LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20496, 22 February 1930, Page 10

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The prisoner Herbert Handloy, who es-caped-from f.he daylight limited express at Ngaruawahia on Tuesday evening when being brought from Wellington to Auckland under escort on a charge of false pretences, is still at liberty. The Hamilton police yesterday continued the search for the missing man, operating over a wide area without success.

Brown rot in ripening fruit is reported by stone-fruit growers in the Henderson district. One grower estimated his loss of peaches as the result of the blight at 800 cases, while another orchardist assessod his loss at 600 cases. The effect of the blight, it is stated by growers, is being reflected in the low values ruling for the fruit at the markets.

Through falling from her bicycle on Thursday afternoon, Gladys Keeno, aged 12 years, daughter of Mr. Garnet Keene, of Whangarci, fractured her right elbow After treatment at the Whangarei Hospital she was sent to the Auckland Hospital for special treatment.

A reduction in the number of minor prosecutions of motorists is a matter for which the Auckland Chamber of Commerce takes credit. "Publicity has been given during the year to the cumbrous procedure in connection with tho fining of motorists for trivial offences," states the chamber's annual report. "It is gratifying to know, doubtless as the result of tho ventilation of the matter by the chamber, that there has been a substantial falling off in the number of petty prosecutions.

Tho co-operative cataloguing of the books in the central and branch libraries of the city was authorised by tho Auckland City Council on Thursday on the recommendation of the chief librarian, Mr. J. Barr. A periodical bulletin will also bo issued giving recent additions to tho several libraries. Tho work will be carried out at the central library and will entail an addition to the staff.

Tho Hamilton Supremo Court session will commcnco on Monday bofore Mr. Justice Smith. The criminal calendar is exceptionally light, only four cases being set down for hearing. The civil list is also comparatively small.

Operations by the Public Works Department in preparation for the erection of the new bath buildings at Rotorua ar« in full swing. Huts havo been erected for married men, and some are already occupied. A largo number of huts are also being erected for single men. As soon as the concrete work of the old Duchess bath is pulled down the foundations of the new one will be started. The timber needed is being prepared. Figures supplied by the Railway Department indicate that the Glen Afton branch line is one of the best revenueproducing sections in the whale system. Last year the total rovenuo from this branch, which is only ten miles long, was £331,000. This compares very favourably with tho revenue from the Dunfidin station, which was £332,000 fyr the same period. The total outward goods traffic for the period was 493,932 tons of general goods, including coal, 30,000 ft. of timber, 76,400 passengers, including season ticket holders, and 13,929 head of stock. The revenue from the Glen Afton station alone was £166,445.

The well-known Russell boatman and expert fisherman, Mr. Peter Williams, has left Russqll to join Mr. Zane Grey. He will leave Wellington by the Tahiti on Tuesday and join Mr. Grey at Papeete for three months of deep-sea fishing. He will then go to America, to Mr. Grey's home in the Catalina Islands.

Although one or two salmon have been caught in the Rangitata River during the previous two weeks it was not until the last week-end that the fish really commenced their run. The Timaru Herald states that three fish, averaging 201b., two averaging 181b. and one weighing 221b., were caught between (he mouth of the river and Orton. Locally-caught salmon has now made its appearance in the fish shops in Timaru.

There is considerable interest among Canterbury wheat-growers at present in big threshing machines operating in the Lincoln and Ellesmere districts. In, ono paddock recently ono of these machines cut a largo area of wheat, four men only boing necessary to handle it from the ear of wheat to the sewn sack. Two men operated the machine and two carted the wheat away from the hopper. The samo machine later picked up wheat from the ground in wind-rows.

An illustration of the folly of nonswimmers going beyond their depth was given at Lyall Bay, Wellington, recently, whou a middle-aged woman with "waterwings" on her shoulder, and unlimited faith in her own capabilities, made what looked liko an effort to swim to tho South Island. After proceeding a good distance out she became aware of her danger, and started to scream tor help. Luckily for her, her cries were heard by a man nearby, who after much difficulty brought her ashore.

Tlioro is very heavy sheep traffic on the Whangamomona railway line at present. Tho two ordinary trains tho other diiy carried their quota of* sheep, and a special train brought in 19 trucks of sheep from To Wera and threo from Douglas. The sheep are being consigned to Wanganui and New Plymouth.

Apple exporters in Nelson recently asked permission to ship tho Cox Orango variety 270 to tho case and notification has been received that tho Department of Agriculturo approved of the 270 pack, but only for Cox Orango. Permission has also been given for half cases of Cox Orange to bo exported under tho guarantee. This concession also applies only to tho Cox Orango variety. Tho apple crop is looking remarkably well. In most orchards rejections on account of black spot will be negligible and so woll has tho codlin moth boon combated that there will bo practically 110 loss from it. Colour, another requirement, also promises to be well up to standard. Russeting is more in evidence than usual, but mostly in tho varieties in which there is the largest allowance for export.

Several speakers at a meeting of tho Fur Trappers' Association in Wellington the other day urged that trappers should be allowed to take dogs with them into Stato forest reserves. Reference was tnado to tho increasing menace of wild pigs and goats, and the opinion was expressed that it was useless to urge their destruction while denying the use of dogs to trappers. "It is practically impossible to got a wild pig out of the bush without dogs, and the hunting does not, repay t tho effort," said ono speaker. It was decided to ask the Stato Forest Service to allow trappers tho uso of at least ono dog.