NEWS IN BRIEF

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22357, 3 September 1934, Page 16

NEWS IN BRIEF

On Tuesday last two prospectors at Saltwater Creek, Paroa, West Coast, wer* robbed of their three weeks’ wash-up, estimated at about 2oz of gold. During the past few days white butterflies have been seen in Timaru. This J# considered as an omen of the pest being numerous in the district during the com* iug summer, Gfandism (2355): The man experienced in the ways of women appreciates th? fine touch that Granvin (Brandy Wine), gives to any party; 5s bottle... ■ ■ “ Rabbits were introduced to Southland in 1863,” said Mr G. H. Holford in th« course of an address, (says the Southland Times) on grassland farming to tha young farmers the other evening. “T® those days shooting rabbits was prohibited under pain of a penalty of £3. If the sportsman who liberated the rabbits were here to-day he would realise the thousands of • pounds his action cost the country.” ' Several survivals of ancient superstitions about the treatment of illness were mentioned by Dr J. W. Craven, medical superintendent of the Auckland Hospital# in an address at the University College. He said charms had been used for centuries in the belief that they were a safeguard against ills, and even to-day there were women who wore amber necklaces, thinking that, they lessened rheumatism. : - , Ash Pans, Log Box Linings, and all MetaJ. Goods made -to order. —At Dickinsons, Ltd., Specialists, 245 Princes tsreet..« “It is only a personal opinion, blit I do not think the great bridge has improved Sydney at all,” said Mr E, y. Chaffey, who returned to Christchurch tha other day after spending four wefks in Australia. ‘‘There used to be a larga fleet of ferry bo.ats. cn the harbour,” ha said, ‘‘but the motor traffic tha bridge has tied them up. That, Vene-tian-like charm of the harbour has disappeared, and in its place is a great piect of meccano .work.” : ’ On their way to work the other morning Gisborne business people found tha* the footpaths in the town area and even beyond the limits of' the business section, where a good surface was provided,_ hao been made use of as an advertising medium for a public protest meeting t® be held in connection with, unemploymen* problems. At almost every street corner (says the Poverty Bay Herald) _ notice# were chalked on the attention to the meeting and calling upon the people of the town to unite to pu» down “ starvation and slavery.» Everything ot the best .at tbo 1 rmet of Wales Hotel, Princes street, Dunedin.— Chaa. Hinchdiff,, proprietor... After having been merely an ornamental plant for at least years, » banana tree at Baines terrace, New Plymouth, is bearing fruit. The bananas are about two inches long. , The trea blossomed about four months ago, in the middle of winter, and .now tha flowers are giving place to fruit, which, with the coming of warm weather, ara expected to ripen. Though there area* least a dozen banana trees at Baines terrace this is the only one to bear iruit, , The waterfront at Devonport, whera many vachtsand launches (says the New Zealand Herald) are drawn for tha winter, presented a scene of great activity during : last week-end. Several ot tha larger boats Were being burnt off, wfliif the work of pumicing and scraping had been commenced on most of the smalm craft. With the fine weather the worff is now well advanced, and an early season is anticipated. . Ladies and gentlemen, prepare, you may be sick some day—Wm. Waterloo,” Caversham; supplies the best. . ■ Observing that a nasal tone had caused loss of marks to many of the competitors in- singing classes, Mrs Inez-Wright, judga of ■ the musical: section at • the Gisborne Competitions,' stated that there was a distinct difference between nasal tone ami nasal resonance. The judge discussed this difference briefly, pointing: out that the great singers made much use of nasal resonance, the method employed being to fill the air cells at the back of the nose with air, and to create vibration there. This was not “singing through.the nose, to use the common expression, but; i« gave power and expression to the voice. In creating this vibration or nasal resonance, singers did not drop the sort palate and divert the sound-waves through the nasal passages;, it was this dropping of the soft palate which caused ’* singing through the nose.” Last' week ot Winter Sale; Further;teductiona on balance of ail winter good*. See special window displays. -Nay. good* at less than sale prices. Call esfly. A. F. Glieyne and Co.. . . . . > “It -is doubtful if the first boat wail a dug out log, as is commonly presumed,, said Mr L. R. R. Denny, in the course o£ an address to .. the Christchurch Society for Imperial Culture the other night, “ Ah far as we know, the Egyptians were the first people to, use. boats, and m Egypt there were no trees, so that • wa may assume beyond, reasonable doubt that the first boat was made of skma stretched over a light framework. Persons in the audience who laughed during a bassoon solo in the woodwind instrument class at the Hawera Competitions festival were criticised by the judg® of music (Mr E. Varley Hudson). . it is .not cricket,” said Mr ■ .for it undoubtedly affected the lad s plajmg of a very difficult instrument. The bassoon is regarded by conductors as the clown of the orchestra, but it is noneTha less valuable for all that. Laughter during a performance of this sort at a competitions festival is uncalled for, and -L hope Ido not hear it again. Mr Hudson’s criticism was endorsed by tno audience in a round of applause. Spring time is evident at Grays Big Store, Milton. Smart Hats and Frocks, Dress Materials, and Shoes; Seeds .pd Garden Requisites all make a deligntnu ° Blackbirds (says the New Zealand Herald) are nesting unusually early Auckland this year, particularly in tha TamaM district. During the recent inclement weather one blackbird was seen working busily on a nest. 'Another blackbird with white feather*; in its wings has been observed at Kommarama for the third year in succession. A few years ago one with a partially white head was seen in Albert Park during two consecutive summers. The song ot the chaffinch, which is welcomed in England' as an infallible sign of the passing of winter, has been heard frequently m the Tamaki district recently, but the less pleasant sign of the advent of spring w the appearance of white butterflies in increasing numbers. “Is this country £II,OOO better off now, through having debarred five-year-old children from attendance at school 7 A asked Mr N. A. Ingram, secretary of tha Wellington School Committees’ Association, in an address in Christchurch tha other night. He said that the National Expenditure Adjustment Commission calculated that £II,OOO would be saved by the exclusion. The change had brought chaos to the country, and the Govern-, merit's sole aim in the last few years appearei to be to balance the Budget spective of other aspects. • , \ Coffee for breakfast, fresh and fragrantd Ask your grocer for the Bourbon. • brand. Instructions in every tin. . Prepared by “ Durie’s,” coffee specialists, oOctagon, Dunedin... An interesting incident connected with the early days of Hastings was narrated by Mr George Ebbett at a .farewell ceremony at the Hastings Police Station to Senior Sergeant D.’J.- O’Neill and Sergeant G. F. Bouiscb. About 40 years ago the officer in charge announced publicly and through the press that he. was > going to put a stop to the Kew Year s . Eve ; custom of gate-removing, said Mr Ebbett. , No doubt he was moved by a high sense of duty, but the fact remains that his, edict was not popular. On that night he and the force paraded the streets conscientiously, but upon his peturn he, found that the. entrance to the station bouse was completely blocked by an outbuilding that had been moved from around the corner. “It proved a goodsized job for a gang of men from the borough staff to remove the building, commented Mr Ebbett, and though [ personally was not a party to the incident I have a suspicion that a certain person holding a responsible position im Hastings to-day was.” . If advantage you bare taken, i And your wife feela rather sick; Try a salve of Hitchon’s bacon, Half a roll will do the trick...