NEWS OF THE DAY

Taranaki Daily News, 8 February 1935, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

One of the young women of the touring J. C. Williamson Company had her first taste of kumeras at New Plymouth yesterday. Her diet does not include potatoes, and as she tasted the tempting new vegetable she was quick to point out that it was really quite different.

Injuries to Jockey. The injuries received by T. Williams, the jockey on Gowanlea when it fell in the Rahotu Hurdles at the New Plymouth races yesterday, were not serious. He suffered abrasions and possibly a fractured skull, but this was not definite last night. He is progressing satisfactorily.

High School Boys in Barracks. The New Plymouth High School boys went into military barracks yesterday under the command of Major V. E. Kerr. Early in the morning the companies marched in formation to the Agricultural Hall, where cadet uniforms were issued. No routine drill or rifle practice was done. To-day the training will begin in earnest, and it will continue until the end of next week. Tyres Deflated.

A childish prank that is common enough in junior schools was played yesterday at the New Plymouth Central School. At least a dozen pupils who came out of school at the end of the morning found that one tyre of their bicycles had been completely deflated. A good deal of hurried borrowing of pumps went on before the vehicles were in commission again. Ohura Loan Conversion.

The Ohura County Council at its meeting on Wednesday confirmed the resolution passed at a special meeting last month relative to the consolidation and conversion of the county loans. As was the case at the special meeting, the resolution regarding the confirmation was carried on the casting vote of the chairman. Giant of its Kind. Growing in a New Plymouth suburban garden is a kochia, a hardy annual with feathery green foliage which turns a rich red in autumn and which has attained an (Exceptional size. The plant usually reaches the height of about two feet, but this specimen is three and a half feet in height and nine feet in circumference, and is still growing.

All-British Aircraft If New Zealand Airlines, Ltd., obtains a license from the Transport Co-ordina-tion Board the machines used in the service will be entirely British, states Mr. S. E. Nielson. The entire staff of the service will be drawn from New Zealand, and the personnel will undergo special training. War Bullet Removed. A machine-gun bullet which had been in Mr. L. G. Nicol’s shoulder since the Great War was removed at the district hospital, Waipukurau, last week. Mr. Nicol had suffered no inconvenience from the bullet; in fact, he was unaware of its presence until he met with an accident two months ago. It is believed that the knock his shoulder received on that occasion shifted the bullet so that he became aware of some foreign substance tn his shoulder. Notifiable Diseases. The Medical Officer of Health for the Taranaki district, Dr. Mary Champtaloup, reports that there were notified in January six cases of scarlet fever, an increase of four on the previous month, three cases of diphtheria, an increase of three, five cases of interic fever, an increase of five, three cases of tuberculosis (pulmonary), a decrease of one, one case of acute poliomyelitis, an increase of one, and one of puerperal fever, an increase of one.

Her Unlucky Day. One young woman who attended the New Plymouth races yesterday has every reason to regard it as her unlucky day. First, she lost a £5 note, which, though her misfortune was soon broadcast by the loudspeaker, was still among the missing when her hat by a gust of wind was blown off. In retrieving her hat she struck her second misfortune, as another gust of wind blew out of her hand a totalisator ticket which she was holding ready to present at the dividend window. The ticket, which would have enabled her to retrieve part of her first loss, proved as irrecoverable as the £5 note.

Long Sheep Train. A train of exceptional length passed through Morrinsville from the Rotorua district on Monday evening carrying a large consignment of sheep. The train, which consisted of 97 trucks, caused considerable delay-to the evening RotoruaAuckland express, as there was no station between Rotorua and Morrinsville which could accommodate the train while the express passed. At Morrinsville Junction, the sheep train was backed a short distance down the Thames line to enable the express to overtake it.

Thoughtful Motorist. A resounding crash and the tinkle of falling glass on the bitumen soon brought a crowd to the Currie and Courtenay Streets intersection at New Plymouth about 7 o’clock last night, expecting to find that there had been a motor smash. The commotion, however, was caused when the door of a sedan car accidentally opened as the car was going up Courtenay Street. The wind at once banged the door with terrific force against the car, with the result that the glass was shattered. The motorist, seeing the glass scattered on the roadside, at once showed thoughtfulness for the tyres of other motorists by walking to a nearby garage, borrowing a broom and sweeping the glass fragments to the water table.

Seagull Stories. On a recent fishing expedition to Starvation Bay, just outside Lyttelton Heads, a member of the party captured a baby seagull and decided to take it home as a pet. The mother followed the dinghy out to the launch and kept an eye on the boat all the way back to Lyttelton, a distance of about ten miles, and it was only after the inner harbour was reached that the mother was lost sight of (reports the Christchurch Star). The chicken was brought through to Christchurch that night and was installed in its new home at Bromley. About 10 o’clock the following day, when the new pet was squatting on the lawn of the house at Bromley, the parent seagull swooped down, picked it up in its beak, and flew off again in the direction of Lyttelton. This story is supplemented by another, not quite so remarkable, but equally well attested. During a northwest gale at Lyttelton two newly-fledged sparrows were blown out of their nest in the guttering of a shed on the wharf and fell into the water, where they floated temporarily. At that stage a seagull flew down, picked them up one after another, and replaced them on the deck of the wharf.