Report From Capital— Rain-making Experiments Proposed For FA,

Greymouth Evening Star, 3 April 1948, Page 2

Report From Capital— Rain-making Experiments Proposed For FA,

(SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT) WELLINGTON, This Day. If the efforts of several interested parties come to fruition, New Zealand may yet have rain-making experiments on an official scale. This news is probably tod late for farmers and growers who have experienced an abnormally dry summer, but it is a hopeful augury of things to come. First to move in this direction has been the Federated Farmers of New Zealand. With a typical astuteness, one of its officials noticed an article,in an American magazine; in which the experiments of an Arizona farmer were detailed. Striking while the iron was hot the official sent an urgent cablegram to the American farmer, asking him to send a 150 word reply-paid cablegram setting out the methods used.

In the meantime, a Hastings farmer, Mr W. Shrimpton, of Mata-i pire station, beat the pistol. After; studying the subject in the United' States, Mr Shrimpton tried the first experiment in aerial rainmaking in New Zealand about a week ago. He arranged for 100 lbs of dry ice from: Auckland,. and when the weather ( conditions were right, he chartered an aircraft of the Hawke’s Bay and East] Coast Aero Club, piloted by Mr M.l T. Vanderpump, who'-, incidentally,! was New Zealand’s highest scoring; fighter pilot in the Pacific area. When the plane was between 7000 and 8000 feet up, the pilot and Mr Shrimpton shovelled out the dry ice on cumulous clouds. In the words of Mr Vanderpump, it then “rained like the devil.”

Department’s Interest Undaunted by this premature effort, the Federated Farmers are still going ahead in their efforts to interest Government departments in undertaking large-scale experiments. It is their hope to arrange for Mr Shrimpton to come to Wellington and to discuss his experiments and their possibilities with the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and the Department of Agriculture. An official of the D.S.I.R. told me today that although no official experiments had been carried out in New Zealand scientists in the Dominion had sufficient data on which to conduct any trials. They pointed out that ample facts were available from Australia and, apart from a few experiments dealing with local conditions, the field was clear, so far as they were concerned. The chief of the radio physics division of the Australian Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Dr E. G. Bowen, said recently that since his organisation had achieved positive results with some experiments, he was cautiously hopeful that rain-making would be successfully developed by the stimulation of clouds. Experiments in Australia have been made with eight different types of clouds. Spectacular Test

In the most spectacular test, carried out in February, 1947, 150 tons of dry ice (granulated carbon dioxide) was dropped from an aircraft, into a cloud. The aircraft circled, and in less than five minutes ram echoes from within the cloud were recorded on the plane’s radar equipment. After a further release of 1501bs of dry ice, the echoes grew in intensity and 21 minutes afterwards heavy rain fell from, the base 01. the cloud. Forty-five minutes later there was a pillar of rain stretching to the ground and covering 20 square miles. For new experiments, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, in association with the Royal Australian Air Force, will use a specially-fitted Dakota which instead of dry ice will carry several hundred gallons of a liquid substitute, which will be sprayed on selected clouds. Artificial rain-making in New Zealand is not entirely new. As far back as the First World War, varying quantities of dynamite were exploded on hilltops in the Oamaru district in an endeavour to create rain in a grain-growing district which periodically becomes abnormally parched. The results, although regarded as negative from a scientific point of view, proved that rain could be made to fall in scattered areas. Accident-Prone Drivers

About a year ago there was a great deal of controversy about a suggestion that the Government should

compile a register of motor drivers, which would cover the whole of the Dominion. Since then, nothing has been heard of this proposal. An inquiry from the Transport Department this week revealed that a national register of motor drivers already, has been compiled, with the co-operation of local authorities from one end of the country to the other. Although they do not know it, every licensed driver in New Zealand has a personal card filed by the department in Wellington. On it is entered every accident or traffic offence. The idea is not to pry into the affairs of every motorist in New Zealand, but to 'keep a check on “accident-prone” drivers, those who are always having small accidents, which, 'one day, may result in a major fatality. “The driving histories of licenceholders who have repeated accidents will be investigated,” an official of the Transport Department told me. “An experienced and suitable traffic inspector has been detailed to interview all such persons. Where he considers it necessary, he will recommend to the Commissioner of Road Transport that he should review the licence. This will entail an examination of the driver’s knowledge of the traffic laws, an eyesight and hearing test, a practical driving test, and, in some cases, a medical test.” Trans-Tasman Trade It is learned from authoritative sources that a trade agreement is pending between Australia and New Zealand, and a joint committee of departmental experts from both countries will be appointed shortly to go into the preliminaries. The principal supplies which New Zealand wants from Australia at the moment are steel, building materials, etc. The first move for a new trade agreement was made when the Australian Prime Minister, Mr Chifley, visited New Zealand before Christmas and had talks with the Prime Minister, Mr Fraser. Then followed the recent visit to the Commonwealth of the Minister of Works, Mr Semple. Although primarily connected with obtaining sufficient steel for urgent State development programmes, Mr Semple’s visit, it is learned, also took in preliminary discussions on a much larger field. The next step will bo meetings of departmental officials of both countries to draft certain proposed provisions of a trade agreement. It is understood that these meetings will be held shortly. Vanishing Heritage Any visitor to the capital city will agree that Wellington is not blessed with open spaces around the commercial and business centre of the city. Residents have been appalled recently by the erection of'several American-type prefabricated steel huts which are being put up next to I the State Hydro-Electric Department, [which is behind Parliament Buildings. Not only will they be an eye--s bre—and an uncomfortably hot office for workers in this department —but it will mean the complete closing of one street—Sydney street north —and Wellington can ill afford the loss of a single road. As they are being constructed, the huts stretch right across the road, from one footpath to the other; The surprising thing is that so far there has not been the slightest murmuring from residents of Wellington.