GENERAL ITEMS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 31 December 1941, Page 4

GENERAL ITEMS

No Publication To-morrow "The Alail” will not be published tomorrow (New Year's Day). Uneasy Conscience The manager of the Dunedin branch of a well-known insurance company received a surprise this week when a letter reached him from a firm of solicitors stating that a female client of the firm had a friend who wanted to clear up a matter of conscience. The friend had therefore requested her to send a sum of £45 to the company. When or how the amount came to be owing cannot be ascertained. Framed An Auckland citizen who rang the oil fuel controller to ask for supplies of petrol concluded a fruitless appeal by asking, in lit of pique, what he should do with his license, “Frame it; you won’t get another,” was the reply. Two days later there was deep but concealed joy in the oil fuel license office when the controller was observed to receive a large paper parcel, obviously i a Christmas present. Upon carefully | unwrapping it, he found a large frame | around the fuel license issued to the ! citizen he had advised to get his ! license framed. After he had said some kind words and had got his breath back, the controller laughed' and laughed. Variation in Plum Crops The yields of plum trees in the Manawatu show a wide variation this season, ranging from practically none in some instances to fairly heavy crops (states the "Standard”). Trees which have borne well for years are, in places, carrying “no more than a hatful,” but the branches of others are weighed down already, with the fruit yet to fill out considerably. The earlier varieties have been available for jammaking over the last ten days or so, and the group closely related to the cherry plum will be ready in about a week. The general indications are that these plums are a week later than usual in ripening.

Cricket of Other Days. Acknowledging seasonal greetings | from Air Harvey Ilolyoake. Riwaka, the j Mayor of Nelson (Mr E. It. Ner.le) re- j cells the days when they used to meet j in cricket matches aero: ; the Bay. “We I didn’t have wireless or pictures,” com-j ments Mr Neale. “And it might have taken three hours to get over to the, Bay and another hour to plod out to j Riwaka. But at least the world did seem sane and our pleasures were precious.” Shot Through a Window. What appeared to be a pea-rifle j bullet or air-gun pellet went through | and broke a window of a house in j [Trafalgar Square just recently. It is believed to have come from one or, | other of these guns in the hands of iI boys. ' Strong as Cast Iron After two years’ continuous research, i Great Britain is to-day able to intro-. ! dtice pottery into many new fields of i i British industry to take the place of j metals, alloys, lass, rubber and wood i on the use of which restrictions have ! inevitably been placed in war time. ; High grade chemical stoneware corn- | parable with grey cast iron in mechani- | I cal strength can now be used in place j i of metal for pipe lines and also for i i packing, purposes either in relatively ' [small units or in bulk. These novel ceramic wares have certain advantages I over the materials in former use. They i j resist rust and contamination; they can I be- turned into an almost unlimited j 1 number of shapes and sizes, and they I are proof against all corrosive chemicals except hydrofluoric acid and hot. . strong caustic alkalis. The new pottery i,\ moreover, prepared with such scientific thoroughness, and fired in the kilns j at such a high temperature, 1250 de- j grees Centigrade or more, that, in compression strength it resembles metals j rather than the fragile china or earthenware ornamen t of the home. New applications of ceramic materials have also been introduce.', in recent months to textiles, rayon, paper-making, printing, soap, perfumery, cosmetics, brewing and food manufacture industries and to many branches of the chemical, metallurgical ancl electrical industries. Horse Population Figures published in the New Zoa--1 lend Year Book tell an interesting I story of the rise and decline of the i horse population of the country (says the "Southland Times”). In 1891 the l umber of horses of all breeds in New Zealand was 211,040. At that time' there were, of course, no motor-cars in the country. The first did not ap- | pear on the roads of New Zealand until the early years of the present century. | The new means of transport made little ; progress at first. It was regarded as a fad, and for a decade at least the horse more than held its own. This is proved by the fact that the horse population of New Zealand steadily increased until 1911. when it was 404.284. nearly double the total of 1891. The year 1911 was the peak. Thereafter, the horse I began to lose ground in competition j with the motor, slowly at first, but I more rapidly as the use of the newer . form of transport widened from plea- j ! sure to business. By 1916 the number of j I horses in New Zealand had declined toj 371,331. by 1921 to 337,259. and by 1926; |to 314,867. Ten years later the num-| I ber of horses in New Zealand was 1263.156 and the latest return (for; ; 1940 > showed the number to be only 1 258,567. This last figure is smaller than ; the return for 1901 (266.725). in spite of the growth in New Zealand’s popula- , ' tion and industries during those 40 i years. The retention of the horse for ; | tewn delivery work has helped to keep j j alive certain subsidiary, but important, j j industries. The trade of the blacksmith has not declined in Britain to the extent that it has in New Zealand, and neither has the breeding of draught, three-quarter and half-draught horses. Therefore, if the necessity arose Britain would be in a much better position than New Zealand to make a quick, partial change back to horse transport. It is a strange paradox that the horse should have held its own much better in industrial Britain than it has in pastoral New Zealand. First Laundries on Wheels i Laundries on wheels, the first to be seen anywhere, have been called into being in Britain. There are now 24 of them, provided by three big industrial concerns, keen competitors in peace time, who have pooled their resources so that the people's washing may be handled after bombing with thoroughness and speed. Already the first vehicles, bus chassis with trailer, have been on service on Merseyside and in London. Inspected and approved by both Lord Holder, the King’s physician., and Mr Herbert Morrison, Minister for Home Security, these mobile laundries supply a need that was felt most when the blitz was at its worst. Equipped with hotpoint washers and electric immersion heaters for hot water (carried in the trailer), they have four sinks and a drying cabinet capable of dealing witr a complete output every twelve minutes. There are four women to run each unit, and they can handle 1000 garments a clay. The driver is a t man. Electric oven and hotplate are provided lor the meals of the crew. Known as the National Emergency Washing Service,, these travelling laundries operate at rest centres and in streets bombed and without any other means of getting the washing done at once. Rationing of Bicycles in Britain. The rationing of bicycles in Britain 1 leaves only one in four of those sent j overseas in peace time to be made for 1 export during the current year. The figures include the equivalent of bicycles in spares and replacements. Overseas markets are being loyally sacrificed to the lend-lease policy agreed between Britain and the United States. Even the number of new bicycles now being produced for cyclists in Great Britain has been cut down to next to none. “Only a few are being made.” | states Mr H. R. Watling, director of the j Manufacturers’ Union in Britain. "It would be ridiculous to turn out bicycles i for sport or pleasure to-day. We are j using our war-time allocation of mater- j ial at home almost enetirely for spares i and replacements to keep existing bi- j cycles in running order for the mil- j lions of munition workers and others on j national service who need them for their jobs. For the rest, the industry ! ha been turned over to the direct production of munitions in some form or other. The makers of British bicycles are 100 per cent, in the war, which by the way, will have its effect on design when peace returns. Alloy steels, aluminium and its alloys will undoubtedly be more widely used. Bicycles will be lighter after the war.”