to replace his stack, and one of these was accepted. • New Mountain Hut. The ambitious scheme of the New ! Zealand Alpine Club tq. provide a mountain hut near the head of the i Dart Valley reached fruition during the holiday period with the opening of a substantial 20ft by 12ft wood and iron hut. Built to provide eight bunks, it had as many as 25 occupants in it at the same time during the holidays, states the Otago "Daily Times." The Dart Valley, commencing at the head of Lake Wakatipu, sweeps in a north-westward-trending semi-circle between the Forbes and Barrier Ranges for some 30 miles to saddle with the West Matukituki Valley and the Mount Aspiring system of mountains. At the head of the Dart Valley is a glacier, some four miles long, hemmed round by a fine circle of surrounding peaks. The glacier itself is the largest in the Otago alps, and the whole district is an ideal alpine playground for the tramper and the mountaineer. Hitherto, access to it has presented a difficulty. A horse track lias been cut through the bush at the head of Cattle Flat to the Whitburn Flats, and a foot track formed for the final two or three miles to the hut site at Snowy Creek Junction. Thence it is an easy and pleasant two hours' walk to the clear ice of the glacier. The funds for the hut were raised by the New Zealand Alpine Club, assisted by a grant from the Tourist Department, and the work of erecting it was completed in September last. Minister Keeps His Promise. The Waikato Children's Camp League benefited to the extent of £5 recently as a result of the failure of a prediction made by the Minister of Agriculture (the Hon. W. Lee Martin) at a meeting at Pukekohe last March that last year's pay-out by the New Zealand Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., would, under guaranteed prices, exceed that of the previous year by a penny a pound of butterfat, states the Auckland "Star.?' The particular company was specified, and the Minister promised to pay the sum to a charitable institution if his prediction were not fulfilled. In handing over the cheque to Mr. W. H. Paul, chairman of the Camp League, at Port Waikato, Mr. Lee Martin said that his prediction had fallen short by less than a tenth of a penny, according to figures supplied by the company, and accordingly the sum was forfeit. "Although my forecast fell short of fulfilment, the farmers' received so satisfactory a return that it is a pleasure to pay up, especially to such a worthy cause as the children's camp," remarked the Minister;