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Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 59, Issue 4186, 15 September 1939, Page 4

Although New Zealand already stands very high among the telephone using countries of the world, the demand for this service is not slackening off. In four months of the current financial year, to July 30, the net increase in exchange connections throughout the Dominion has been 3092, including 887 additions in July. The total number of connections is 160,697, and the wide use of the telephone for social or domestic purposes is shown by the fact that 72 per cent., of 115,702, are residential telephones. Business connections, however, have shared equally in the rapid advances which have constantly recorded for several years.

“For many years investigations into the composition of rubber have been going on ,and to-day there are at least four synthetic rivals in the field,” said Dr H. G. Denham, Professor of Chemistry at Canterbury University College, addressing the Geographical Association of Canterbury. “However, there seems little danger of serious competition, except under certain unusual circumstances, such as exist in the U.S.S.R. The main reason for this is that those in charge of the rubber industry have shown themselves possessed of real vision and have spared no effort to maintain the position of the natural product. As a result of biological research the yield an acre from plantations planted with the best available, stock has risen from 4001 b to 12001 b. Every step is being taken to ensure that, in spite of the effect of such factors as the age of the tree, the season of the year, the rainfall and the soil, the biological liquid which flows from the tree is as nearly constant in composition as if it were made in a chemical factory.”