NEWS IN BRIEF.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20318, 28 January 1928, Page 24

NEWS IN BRIEF.

An eel weighing 2511 b was landed from a pool on the Henui River, not far below the Junction road bridge, the other afternoon (says the Taranaki News). It measured ISin round the girth, and 4ft 7in in length. “ You should fight only when your bacK is against the wall,” said Mr F. K. Hunt, S.M., in the Police Court, Auckland, during the examination of a m an assault case (says an exchange). There were too many in the bar, and I could nt get my back against the wall, replied the witness. , . i Stay at the Prince of Wales Hotel. Good accommodation; best brands ot liquors. ’Phone 10-721. —C. Hinchclixf, proprietor... . . • - One of the prettiest sights at the recent Wanganui regatta was a canoe poi dance by a number of Maori tiny tots (states the Herald). Swaying to the strains of a tinkling guitar, they moved in perfect rhythm, an utter 1 lack of self-consciousness allowing tffem to dance with natural grace and charm. A rather hovel reason for wilfully damaging a Nelson Automobile: Association notice board was given by a youth at the Magistrate’s Court (says the Mail). He said that the association should not put their signs so close to the ground, because anyone running along would knock his head on them. That was why he . pulled the sign down. . Barton and -Trengrove want Pigs to supply the enormous demand for their famous sugar-cured Bacon. Highest price for cash.—Manse street, Dunedin... The 10s “ tote ” is not uncommon, out the idea of a Is totalisator would amuse most New Zealand racecourse patrons;, yet such a machine does exist in Norfolk Island, according to Mr E. J. Forrest, who has returned to Gisborne from an interesting visit to the island (states the Poverty Bay Herald). A race meeting is held every Easter, when fortunes are won and lost 'on the Is “ tote.” Something in the vicinity of £2OO passes through the machine at each meeting. Last Tuesday was the busiest day experienced by the Wellington ambulance service since its inception (states the Post). Twenty-three cases were dealt with the largest number handled previously being 21 Two peonle were brought into Wellington from tipper Hutt; one from Waliaceville, one from Whiteman’s Valley, and one from JohnsonvlUe. Altogo.hei the ambulances travelled 273 miles. Hats for Men, usually sold at 25s od and 29s 6d, have been all reduced to 17s 6d for this week only. See our window and pick your hat. All Shapes; Shades, and Sizes. At the Ascot, comer Princes and Rattray streets... The installation of a night alarm system in the homes of Blenheim firemen is now being carried out, and should be completed next week (states the Marlborough Express). ' The system provides for a central alarm which, when operated at the fire station, will cause bells to ring simultaneously in the homes of firemen connected to the installation. It wiil thus be possible to summon the firemen -without recourse to that great sleep disturber and nerve shatterer—the big bell. .. Sumner at present is suffering from a pest of dogs (says the Lyttelton Times). On the beach and on the roads these are a. menace to both pedestrians and motorists. Amongst the children on the beach they have proved more than a nuisance. A few days ago the two-year-old son ot Mr W. F. M'Arthur narrowly escaped losing the sight of an eye through a bite from one of the more vicious of these animals. This is the second ease of its kind within a few days. “ Flu ” can’t catch you if. you take Waters’ Influenza Remedy, 3s 8d posted. Waters’ Pharmacy...; , , A peculiar accident is, recorded at Westport (states the Grey River Argus). Through a petrol drum exploding, a youth. William Lowe, of Sergean’t Hill, received severe injuries to his leg. He was removed to the hospital. The petrol drum had water passing through it for two days. The victim’s brother, sitting on a drum, struck a match and passed it over the bung hole. The explosion blew out the end of the drum, Lowe receiving the full force. He. will probably lose his leg. The state of the water m the Mount Eden swimming baths was criticised by members of the Mount Eden Borough Council the other evening Estates Lhe Herald). It was stated the Baths Committee had recently visited the ot. yutnbert’s School baths and had inspected the filtration plant in use there. Itwasconsidered that a similar plant should be installed at the borough baths, which quickly became dirty. A resolution was passed instructing the committee to bring down a report on the matter. Some particularly attractive values in Drapery, Footwear, > Hardware and Crockery are at. Grays Big Store, Mil Since the removal of- the bathing boxes from Caroline Ba> some ,t-me ago there have been many, complaints that those who wish to sit on the sands can ffind no shelter from the -prevailing winds, and many have suggested that the Timaru Borough Council should provide some sort of protection' (says the Herald).. Recently one family brought a canvas shelter supported by thin .iron standards. It proved a very efficient breakwind, and those sheltering behind it appeared quite comfortable. , . ~ , Timaru seems to be in the happy position of having no unemployed (says an eSmge). ding to the .ct..that to. were no offers of men locally, the-Govern ment Labour Department in Timaru. found it necessary to “import six men from Christchurch to work on the public works contract on Mount Cook road. It is the school holidays, and. many small boys in Christchurch have turned attention to the sport of frog-hunting. Their field is the ponds in the botanic gardens (states the Sun), Their efforts are the cause of much annoyance for the staff, for they trample fringing beds of the ponds, doing much damage. The roc* garden border has suffered much so much so indeed, that a special watch is nowbeing kept. Another cause of damage is through the dishonesty of people, who pull out valuable rock plants or take pieces. Plants that are flowering attract them. It . is a futile Business, from their point of view, for the period is not suitable for PI A a novel g ’idea as to how much money could be saved in hardware and furnishings was devised by a young Dunedin couple. They selected two well-known home-furnishing establishments, and .decided that, comparing quality with price, they would buy where the saving was biggest. The shillings thus saved were recorded, and it is significant to note that they not only saved nearly £U- bnbought mostly .from the one shop—Laidlaw and Gray’s, Ltd... \ party from Eltham went fishing at White Cliffs recently, but for some reason or other the anglers were not successful in landing anything (says the Argus), bo one of the party, who did not wish to displease his wife on his return home, determined to secure one at any cost. He discovered that a Maori had been more successful than their party, and the Native gladly accepted 2s for a fish. The angler proudly marched back to his friends, carrying his “catch,” whereupon another member offered him 2s 6d, but he refused the offer. Exactly what fish stories the anglers told their wives have not been disclosed. _ _ _ Save your eyes. Consult Peter U. Uick, D.8.0-A., F. 1.0. (London), optometrist. Peter Dick, jewellers and .opticians, 490 Moray place (opo. City Hotel)... “ Pig Farmer ” writes to the Auckland Star as follows:—We read from time to time of the-wonderful scope for pig farming in New Zealand, but may I ask who is getting the profits? We have been getting practically nothing for our pigs for some time, hut we have now reached the nothing. I bought eight, small pigs in August at a total cost of £6 11s. they were fed on milk, sharps, and green feed. I sent the'same pigs to Westfield as welltone porkers, and received a cheque for £6 14s 6d, leaving me the handsome sum of 3s 6d for five months’ feed and attention. The public are charged anything from 8d to Is 6d for .pork and bacon, while we producer's get' from a Id to 2d.” Low prices and high quality are an unusual combination, but this describes our leather suit and attache cases. Solid leather'suit cases from 47s 6d; solid leather attache cases from 20s 6d.—Otago Farmers, Crawford street.., A party of five Te Awamutu residents motored to Kawhia recently for a day’s fishing. A catch of 200 schnapper shows ■that the irip was most successful. Another Te Awamutu party of five claims to have caught more than 200 schnapper recently, while the; Post is creditably informed by a returned camper at Kawhia that one evening recently a party of Maoris secured : over 2500 flounders in the harbour. Theschnapper were again plentiful, catches of 200, 100, and 55 being reported. The waters adjacent to the harbour of Kawhia are literally teeming with fish at the present time, and everybody (residents, trippers aa.d campers alike) are having “the time of their lives” catching edible varieties of salt water fish.

The terrors of the witness-box and the customs of the court, and more, especially of cross-examining counsel, seemed strange to a lady witness at the Waitara Court the other day {says the Manawatu New.). Persistent questions from" many points of view annoyed her. Counsel, however, was compelled to smile as did most present when in reply to a as to whether cows would be togged in certain place, he was told n - *? ,v t nor any cow could bo bogged m that best mowers are .fc one or two-horse. Any trial. on band. Mosgiel Motor and , E 5 i n Company, agents for T. and S. Morn and Fenwick... • ' ~ ' . ~■ « In this early days of Tarandn a lot ol revenue was obtained by cutting cocksfoot grass on vacant sections around plantations and country roads (says the ■News)'. This was threshed, and a good market was easily found for the seed. During the past few days Mr J. Hunt, of-New Plymouthi has cut from the outskirts of the town roads and vacant sections about a dozen lorry loads of cocksfoot grass. This is at present m the stook on Mr Hunt’s property, where it will remain for a couple of weeks to ripen. It is then proposed _tq thresh out the seed by the old flail-method. As the season has been a good one for grass seed production it is expected - a good yield of excellent seed wiU_be .obtained. Exceptional value: Flannel Unders. the well-known Doctor Brand, in Shetland and navy, 6s 6d each; All-wool New Zealand Flannels—Shetland 6s lid,- natural shade (unshrinkable) 8s lid, navy 9s 6d, posted anywhere for cash. —Kilroy ana Sutherland, Ltd., 192 . Princes street. Dunedin... . There are a quarter of a million acres of mangrove flats around the various harbours in North Auckland harbour boards (says the Star). In , some parts private individuals have reclaimed small sections of them,, and have established rich pasture lands for dairying purposes, but, like all other undertakings of a similar nature, when undertaken by settlers, the actual cost of bringing them into a state of productivity cannot be definitely ascertained. With a view to ascertaining if it is possible to go in for a large and comprehensive scheme ot developing mangrove flats the Agricultural Department has commenced collating necessary data, and the results are being watched with the greatest interest m North Auckland and elsewhere, For all your Medical Wants attention given to country orders. " Conn s Sell it for less.”—Conn’s Grand Pharmacy... ' , , That bane of the farmer and amateur gardener alike, the grass, grub, is still on the wing. Its main flight usually takes plane about the end of November, till early in December, after which it settles- down to a period of hibernation, end raises a family. Its belated appearance this year is accounted for by the late .summer. There are no effective means of circumventing the depredations of the pest and once they start hi to- eat up the lawns the only remedy is to resow and roli hard. It is particularly partial to rape and turnips, and farmers who are aware of this generally sow their crops at a time when the grub is likely, to do the least damage. Old ojtne banished by one touch of the magic “ Kornbane Is 2d posted.— Waters' Pharmacy... ■ . ... Quality, Quality. Quality, Quality, Quality. Quality—all the time.—Barthn and Trengrove. Manse street... , A solution of the difficulties of working swamp lands is the discovery,claimed by Mr H. Ramsay, a well-known Lower Waikato farmer, and owner of 1500 acres of land, of which 300 acres are partially drained swamp, very subject to floods , (says ah exchange). '; About ,12 years ago he noticed that' stock waded out to eat a tall, broad-leaved plant which they seemed to relish. He eaved the seed tor planting next season, and it sprang up prolifically, 'and!' all classes of stock were 'so fond of it that the following he put down about 100 acres on the wettest part of his place.' _ The, plant is a species of water plantain, and it grows densely to a height of 3ft. The seed ripens in February or March. Mr Ramsay is fattening 1000 lambs on swamp land and is convinced of the food value of the plant. ■ ' , . Forty-sixth annual summer sale a huge success. A few of this week’s specials: Ladies' Tailored Coats and Coat Frocks, 39s 6d each; ladies’ straws and ready-to-wears, from 3s lid up. A call will be to our mutual benefit. —A. F. Cheyne and C 0... 1 A smile was on the face of Cr Williams at a recent meeting of the Greymouth Borough Council when he was suggesting that a deposit should be collected from timber carters who wished do cross borough footpaths .with loads to get to sections where building was going on, and he mentioned the case of . damage being done to the footpath in Kilgour road (says the Grey River Argus), _The Mayor was first to. realise that -Cr Williams was.having a ‘‘pull at'his leg,” hie residence being the only one in course of erection in Kilgour road at the present time. When it dawned -on other councillors that the Mayor was the butt of the joke they 100 joined in the smite. Chic bathing, dresses, made ot pure wool by New Zealand mills. ' Bright, bold colours; could distinguish, you a mile away; 8s 6d. Also British-made Trouvillc colours and shapes, pure wool, from 16s 6d.—At T. Ross’s, 130 Princes street. A'dvt. . . It would appear from the number of request? which daily reach the Auckland Power Board for the transfer of meter accounts to different addresses that the Aucklander is assuming nomadic habits, even although he moves about almost within the city'area (states the Herald). It was stated by the general manager, Mr R. H, Bartley, at a meeting of the board, that the work of checking meters and restoring accounts in new localities was rapidly assuming exceptionally large proportions. The record number of 100 applications had been made on a recent day and the average was between 30 and 40." The greatest number of requests seemed to come from outer areas, and it appeared that many people were making an effort to find residences nearer to the centre of the city. “ I suppose in some cases it is cheaper, to move than to pay the rent,” remarked the chairman, Mr W. J. Holdsworth, amid laughter. v Just landed, ex Somerset, a full supply of new season’s Blue Mountain Jamaica. The finest Coffee grown on earth.—A. Dune and Co., coffee specialists, 32 Octagon. Dunedin... , 1 ... “ Some civilised communities would not stand your town’s method of rousing everyone to come and have a look. at a fire, - ’ remarked Mr H. F. Toogobd, consulting engineer, at the meeting of the Poverty Bay Power Board recently, when outlining an offer made to the Fire Board for replacing the present system of alarms. The existing system, he commented further, was slightly archaic, and the use of the siren could hardly be conducive to the well-being of invalids and children. The Power Board could install a modem system of alarms, including the installation of electric horns in the houses of the firemen, at a cost of £l5B. "We can guarantee to wake the firemen,” remarked Mr Toogood, who pointed out, in reply to a question, that this system would have as good a chance' of continuity as the siren. Members of the board agreed that the use of the siren was to be deprecated for very good reasons.

Some amusing and interesting’ sideshows were to be seen on the - show grounds at Wairoa recently, but for those who happened to be in the vicinity the removal of the swine exhibits from the grounds late jn.the afternoon proved the most amusing sideshow of all (says an exchange). The pigs offered strenuous and raucous protest against being forced up through a slippery ramp into the lorries which waited to receive them, and their owners were given advice, some of it offered in an ironic vein. The loading operations consumed a good deal .of-time, and as several lorries, and carts were forced to wait their turn for the-use of one ramp, it was early evening before the last of them cleared the show ground. To the onlookers, is occurred that air inexpensive means of enjdrging the amenities of the show for the exhibitors of shortlegged stock would be to build a loading bank, or alternatively to provide two or three additional ramps. The show is growing steadily, and the facilities which served in earlier years are hard’y adequate at the present day. Aim • for the best, lads,, Strive to do your bit; Eat plenty of Hitchon’s bacon, ’Twill keep you well and fit,..