DUNEDIN NOTES.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 4348, 18 January 1938, Page 5

DUNEDIN NOTES.

From Our Own Correspondent). January , 13. The tremendous interest that is taken in the game of bowls in these days is indicated by the number of players who are taking part in the New Zealand Bowling Association’s tournament ■which is being held in Dunedin this year. Play began on Monday morning in the Singles Championship, in which 250 players were engaged on sixteen greens, Bowlers came from all parts of the Dominion—from the far north of the Auckland province to the Bluff. All outdoor sports that are conducted in the right spirit fulfil an important function in the community, for they promote goodwill and friendliness'. When bowlers assemble on the greens they put behind them the worries and disagreements of the workday world, and engage in friendly contests. Bowling is the most democratic of games, for all sections of the community are enabled in these days of greater leisure to take part in it. The Spring in Otago generally was very dry. In the northern part of the province, as well as in Central Otago, the conditions became exceedingly bad. The sheep and lambs suffered and the early sown wheat failed to make headway. Within the last few days, however, there has been a marked improvement in the conditions of the dry belt between Palmerston and Oamaru. Several inches of rain has fallen, and although the men on the land have been unable to get ahead with shearing operations as a result of the wet weather, they are reported to be quite satisfied with the situation, which reveals strong growth in pastures and germination of root-crop seed. Thus indispensable commodities are coming along nicely. Stock throughout most parts of the province is reported to be in good condition A most unusual incident is reported in this city. At one of the small lending libraries that are so popular nowadays a client returned a book, and as he was* leaving an attendant noticed something between the pages. She was very much surprised when she discovered it to be a pound note. • She called out to the borrower: "You have left a pound note in the book,” to which ho replied: "Oh, no, it is’nt mine. It was in the book when I obtained it from you.” Presumably some previous customer had used the note as a marker and had forgotten to take it out. It is not often that! a case of such conspicuous honesty comes to light. Still, it can be taken for granted that in British communities the great majority of the people are scrupulous in trying to find the owners of articles that they pick up that do not belong to them. Only a few arc unable to resist temptation in such circumstances.

A lure to the holiday-maker on the Stewart Island and other southern beaches is the hope of .finding ambergris. Quite a number of visitors have picked up pieces of this valuable material from time to time. Xot long ago a Wellington man while strolling along the seashore found a lump which he took homo with liian and sold for nearly £'s. Two Hamilton residents lately found a nice piece, which prompted the ‘Dominion’ to recall past successes. ’The greatest find yet recorded was that made by the whale chaser Campbell about 1912. This craft was anchored in Thalky •Sound, when a sick sperm whale was observed. It was captured, and when opened up, was found to he full of ambergris. The value of this deposit was never publicly stated, but it was supposed to be not less than £300,000. It is known definitely, however, that on occasion a consignment worth £6.),000 was brought to the bjachasei and despatched to the United Kingdom. Many finds have been made on Stewart Island, one man kicked a boulder buried in the sand at Mason.s

Bay. The b alder proved to be a lump of ambergris weighing 2000oz, which would yield anything between £4OOO and £IO,OOO according to the success of the owner in disposing of his lucky find. A lump worth £IO,OOO was picked up by a trading schooner in the Hawaiian Group in 1910. This rich prize was found floating on the sea. It is considered probable that the production of ambergris is the result of irritation set up by the horny beaks of the squids that the whale lias swallowed wholesale. Because of its pleasant smell there is a constant demand for ambergris in the manufacture of perfumery, and as it is a scarce commodity the finder of a piece of any size is in luck's way.

A sign of the changing times is the announcement that a tender has ; been accepted for the construction of the new railway omnibus .station in Dunedin. The way in which motor vehicle traffic has developed may be judged from the fact that the price for the contract is £45,000. This building will be an adjunct to the railway station, and it is fortunate that the department had suitable land available ou which to erect it. Fears some time ago were expressed that the building would take the form of a garage and -would spoil the amenities of the area round about. Representations were made to the Minuter, and assurances were at once forthcoming that attention would be paid to the architectural design so that it should not be out of keeping with the fine appearance of the railway station and its surroundings. The Otago cricketers have returned from their northern tour. They played two Plunket Shield matches against Canterbury and Auckland. The Canterbury game they won handsomely, and though they were beaten they put up a good fight against the powerful Auckland side, which possesses some outstanding players. It is interesting to read the views of Sir Pelham Warner on the merits of the New Zealand team that visited England. There is probably no better judge in the world of cricket and cricketers than this noted batsman of other days. He considers that Vivian was the best player among the New Zealanders. This Aucklander is a great bat and a very serviceable bowler. Others tliat Sir Pelham singles out for distinction among the batsmen are the two youths, Wallace and Donnelly. He says that the former should attain greatness, while he described Donnelly as an attractive left-hander, full of strokes and enterprise. A great compliment was paid to Oowie in the remark that'‘he is probably the best New Zealand bowler we have seen in England,” Tributes were paid to Banning (Otago’s representative in the team) and Moloney (who gave much promise when a boy at the Otago High School). Sir Pelham’s comments are distinctly encouraging. The conclusion is that New Zealand possesses young cricketers who would come into the first flight given experience and opportunity. What is desdnable is that more visits should be paid to these shores by Australian teams and that we should reciprocate by arranging tours for our men in the Commonwealth. If the problem of grappling with late frosts could be overcome, the life of the fruitgrower in Central Otago would be a fairly happy one, seeing that he is given a minimum guaranteed price for apples and pears exported to the overseas markets. The belated frost in spring is the orchardists dread, and almost every year it takes, a heavy toll from the crops. Lately the fruitgrowers of Otago presented a petition to the Government praying that their fruit exported should be handled by the Fruit Control Board. The Minister of Agriculture lias agreed to this being done. He expressed his pleasure at the request, and explained that, it would tend to obviate erabarressment on the London market, and also in regard to the payment in New Zealand of the guaranteed minimum price for fruit exported. When the Fruit Control Act was passed in 1924 the Otago growers, acting under its provisions, elected to dissociate themselves from cxpoit control, and a petition of at least 70 per cent, of Otago producers eligible to vote on the question thus became necessary before this decision could be reversed, and the Otago province could join with the rest of the Dominion in working through the board. The petition recently forward boro the necessary number of signatures, and unity has thus been achieved. A number of Qtago fruitgrowers are realising the advisability of having two strings to their bow, and are going in for honey production as a side line.