NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVI, Issue 121, 18 November 1943, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

WEATHER FORECAST Moderate north-easterly winds predominating. . Weather fair to fine and mild. The further outlook is for fair weather. , The Moon.—New moon, November 28. High Water.—Today, 10.6 p.m.; tomorrow, 10.20 a.m., 10.49 p.m. Chocolates for the Blind. - Eleven hundred boxes of choqplates will be distributed among blind people throughout New Zealand by the Blind Institute, Auckland, this Christmas. The boxes are at present being prepared for mailing at the institute in Parnell. Each parcel will carry a note of seasonal greetings to the recipients from the Auckland organisation, which makes the gift an annual event. R.S.A. Membership. During the past few years there has been a substantial increase in the membership of the Wellington R.S.A. While this is due in part to men returning from the present war, of whom 820 have become members, many servicemen of the last war have joined up, with . the result that the membership total at October 31' stood at 4030. This number does not include Hutt Valley members, who now have their own association. The increasing membership will materially assist the executive with -its plans for establishing premises containing clubroom facilities for local and visiting exservicemen. American Officer's Generosity. An officer of the United States navy some time ago won a sailing boat donated by a resident at Devonport, Auckland, as the first prize in an art union to assist the patriotic activities of that borough. In a recent letter of acknowledgment, the winner expressed his regret that he could not take possession and stated that he has decided to return the boat to the Mayor, Mr. R. G. May, for "he further benefit of the fund. It lias been decided to sell the craft by auction at Devonport on the occasion of an Air Training Corps demonstration. Horse Killed by Electric Shock. A horse was killed by an electric shock at the New Point E. Co-opera-tive Coal Mine at Dunollie recently as a result of a leakage of power from a broken earth guard on the low tension system, states the Christchurch "Press." For some time * the horse, which was used for drawing trucks from the mine, had shown a tendency to bolt past a certain' power pole, and on Friday the driver stopped the horse at the spot in an endeavour to discover the reason for the horse's reactions. The horse received a shock from which it died in a few moments, and when the driver tried to remove the harness from the,animal he received a minor shock. It is reported that horses are particularly susceptible to death from electric shock, and that the leakage in the present case was not sufficient to cause serious injury to a human being. Religion in Schools. The Wanganui Education Board's resolution requesting that the teaching of the principles of Christianity be included in the school syllabus has received the support ol the Otago Board. The resolution was: "That this board, realising to the full that the Christian faith is the rock on which the British character has been built, strongly urges the Prime Minister to include in the proposed Education Amendment Act a clause making the teaching of the principles of Christianity an integral part of the school syllabus." When the letter forwarding it was read to the Otago Board the chairman, Mr. J. Wallace, said: "I think this is a step in the right direction. We will be on safe ground in approving the resolution as it is." The decision to support it was unanimous. Dairying Methods, That Australian dairy farmers could adopt with advantage various dairying methods in practice in New Zealand is the opinion of Mr. A. W. Wilson, of Victoria, a member of the Australian Dairy Board, who has just completed a tour of the North Island. Mr. Wilson studied different phases of the industry, and was greatly impressed by the condition of the land, particularly in the Waikato. The advanced development of herd testing in New Zealand had surprised him, said Mr. Wilson. In Australia, efforts were being made to increase the average production of butter-fat per cow, which was too low, especially in comparison with that of New Zealand. Against the Dominion annual average of 2131b a cow. the average for Queensland was 1281b, for New South Wales 1291b. and for Victoria 1371b. Little testing was done outside purebred herds in Australia. The Dairy Board, however, was endeavouring to encourage widespread herd improvement. In [ Victoria, the State Government had [ undertaken to bear the expense of a : properly-instituted system; Mr. Wilson said that on his return he intended to ; urge the wider adoption of shelter ; belts in the dairying: areas of Victoria. ; He had been impressed with the extensive use of macrocarpa and lawsoniana ' in New Zealand fo£ shelter purposes.