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Otago Witness, Issue 3897, 20 November 1928, Page 51

New Zealand, if it is desired to keep within its borders highly trained and skilled scientific workers, will have to see that they are paid adequately for their services (says the Evening Post). Such is the demand for these workers that other countries are only too ready to entice them away, offering for their services more than the Dominion pays. There have been several such losses recently, and yet another is hinted at in the report presented to the last meeting of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. Referring to noxious week control, the report says:—“Work on noxious weeds control is going steadily and hopefully forward. Unfortunately, there is a danger of New Zealand losing the services of another prominent entomological worker, who has been offered much higher remuneration by another dominion.”

It was said by Sir Douglas Clawson that the winds averaged 50 miles an hour during the year at his Antarctic base,” said Commander R. E. Byrd, addressing the New Zealand Club, Wellington, at luncheon on Thursday, “but he said that at times he believed the gales reached 200 miles an hour. There were no means of obtaining accurate records of such velocities in Sir Douglas’s hands, but I know that if he said the winds reached 200 miles an hour they did.” With such bales to contend against (says the Evening Post), it is easy to see the wisdom of Commander Byrd’s plan of laying down depots every 20 miles, with bases every 100 miles, along the main routes of exploration. These will be laid out by dog teams, assisted by ecouting planes. The main depots will be stocked with food for six months.

A young man, a resident of South Canterbury, who has the misfortune to be both deaf and dumb, but who is nevertheless a good worker, was employed recently on a sheep station on work which necessitated the use of a chisel (reports the Timaru Herald). A piece of the material which he was cutting flew up and struck one of his eyes, which was so injured that despite all that could be done by way'of treatment in hospital, it was found necessary to remove the eye.