GENERAL ITEMS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 10 May 1939, Page 4

GENERAL ITEMS

Well Preserved Wood. A pinus insignis peg which had been in the ground for over 30 years, but which was still as durable a ; ever, was ‘aiten to the Auckland “Herald” office this week by Mr W. F. Barnard Brown. The peg had been obtained from a friend at Charteris Bay, Lyttelton, and the reason for its excellent state of preservation according to Mr Brown, was that it hud been soaked in cold tar for 21 days prior to being placed in the ground As an experienced farmer. MiBrown considered that men on the land could prolong the life of fencing posts indefinitely by using cold tar in this way, and they would thus be saved costly renewals every eight or ten

Ostriches for Auckland Zoo. F Auckland will have to wait a little longer for two ostriches which have N been purchased in Australia for ex- a; hibition in the zoo. When an atempt R was made to coax them into cages at a Adelaide for shipment by the Omana. ti the cages were found to be too small, si according to an officer of the ship h which reached New Plymouth to-day. it P i Restriction Upon Teaching. s j “An unnecessary restriction upon enj lightened teaching practice and upon p ' increased pupil experience is found in | the very poor provision that is made ! lor reading-room and reference library f j accommodation as a matter of right s i in all our schools and. of course, of a ! continuous supply of suitable books.” * I remarked Mr J. Hutton. Gisborne, dur- 1 j ing the course of his presidential ad- f I dress to yesterday’s conference of the * | Secondary Schools’ Association in Wei- 1 jlington. Reading-room accommodation F fie said, should be sufficient to seat 20 per cent, of the school roll at the same ' time. “I have no doubts about the power * of a properly-equipped library to at- ( tract or the value of the usage it would 1 receive both within class time and out- 1 I side class time. Laboratories and ap- 1 ! paratus are regarded as essential and ‘ | are provided as a matter of course, to- 1 • gether wath a small income for main- 1 tenance. Libraries are every whit as im- * portant. Having regard to the cumu- , lative value of the experience that libraries can be made to provide and the wideness of the subject appeal they i make, they may be said to be even : more important ’ Court Interlude. There was an amusing interlude in the Supreme Court at Dunedin, wheft a well-known medical man was giving ■ evidence as to the possibility of a cer- . tain bone infection arising from a comi pound fracture (reports the “Star”). In order to clarify the issue for the ‘ benefit of the jury, Mr Justice Blair suggested that the witness should “lay the odds” on that possibility. “About i ; .5 per cent.,” replied the witness. “About . 200 to 1,” remarked His Honour suc-

cinctly. “Pretty long odds.” added counsel. Later His Honour, who was conducting a technical discussion on bone formations, received a high tribute from the specialist. “The best teacher could not have put it better.” he said. At a further stage of the proceedings the court room began to resemble a medical lecture room when another surgical specialist was given permission to illustrate his points on the plaintiff (who was seeking damages for injuries caused in a motor collision). The plaintiff obligingly sat on the long solicitor’s table in front of the jury box. and bared his leg while the specialist explained his assumptions. Bearded Sailors. Identification of about 10 of the New Zealand ratings who returned in the Achilles this week was made difficult for their relatives by the fac* that on the voyage they had grown beards (states the “Herald”). Some were brown, others black and a few golden, but all had been grown strictly to regulation, which does not permit only moustaches, but insists upon full beards or nothing. Permission has also to be obtained before the beard is grown. Pacifist Address Resented. Resentment at the tone of the address delivered by a Methodist minister at the Anzac Day service at Taihape was expressed by members at a meeting of the Taihape and District Returned Soldiers’ Association, and a resolution of protest was carried, states a Taihape correspondent. Members are of the opinion that the address was not in keeping with the spirit of Anzac, being delivered on pacifist lines, and that the speaker abused his privilege of freedom of speech. The president, Mr W. J. White, described the address as an insult, and contended that much harm had been done as a result of the speech. Mr White pointed out that the Anzac parade this year was one of the largest ever held, but many members had intimated that they would not attend agani of there was any likelihood of a repetition of an address of the kind delivered by this year’s speaker. Trade Letters. A philosophical and rather humorous view of New Zealand import control policy is taken by the shipping manager of a large English clothing manufacturing company, in a letter to the company’s New Zealand agents, under date 14th April. “You may be quite sure that myself personally, and this company generally, are fully alive to the serious restrictions recently placed on trade between New Zealand and the United Kingdom,’ - the writer states. "Without in any way attempting to minimise the situation, we have ben dealing with this sort of thing in various quarters of the globe for many years. Prior permits, import licenses, exchange control, and so on, are unhappily, the daily bread of United Kingdom exporters. Sooner or later a free exchange of commodities is bound to take place between the various nations, perhaps not for another generation or two, but that that time will come is as certain as night follows day, for the reason that, in the present state of civilisation, no country can be entirely selfsupporting. The only people who can be so are the savages in the back woods who hunt for their food and live in caves. To those countries who appear to think that imports are a curse, one would say that there is one complete way or relieving themselves of the incubus, and that is to stop their own exports. Imports will stop soon enough then.”

What some famous doctors think about tobacco: Dr. Lancaster (formerly a well-known coroner) : “I dare not, as a physiologist, tell you there is any proof existing of the injurious effects of good tobacco used in moderation.” Dr. Wallace Robertson: “Of almost all luxuries tobacco is the least injurious.” Dr. Willoughby Rogers: “Tobacco is a very useful sedative. It rests the brain and prevents the human machine from over-working. It steadies the nerves.” S'r Bruce Porter: "Tobacco is an extreme comfort to a great many, and old people should not be afraid to enjoy one of the few pleasures remaining to people of advanced years.” But all these authorities insist on "pure” tobacco, and probably of the hundreds of brands on the markets of the world the purest are our own New Zealand ones Toasted, and therefore almost free from nicotine, sweet, fragrant and delightful, they are universally popular. Five brands only, remember: Riverhead Gold. Desert Gold, Navy Cut No. 3. Cavendish, and Cut Plug No. 10. These are the only toasted tobaccos manufactured.*

Alfred Gould announces an auction sale of freehold residential property at Port Nelson: also surplus furniture, etc., under instructions from the estate of H. M. Greensil Victoria Crescent, on Thursday next, at 1.30 p.m.

Fruit for Health Camps. Mrs T. H. Lowry, president of the New Zealand Red Cross Society, has asked that the members of the Junior Red Cross circles in the Dominion be allowed to plant an orange and a lemon tree in the grounds of their schools, says the Junior Red Cross journal. In localities where the climate forbids this j it is requested that two apple trees be , planted. The object of the move is to i send the fruit to the Government Health Camps. Former Newspaper Building Sold. Negotiations for the sale of the j three-story building at 87 Worcester, street. Christchurch, formerly occupied i by the “Sun” newspaper, are reported to have been completed on Saturday, j It is understood that the purchase price is approximately £12.000 states j the “Star-Sun.” It is the intention of I the purchaser to incorporate a modern 1 store and showroom in the remodelled building, a large portion of which he will occupy himself. Present tenants are to remain in possession. The work of reconstruction will be set on foot almost immediately. The section covers nearly a quarter of an acre of land, with a frontage of aproximately one chain in Worcester street. The vacant piece of land between the building and the Officers’ Club will be built on to the height of three storeys. The Finger of Scorn. "When there is any criticism to be made of our educational system, the finger of scorn is almost invariably pointed at the secondary schools,” remarked Mr W. A. Armour, Wellington College, at yesterday’s conference of the Secondary Schools’ Association. “We are called ‘academic’ and ‘narrow,' if we are not ignored. That word i ‘secondary’ is a hateful word in itself; why not. on the same principle, call university education ‘tertiary’?”