LOCAL AND GENERAL

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXVIII, Issue 4607, 9 October 1934, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

At the Borough Council meeting last night the Clerk Was instructed to sign an agreement between the Grand Hotel Company and W. J. Haines in respect to a drain crossing the former's property.

"That cuts that out, thank goodness—these thing's stay a long time," commented the Mayor, Mr. Broadfoot, last evening, when observing that the last payment for the Mangaokewa reserve had been made.

The action of "a certain big purveyor of foodstuffs in this town" of wrapping his goods in old printed paper in direct contact with the food was commented on by Cr. O'Connell at the Borough Council table last evening. Surely the Health Department make some provision to stop this unsanitary practice? Mr. Drake said that this procedure was very definitely against the law—there was a heavy penalty prescribed for the offence.

Supporters and others interested in athletic sports are reminded of the public meeting to be held in the Municipal Hall on Thursday to consider the matter of forming a body to control athletic sports in Te Kuiti.

The identity of the Albury victim, despite the claims of recognition by many persons, still remains a mystery. The police at Wellington have already received several communications from persons who claim that they know who the dead woman was, who have an idea that they know, and even from some who have just vague thoughts on the subject. So far, however, investigations have yielded no results.

That the customs duty on electric torch bulbs was 1000 per cent., and tihs fact had been proved to the satisfaction of the Tariff Commission, was mentioned by Dr. E. H. Neale in his address to the Morrinsville Chamber of Commerce. The reason for this high duty was that the cost price overseas for each bulb had fallen through improvement in manufacture, whereas the duty per bulb had remained at the same figure.

The waste products of dairy companies have a high manure value for pastures, and are much used for this purpose in Holland by a scheme of broad irrigation. Broad irrigation has been carried out in the Dahnevirke district, and no less than six factories in the Manawatu-Hawke's Bay district are pumping their waste products on to grasslands with success. The waste products may burn the grass when applied, but the final result is a luxurious growth of grass which is relished by stock. A dairy factory close to Palmerston North is discharging each day during the summer in the vicinity of 20,000 gallons over an area of six or seven acres, and the growth of grass on the area is stated to be phenomenal.

Though it flourished as recently as 400 years ago, the Maya civilisation in Central America is now completely dead and, so far, archaeologists have been baffled in their attempts to decipher its language. This example was given by Professor Shelley, in an address in Christchurch last week, to show how it was possible for a civilisation to disappear almost overnight. When the Spaniards invaded Central America 400 years ago, he said, Maya civilisation was at its height. Possibly when access was gained to the archives and records of Jesuit monasteries in Spain some light might be thrown on the subject, but so far the elaborate Maya calendar was the • uly thing that had been elucidated.