LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20621, 21 July 1930, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

TVclro tickets for reserved scats in • the main grandstand at Edon Park for tlio Britain v. Auckland Rugby match were offered at auction in a city auction room on Saturday morning The sale attracted a fair number of people, but few bidders. The first ticket sold at 255, and others wcro disposed of for £1 each. After two tickets had been released for 17s 6d each, the remainder were passed in.

The Jcaso of a small plot of ground on the condition that "one peppercorn per year be paid on demand as rent," has been granted by tlio Railway Department to the Henderson Ratepayers' Association. Tlio ground, which is a little over eight porches in area, and arljoins tho Henderson railway station, is overgrown with grass and noxious weeds, and has long been an eyesore to passers-by. A committee of Henderson residents intends to carry out a scheme for beautifying this area at once, and various social entertain, monts are being arranged to raise funds for tho work.

" I have been Mayor of Palmerston North for 15 years and Palmerston North has been declared a city to-day, on rny birthday," said Mr. J. A. Nash, M.P., president of the Electric-Power Boards and Supply Authorities' Association of New Zealand, at the annual conference of delegates of that body which has jnst been held in Wellington. Mr. Nash, who received hearty congratulations, was reelected as president, an office he has held sinco. the inception of the association eight years ago.

"The hole that rent makes in the wages of the poor is a very dreadful thing," said Mr. W. H. Woodward, S.M., during tho recent examination of a judgment debtor in the Petone Magistrate's Court. The debtor was earning 17s a day, and lost time in wet weather. One week all his wages were swallowed up in paying the rent of his six-roomed house, £2 7s 6d. He had tried to get a cheaper house but could not, he said. No order was made against him.

" Have you change for a pound note ?" asked a Wanganui business man of a customer the other day. " I think I could do it," said the man accosted, as ho took from his pocket, a five-dollar gold piece, a Queen Anno shillings a Napoleon, an Edward VI. shilling, an Edward 11. penny, and an Edward I. groat, or fourpenny piece. Needless to say. no exchange was insisted upon, though a great deal of interest was displayed in tho unusual nature of the coins produced.

Another attempt is to be made to introduce rainbow trout info Canterbury rivers. At a meeting of the council of the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society last week various theories were advanced for their not thriving. It was decided that, after the rainbow trout at present in the society's hatchery had been stripped they should be liberated and ova purchased from other societies so that some of the rivers could be stocked.

Cities jealously guard their dignity. When the roll was being called at the opening of the annual conference of the Electric-Power Boards' Association in Wellington last week the president, Mr. J. A. Nash, M.P., called the name of the Invercargill Borough Council. At once, in an impressive voice, came the correction from an Invercargill delegate, " Invercargill City Council, Mr. President." "I beg your pardon," said Mr. Nash; " I sympathise with you in upholding your status. Wo in Falmerston North have just been raised to the dignity of a citv, and we have been so elated that have forgotten everybody else."

"It would be interesting to get tbo names of any 20 men on tho unemployed lists of tlie Labour Bureau, and lo see bow many of them took the trouble to cultivate the plots of land about their houses," said the Rev F. Dunnage in the course of an address in Ghristchurch on unemployment. "Such a means of assisting their income, by growing vegetables for their own use, seems to be neglected by a great number of men in the city."

The baric of the pukatea, one of the common forest trees in damp areas, said Mr. B. C. .Aston, at the annual meeting of the Wellington Horticultural Society the other day, had been found to contain 3 per cent, of alkaloids, the properties of which were now being investigated by three .scientists in America. The alkaloids were found to possess a stimulative effect upon the heart, much as did strychnine; it was possiblo that Now Zealand would be able to supply the world with heart stimulant. Tutu, ho mentioned, was the cause of the failure of Captain Cook's first attempt to place ruminant animals in Now Zealand; they met death early in the day. The poisonous nature of the karaka berry was also mentioned. The Maoris, be said, had a difficulty in finding farinaceous foods, but they discovered that the poison of the plentiful karaka berry could be removed if tho berries were broken and steeped in running water.

A blue crested penguin was found on the beach by a resident of North Brighton, near Christchurch, last Saturday evening. Tho bird was evidently sickly at tho time, and its feathers were covered with dark, heavy oil, which was not easy to remove. It was placed among tho fowls that night, and on Sunday was in better condition, though it refused fish that was offered it. After spending tho afternoon in front of a fire in friendly company with the resident's dog and cat, the penguin was taken to tho beach again in tho evening. Once placed in the water it seemed to have renewed strength and it set out steadily for tho open sea.

Tho kindly thought of a child at Cromwell, Central Otago, was shown in a letter received recently by the secretary of tho Duncdin branch of tho Returned Soldiers' Association. The letter stated:— "Willi this note 1 am posting a parcel of cigarette cards which I thought somo children whoso fathers are out of work might liko to play with. I am also enclosing tliroo shillings, with which I was going to buy a birthday present. 1 thought it might buy a dinner for somo children." Threo shillings in postal notes came with tho letter, nnd a parcel containing hundreds of cigarette cards.

On the occasion of his visit to Lincoln College last week tlio Governor-General spent some time looking at tho piggery and its equipments lie noticed a dry feeder -which tho pigs visited in turns, it being left to the good nature of individual pigs to give others a chance of feeding On his farm at Home, said Blcdis 100,, ho had separate compartmonts for each sow, not trusting the pigs to leave after a reasonable time—a liapponing which was in some cases exceedingly remote. "Indoed, for sheer gluttonous selfishness, commend me to an old sow," he said with emphasis.