HAPPY COGS

Manawatu Times, Volume 62, Issue 168, 17 July 1937, Page 13

HAPPY COGS

NATURE NOTES THE SPIDER (Contributed by Tired Tim.) It is wonderful to see how the spiders weave their exceedingly beautiful webs. If we go out on a frosty morning we would see a beautiful display of webs with dew drops clinging to them. If you should see the webs littered all over the grass just before sunset ** will ly always mean a frost. THE MAPLE. (Contributed by Brownie.) This is a tree of very small size and comparatively meagre foliage. The autumn tints of ita leaves, however, are very beautiful. It provides excellent charcoal and its delicately grained wood, which can be highly polished, is used for making furniture. NEW ZEALAND PERNS (Contributed by Bright Eyes.) Among the many specimens in tho New Zealand bush we have the ferns ranging in different tints of green, overshadowed by the stately trees overhead. As ferns are evergreens wo may see their grandeur all the year around. There are the tree-ferns which form enchanting scenes in dells or on banks. Ferns thrive best in rich humous soil as in the bush where there is decayed leaves. On tho back of the fern's fronds there are tiny brown seeds. The tree-fern is whitish on the back of the fronds and it has a tall, fibrous, black bark covering it. The maiden-hair fern is a delicate fern with a thin black stem on which are dainty little pale green leaves. In tho sombre shadows of the bush we see many ferns forming a carpet of beauty. THE SEASON OP THE YEAR (Contributed by Iris.) It is in spring when all vegetation takes a new lease of life. You can ai most see the young shoots and buds growing bigger and bigger until finally they burst, the cause of which is the lovely spring rains. When spring is in its glory along comes summer warmer and wanner. All grasses and water caused by spring slowly drys up and tho country side becomes parched. Then the weather becomes cooler. Autumn slowly sets to work putting pretty tints here and there and bringing with it autumn showers which would have been gladly welcomed in summer. The rains become colder and more frequent and the winds more boistrous and in high glee tear down all autumns beautiful paintings. Then one morning you wake up and find a mantle of white on the ground and you know winter has come. THE LINNET (Contributed by Sunbeam.) On account of its being a beautiful tittle songster, this bird is a cage favourite. Its plumage is gayest in ths hummer mouths, but during the autumi the crimson forehead and breast become covered with new feathers. Tht linnet is common throughout most areas of the British Isles, but migrates fairly considerably. It particularly favours gorse bushes for its nest, sometimes even heather. Made of twigs, moss and grass, the nest is lined with hair. The eggs generally number six, and are bluish or greenish-white, spotted or streaked with red. THE WILD DUCK (Contributed by Golden Sunlight.) The wings of tho wild duck are larger and ita body lighter than the domestic farmyard duck. The wild ducK is generally found round about lakes and rivers throughout New Zealand. The nest is built on the ground with sticks and dry grass and lined with down from the mother duck's breast. Sometimes nests of other birds are used by ducks and sometimes holes in hollow trees arc used. Tho duck usually lays about a dozen eggs of a greyish green colour. Wild ducks are protected by law, but you can obtain license to shoot them at certain periods of the year.

A LETTER DESCRIBING GINA Rangiwahia. Dear Hub,— To-night I slid off Nigger 's rump and I got a fright. \V o were going up a steep hill and my .feet came out of tho stirrups. I am going to tell you about Gina as I saw him at Apiti. He was black and his hands were white. Sweet-pea and I shook hands with him and so did many other people. His talk, which took place in the Methodist Church, was very interesting to listen to. He was a Solomon Island boy and his hair was black. Ho played the mouth organ, cornet, and ho sung two songs. He is a very lovely singer, too. His hair is beautiful. We've got a photo of Oir.a on our mantle piece. At tho lantern slide Gina was shown on the slides. I enjoyed his talk very qiuch. His wife and children were left at homo to do his work. Ono part of his talk interested me and this was it. One night he put his boy in his bed in the church and he thought he was asleep. When the Sunday School was about over the children would say, “Oh! he's tired." 1 The tunes they played the same bov, 5 who was thought to be asleep but was not, was playing next morning. I think this letter might bo trom Tui but I am not sure as there was no name ' at the end of it. However it was most interesting to hear about Gina. 1 SCHOOL HOLIDAYS 1 » Eongatea. e Dear Hub,— We break up for out e school holidays on the 16th. We got i our examination cards to-day, and I i 'camo fourth in my class. I think wo it -will have to send Mr Puz back to school a until ho learns to spell. In last week’s e Skill test jumbled trees the words - walnut and sycomore were spelled I wrong. Walnut has only one 1, and sycomore has an o and not an a. I had that Skilltest right only for those two trees, but as they would not come out right with the letters given, 1 would not 1 send it in. I have all the songs but one this week, so I will not send it in. Heather. | You caught Mr Puz or Mr Printerman 0 out on “walnut," Heather, but “sycas moro was spelled correctly in the Skill- ' test. You will enjoy your holidays. 1 A SAD CAT STORY I i Pongaroa. j > Dear Hub, —Our little kitten we t found died so we have only Tort left. j There are quiet a number of cats dying | i around about here. Ngairo says she I 1 ! does not want any more cats because i | they only die. They were both her cats 1 that died. We had Doris staying with 3 us for threo weeks. Her mother went 3 to Wellington and had her teeth out. We missed her when she went home. Wo have been down at granny's for two , weeks while they were at Hastings for a holiday. Mother is making me a green jumper, and she is putting some 1 smocking on it. One of granny's cats * got caught in a rabbit trap and had to ! be killed. i j Hine O Te Ea. ■ Poor Ngaire has had bad luck with & her cats, Hine O Te Ea. Your jumper 3 will look lovely with the smocking, I 7 am sure. 3 s A DOLL’S OUTFIT 1 c F eilding. e Dear Hub, —The weather here is very r cold and I hope it is much better in Palmerston. The end of this month we are having a fancy dress ball and I’m quite looking forward to it. I have just finished knitting an outfit for a small girls doll. Sunbeam. c What are you going to wear to the ' fancy flress ball, Sunbeam? The doll s will be very cosy m her new outfit. v BROWNIE FINDS THE SKILLTEST o HARD s 1 Mangatainoka. I. Dear Hub, — It is not very warm here n to-day. I cannot do the Skilltest this cl week as it i 3 too hard, n Brownie, n I don't think it is very warm anywhere these days Brownie.

NEW COGS Feilding. Dear Hub, —May I bo ono of youl merry band of Cogs? I am eight and a half years old. May I have Silver Locks for my pen-namq? I go to the same school as Golden Butterfly. She is in tho same class as I am. Joan Short. We are very pleased to welcome you to our big family, Joan. Yes, you may ha\ v e Silver Locks for your pen-name. Feilding. Dear Hub, —May I join your happy band of Cogs? I am nine and I am in Standard 2 at school. I have a lamb which is very cheeky and comes into tho house for a piece of bread. He also breaks through the fences. He broke into tho pantry one day and ate a whole loaf of bread. Berrio Belk. Wo are very glad to welcome you, Barrie. Your lamb must be quite big to be able to break fences. RIP VAN WINKLE WAKES Eangiotu. Dear Hub, —At last I have awakened from my slumbers. I am in St. 0 and we aro having our half term examinations. If I pass this year I am going to High School. I play football and hope 1 1 will get in the reps. We have a lamb about ten days old and he is fed from ! a bottle. No. 8 got me puzzled and lam not too sure now. I am going to Foxton i to stay for my holidays. Rip Van Winkle. | You will like High School, Rip Van i Winkle. Your lamb is an early one, 'isn’t it? A HAPPY DAY OUT Aorangi. Dear Hub, —Do you know that I have appeared again on the tree. lam a wee bit late. But that will not matter much. Examinations are over and aren’t I glad. Last Saturday wo went to Gennils. I saw Jean and Joan but I did not see Lang. I had a ride on Joan’s pony, Jockey. When I came home I took some skin off my shoulder. It is very sore. I can jumb on to Joan’s pony now. I was nearly bucked off. It is fun to have a pony to ride to school. Ken Jefferie's father and mother have gone to Wellington. Autumn Leaves. What a pleasant day's outing you had, Autumn Leaves. Your skinned shoulder would bo most uncomfortable. A FANCY DEESS PARTY Feilding. Dear Hub, —Yesterday afternoon there was a children’s fancy dress party in aid of the band queen. Four of our family went. My six-year-old brother was an English gentleman dressed in a black tailed coat, long trousers and belltopper he also wore spats and gloves. You can imagine what a trick ho look ed. My baby sister was a fairy, my big sister and I were early Victorian ladies. E am enclosing the Skilltest which was very difficult. Golden Sunlight. I can just imagine how lovely you would all look in your fancy costume?, Golden Sunlight. Parties are the greatest fun, aren’t they?

NATURE NOTES Tho prize for the best contribution this week goes to: — ! Tired Tim, Fitzherbert West. Beautiful Lady in Blue will notico ! that her contributions are not published j as wo have already had similar paragraphs on the same birds. Try again though, won’t you, Beautiful Lady in i Blue. A LARGE PET TAMELY Palmerston North. Dear Hub, —Thank you for your kind } welcome. I have quite a lot of pets, } iwo lambs, a blue-grey kitten, an angora ) .abbit and two goats, one of which was 3 -rought from the bush but she is quite 3 tame now and is the mother of the other goat, which is a billy. Last year she had twins and such a lot of people stopped to seo the dear little white things ’ Mother said they looked like tho little lambs mounted one wood which little children pull behind them. Cream and Roses. You certainly have quito a large family of pets, Cream and Eoses. The j twins must have been lovely. A “WELCOME-IN” 1 The Hub wishes to ‘Welcome-In" the ' following new Cogs:Joan toiiort, Fending. Barrie Belk, Feilding.

“THE SOUTHERN CROSS" (By Uncle Eopina.) Hopo is dwindling. There seems little chance now of finding Mrs Putman alive, it is reported. All search has failed to disclose the whereabouts of this intrepid airwoman. It seems that sho is lost .... a pioneer lost to tho world even, as Charles Ulm, Wiley Post, Kingsford Smith and many another wanderer of the skyways. We will always remember Sir Charles Kingsford Smith as perhaps tho greatest of all aviators of his day, when long distance flying gave new values to time and space. We thrill at the memory of his epic-making flights ; we marvel at | the courage and skill of the man; it seems to us but yesterday that he flew in New Zealand skies and landed on New Zealand soil. There were occasions when wo were privileged to fly in the cabin of the veteran “Southern Cross," piloted by “Smithy" himself. I recall one particular occasion. It was some twelve months or moro after the disastrous Hawke's Bay 'quake, when tho coastal city was in a well-advanced stage of renaissance, with its imposing architecture so pleasing to the eye, wider thoroughfares and attractive sea front —a modern, smiling Napier rising from the ghastly ruins of the old.. An aerodrome now stood where once yachts and motor launches rocked at anchor, sheltering in the shallow waters of the onetime Inner Harbour. The sea had receded, and now aeroplanes glided down from tho skies to alight on what was once the sea floor. A pageant took place during the in coption of the new airport, and there was a gathering of 'planes from ail parts of tho dominion. There was an old wartime machine that attracted attention and amusement as it chugged its laboured way across tho sky, leaving a thin, blue trail of smoke from its exhaust, and numerous club biplanes, but mostly small fry, as it was in the days before tho advent of the multiple-en-gined airways’ 'planes. So, dwarfing the others, the “Southern Cross" was the main feature of the gathering. Not only in size did she surpass tho other machines, for was it not the fabric and engines that had borne aloft over ocean, desert and mountain, the enterprising “Smithy!" But to-day tho task was trivial. With a roar of engines the monoplane Would drive clouds of dust across the 'drome as she moved slowly forward, gathered speed and took tho air for flight after flight with joy riders. She circled over tho 'drome, then out to sea, over the city, a mile or two inland, and then back to the 'drome. Tho sky was blue, the sea was blue, it was a glorious day and a glorious feeling to soar gracefully above house, field and wave. But it was all too short, thought I, as we glided gently to earth. We had experienced eleven minutes in the air in the “Southern Cross" with “Smithy" at the controls. But time has passed and the “Southern Cross' now rests in a museum, while its famous pilot . . . well, w r hat has happened to “Smithy. Some say he has

COMPETITIONS JUMBLED SONGS Skilltest Winners j The prizes this week go to i Twilight, Feilding, Golden Sunlight, Feilding. i Cogs must have found this Skilltest L difficulty, as there was only one other correct solution, aud that was sent in by Beautiful Lady in Blue. SOLUTIONS TO JUMBLED SONGS 1 1. Wagon Wheels. 2. Isle of Capri. [ 3. Lily of Laguna. . 4. San Francisco. > 5. Play to Me Gipsy. 6. Home on the Range. , 7. Treasure Island. 8. Pal of my Cradle Days. 9. It's a Sin to Tell a Lie. j 10. Moonlight and Eoses. USED STAMPS ■> lam sending in 1000 stamps and hope > you will be able to find some use for them. I've saved them for quite a long time for a girl who used to be a Cog but who has gone away, so I though I’d send them along, 2 An Old Cog. The stamps are most acceptable, thank you, aud we do like to hear from lour old friends now and again.

ONE WEEK'S HOLIDAY Feilding. Dear Hub, —I apologize for not writing before but I have been knitting a cardigan for my little sister. We have had our examinations at school and are breaking up on Friday for a week. The school fancy dress ball is at the end of the month so I will be able to write and tell you about it. Last Saturday afternoon I went to a small fancy dress ball and next Saturday I am going to see '•Three Smart Girls.’’ Bright Eyes. You will enjoy “Three Smart Girls,” lam sure, Bright Eyes. What are you doing during your holidays? A VERY BUSY POWDER AND PATCHES Hukanui. Dear Hub, — Oh I I am so busy, Hub, For Mother Dear’s in bed And I can’t see my way to do The many tasks ahead. There’s all the wretched kitchen work, I’ve got to go to town, And my cold and sore nose, Truly makes me frown. Tomorrow is the wedding day, And I’m to be a maid, And, oh! my dress is truly The most bewitching shade. I wish my cold would vanish, It makes me feel so sad, And, also, I am worried That mother’s health is bad. Yesterday my snow white puss Caught a huge big rat, But he wouldn’t eat the vermin ’Cos he’s always sleek and fat. My little neice is doing well, Jenniper’s her name, Dorothy thinks she’s wonderful, And I think just the same. Isn’t the weather horrible? It makes me want to cry, I think any thought of spring I ever had will die. Gee, I am quite excited, This time tomorrow night, I’ll be at the altar, I hope that calm’s the night. Well ray dearest Coglets, I haven’t got much time To write to you my doings In my usual rhyme. We have a few daffodils, Standing tall and fair, Trying to convince me That spring is in the air. And so I say adieu, Cogs, My fondest love to you, Until I have some more time— My kindest thoughts to you. Powder and Patches. I hope your mother is quite well again, Powder and Patches.