NEWS OF THE DAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25625, 28 August 1944, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

“ rpHE Menace of Soil Erosion in New 1 Zealand ”is the title of the first of a series od bulletins which are being published by the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Council. The chairman, Mr W. L. Newnham, in a brief preface to the first publication, comments that the purpose is to “ prove to all thoughtful New Zealanders that one of the most important needs in the whole of their national economy is the saving of the soil which yields their living.” The illustrations give striking evidence of devastation wrought by erosion due to abuse, misuse, or mismanagement of natural assets. A typical passage from . the bulletin reads: “The vast, barren areas of Central Otago, scarred and atrophied by soil erosion and partially clothed with anaemic vegetation, bear mute but startling testimony to the ravages of man. Within a century most of this land has been transformed from waving, virile tussock grassland to dead earth and grey stones—an indelible epitaph to man’s misuse of this land. Rationing in Australia The opinion that the Australian system of rationing clothing was not as satisfactory as that in use in New Zealand was expressed by Mr R. M. Barker, secretary of the Auckland Provincial Retailers’ Association, who returned from Sydney by Tasman Empire Airways flying boat on Friday. The worst feature the Australian system was that clothing coupons expired at the end of 12 months. Storekeepers said that in the last month of the year there was one mad rush, with people buying anything at all to use up all their coupons. Dunedin Hospitality Bowlers from the North Island who visited Dunedin for the New Zealand bowling championship tournament last January had warmly praised the hospitality of the Dunedin people said Mr J. J. Davis, when reporting to the Dunedin Bowling Centre on Saturday night on the annual meeting of the New Zealand Bowling Council, which was held in Auckland recently. Mr Davis added that the courtesy and helpfulness of tram conductors and taxi-drivers to the strangers in the city had received particularly favourable mention. Directions to North Island The directing of men and women from the South Island to work in the North Island was condemned at a meeting of the South Island Local Bodies Executive in Christchurch, when it was contended that married men directed north often sent for their families and made a new home, thus being lost to the South Island. The matter was raised by the Mayor of Greymouth (Mr F. A, Kitchingham), who drew attention to a report that harsh treatment was being meted out to girls in the Greymouth district by levering them out of permanent positions to take work in Wellington tobacco factories. “ The secretary of the local Shop Assistants’ Union told me that there was no surplus of girls available for direction. He could place 13 girls to senior positions in Greymouth,” said Mr Kitchingham. Novel Baking Oven

Gazing into a brilliantly lit tunnel honeycombed with electric bulbs and reflectors, visitors to a factory at Masterton saw the first infra-red baking oven in operation in the Dominion. A train of locally-made refrigerators passed slowly through the tunnel, and when. they emerged the recently applied enamel was hard baked in six minutes instead of 15 hours by the old process. The infra-red process was developed in America for the mass painting of army jeeps. The process has been extended to tanks, etc., and the tank drivers by sitting on padded seats are able to drive through the tunnels in comfort, though the metal of the tanks gets very hot. It is possible to walk through the tunnel without undue discomfort, though metal is raised to a high temperature as the steel absorbs the infra-red rays to a much greater extent than the human body. The president of the Masterton Chamber of Commerce, Mr J. H. Cunningham, said the factory had produced more than 400 refrigerators for the forces in many parts of the world. Larger State Houses

1 A Government scheme for the l provision of larger houses for families £ has been initiated in Auckland. At i present 70 are planned, and a contract l for a block of eight at Avondale has ! already been let. The homes are to > be constructed of materials removed \ from the vacated American naval hos- ' pital at Avondale. In this respect the 1 scheme 'is a continuation of the work > being carried out at Western Springs, • where the Works Department, with ’ materials from the same source, is : erecting housing units for the Auck- ' land City Council. Four, five, and six bedrooms will be provided in the ' various homes, which will be fully self- ’ contained. They will be built as single ' units, compared with the City Council multiple-unit blocks. An officer of | the Works Department said that, because of the nature of the the houses were planned as permanent structures and not merely as temporary accommodation. The buildings will be placed on sections owned by the . Housing Department in various parts of the city. It is hoped that the first houses will become available in about five weeks’ time. Old Violin Sold for £B2

An old Italian violin made by Joseph Guanieri was sold at an Auckland auction on Friday for £B2 10s. The purchaser was Mr J. Gunn. The instrument was in good condition, and when tested prior to the sale gave forth a fine rich tone. The sale was of special interest because of a puolished report from Sydney describing how a professional man who had gone into a second-hand shop to purchase an electric razor bought a Guanerius violin for £2, and the instrument was later valued at over £SOO. The violin sold in Auckland had no known history, and no certificate was given with it but the maker’s name was clearly legible. If it is genuine, it is believed to be worth a considerable sum. The Sydney violin bore the brand of Pietro Guanieri, ,a close relative of Joseph Guanieri, who with Stradivarius is regarded as the greatest of all violin makers. While less carefully finished than the Stradivarius, the Guanierius violins are remarkable for the boldness of their design and their powerful tone, so that the finest of them have been preferred by some of the great players to those of Stradivarius himself. Paganini habitually played on one.

Petrol and Rubber When the war in Europe ended some relaxation in the general oil fuel position seemed almost inevitable, said the Chief Oil Fuel Controller and Commissioner of Transport, Mr G. L. Laurenson, commenting at New Plymouth upon the petrol and tyre situation. The chances that New Zealand would share in the additional supplies would be good. While the fighting continued in any quarter of the globe certain restrictions, based upon the demands of the armed forces, must, however, remain. The petrol requirements in Europe for the operations in progress in France were immense, Mr Laurenson pointed out, and as long as those demands had to be met it was inevitable that restricted supplies only would be available for civilian consumption. Coupled with the petrol supply situation was the shortage of raw rubber. Mr Laurenson said that when in Australia recently he was told by the Federal Supply Minister, Mr J A Beasley, who had returned from the United States, that synthetic rubber was not yet sufficiently developed for use in heavy duty tyres. Before the war 90 per cent, of the Dominion rubber requirements were met by the production of Malaya. Until Malaya was freed, no great improvement could be expected.

For rings, watches, and jewellery, try Peter Dick, jewellers, 59 Princes street. Dunedin. —Advt. Pix Cafe, 18 Bond street (opp. Express Co.), for delightful luncheons and afternoon teas. The Pix is different.—Advt.