NEWS OF THE DAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26367, 23 January 1947, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Menace to Tyres The current criticism of the lamentable condition of the roads, more particularly in the sections of the roads between tram tracks, in the city prompted two taxi drivers to bring a prize exhibit to the Daily Times office yesterday. It was a rusted sliver of rail, almost six feet in length and about half an inch thick, with a sharp, jagged edge on one side. They had found it, they stated, at the Stock Exchange. They had noticed a few inches of the rusted section jutting out from the rail, and when they went to remove it the whole length peeled away. Both the drivers commented bitterly on the condition of the surface of city roads, and recounted a dismal tale of punctures and broken springs. Boring Operations at Kaitangata Operations on the bore which resulted in a 14-feet seam of coal being found at the Kaitangata mine are still in progress, and it is reported that there is every prospect of finding t a further seam below the main seam. Boring operations are being continued in other parts of the property. Coins In The Slot The urge whch impels even a normally thrifty citizen to d«3p pennies into slots resulted in a yield of 700 pennies in one weighing machine in Invercargill in a fortnight recently. Included in the takings were a few penny stamps, dropped in by honest but optimistic passers-by, a few threepenny pieces and some florins —reckless expenditure which yielded no return to the investor. Burglars Steal Safe A heavy safe on wheels, containing £SOO in bank notes, was wheeled out of the Princes wharf office of the Auckland Launch and Towboat Company on Tuesday night and carried away by thieves, probably using a motor truck. The safe was discovered yesterday morning at the entrance to Eden Park. All the money had been taken from the safe, which had a gaping hole in its bottom. Two employees of the company are heavy losers, about half the £SOO being their money. Baths Not in Use “ It is a disgrace to the city that the Kaikorai swimming baths should be allowed to lie idle,” said the president, Mr D. F. Watson, at the fortnightly meeting of the Otago Swimming Centre last night. Mr E. Sonntag said that the Kaikorai ratepayers had taken the matter up, but they could not obtain the services of a'-caretaker for the amount the City Council was prepared to pay, and as a result the baths were not in use and were deteriorating in condition. Paper Famine The shortage of brown paper and paper bags has developed into a major problem for business houses in the Dominion, particularly those dealing in commodities which cannot very well be taken away unwrapped. At least one large Auckland store has exhausted its stock of paper and the counter assistants are impelled to present customers with the ultimatum of “ take it unwrapped or leave it.” In other establishments girls are struggling to parcel up bulky articles with short pieces of paper. Criticism Supported A visitor to Dunedin recently offered the criticism that the city is given a deserted appearance in a booklet of views published for circulation overseas. The same observation is made in a letter received by a Dunedin firm from a London business man to whom a copy of the booklet was sent. While he describes the publication as “ charming,” he goes on to say: “The writer is impressed by the wonderful views with hardly a person in sight to enjoy them. Apart from the beach scene at St. Clair and the winter sports at Naseby, only seven people appear in all the pictures.”

“ Looking for Trouble ” “The number of boys cycling who ride without either hand on the handlebars is jvery considerable; but when it comes to crossing intersections riding in this manner then the cyclist is looking for trouble,” said Mr W. R. Lascelles when appearing for the Christchurch City Council in charges of breaches of traffic regulations heard before Mr Raymond Ferner, S.M., at the Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. In the long list of charges heard it was unusual to find only - two offenders charged with riding unlighted cycles at night; but eight were dealt with for riding cycles without having either hand on the handlebars.

New Medical School Structural work on the new Medical School building m King street has been finished for some months. The neuchatel asphalt roof is completed, but the prolonged unfavourable weather has prevented the completion of the exterior plastering, and shipping troubles have been responsible for a delay in the window glazing. Half of the interior plastering has been finished, and pipe lines and ducts for all plumbing' services are also completed. One wing of the first floor, containing laboratories and classrooms for the pathology department, will be open for the commencement of the term in March.

Seed Testing Work Because the 1947 seed harvest in the South Island is at least two weeks late, the Government seed-testing station at Palmerston North has been given an opportunity of overtaking targe arrears of work from 1946. To this end the staff has been considerably increased, and the new director, Mr E. O. C. Hyde, is hopeful that the station will now be able to cope with the work in hand. Acute staff shortages last year resulted in the station being some thousands of units behind schedule. New equipment ordered two years ago, such as microscopes from America and germinators from Australia, have so far failed to arrive, and the lack of suitable equipment has greatly handicapped the staff. Six of the senior girls from the station have been sent to Christchurch and Timaru to make early tests of the new season’s seed crops before they are cut. New Zealanders’ Complacency

“A New Zealander returning from abroad is struck by how very complacent we all are here,” said Mr Michael Macdonald, an officer of the colonial service in Nigeria, who is at present in Christchurch on furlough. “Everyone thinks it is a grand little country—we have reason for this —but I do feel we are just a ltitle too pleased with ourselves.” Mr Macdonald said that New Zealanders rather regarded their country as the hub of the Empire instead of just the tail. New Zealanders had done very well wherever they had been, however, and it was not often that a New Zealander let his country down. Nearly always New Zealanders were a credit to their country. They were very highly regarded overseas, and in the main the regard was justified, but that was no reason for “ getting stuck up about ourselves.”

Poor Honey Season For the third season in succession. Taranaki beekeepers are facing a disappinting honey crop. There are, however, dim- prospects that, because of the late flowering of clovers, pohutukawas, and blackberry plants, as well as the delayed blooming of flowers, a moderate yield may yet be harvested this year. In a normal season the honey of Taranki is gathered in January. The adverse spring of this season created such backward conditions that the usual routine has had to be put back several,weeks, and optimistic beekeepers hope against hope some sort of a return will be available in February. Another factor that has tended towards a reduced yield this season is found in the experience of many beekeepers, who have suffered considerable losses in the bee population of their hives. Bees have ranged far to collect honey, and in many cases have been swept away by winds to such an extent that they have been unable to find their way back to the hives.