NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXIX, Issue 105, 4 May 1940, Page 10

NEWS OF THE DAY

School Holidays Begin. The State primary schools yesterday began their first term holidays of the present year, and r \are to. resume again- on Tuesday, May 21. The Wellington Boys' and Girls' Colleges also broke up yesterday until May 21. Graduates in Uniform. A number of the Victoria University College graduates who received their degrees at the annual graduation ceremony in the Town Hall last night were in uniforms of the fighting services. There was one Army lieutenant and there were several in Air Force uniform. The significance of this departure from the traditional academic cap and gown was fully appreciated by fellow-students and the general public, for as each one came forward he received a special burst of applause, mingled with cheers. The Native Bat. "The presence of native bats near the Rangitikei River has been mentioned by anglers, and it is interesting to note that without them New Zealand would not have any sort of land mammal," states the annual report of the Marton branch of the Wellington Acclimatisation Society. The report adds that the erratic flight and seminocturnal habits of the bats made an interesting study. Pohutu Geyser Plays. After several weeks of quiescence, the Pohutu gey.ser at Whakarewarewa from Wednesday morning gave an excellent display all day, playing to heights of approximately 80ft and 90ft, states a Rotorua correspondent. It was accompanied as usual by the small .Prince of Wales Feathers geyser close to Pohutu, and the small geyser Waikokohi, a few yards away, was unusually active. Pohutu was dormant for over two years prior to breaking out again in January of last year. Strawberry Growing. Although strawberry plants in Auckland are not as forward as usual at the beginning of May, a start has been made with planting for next season's crop, and each day now some thousands of young plants are distributed to growers about the city, states the "New Zealand Herald." It is expected that approximately 1,500,000 to 1,750,000 plants will be distributed this year, covering between 70 and 80 acres. This is slightly more than half the number of plantings six years ago. In spite of the fact that the past season was successful financially, strawberry cultivation is regarded as a i'ath'er hazardous undertaking, and each year the number of growers becomes less. I Exceptional Number of Acorns. An exceptional crop of acorns in Christchurch this year will be of value to local body and school oak planting programmes, states the "Press." The only acorns now saved, stated the director of the Botanic Gardens (Mr. J. A. McPherson), were those of the English dry area oak, and these were being sown to replace less suitable types of oak in Canterbury. They were distributed, as seed or plant, to local bodies and schools. The dry area oak was much more suitable to Canterbury, it did not take scale, it held its leaves at least six weeks longer than the others, and it grew more quickly. Acorns of the other type were not saved, though quite a number of persons still came to collect them for pig feed. Years ago, Mr. McPherson said, rights used to be let for the taking of acorns, but this practice had apparently stopped. New Golden Hind. Leaving New Zealand with no definite itinerary and the fixed intention of, not coming back until spring at the earliest. Mr. H. R. Jenkins, owner of the 94ft schooner-rigged pleasure yacht New Golden Hind, and a small party of men and women, set sail from Auckland on Thursday afternoon on a cruise among the Pacific Islands, states the "New Zealand Herald." The yacht will call first at Sunday Island to pick up Mr. B. Robertson, one of the two men who have been living there since 1935. He will be one of the crew. A call will then be paid at Nukualofa, after which the party will probably visit Haapai, Vavau, Fiji, Samoa, and the Cook Islands. In addition to the crew and Mr. Jenkins, master, the party includes Mrs. F. J. H. Harrison and Miss M. Culford Bell, of Auckland, Mr. W. E. Mitchell, of Nelson, and Mr. H. T. Welch, of Te Awamutu. The navigator is Mr. H. Simpson. Interviewed before his departure Mr. Jenkins said! it was possible that his yacht would be used by an expedition headed by Mr. Michael Lerner, the noted American ichthyotomist, and associate of the American Museum of Natural History, who studied big-game fish in New Zealand* waters at the beginning of last year.