NEWS OF THE DAY

Manawatu Times, Volume 63, Issue 61, 14 March 1938, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

Four haystacks were destroyed by fire on Mr. J. Ireland’s property, Opiki, during the week-end. It is understood that the outbreak was caused by spontaneous combustion in one of tho stacks, and with a strong wind blowing, the other stacks which were placed next to one another, soon went up in flames. Mr. Ireland will be a heavy loser. “We are told that the demand for the smaller lamb on the London market is due to smaller families,” commented a member of the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association when the question of the export lamb trade was under discussion. '‘Either the size of the lamb will have to be reduced or that of families increased,” he added amid laughter. Germany now makes 150,000,000 kilos of cell-wool, her new textile material, per year. This represents a saving of £21,000,000 per annum in the purchase of raw materials outside Germany. Celltfool is used in the manufactnre of a variety of textiles, articles of clothing and household use, either mixed with cotton or wool or independently. “There is no doubt that gate receipts would have been considerably higher had tbe Springbok matches not been broadcast,” says the annual report of the Wanganui Metropolitan Rugby Union, covering the year ended on December 31 last, referring to radio broadcasting of Rugby football matches. “The broadcasting* of international and provincial matches ' has a disastrous effect on our attendances and from the union’s point of view we question the wisdom of the New Zealand Union in allowing it.” It was far more important that school pupils should have a thorough knowledge of such things as the cause and effect of the war in China than the invasion of England about 1000 years ago. said the headmaster of the Christ church Boys’ High School, Mr. G. J. Lancaster, in an addroas to the Parents’ Association of the school. Discussing geometry, Mr. Lancaster said he thought it better that boys should acquire a thorough knowledge of international affairs than spend time in working out trick problems in geometry. He considered schoolboys to be far more advanced in composition now than when lie was a boy. Do eels “bark”? The question was answered in the affirmative to the satisfaction of two local photographers on {Saturday afternoon, when they heard a number of the wriggly creatures “giving voice.” Having alighted from their car in the Kelvin Grove district in search of pictorial photographic subjects, they proceeded up a dried-out crcek-bed. where they came across a pool of stagnant water approximately three square yards in area, and of a depth of about three inches. The pool was so full of eels that many of them were crowded out into the sunshine, and a hasty count set the number of those of 18 inches or greater length at, about 50. Cognisant of possible incredulity of their “fish-story,” the photographers secured a number of photographs of the fish, but they do not anticipate making a “talkie” to prove the answer to the question “Do eels ‘ bark’?’ ’

Two unusual excuses were made by defendants in the Christchurch Magistrate ’s Court when cases arising out of offences against the traffic regulations were being heard. The novelty of one, a statement that he had been “submerged in income tax forms and fig ures” and so had left his car parked for longer than the time limit, caused a smile from the Magistrate. Mr. E. C. Levvey, who imposed a penalty of costs only. That his Heavy truck was overloaded, carrying five and a-half tons instead of three and a-half, was attributed by counsel for another defendant to the timber which constituted the ioad having been out in the rain and having become very wet, and so considerably heavier. An analysis had shown that tho timber contained twothirds water and one-third fibre and, as the load was made up on the superficial measurement, the defendant was not aware that the weight of the timber constituted an overload.