News Of The Day

Northern Advocate, 26 April 1940, Page 4

News Of The Day

A Popular Zoo. For the year ended March 31, 73,251 adults and 183,127 children, exclusive of organised parties of children, visited the zoo at Newtown, WeL lington. V * * *

Tall Sunflower A self-sown sunflower has grown to the unusual height of 16 feet at a residence in Cook Street. Hamilton East. The average height of sunflowers is six to eight, feet. Pyramids Disappoint "The smell which assailed me on entering one of the Fyramids was terrific and I will not be so keen again to go inside one,” writes a Wanganui officer from Egypt. He said that he had climbed to the top of the highest Pyramid, but was disappointed. * V V * Mayor’s Appeal. At this week’s meeting of the Whangarei Patriotic Finance Committee, the Mayor (Mr Jones) especially explained the desirability of money raised locally by organisation and sports bodies, with headquarters outside Whangarei, being paid to the local treasurer, so that the district should receive credit for all funds collected in the district. # * * * Fewer Poultry in England. It is estimated that the poultry population of England and Wales has been reduced by nearly 21,000,000 head since the outbreak of war, chiefly owing to the shortage of feeding stuffs, says the agricultural correspondent of the London “Daily Telegraph." The pre-war poultry population was estimated at 69,000,000 head. The value of the poultry industry’s output was then greater than that of all homegrown cereal crops combined. $ & V $ Golfer’s Trick Shot. An extraordinary shot was played by a junior member of the Manawatu Golf Club recently. After narrowly missing “holing out” in the ladies’ tee box at the seventh hole, he sent a screamer away from the eighth tee which, though not very .accurate, was certainly spectacular. The ball, travelling fast, flew straight to a tap about 30 yards away and, striking the handle, turned the water full on

Summertime Ends. At 2 a.m. on Sunday, April 28, Summertime in New Zealand will officially come to an end. Clocks, according to the Gazette, are then to be put back half an hour. Summertime commenced on Sepember 24.

Women’s Work Appreciated The Whangarei Patriotic Finance. Committee invited representatives of the Women’s Patriotic Committee to attend its meeting and delegates were present for the first time on Tuesday night. They were Mesdames A.- M. Woods and L. Cooke. The chairman (Mr D. O’Donoghue) spoke in the highest terms of what the women’s committee, under the presidentship of Miss A. Cookson, was doing in the patriotic movement. Some of the activities were the conduct of the canteen for the troops on leave, sewing and knitting' circles and the supervision of street collections. The hold-alls made by the women for presentation to members of the Second Echelon were keenly appreciated by the troops, he said.

Sugar in Medicines. Information which has been placed before the Council of the Pharmaceutical Society indicates that strict economy in the use of sugar for pharmaceutical purposes will be necessary in spite of the fact that the sugar controller has allotted for 1940 for use in the preparation of medicines 100 per cent of the quantity used in 1939. The unusual prevalence of coughs, colds and sore throats during the past winter caused an unprecedented demand on. the part of the public for cough mixtures, linctuses and lozenges, which are largely composed, as to the first two, of medicinal syrups; in the case of lozenges sugar is commonly the base. J? * *

Exotic Timber Resources An intensive survey is being made through New Zealand to find what resources are available of exotic softwood timbers—mainly pinus radiata (the most popular case timber in the Dominion) and other pines. The main purpose of the survey is to determine whether exports of casewood timber can be allowed. This was discussed by Mr. C. Biggs, Conservator of State Forests, Canterbury, with a reporter of the “Press.” The Forestry Department’s work had been considerably increased, Mr. Biggs said, through tha need to control timbers within New Zealand because of war effects on supplies and demands. Endeavours were being made to arrange for the most economic use of available timbers, native and imported. For instance, there was„ only a limited amount of Californian x-edwood, an imported timber valuable for its use in joinery. What supplies there Were were being directed into permanent work, and less durable timbers were being used meanwhile in temporary work.