ITEMS OF INTEREST.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVI, Issue 119, 17 May 1912, Page 2

ITEMS OF INTEREST.

Few warships can boast of such acAiieveniei) bs as stand to tha credit of li.M.S'. Encounter. The ohieial records of the battle practice carried out by the British Navy last year show that the Encounter, occupied premier position in the navy, with'a score oi: 446 points, while the next ship,; the Formidable, scored 331 points';' The,official records show that the Encounter's shooting was really phenomenal, and probably constitutes a record for the navy. There is no fixed maximum of points; hits at long ranges count more points than thoss at shorter ranges. At the opening oi the firing the ranges are quite unknown. In the Encounter's case it was found that the. firing had been opened at a rang© jusfc over four :niies, and finished at about three miles. The vessel herself was travelling at a speed of 15 knots an hour, and the target was towed at eight knots an hour in the opposite direction, so that the shooting was carried out - under conditions equivalent, to firing from a stationary position at a target moving at the rate of 23 knots 1.-er'.hour. Well over 60 per cent, of the :shots went through the target. Tb& splendid success of the Encounter contributed greatly to the Australian squadron .beating all the other squadrons of tho navy in the gunnery tests. But it is nob only in gunnery that the men of the Encounter have established a remarkable performance. •Since the ship has been on the Australasian station she has won-every trophy that has'been competed for at the squadron regattas, winning, principally with her 12-oar cutters. In the last two years the Encounter hns al.«o won the all-comers' race at the squadron regatta's. It is but natural that the men of the Encounter should feel very proud of themselves and their shijp...-; .'.. ;.. ; , .■-.-■-■•.-y,..-- -■";■■ ->v

Mr Ernest Thompson Se.ton, speaking, recently at the iEolian Hall, threw a. new light on the changes in the habits of animals which have taken place. The audience were surprised when he informed them wolves will never attack a. liuiniah being, nor even do more than sniff at a lamb if it is led on a string by a young child. Yet testimony to this is given by villagers, hunters, and even by some travel books. How then, he asked, do those fearful stories of famishing wolves and their human- prey come from Russia and elsewhere? The truth' is that the wolves have been educated. They had a contempt for man armed only witli a club, but they have learned to dread firearms. The grizzly bear has also become civilised, and will run like a rabbit from a human being on a trail where formerly it was given the widest berth. Of the bear heroes, Mr Seton told how in their old age they suffer from rheumatism and make regular periodical visits to the hot sulphur streams. Then, when life has become unbearable, it has been found in some instances,' vouched for by the American Geological Survey, that they commit suicide by inhaling carbon dioxide in one of the American ravines.

The exact mode of procedure in connection with the erection of the wireless telegraph station at Bluff has not been clearly defined, , but it is stated, says the Southland Times, that the installation will probably be commenced at an early date. Already one hundred and twenty cases of material required for the station are to hand, the latest1 consignment of forty cases having arrived at Bluff by the Moeraki on Monday. This is said to comprise the bulk of the material to be used, and only another small consignment is necessary to complete the outfit. Of "the first fifty cases the majority remains in store at Bluff, and a small numbei; has reached Invercargill. These should, it. is stated, never have gone there, but were taken in accordance with the Union Steam Ship Company's rule in not allowing; cargo to be intercepted at the Bluff. As the position stands at present the intentions of those in authority have not been stated, but it is understood that a start will be made on the installation of the plant directly on .the completion of the Auckland station. In this connection the explanation is put forward that a, large number of the men employed oil .the- Auckland installation,-including the experts, will of. necessity, have, to be' present at the erection of .-the; Bluff station.

.'\ The Lord Howe Island residents 'are dissatisfied with the, returns'- from-the Kentia palm seed . industry. Al-

though the. State Government appointed a Royal Commission sometime ago to inquire into the export of this product, and the Commission; made recommendations, the islanders still complain of the position of 7 affairs. Mr William Whiting, who is a resident of the. island, now on a visit to Sydney, says that its population totals ninety. He also says that some of the residents consider they are riot getting a fair deal from the Government. The position today was that there was no one looking after the island since Mr Parnell had left the State, and tilings werein a very unsatisfactory condition. The Kentia Palm Seed and Plant Cooperative Company alone held a permit to collect the seeds, and thus had an absolute monopoly of the business, as in no other part of the world was the seed produced. Last year oyer 3000 bushels of seed were produced, and about 100,000 palms were exported, and for this only about £1500 net had1 come to the islands, distributed over an adult population of about fifty. Some of the islanders were interested to a much larger extent than others in the company, and1 another of the complaints- was that the bigger shareholders occasionally imported labor from Sydney, and tnus= deprived the men on the island of employment.