NEWS IN BRIEF

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22628, 20 July 1935, Page 28

NEWS IN BRIEF

A blow-out beneath one of the flumes carrying water for the _pout ’Baths at Whakarewarewa caused the closing of the baths to the public recently. Thick, oily mud was thrown up by the blow-out for some considerable time, and while the activity continued it was impossible to approach to within some yards of_ the spot. However, after a time the activity subsided, and with the assistance of the Tourist Department’s drainage engineer a correct mixing of hot and cold water was again secured. Speaking to the members of the Auckland Travel Club recently on Java, Professor J. N. Van der Ley said that of the languages spoken there Mglay was the easiest to learn. With 200 words one could get on very well. A conversation could not be carried on along highly spiritual lines, but it would be sufficient for the home or for buying at shops. In the Malay language there were neither conjugations nor plurality, the plural being the repetition of the particular word.

The fact that in New Zealand, with its high yield of milk, there was only a comparatively email internal consumption of the product was referred to by Dr F. H. M'Dowall, of the Dairy Research Institute, when sneaking to the Palmerston North Royal Society. In America he had seen wagons draw up in the cities with loads of milk for immediate consumption, and a bottle of milk was more readily sought than even a cup of tea. Professor W. Riddet stated that he believed it indisputable that more people died from lack of than from the harmful germs with which it was sometimes contaminated. Look again !—There are not two Waterloo Hotels. Just one —viz., Wm. Crossan’s, at Caversham. A taxi-car proprietor in New Plymouth was very surprised when two almost_ new tyres on his car blew out almost simultaneously. When this happened he took the precaution of examining all his tyres. He found that the cause of the damage was the slashing of the tyres with some sham instrument. He made the startling, discovery that the other two tyres had also been slashed. The damage was estimated at about £l6.

A ribbon-fish nearly eight feet in length was caught by fishermen on a launch off Makara recently. It is being sent to Professor Kirk, of Victoria University College. The ribbon-fish is a deep-water creature, reminiscent of the frost-fish; it is long, narrow, and eel-like, of a beautiful silver lustre, with scarlet fins and scarlettipped rays attached to its head, for the purpose, it is surmised, of attracting its prey. The silver colours can be rubbed off easily; it looks much like wet aluminium paint The bright colours fade soon after death. The fish belongs to the genus Regalecus, of which several species are found in New Zealand waters.

“ Now. that is very interesting.” remarked Mr M. E. Lyons, Nationalist candidate in the Lyttelton by-election, when a questioner at Woolston asked: “ What about Prohibition? ” "This is the twentyninth election speech that I have made in this contest,” Mr Lyons continued, ‘'and it is the first time that that question has been asked. It is a question which 10, 15, or 20 years ago was the very first to be flung at a candidate. But it is one which has been definitely referred to the people in a plebiscite, and I am content to leave it to the people.” The meeting appeared to be well satisfied with this answer.

The long-standing trouble experienced by the Eden Park authorities of finding many spectators commanding a view of the playing area from the make-shift “grandstands” erected on private property above the advertising boards on the Kingsland side of the ground is considered to be increasing. There was an unusually large patronage of these unauthorised vantage points when the Indian hockey team played Auckland, and club Rugby was also in progress. The prevention of the practice has been a source of discussion by the authorities for a considerable time, and renewed efforts to bring it to an end are expected in the near future. Just landed. latest designs in English Striking Clocks; prices from £3. Timepieces from 26« 6d.—Peter Dick jewellers and opticians. 490 Moray place. Dunedin... The Hawke’s Bay Hospital Board has been informed bv the Minister of Health (Sir Alexander Young), in reply to the board’s request for a grant of £20.000 to complete the hospital administration block and other needs which are lacking, through destruction of buildings and equipment in the earthquake, that in view of the measure of State assistance already granted in respect of earthquake damage, further financial assistance from the Consolidated Fund cannot be granted. The refusal.- it is stated, has caused great disappointment in Napier, where the prospects were considered favourable, and it is likely that further representations will be made to the Government. Good progress (says the Christchurch Press) has been made with the foundations of the new railway bridge over the Ashburton River. Thirty-one of the required 33 concrete piers have been completed, and the foundation work will be finished by July 27. Ihe length of the new bridge will be 1155 feet, the pieifi being 35 feet apart. The new bridge is being constructed 25 feet downstream from the present structure, and a deviation will, have to be made in the railway line. Hope’s Construction Company. Auckland are the contractors for the foundation work. The steel structure of the bridge is being made at the Railways Department’s workshops at Addington, and the bridge will be completed by the end of the year. Members of the South African cricket team early in the tour visited a cricket bat factory in Woolwich and tested a new robot bowling machine patented by Messrs Gradidge, Ltd. It is a catapult contraption, and delivers balls at every speed, leg breaks, off breaks, googlies, and ail kinds of deliveries are guaranteed. Herbert Wade, the skipper of the team, was first “ in.” The first delivery from the machine came at express speed and shattered his stumps. All the members of the team decided that Larwood could have nothing on this new device.

A desert waste of sand that was gradually engulfing pasture lands as it moved in and over the coastal hills along the ocean seaboard from Port Waikato northward is now largely planted with grass. The transformation is the outcome of work put in during recent winters by single men in relief camps in the Waiuku district. Another old Wairarapa landmark has been removed, this being the massive bluegiim tree which has stood at the entrance to the Featherston railway station for over half a century. This huge tree —one of the few remaining links with early Wairarapa settlement —was planted some 55 years ago by Mr John Stephenson, the first station master at Featherston, and was originally one of a belt of such trees running along the station boundary. Reference to the distinction attained by Mr A. H. M'Lintock by the acceptance of three of his etchings at the British Empire Academy Exhibition held in London during May and June, was made at a meeting of the Board of Managers of the Timaru Technical College last week (reports the Timaru Herald). Ihe principal (Mr F. L. N. Tuck), in his report, said that Mr M’Lintock’s work had been appreciated at a number of New Zealandexhibitions, and be was to he congratulated on receiving wider recognition. Mr A. Stead elso referred to Mr M'Lintock s success, and a congratulatory motion was c carried unanimously. Attention is drawn to Grays Winter j Sale, wdiich opens this week. Attractive price lists have been prepared, and sent prospective buyers in Milton district... A sensational bolt took place when a horse was being unharnessed from a disc in a Chinese garden at Tauranga. The animal took fright, bolted with chains and harness attached, crashed through a fence on to the road in the vicinity of the citrus factory, and crashed into a car, which was driven by Mr H. W. Papps, badly smashing the mudguards and windscreen of the car. No one was injured. The horse, which continued its mad career, was eventually caught at Gate Pa. It was practically uninjured. A new pet was presented recently to the children of the. Governor-General, Viscount Gahvay. and Viscountess Galway. Before the departure of their Excellencies from Auckland, the children, with Lady Galwav, visited the Auckland Canary and Cage Bird Club’s annual show. They were present for about half an hour inspecting the exhibits, and w'ere _ particularly interested in the budgerigars. The children accepted one of these small birds from the club as a pet. Grandism (2(326): A really good 3-star Cognac Brandy, brilliantly clear, because of its purity and quality; sold in fi ye sizes of bottles; 12s to 25... A statement that it would cost between £6O and £7O to clean the windows in the front of the Seddon Memorial Technical College building in Welles Bystreet east (says the Auckland Star) was made at a recent meeting o' the college board of managers. It was explained by the principal that it would be.necessary to erect scaffolding, and that in the past the cost had always been considered prohibitive. Hosing had been tried as a means of getting over the difficulty, but the result had not\ been worth the trouble. During a discussion on the danger ot barberry spreading if not kept under proper control, at the monthly meeting oi the Horowhenua County Council, Cr A. J. Gimblett remarked that he . had paid £1 for his original plants, but be would willingly now pay £lO to see them all go. The chairman (Cr G. A. Monk) pointed , out that where barberry was grown for protective purposes the only way to prevent its spreading was by the off the flowers. He had known cases of birds • carrying the seed fully a mile. . The planet Venus, now shining promt- , nently in the north-western evening skjr, is almost at its maximum brightness. So great is its brilliance, that it is even visible in daylight, and has recently been seen by a number of persons not expecting to see a star in daylight. Venus will remain a prominent object for some weeks, eventually drawing too, close to the sun for observation. • Anew type of projection machine for use in illustrated lectures has been acquired by the Board of Managers of the Timaru Technical College (states the Timaru Herald). The machine. an_ epidiascope, operates on the principle of reflec- . tion in contra-distinction to the baloptican, which worked on a principle of projection. The new machine enables any flat object to be reflected on the screen, and the pages of a book may be screened with ease. In addition, the epidiascope is equipped to show the ordinary lantern slides. The machine is the first to be installed in Timaru.

Flies bring disease. Keep your windows and house clear of these troublesome pests by using » our fly bath*. Quality meat safes stocked in ail sizes.— Dickinson’s, Limited, Sheetmetal Workers, 245 Princes street... While visiting Temuka last week a resi- ■ dent of Oamaru spent some time near the railway yards, and realised later that he had lost £4O in £5 notes. He made a careful search the following morning, but found no trace. returning south he revisited the spot where he had been sitting on a loading bank, and _here he found the roll of notes not far from the Denmark street crossing, which is one of the main thoroughfares of the town. The opinion that grape-growing and wine-making were at the present time among the few profitable industries connected with the land in New Zealand was expressed by a number of those engaged in these occupations in the Auckland district. The vineyards of Te Kauwhata and Henderson areas now present their least attractive appearance, but the cellars of the wine makers are stacked high with the maturing produce of the past four seasons, and there are manv indications of a well-established industry with great possibilities for the future. Turnbull’s Sample Room, Middlemarch, Saturday, 20tb (late night), Monday 22nd. Tuesday 23rd, Wednesday 24th. Special showing of ; all Winter Goods at Sale Prices. Call early. Don’t be disappointed—A. F. Cheyne and C 0... The energetic measures taken by the Department of Agriculture' to get rid of fireblight in Canterbury are bringing satisfactory results. The department has about 15 part-time inspectors who are at work throughout the year, and the whole of the city and suburbs is inspected thoroughly for traces of this dreaded orchard disease. As a result of these inspections hundreds of trees have been destroyed, and the disease is now well under control. For the second time in recent months the Taradale Town Board has had its horse impounded by its own ranger, for which impounding fees have to be paid (says the Napier Daily Telegraph). At last week’s meeting of the board the clerk (Mr W. G. Jarvis) pointed out that the fact that the horse got oat of the board’s paddock was not in any way due to any fault of the board’s officials. On the recent night in question the horse was put in the paddock in the afternoon as usual, and when required later the same night it was not there. Mr Jarvis said that it was avident that someone had acted carelessly in leaving the gate open. The board decided that the gate in future is to be kept locked. Hot Coffee! Fresh and fragrant. Only real coffee contains the virtue and lifegiving .energy of this natural breakfast beverage. Insist on getting the “ Bourbon ” brand... Among the lucky people on the Trentham racecourse on Saturday last was a woman who dropped a £5 _note and had it returned to tier. The finders of the note were two girls who. with commendable thoughtfulness, waited on the spot on the off chance that the owner of the note would return to look for it. She did so, and was handed her money. A gift of 10s was smilingly declined by the finders.

“The lifting of a ban on smoking by women at Holloway College, Loudon, resulted in a decrease in smoking, whijh had formerly gone on surreptitiously,” said Dr Helen Simpson, a graduate of terbury College and the University of London, when asked to comment on the I decision of the professorial board at Auckland University College not to allow women to smoke in the common room. “ I can think of possible reasons why smoking should be forbidden to all students,” she added, “but I cannot imagine any which would apply only to women. Of course, I do not know whether smoking has more harmful effects on women than on men.” All honour to the Kiltie lads By Coll : n Campbell taken. In vain the Russians tame in squads, They lacked their Hitchon's bacon...