NEWS IN BRIEF.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20833, 27 September 1929, Page 18

NEWS IN BRIEF.

Influenza is still fairly prevalent in South Canterbury, especially in country districts. '

At the Christchurch City Council’s reserve at Bottle. Lake, 50,000 trees have been planted this season, chiefly pinus radiata, pinus laricio, and pinUs pouderosa.

A tour of , the South Island, covering about 1500 miles of rail travel, at a total cost of about . £2l or £22, .was suggested (says the Poverty Bay Herald) for the consideration of Poverty Bay farmers for next summer by Mr A. M’Xeil, business agent of the Railways Department, in an address to the Farmers’ Union executive the other 'morning. Come and see our Show To-night. We are open till 9. o’clock . Friday nights.— Scoullar and Chisholm (Limited),.-.' The offices .of Christchurch shipping companies and of tourist agencies have been visited by many inquirers (says the, Press) .seeking information regarding a statement in circulation that'’some shippiug company is offering a return fare of £33 for the Glasgow Exhibition next year. Xb information 'on the subject is possessed by the shipping or tourist offices. The railways are our own; and wa should, put all the business we can in the way of the Railways Department,” remarked one delegate' at the monthly meeting of the Poverty Bay ■ executive of the Farmers’ Union. “What about patronising the shipping and, helping our own harbour? -’ asked another delegate, amidst laughter;

The Peter Pan liberty bodice is unequalled as a'support for growing girls, all sizes; to fit two year old- 2s lid; up ??“.*« ladies’. size, .3s lid;—T. Ross, 130 Princes street...

An '.offer--of' a -.special'' prize 'for best poster designed by, a student - of- the school of;Art, showing a Maori chewing tern root,, was made by. Dr.) Thacker Mat luesdaymgbt’s meeting of the 'Health . < -™ ' Committee in Christchurch. He said- mat one of the reasons why -the Maoris had such good teeth wasHhat they chewed fern roots. , ■ The.trout fishing season irt’Nhw, ZeaJand, ; excepting Rotorua and ‘Taupe, will be opened on Tuesday/ October 1, and dose on April 30, 1930. At‘ Rotorua- and taupe the fishing season will, extend from November 1 until May 31/ 1930. The shooting - season for - godwits and-'knots in the Auckland district will open oh January!, 1930,' and extend to-March 31 ' • • Compare these values; Doctor flannels, Da YY or Shetland. men’s size only. 6s 6d: striped towels, guaranteed fast to washing.; 20 by 40, per pair 2s 6d, 24 by 46 per pair 4s 6d; posted any where, for cash —llilroy and Sutherland. Ltd 102 Princes street. Dunedin.,. . ‘ were 90 names upon 'Bureau a^ ;t fe Go^ern^ n t'Unemployment Bureau at Invercargill of .’persons seeking work dsajis ;the Southland. New^The number this-week liaß deci;eased by" 22 to appheations number 10; while U were withdrawn as the.result of failure to report within 14 days. Public-works provided employment for - 22. while five were, privately ..employed.Of -the rijen on ,the listi 01 were, fit for heavy work and Be\ , en' fit i for light work, . I should like to-Have a week to spare to go.- through those hillsides at Sir Beaton Rhodes s 'estate,, where the daffodiJs have _ completely ; naturalised them selves, said- Mr Guy Wilson at Christchurch the other evening. They have hybridised there without human, assistance. and Tx-ecogu;sed many bid favourites that have been produced by natural means during my cursory inspection today, ,

. Send two and sixpence for a 40 s 40 inch Coloured Border Breakfast Cloth, nice, quality Damask, to Gray’s Mail Order House, Milton... ,; Oue of -the Canadian geese belonging to the Pukekura Park Board disappeared iron! the park about a mouth Vago (aays the Taranaki Herald).. The bird is reported to .have been seen making itself quite at home near the. foot, of the Mangaone Hill, ,on' the main, road close . ,“ie Waiwakaiho show grounds. It .is iinderstodd an' attempt will be made to recover the truant.

That Kaiapoi will in the near future be once again a "port” seems quite hkeiy, . and .the -Waimakariri' Harbour Board has .made a move to charter a vessel to take goods to and from Kaiapoi (states the Christchurch correspondent of the Marlborough Express). , About eight years ago, a small steamer,, the Wootton, made a trip mi-the Waimakariri and loaded cargo at Kaiapoi, but since then no vessel of any size has risked taking the bar.

Turnbull’s , Sample Rooms, . Middlemarch.—Special Spring Showing of Frocks, Hats, etc., and general Drapery all this week. " Call early. No one asked to buy. New goods daily.—A. F.'Cheyne and C 0... \ . • ,

The roads ,in the centre of the North Island are reported to-be in good condition at present. Prison labour has had much to do with raising - the standard of road maintenance in the Raelihi, • and National Park districts. A Wellington ibusiness man who. returned, from National Park recently (says the Dbminipn)' states .that on the outward journeylie left Wellington at 7v a.m., -and by comfortable motoring reached Whakapapa, National Park, at 3.45 p.m'the; same day. in time ior. afternoon tea. ■ An unusual position presented itself at the. annual meeting of the Wellington :Cricket Club last week. One member said that according "to the club’s rules there should be a greater number on the Management Committee., “There - are no ruled,”, cried ah interjector. “There ‘must be some rules‘somewhere,” said the ’chairman' (Mr M. F.Luckie). “they, were first framed away back in 1865. and it .only requires someone to find the most recent set.” 1 . .

•Annual sale is now in- full .swing, at “ Ascot ” • corner Princes and Rattray streets. . Roslyn suits are reduced to 69s fid’, dinner. ■ suits reduced to £6 6s, overcoats from.29s 6d, boys’ stockings, Is 0d a pair, jerseys 5s • lid Post free... “I think. dairying is the coming thing in this ‘district. .It is,about the only thing about which there is any certainty, at any rate;. and-if we, present the cup for the. cattle section ■it will bo giving a lead in the right direction.” This opinion (reports, the' Express) was expressed by the chairman' (Mr W. H. Gane) when the Blenheim Farmers’ Union recently decided to suggest that .the jubilee cup - which the Farmers* . Union branches are giving to - the Marlborough A - .; and P. Association be devoted to the milking classes ■in the cattle section of the show. V- i

An interesting story of how he , outwitted cattle thieves : was told hy ■ Mr James Martin, manager of the Victoria Downs Station,, who arrived in Auckland during the' week-end, to meet Lord Luke. The thieves had taken 200 of the station calves, which had not been branded. When Mr Martin discovered the loss he set'oiit with four black trackers on horseback. The calves were discovered in the Northern Territory, 300 miles away. Luckily a branded cow had followed.her calf, and this gave the-clue fo the missing animals. When Mr Martin and ; bis trackers arrived they found, that the calves were just leaving the branding pen of a wealthy man, who had received them from the thieves. 'This man was later arrested and • imprisoned. Mr Martin found that- the actual thieves had been , paid by cheque by the receiver, so he set off for. the nearest town, a distance of "90 miles, to await their arrival : with a posse ,qf police. The case was a sensational one,, and the thieves were all convicted.and "are still in gaol. ""V ■■

The oldest steak in the world hangs over, a shop in Sheffield. Ninety-three years ago the purchaser paid for -it. “ Hang it up, and I will call, for it later,” he told the butcher. The man never appeared, and to this day the relic hangs at the entrance of the same shop. . It is'odourless, and scales only a-quarter of its original weight.

A speech should be to an essay, what a black and white sketch was to a finished picture, • said Mr Justice MacGregor, in • an address -at Wellington recently- It should be bold, striking, anV clearly cut, rather' than over-refined aim studied,. in . its word-painting.’. The pure*; and rpost ■ elevated. type of oratory was undoubtedly the genuine impromptu, -or' extempore speech,.but that was a rare bird, indeed. That, there has been a considerable “jpoiint -of attrition on the . face- of the cliffs along the coast past Castlccliff is evident' to those who have strolled up the beach a few-miles : (says the Wangauui Chronicle). Last summer many fairly large falls took placey and during ' the ■ f winter months a further considerable amount of debris has found it way bn to the beach from the cliffs above. Those who are. in.' the habit of ‘taking ■ risks m climbing under the cliff faces would ’A. be' well ‘ advised ,to exercise considerable care during the coming months. . The reliability ot barton s sugar-cured hanis and bacon and pork smaljgoods ’is universally -acknowledged.—Manse street’ and all branches...

When discussing the -question of fire losses at . a meeting of the Wellington Fire Board last week, Mr Si ,S. Dean -instanced, a provision made in a - building which he said he believed. was the only one of its kind in Wellington. The floors dropped slightly from the centre tp' the sides of the room, and any water ■ which went in ran to the sides and escaped through holes made, for the purpose instead of leaking through the floor into the rooms below. This, Mr Dean said, would save a lot of damage by water. Country. .Storekeepers.—Handle " the famous, acknowledged best, sraallgoods in the South Island, and increase your turnover; .liberal margin.—Barton’s. Manse street...

In complimenting, the. ton;, treasurer and 'secretary, of the , Wellington .Cricket Association on; their very, good; sendees . ' ; during the past season, Mr M. F. Liickle. the .chairman, at the' annual meeting of the association the other evening;, suggested that in view, of the events ahead in the coming season they would want ; running shoes. “ Why running shoes? ” queried one delegate. “ With all due re- - snect, Mr Chairman, I don’t think you should suggest to the treasurer that he should don running shoes.”' The.trea- > • surer (Mr W. J. ,R. Christopherscu) t “ They will not. be to run away with, but to chase you fellows.”—(Laughter;) Air R. Browning Reported at the' last meeting of the Christchurch Suburban Lawn Tenuis Association (says, the Times) that Mr G. Olli vier, who is acting as lawn tennis coach for the Canterbury Association, had most of his time taken up at present-with coaching. - “In ~ ,fact,” he. said, “it is very difficult- to. • get ..a time to. 'suit just- -now.-,, Mr Ollivier has had requests foe coaching from people .at Rakaia iand as far away as Kaikoura. Just before I came but I received a ring* from • Leestom ‘asking : me tol arrange ’times, for two players,”. Ex “Tasmania,” we have-received our. ... first • consignment of “ Blue ■ Mountain , Jamaica ” —the finest coffee grown- on ; •earth—A. Durie and special-' ists, 32,Octagon. Dunedin.. . , : ,The value of Virginia Lake, Wanganui, ■as a spot ..of scenic beauty was , stressed: by a visitor from Auckland the other day (.says, the Chronicle).. He said that the area • presented great scope, and, though it looked well as it was at present, it, could be.made still.more attractive.by extensive'planting of-punga ferns along the’’banks. Discussing paries -and beauty, spots generally,, he instanced Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, referring to it as the best locality of its v kind in the Dominion; , He thought Virginia Lake could be made more attractive,. as, in. the latter case,'there was a wider expanse of water. "., ■ ~

The warmer days are, it -is reasonable to suppose, not far' away now, and with them comes increasing activity yin the garden. 'Of course, nothing can-lie done unless one . has/the fight' tools./ .That's why a yisit to bur store is so important to every gardener. Oiir. removal is aw unusual opportunity for-secuHne all; yonr gardening requirements at greatly reduced prices.—At Laidlaw -and Gray’s, Rattray street... "

A suggestion that, a flat roof should be built■ over . the tepid baths- in Christchurch and • that; it be sprinkled with sand and ■ u-ed:for sun bathing/, whs made 1 at a recent meeting of .the Health Week Committee, by Mr R. H. Stillwell fsays the Times). He expressed the opinion -that sun bathing s, was beneficial to health and that such an innovation‘would increase the popularity of .the tepid, baths. Mr J. W. Crampton said he Heartily agreed with Mr Stillwell, but, strangely enough, the. last Medical Congress condemned sun bathing as a caiwe of cancer. V Not exactly,” said Dr Thacker. -Ho contended that, all cancer resulted from eating the wrong food. - - / - ‘ , First-class Accommodation at Prince of Wales Hotel, Dunedin. ■ Moderate tariff. Best‘liquors- always in stock,: —C. Hinchcliffe... ■ ■ - ‘ ;

Mr F. Mace, of Hataitai. who returned recently, from a , sis weeks’ trip to Norfolk Island, states that the genuine islanders" are descendants of the party of mutineers of the Bounty, who landed on Pitcairn Island in 1789. Tlie .eight surnames which predominate on the island are those of the original Pitcairn families. Convict settlement took place.as early as 1788, 14 -years after the discovery of the island by Captain Cook. The convict settlement was withdrawn in 1855,, "and the island .was offered '■ to the Pitcairn' Islanders as a settlement. From this time on the Pitcairners, changed the , whole aspect of the island, which' was -brought under- cultivation, Christian,’worship was instituted, and - although - conditions are yet primitive as compared with ’ modern ‘civilisation, -Mr Mace "considers Norfolk Island one of the gems of the Pacific. Grandfcm' • (8201- —The reason why I joke and smile-is that the world is glum, and so. life’s road I would beguile - with a bottle of London Dock Rum,’ 1 12s, — Grand Home Supply... ■ ‘ The causes of the diminution of native bird life" were discussed ,by the council of the Stratford Acclimatisation, Society, when- a 'letter was received - from the Otago Society, in defence of the opossum. ’lt was somewhat concerned,'. the Otago Society stated, at statements in the, press relative to the-supposed damage done - by opossums in forests, some -writers claiming that'the eating of green shoots tended toward.a decrease of native birds. Acclimatisation societies, oh the other hand, stated that the: chief bird enemies were stoats, rats, ferrets, wild cats, and such other vermin. With a view to obtaining evidence' on the matter the association had circularised trappers asking for an expression of opinion. ' Seventy-four replies had been received. Of that number 55; gave opinions as to the cause ."of the diminution' of the bird life. The stoat was mentioned in 17 letters, the . ferret in 20, the cat in 18. the grey owl in ,15, the rat in 8, and the hawk in 2. Thirtveight persons had caught 218 stoats Vin the : traps this season: and .'seven • trappers—who gave' approximate figures only—ll 3. Thirteen had; caught 42 ferrets and -34 ■ wild cats; while 18 had caught 58 rats. Couj's Grand footrot cure will .effectively cure footrot in sheep and , cattle; price 5s 6d. 10s fid.'and,2ss bottle, from Conn’s -Grand;, Pharmacy,- High street, Dunedin'... '

An Auckland- resident has received,a letter from Canada which throws a' fine light en English trading life and incidentally .English commercial honesty. Referring to. a visit to Spain and England, a talented woman writer, Mrs Madge M‘Beth, of Toronto, whom the New Zealander met in Canada, said: "I left Spain with some regret to go to England. After the . .picturesqueness and the- colour of Spain it seemed to me, that’any. country ■*' would be dull.. This was hot eo. I had hardly arrived in London when I was gripped by a great" excitement, the" admiration of magnificent power " and poise. " There might be a certain political unrest, which was inevitable in connection with a general election, but the feeling in England was one of reassuring ' serenity, strength, and benignity.' 1 found honesty and integrity in all relations- If I asked at .a shop, ‘Are these stockings, all. silk? * I am fold, ‘L am not sure- they are all silk, madam, but I. think you, will like • them,’. A'saleswoman would not say, the ' - article was silk unless she was sure. That was typical. I realised, as never before, why the ties of. confidence ■ are -so strong Which bind the dominions to ithe Mother- •' land.”.., . . , " , , Hark,, poets-sing, and people rave, Just . tell, me-what’s ■ the matter ? " The "cook called from hh'e. galley door, ■ ; " ■ Hitchon’s ham in a platter....