LOCAL AND GENERAL

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 10 August 1928, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The American steamer Golden Forest will' arrive at Nelson from Wellington to-morrow morning. The steamer has a cargo of 17,000 fruit cases, benzine arid a small amount of general cargo for Nelson. ,

Mi; T. Wilford, who recently returned to New Zealand from England, brought a special message from Sir James Parr, High Commissioner, to the Hon. W. W. Snodgrass, M.L.C., to the effect that New Zealand apples were very popular in London. /

Sherlock Holmes, the famous detective offiction, smoked strong-black shag tobacco and derived inspiration from it, when puzzling over some problem ot more than ordinary complexity. Shag is" too full-flavoured.for many smokers. It contains a lot of Nicotine, and excess of nicotine is a bad thing. The habitual use of such tobacco is bound sooner or later to affect the consumer injuriously. Unfortunately practacally all imported tobaccos are heavily charged with nicotine. And in that respect they differ essentially from our New Zealand grown tobaccos, the comparative small amount of nicotine in which constitutes one of their chief recommendations. Also and this is important—they are all toasted, and toasted brings out the flavour of the leaf in a most remarkable way. There are several brands of this popular tobacco. Rivdrhead Gold mild, Navy Cut (Bulldog label) medium and Cut Plug No. l'O (Buir* Head) full strength. Each of them has its merits. That seasoned smoker, Sherlock Holmes, would doubtlessly prefer the last named.*

Attention is drawn to a meeting of growers to be held in Bluffs shed, Tasman, on Monday, 13th inst. Many important questions are .to come up for discussion, and' all Hill growers are requested to attend.

The Murchison Oil CompaSJ'i'n'as ceped operations owing to .■sufficient, finance not being available to rf permit of continuance. An extraordinary meeting of shareholders is to be held at Auckland on 20lh August to consider a proposal to go into voluntary liquidation to wind up the affairs of the company. The staff has been off the pay-roll since 7th August.

"What's wrong with the roast beef of old New Zealand?" asked a member of the Wanganui Chamber of Commerce when it was reported that English Army and Navy meat contracts had, gone to the Argentine (reports the ''Herald"). Another member said that England, should practise what she preached. "They urge ijs to buy British goods, while' they 'give preference to Danish and South American produce," he said. "They can rely on lis to do our bit by purchasing British manufactures if they give us preference too." i. ■■.•''■,•- '' ;

A letter from the Marlon branch of the Wellington Acclimatisation Society stated that its secretary (Mr G. T. Avery) had received a verbal application from property owners in the district asking, in view of the damage done by pukeko eating duck eggs on the nest, that they be allowed to shoot areasonable number of them off, as the duck nesting season was approaching. Some owners had suggested poisoning. It was decided (says "The Post") .to advise the inquirers of the proper, course, to apply for a permit to the Department of Internal Affairs in respect of each individual instance. Opinions amongst members of the society as to the desirability of allowing.pukeko to be shot varied, some maintaining that the pukeko were valuable birds in destroying grubs inimical to flax, and that though there might be isolated instances of pukeko eating duck eggs, their taste for grubs should be weighed against spch depredations. Several members, howev.eiy; gave positive instances of the damage to'duck eggs. It is likely that a good deal will -be heard for and against pukeko at the Acclimatisation Society's conference next .month.

\ The greatest interest is taken, not only by deep sea anglers,, but by students of marine .life, in the spawning places of swordfish, which have never been definitely determined, though the fish are found in many places in both hemispheres, and were referred to in the works of the earliest historians. Mr Zane Grey, during his,visit to the Bay of Islands, noticed that in several cases h>h he caught appeared to have spawned comparatively. recently, and he; will devote more time during his coming visit to New Zealand in December to noting facts:which may help to elucidate the ' problem as far as New Zealand is. concerned. Captain Mitchell, who is accompanying iiim, writes to the Publicity Department 'from Tahiti that they intend fishing through the Pacific Islands in the hope of establishing the locality of the breeding grounds of swordfish. Mr Grey hopes to ascertain whether in the winter period they leave New Zealand for. these warmer waters, and whether in the course of the,next few weeks they will be moving south from islands about Tahiti.- ' ;' , ,

An unusual -request was -received by the executive of the Wanganui Chamber of Commerce this week .(reports the "Herald"). A Nelsonian wanted a list of firms that had filed in bankruptcy. He did not state his rear son for the request;- to which the obliging secretary acceded. "Did he ask for suicides and murders, too?" asked . a member. • : ,'

New members elected to the Canterbury Automobile Association .at -this week's meeting of the General Council of the Association numbered 115, making 1067 members for ..the year, and. a total membership 0f.,5300'. '-And yet we,'.cannot get a South Island representative on the Main Highways Board!" said the chairman, Mr F..-W. Freeman. According to the Greymouth correspondent of the'Christchurch "Press", definite and interesting results are now being recorded at the Waimunga State Experimental Farm from swede turnip; nianurial experiments conducted during the; 1927-28 season; the/results from' the treatment range fromi 97 per-cent. to 17 per cent. 'in quality. ' Ihe effects of manurial treatment on the-disease known as. "dry-rot," which has caused considerable loss to .farmers throughout New Zealand/ are equally as definite, complete control of this.disease having been, achieved. , The records how being .taken in connection "with lime,bear out the results obtained from the experiments carried out during preVious years.. The records show that lime is- essential tb the productivity of Westland soils, but On the Other hand the fact is disclosed that there is a limit to its application if sound quality is'-to be ..secured. Tlie experimental work at Waimunga is beihg"carried but, under the direction of the Fields Instructor, Mr C. S. Dal, gleish, who hopes to have the records completed by the end of this month.':

| ; There would be ; money in poultry if the egg-laying performance pi a duck owned by'a.Manaia resident could be maintained /writes a Taranaki "News" correspondent). This duck laid three eggs within 14 hours, one in the morning and two in the; late.evening. ' This duck is the only one kept by the resident, so there is no possibility of the eggs having been laid by other birds. Qnce before this duck laid two eggs in one day, but triplets are rather unusual in the poultry yard. -'

It was decided; at a meeting of the Wanganui Chamber ■of Commerce that the time was opportune for:a reduction iri the stamp duty on cheques from twopence .jfco a penny; ' Other Chambers of Commerce throughout. New Zealand had been' circularised to this effect with -the result that 19, replies were received—all in favour of the reduction. The suggestion, will form the subject of a remit at the annual conference of the Chambers of Commercej where.it is almost assured that it will be passed, in s which case the Government will be apprdached through the proper channels. One reply received in answer to the circular stated that the suggestion would receive the support of the body concerned, but the ;writer "guessed" that the Minister of Finance, would "stick to the supercharge as tightly as ever a barnacle adhered to a boat."

By' "boycotting" Japanese onions on %he fruit market, Chinese retail traders in New Zealand are making peaceful reprisal for acts committed by Japanese soldiery in China recently. As far as possible, Chinese fruiterers refrain from purchasing' the Japanese produce and the effect of this has been felt by importers (says the "N.Z. Herald").' To the European mind'the situation is full of humour, but it is not so .. the Chinese. They allege wholesale shooting of Nationalist civilians by the Japanese and their method of redress is characteristically subtle and thorough. As the great majority of the Chinese in the Dominion belong to the Nationalist movement, they are able to wield a considerable influence on the markets. Although.'the action of the traders can have but little effect on the relationships between the countries, they are doing all that is possible in a law-abiding community. Working quietly and unostentatiously, the Chinese are yet perfectly frnrjk in explaining their intentions. To them it is a. wholly legitimate return for the treatment which they say their brethren received in China. It is a far cry from China to New Zealand, but it is understood that the movement, to boycott Japanese goods is not confined to this country aldne.

For ' the first time this year the tonnage hauled thrqugh'the. O'tin* Tunnel last, week was lower,! than that of tlu.' correspbnding wedk in 1927. ; Last mesh? the tonnage was 10,002, and for tlio corresponding week in 1927, it, was 11,866 tons. • The Glen Eden Town Board decided this week to support the Auckland Hospital Board in its effort to have,the responsibility of unemployment' placed upon the shoulders of the Government'; In a letter to the Town Board, the Hospital Board pointed out that the sum of £30,000 was set aside for relief for this year, but such was the demand on the board, that the estimate was being exceeded. Most of: the cases were genuine, ana had to be helped.

Speaking at the official opening of the district nurse's cottage at Rai Valley this week; the Director-General of Health (Dr. -T. H. ,A. Valintine) said that the hospital division of the Department of Health w»s. one in which he was particularly interested and which was occasioning him a good deal of concern just now (reports the "Express'-). '"I am afraid," he said, "that I am very unpopular with some of the boards! because I have come to the conclusion that, for a country of this size, with barely a million and a-half of population, wi are spending quite enough on hospitals. I am at one with the Hospital Boards' Association in the suggestion that we should raise; the fees to 12s a day instead of 9s as it has been. We tre getting people into our hospitals who can well afford to pay that, amount.- It; need not be a hardship on the poor man because Jwe can still;let him off the fees he cannot pay, as ■vjre :have done in the past.; I am sure the country will agree with ! me and with the "Hospital Association that there is every reason for raising the fees for hospital maintenance."

Eels are considered a delicacy in Europe, and since there has been a con-? siderable influxof : British immigrants', to the, Dominion,, eels have been morecommon upon the tables of the white population here than previously. They have always been a favourite food' with the Maoris. Latterly they have increased," as far as the somewhat unreliable statistics provided chiefly, by anglers' statements show, to an extent which menaces the trout v fishing in certain streams, and some'people attribute this increase partly to the cessation of the raids made on eels in the early days by the Natives; who find other foods easier to procure to-day., . Systematic trapping of eels for export has apparently never > been undertaken, in New' Zealand, though acclimatisation societies have from time to time made concerted attacks on them. An eel drive by members of all branches of the Wellington Acclimatisation Society has been in progress since the rivers became low last summer (states "The Post"), prizes being offered for record catches. The latest return to come to hand is that of the iMangaweka branch of the society, a letter from which states that the 'winner of this, local contest had taken 175 eels, - the heaviest weighing 9lb 3oz, while the winner of the prize for the heaviest eel took one weighing 19ilb. Other eels taken ran from 7±lb to 101 b. ' ■

Rosella parrakeets are reported to be doingmuch damage to orchards and gardens in the Auckland district. They are an importation from Australia, and have increased greatly in numbers. :

, Mixed metaphors pass without notice in most cases nowadays, but the!effort of a member of a local authority, made in discussing an item of proposed expenditure, deserves to be placed_oh record (says the "Poverty Bay Herald"). The speaker referred to the amount of the itern, .which he declared "was infinitesimal when- weighed against the thin ice on which we are skating. If anything happens, we will'be'in the soup!" • "" - ; ,-, ....

•A deputation..irom the Alliance, ofLabour and' freezing workers asked the Minister of Agriculture to do something to relieve, the-position arising from the reduced.activity in fellmongering, coupled: with?., an increase in the number of untreated skins exported. The Minister said the situation had peculiar features. Not many more skins, were being ported than formerly, and it appeared as if the work was going to the freezing .works. The men who had been thrown out of work must be somewhere. He would, make enquiries.— Press Association: ' ■'

A member-of the legal fraternity in Samoa'has recently x had an amusing experience.' During his visit to New ZiHlund on. holiday, a, Chinese coolie, accused of murder, escaped from prison and has been living in the bush ever since. When the solicitor returned to Samoa, he found that he had been appointed to defend the missing coolie in a trial which concerned his case, He also discovered that while he was in New Zealand a number of his much-prized ducks were stolen, and> it is feared, eaten. It appears "that one - night '< a coolie came out of- the bush, scared the wits out of his Chinese housebby with an ligly-look-ing a knife, and retired,,., to < obscurity again with the ducks. The boy has identified the escaped murderer as being also the abductor-of the ducks, so his master on one hand, yearned for; vengeance, and, on-the other, must defend the coolie on a murder charge. Doubtless the coolie would have stolen his ducks elsewhere had he realised to whom they belonged.' ; _ Addressing '.shareholders. at the annual meeting of the New Zealand* Insurance company in Auckland this week, Mr H. Horton, chairman of directors said: — 'All companies doing business in New Zealand have had, like ourselves, to face greatly increased losses, and I would like to take up a little of your time by quoting some figures taken from the report of Mr Hugo, Inspector of Fire Brigades, in a recent address to the -Wellington Chamber of Commerce. Over a, period of twelve months, he said, there-occur-red- 1291 fires, or'i on« five to every 420 of population. As giving some, idea of the comparison with some larger cities, Mr Hugo quotes such cities as, Manchester, Singapore, Shanghai, Kingston, and Glasgow,. where the averages work out at about one fire to every 1836 persons. Of the 1291 figures quoted,, 424 were directly due to carelessness, 154 were attributed to ' defective ale'ctric wiring Or faulty chimney and hearth construction, 409 were of untraceable origin, and the balance were due to various causes. That nearly 45 per cent* (I include defective wiring and construction) of New Zealand fires were caused by carelessness is, to use Mr Hugo's expression, a most regrettable feature and one which no effort should be spared to correct. One possible remedy for the excessive fire waste which is such a reproach to our community might be the holding of an inquiry by the police into all the circumstances connected with every fire. Such inquiries would not oiilv elicit facts that would from time to time bring ineendiarists to justice, but they would act as deterrents to others. In any case some solution should be found for the prevention of the Dominion's rapidly growing bill for fire waste."