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Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 6, 5 December 1932, Page 6

“I believe what I have never been able to say before—namely, that Britain’s turn toward normality is coming,” said Mr Stanley Baldwin in a speech at Sunderland.

A grey nurse shark died in its pool at Taronga Park, Sydney, a few weeks ago after 22 months in captivity, which is said to be a world record, the previous best being about three week’s.

After laboriously digging up the season’s yield of potatoes from his garden last week, a resident of Edgeware Road hid them under a working bench on his section. Next morning the whole lot, two hundredweight, had disappeared. Another gang of butchers went on to the board at the Longburn freezing works to-day, and there are now stated to bo over 40 engaged. The work is reported to be proceeding very satisfactorily and efficiently with non-union labour, and the tally is increasing daily. A freak calendula, grown by Mr W. H. B. Cowburn, of Linton Street, has attracted considerable interest among lovers of flowers. The original flower died, and from the seed pod there developed eight fine trailing stalks, each of which had a diminutive flowering head. Falling in a bunch, the group presented an effective and unusual spectacle.

Tho nurse at the Leeston Dental Clinic, Miss Larsen, had an unpleasant experience recently. Having just turned on the current, she proceeded to fill an electric kettle, and, with one hand on the water tap and the other holding the kettle, she received a shock sufficiently severe to render her unconscious. There was no one else in the clinic at the time, but Miss Larsen soon recovered and managed to reach her lodgings in a very shaky condition.

“The defendant was very frank indeed. I checked his speed at 44 miles an hour; but when I interviewed him he said he considered he had been travelling at 45 miles an hour,” said the traffic inspector for the Manukau County Council in the Papakura Court. “He also left a sum of money with me to pay his fine,” added the inspector. “How much did be give you?” inquired the Magistrate, Mr F. H. Levien. The inspector said the sum was £3. “There will be a little balance then,” smilingly remarked Mr Levien, as lie imposed a fine of £2 and 11s costs. Tho dangers of travel in China were described by Miss Beryl Steven, a New Zealand missionary, in an address in Christchurch. On one occasion, said Miss Steven, she narrowly escaped being attacked by bandits. While on a threedays’ journey to an outlying parish, she noticed seven or eight horsemen rapidly approaching. Fearing bandits, she hid in a cave in a nearby river bed, and the bandits passed by. Sho later learned that other travellers on the road ahead had been waylaid and robbed. These and other difficulties made travel in China a trying matter. Winter conditions were terrible, up to 50 degrees of frost being experienced. Writing in the Spectator, Sir William Beach Thomas expresses amazement at the information received in a letter from a young Englishman in New Zealand. “This young emigrant,” lie says, “is already milking 50 heifers in his first few weeks on the farm, and expects to milk 120 before long. The farm, which is to support all these milch cows and a few bulls and other stock, including liens and bees, consists of 180 acres of grass—that and no more—and most of the fodder is to come off it as well! Such heavy stocking, made possible by continuity rather than lushness of growth and the absence of severe frost, upsets any easy comparisons between the price of land there and here. Nevertheless it is still a fair contention that land is absurdly cheap (as it is ruinously understocked) in England ; and it is not even yet as cheap as it should be in our Antipodes.” In to-day’s issue will be found particulars of tho issue of special excursion tickets, also tho train arrangements in connection with the race meeting at Woody file on 7th and Bth December.

A late frost was experienced . in Hamilton on Friday morning, when 2.5 degrees (grass temperature) were recorded at the Ruakura State Farm. There have beeii a number of accidents around about Tarawera district as a result of wild horses running out suddenly on to the roadway in front of motor vehicles. The directors of the Palmerston North Rotary Club have received a request from the Boy Scouts’ Association for assistance in the transport of about 100 boys to their proposed camp in Pohangina Valley on January 16. Although the weather was not very pleasant yesterday afternoon, there was a good attendance at the Esplanade, when the Palmerston North City Band contributed a programme. Mr W. O’Hara was the conductor and the selections were well rendered.

“The fine for driving without a license is now increased to £l,” stated Mr J. L. Stout, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court, to-day, when dealing with an offender. “There are no doubt many people deliberately driving about without being the holders of licenses,” he added. “The only thing is to make it more expensive.”

A specimen of miniature writing, claimed as a world’s record in this respect, has been completed by Mr E. Bull, of Devonport. It is an ordinarysized postcard, 4in by Gin, on one side of which Mr Bull has written the Lord’s Prayer 286 times. Thus Mr Bull has written 20,020 words in the space mentioned. Some time ago a resident of Spandau, Berlin, claimed a world’s record for having written 10,000 words on a postcard of normal 6ize. .

“Small fruits and stone fruits will yieid an unprecedently heavy crop this season,” stated Mr J. W. "Whelan, orchard inspector and instructor for the Department of Agriculture, to a “Standard” reporter to-day. He added that he anticipated the heaviest crop for 15 or 20 years. Even apricot trees were bearing heavily. After promising wed for this apple trees in the Manawatu and Wairarapa districts are reported to be patchy. Fruit settings are stated to vary from light to heavy, owing to unfavourable conditions experienced in some places when the trees were in blossom. It is anticipated now that crops will be less than the heavy yield of-last season.