NEWS OF TIDE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 18, 22 January 1944, Page 6

NEWS OF TIDE DAY

WEATHER FORECAST

Fresh to strong southerly winds. Weather (Lull, with further periods of rain or.drizzle. Cold temperatures. The further outlook is for a slow improvement. The Moon.—New moon, January 26. High Water.—Today, 1.37 p.m.; tomorrow, 2.2 a.m., 2.26 p.m. Conference Postponed. The annual conference of the New Zealand Hospital Boards' Association, which was to have been held in Dunedin early next month, has been postponed for five weeks on account of railway travel restrictions in the South Island. A Press Association message from Dunedin states that it has been decided to hold the conference the first week in March, when it is hoped that delegates from all parts of New Zealand will be able to attend. It will be the first occasion since 1925 on which the conference has been held in Dunedin. Yacht's Trip from Auckland. Tht 40ft A class yacht Waiomo, which left Auckland for Wellington on January 11, arrived here on Wednesday night., A call was made at Gisborne, and the trip was uneventful till the yacht entered Cook Strait, when exceptionally heavy seas were encountered. It was found necessary toy heave to for 12 hours off Cape Palliser. The yacht belongs to a Wellington business man, • and three of the crew were Wellingtonians. The master was a well-known Tauranga yachtsman. Danger of Eczema. A warning that the present humid conditions, following a long spell of dry weather, were comparable to those immediately preceding earlier outbreaks of facial eczema was given by the principal of Massey College, Mr. Peren, in an interview, states a Palmerston North Press Association message. He urged farmers to watch suspected cases and then immediately transfer stock to harder feed, such as silage, or to pastures which had been only lightly grazed and which contained some roughage. Other methods of prevention were to confine stock to small paddocks for feeding, with supplementary crops of silage, or to graze small areas hard to prevent flush feed from developing. Outside Influences. Anecdotes of mobilised service provided the major part of the entertainment at a National Military Reserve reunion at Wanganui. Lieutenant R. D. Kelly, formerly commandant of a camp for Maori Home Guards, was awarded the palm for a story relating to the employment of National Military Reserve instructors for the Maori trainees, states the "Wanganui Chronicle." He explained that the instructors were of various racial extractions and that all g*t on well with the recruits. The most lasting impression was made by one popular member of the Gisborne Company, who instructed the Maori troops in the use of weapons. Some time after this instructor's departure from the camp the commandant conducted a snap test of the recruits' knowledge. "What part of the rifle is this?" he asked one Home Guardsman, placing his finger on the weapon. From a trainee, whose English was not very fluent in the ordinary way, came the smart answer: Aye, it's the for-r-re-sight, ye ken, sir!' Shearing- Eecord. Claims-for world shearing records usually excite some controversy, particularly as it is often difficult in scattered country communities to secure authenticated information, but no figures have been quoted yet to dispute the attainment of Sonny White, at Mr. Francis Stafford's Sherbrooke Station, Pheriri, nine years ago, states the "Gisborne Herald." Last week's Putaruru performance of 417 ewes in nine working hours by Henry Thomas Tuwhangai, Kawhia, is another instance of a claim which has fallen short of the Gisborne district feat. Sonny White's record was created under ideal conditions, with clean sheep in excellent condition, and with the floor kept clean by two pressers and five shed hands. The sheep were Romney ewes, of which 433 were shorn in nine hours. The Putaruru tally was 417 ewes in nine hours. Sonny White s gang came from the Urewera Country, and was well known in the Gisborne district, where it had put -up some splendid performances' previously. The party of six shearers with whom he was associated put through 1561 sheep in the one day, or an average of 312 per man in the nine hours. The record prior to that was held by Bill Higgins, who operated in the lower half of the North Island and whose record for nine hours was said to have been 407 sheep. ___«_»»«-_—--»-—--——