NEWS OF THE DAY.

Stratford Evening Post, Issue 8, 31 July 1930, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Keen Territorials. Keenness to serve in their old units in a voluntary capacity during the suspension of compulsory military training is being shown ;by Territorials in Auckland.

Chinese Gooseberries. The first stocks of Chinese gooseberries offered for sale in the retail, market in Auckland attracted considerable interest in, a city fruit shop last week. The fruit, which is about, the size of a passion fruit and is covered with short, fine Fair, tastes like a mixture of gooseberry, black currant and apple of good flavours.

The Teach Leads. An analysis prepared by the Empire Marketing Board shows the peach to be Britain’s most popular tinned fruit, with the pear and the pineapple close behind, and the apricot a poor fourth. This will surprise most people, the general im-

pression being that pineapple, beloved of the young, would lead the way. That green figs and prunes are in small demand is not so surprising. They are under suspicion of being medicinal. A Roaring Match, When counsel becomes engrossed in a cross-examination, and a witness is inclined to be excitable, sparks begin to fly (says an Auckland exchange). At the height of a cross-examination in the Arbitration Court, Mr Justice Frazer remarked : “I’m afraid if you two go on roaring at each other you will make me deaf.” Counsel for plaintiff in the action suggested that it might be better if he stdbd further back, but His Honour replied: “I will let you go nearer if you don’t roar.”

Effects of Snowstorm. The snowstorm that struck the country between Taupo and Napier a few clays ago had some unusual features (writes a correspondent). The weight on th e telegraph wires canted over the poles for more than, a mile, and several miles of line were damaged. Curiously, the only pole that was broken was composed of two railway rails bolted together. Perhaps the cold made the iron brittle. The wood poles bent over with the weight of snow, so that they cannot be (climbed, and have to be practically re-erect-ed. It has interfered wtith the telephone communication with Napier, but other routes are* ■ available. A large pine tree at the Rangitaiki Hotel was pretty well stripped of its branches. As no other trees there haA r e ever been stripped, it proves the unusual weight that wires will hold. A camp of ten men has been formed at Rangitaiki to repair the line.

East, and West. A rather unique gathering was held at Wanganui on Monday* evening when Mr Harry Wong, who has just taken unto himself a bride, entertained a few of his European friends at a dinner party. Mr and Mrs Wong received their guests and both made happy little speeches of welcome after which the dinner was proceeded with. The food was all prepared in Chinese style and the varied and mysterious looking dishes were all sampled by the assembled guests who showed their appreciation of the cooking in no uncertain manner. Any doubts the djiiers had as to what to eat were quickly dispelled by the waiters who served minced goose and rice with chopsticks in truly Oriental style. Our reporter sampled everything from Chinese mussels and mushrooms to I Chinese whisky which would make a bootlegger turn green with envy. Various speeches and toasts were then proceeded with, after which the guests departed, wondering whether the unusual dishes would affect their digestive organs.

An Unprofitable Boat.

At a meeting of the Stratford Boxing Association, held last n,iglit7 it was x-eported that a loss of about £3O had been made on the DonovanShack bout. It was decided not to send a delegate to the annual meeting of the New Zealand Boxing Association. Motor Taxation. At the office of the Stratford branch of the South Taranaki Automobile Association there are on view diagrams prepared by the North and South Island Motor Uniions contrasting l the taxation On moto r vehicles with other forms taxation. A Dangerous Time. " A Stratford motorist who was last night coming to Stratford from the south, between 5.30 and 6 p.m., reports that over a very short stretch, of road he met a motor bicycle without a tail light, a motor car with only one head-light, a push bicycle with no lights at all, and a bus in a similar condition. The motorist, points out that the haltlight which follows, sunset is a highly dangerous period, when vehicles on the road are hard to die-, tinguish, and the best lights are required.

Mysterious Discovery. 1 ’ ' The discovery of a length of 200 ft of plaited flax rope, such as was used by the Maoris before the coming of the white man, at the spot near Wairoa where a moa skeleton was found recently, has caused considerable interest. The rope is very old. but, of course, was not contemporaneous with the moa. There

are all sorts of conjectures as to what it was used for. Probably "it was left there by au exploring party, or else was used as a means of escape for hard-pressed tribesmen In the Pakeha-Maori War.

Radio Helped Kira. There is at present an Australian receiving treatment at the Government Sanatorium in Rotorua who had spent hundreds of pounds in varir ous parts of Australia with unsatisfactory results. After five weeks at Rotorua he is better than he has been for seven years, and shortly expects to he entirely .cured. What brought him to Rotorua was a short' talk by someone from a Sydney wireless station. This so impressed him that he decided to give it a trial, with the foregoing Rotorua Chronicle. Adoption of Children. That there are* plenty of people in Christchurch who are willing to adopt children is the experience of a local Magistrate. He stated to the Times that hardly a week passes without his having to go several times through the necessary formalities iu connection with such a proceeding. “The people who offer themselves,” he said, “are for the most part people well settled in married life, but without; children of their own. Thus tlie children, who are mostly illegitimate or those of very poor parents, are much better off as the result of the change.” It was better that illegitimate children should be given the benefit of adoption fcito good families than that the parents should he forced to enter into a marriage for, which in many cases they were unprepared. , .

The First Opossums. A reader wished to know when th e opossum was introduced into New Zealand. According to the Hem, Geo. M. Thomson, one of the leading naturalists in New Zealand, it was first brought to this country from Australia just over 60 years

ago. It is said that th e first opossums were liberated at Riverton, Southland. About the same time, and again in 1876, the Aucklatad Acclimatisation Society and Sjfr ■, George Grey introduced a considerable number from. Australia and

at one time Kawau was overrun, with them. The Wellington Society

liberated 19 Tasmanian black ooasums in the ranges behind Parapar'aumu in 1892, and £h 0 Otago Society liberated some silver-grey specimens from Gippsland in 1895, and let them loose in the Gatlins district. According to Mr Thomson, the a'aimal has increased in most wooded parts of the Dominion.