GENERAL ITEMS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 9 January 1940, Page 4

GENERAL ITEMS

r « • ! » ; Campers’ Adventure 11 A man and his daughter, aged about » j 12 years, were washed past the bay and l I into a small cove under the cliffs while | swimming at Kai Iwi, near Wanganui. j where they were camping. The man s 5 sister gave the alarm, and men, let ; down the cliff on ropes, helped those 1 above to haul the girl and her father j up. They were found to be bruised and cut slightly, but not seriously hurt, and : were able to return to their camp. - They had to be hauled about 30ft up t the face of the cliff. And Yet He Was Not Fit! A Maori recruit medically examined in Whangarei weighed 18st 41b, and, ’ having a chest measurement of 48in, 1 showed an expansion of 7in. This man ■ (says the Auckland “Star”), was reput- , ed to be able to life an average man on 5 the end of a long-handled shovel. Un- , fortunately, the doctors do not pass a man on strength, but on his fitness, and he could not pass the test, s t Haymaking Stories. 5 Strange things qccur in the hayfield. - A haymaking helper of a South Tarah naki farmer mysteriously lost his coat l last summer. Most of the stack on which he was working at the time was 1 consumed during the winter, but some - was held in reserve for spring emeri gencies. While one of the last cuts was ; being made, the coat was found un- | damaged and preserved so well that even papers in the pockets were in 1 practically the same state as when the • coat was missed eight months earlier. • A farmer in Taranaki once lost a young [ bull in a haystack. It appeared that . the animal burrowed his way so deeply into the stack that it collapsed behind him and he died of suffocation. Many i articles have been lost in the hayfield ; and found again in the stack. There : was a case in Central Taranaki when a valuable gold watch was missed. Six months later the watch dropped out of a forkful of hay. When wound up and l shaken it went as well as ever. | England’s Apple Surplus The advice given by the “Daily Mail’s” agricultural correspondent to English fruitgrowers will be read with some interest by New Zealand growers. To store in clean boxes or barrels is best, he says. A few wooden boxes ; holding not more than lewt of apples : should be easier to obtain than barrels. They should be lined with clean paper. Any apple with a bruise or blemish should be put aside. Only whole, clean fruit should be stored, and the apples I should be put into the container as far ; as possible in layers and then left out- J doors, but protected from rain, for | about a week. The containers should j then be stored in a cool but frost- j proof place—a shed or cellar—with not! too dry an atmosphere. A certain | degree of dampness in the air is help- j ful. Take precautions against mice or ■ other vermin. High class dessert varieties such as Cox’s Orange Pippin should be stored similarly, except that each fruit should be wrapped separately in the special oiled paper (sold by horticultural sundriesmen for the purpose) before being placed in the boxes. A Philosopher Looks On “Perhaps it is my age that has; made me realise that history is a long, slow process in which there are ; advances and retrogressions; that all • development must be gradual,” said! Professor John Dewey, the veteran! American philosopher, in an interview, with the “New York Times.” “Russia j has shown that the days of revolution ■ with resulting good are over. No bene-j fits can come from violent upheavals.; However, civilisation is still young. | Youth is bound to be stricken with the diseases of childhood and measles are seldom fatal. Civilisation must go through setbacks before it comes of age. My philosophy teaches me to look beyond the present. It sustains me in such times as these. Because it is the rational application of criticism, it is based upon reason rather than emotion, but it serves the same pur- 1 pose that religion does for the devout believer.” About a Black fish The sportive blackfish that masqueraded in the Waitemata harbour three or four weeks ago as a killer whale until unmasked by running foul of a sandbank at Point Chevalier, to be left stranded for the world to see and identify at leisure, is now but a j memory, but is perpetuated beyond the ! life of other blackfish by a death mask which is in process of completion at the ■ Auckland Museum (says the “Star”). After the cast had been taken by the museum artificers, the Point Chevalier community gave the dead whale decor- . ous interment in the sandbank. But ' after the third day it rose again, with the assistance of a high wind and a \ cross current of the tide, which scoured t out the grave, and made its presence j so strongly felt that a reburial was < hastily organised and carried out. This , time the body was buried in sections, which were disposed at spots selected ■, with due regard to the flow of tidal \ currents, and since then Point Chevalier has dwelt in its accustomed odour of sanctity. White Feathers White leathers have been posted! anonymously to two young Taranaki j s men as a hint that they should have: volunteered for military service. One of them, however, is married with a! 1 family, and the other had already 6 offered himself but was rejected on at- r count of physical disability. ‘I would' like to have a private meeting with ( the person who s ent me this.” said ! 1 the married man as he drew a white / feather from an envelope sent to his 1 business address. “I think there ought J to be some penalty for such a despicable action,” he added. “However, if I knew the person who sent it I fear I would take the law into my own hands and deal with the position myself.” January Millinery Specials! Smart Summer Straws and Felts, in all the new tonings. Worth 21/- to 25/6. Janu- F ary Special 17/6. At McKay's." January Millinery Specials! Model Millinery in three price groups! 25/6 I\ to 29/6. January Special 21/-; 29/6 to 35/6, Special 25/6; 39/6 to 49/6, special 29/6. At McKay's."

January Millinery Special! White Panamas in several smart styles, white and navy trimmings. Worth 10/6, January Special 8/11. At McKay's."