GENERAL ITEMS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 27 October 1941, Page 4

GENERAL ITEMS

Rocket Knives Short. | Single-bladed pocket knives with j the curved blade, used by farmers! for trimming the feet of sheep, were almost unprocurable. said Mr R. Campion (Fordell) at the monthly! meeting of the Wanganui provincial I executive of the New Zealand Far-; mers’ Union to-day. There were j plenty of ordinary knives, but im- 1 portation of a really useful type seemed to have been stopped, he j said. The import restrictions were j equally lop-sided in a number of i essential articles, said Mr A. F. Melville (Fordell). Amazing; Dog: Story The Australian kelpie sheep dog' is rated high in animal devotion and j intelligence, but the exploit of Ginger | of that breed would seem incredible i were it not vouched for so reliably, ! says “The Post’s” Sydney correspon- | dent. Mrs Scan*, his owner, and her j daughter went for a holiday from ! Orange to Wollongong, 218 miles away by train through Sydney, or 130 miles in a direct line. Soon after they left the dog began to fret. One night, when Mr Scarr was reading a letter from his wife. Ginger sniffed the paper and ran outside. Next day Mr Scarr could not find him. Ginger arrived at Wollongong 14 days later, exhausted, covered with mud. and badly scratched by thorns. Although he had never been east of Orange he had found his way to Wollongong. By that time Mrs Scarr had returned to Orange. Learning that her pet was missing, she advertised for him. She was amazed to learn a few days later from her daughter, who had remained at Wollongong; that Ginger was there. He had made his home in a shop where Mrs Scarr had done much of her holiday shopping. He was fed by employees until one day Miss Scarr entered the shop and recognised him. She called him by name and he became very excited, but refused to budge, evidently believing his mistress would turn up.

Bene (its of Competitions. The objects of competition:, festival were briefly defined by Mr E. It M> .a .. out 'nine pi e: file nt ol the W I lington Competitions Society, at its annual meeting last week (reports "The Post"). "We are not primarily in exist ence as a society for the production of public •entertainers,” he said, “although to-day the majority of our local enter tamers whose service,; are in such de mnnd for patriotic purposes are products of the competitions. The competitions system aims to benefit the individual by requiring the application of self discisource, and confidence in the pursuit «.f cultural advancement, leading to an appreciation of the higher things in life and frequently, as we have seen, de | vet oping the gift of leadership in the I community. The competitions give this opportunity, without distinction, to the children of all of our citizens.” Presbyterian Assembly. 1 The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand will open its annual sessions, lasting for about a week, in Timaru on 4th November. This is the first occasion on which ! the assembly has been convened to meet ! in Timaru. The retiring moderator is : the Right. Rev. G. H. Jupp, of Anderson’s Bay, and he will hand over office to the ' Right Rev. John Davie, of Masterton, I who will preside at all the business sesjsions. Reports will be considered from all the main assembly committees, and a final statement will be given on the result of the £300,000 Centenary Thanksgiving Fund appeal. Two subjects which are expected to give rise to I considerable discussion are the possibility of union with the Methodist and ‘Congregational Churches and the stipends of ministers and home mission larics, which will be the subject of a report. The assembly will be attended ;by about 300 delegates from nearly ! every parish in New Zealand. Rabbits On Increase. ; “Unless something can be done | about rabbits promptly, the position will he as serious as it was years ago,” said Mr J. J. Lissette (Parikino) at the J Wanganui provincial executive of the ! New Zealand Farmers’ Union last | week (reports the “Manawatu Standard"). Regular shooting did as much as anything to keep the rabbits down, but small arms ammunition and cartridges were unobtainable, he added. On his suggestion, it was decided to ask Dominion headquarters of the union to 'make representations to the Governi ment to have supplies of ammunition j made available for rabbit shooting. Shirt Sleeves in Court. Comment on the dress of a defend ant who appeared in the Auckland Magistrate’s Court charged with a motoring offence was made by Mr J. H. Luxford. S.M. The defendant was dressed in blue trousers, pullover, and open | neck white shirt, the sleeves of which were rolled up. "I do not mind people coming into Court without their coats, but 1 think they should at least roll down their sleeves,” said Mr Luxford. After explaining that he had come straight from his work, the defendant complied with the request. Horse Attacked by Magpie. The blinding of a horse as the result of an attack by a magpie is reported from the Gisborne district. A shepherd in the hills in the Kanakanaia area was out mustering a few days ago when a : agpie flew from behind and attempted to peek out one of Lis horse’s eyes. The bird did not succeed, but the animal was blinded in that eye. The shepherd stated that magpies were on the increase in the district, and whereas only a few we-e to be seen a few years ago they were in fairly large numbers now. The magpie—both the black-backed and the white-backed variety—is included in the list of protected birds, but in view of this atack and ohers, ' ven on human beings, many people wonder whether their protection is justified. Timber Stocks Accumulate Shipping facilities at Greymouth have for some time failed to keep pace with the accelerated war-time demand for timber, particularly from the North Island, and the position appears to be deteriorating (states “The Press”). Ample orders are being received from the North Island, but in some cases it has been found impossible to fill them within the required time us shipping space has not been available. Thousands of leet of sawn timber are lying on the mill skids in all parts of the district awaiting the allocation of shipping space for transport to the North Island, and the quantity appears to be increasing rather than decreasing. Much .of the timber on hand is on order for Auckland, comprising both while pine and rimu for food containers, and this timber if left too long on the skids is liable to deteriorate fairly rapidly, [ especially in the warm weather which I can be expected soon. | Waste Land Crops Valued at £85,000 1 The first cut of harvest has been | made on two blocks of wheat, covering | some 400 acres each, on the Sussex I Downs. No other such great areas of i wheat are to be found in the British ! Isles, states "The Times,” London." The land which has grown this corn had i produced nothing useful since the last | war; parts of it had been unproductive [for centuries. From land thus reclaimed in East Sussex since the war began the icommittee is harvesting this year over |4400 acres of various crops, chiefly [wheat and oats. There are now line crops of sugar beet, barley, and flax, in I addition to a large acreage of carrots, peas (for canning), onions, etc., on land wh : ch was cleared of gorse, brambles, and even scrubby oak trees only last February. At a rough calculation the value of those crops this year will be £85,000. The acreage is being constantly extended, and next year it is hoped to have some 8000 acres under crop, including a new block of nearly 1000 acres of wheat. That area has nearly all been cleared with tractors driven by land girls, whose forewoman was formerly a journalist in Fleet, street. Behind this remarkable achievement in war-time food production are the knowledge and enterprise of Mr R. H. B. Jesse, who was, as a young man, chief executive officer under the East Sussex committee in the last war and to-day holds the same position. Child Delinquency. “There should not be so many children appearing in the Children’s Court,” said the chairman, Mr E. F. Hemingway (Patea) at the monthly meeting of the Wanganui Education Board last week (reports the “Herlald”). "The figures are appalling, nearly 3000 a year, according to the annual reports of the Child Welfare Department. In 1939-40 there were 295: child delinquents; in 1940-41 there were 2934, throughout New Zealand.” A suggestion made by Mr Hemingway that the board inform the Minister of Education, Hon. H. G. R. Mason, that 'it views with much concern the | figures set out in the annual report of the Child Welfare Department and that it be a recommendation that a booklet similar to the one written some years ago by the Hon. G. W. Russell on character building and citizenship be compiled and lessons be given regularly in the schools to supplement the c "orts of the teachers at present being put forward to make the children good citizens of the future, was made a motion after discussion and carried unanimously. “Wl.ile I am alarmed at the number of children appearing in the Children’s Courts,” Mr Hemingway said. "I do not want to suggest for one moment Hint the teachers have been lacking in their duty as moulders of character.”