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Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 16303, 2 December 1918, Page 2

One well-known resident took a teaspoonful of formalin in mistake for animnniated quinine (says the Ashburton Guardian!. As soon as the mixture was swallowed he recognised he had made- a mistake, and rushed off to the chemist, ■who told him to take some oil. The visitor immediately drank a bottleful down. The necessity that exists for influenza patients to make certain that they arc fit'to bo out of bed. and out of doors before doing so cannot he too strcngly emphasised. A resident of the town reports that one clay last week ho saw a man who had been suffering from influenza strolling about his garden, and spoke to him over the fence. The next day the patient had suffered a relapse and died.

A broody hen, as every. poultrykeeper knows, shows far more concentration on its task than intelligence. Still even a broody hen is going rather far when it tries to hatch out a cat and kittens. A local resident has an old cat which recently produced a litter of kittens in a nesting-box. and now the visitor may see the cat’s head sticking out from under one wing of a sitting hen while portions of kittens occasionally appear under the other. The cat leaves the nest at intervals 'for food or recreation, and then the hen remains in charge of the kittens. The whole party seem quite happy, though the absence of fresh air for the infant cats would receive severe comment from a Plunket nurse.

When the epidemic burst upon New Plymouth the stocks of flour held by the bakers were very low, the merchants were out altogether, and it was impossible, owing to the general disorganisation, to obtain flour anywhere in the Dominion. , Messrs. May and Arrow-smith alone held a largo stock, and when the position of the other bakers became known to him, Mr. May at once offered to share his stock with his less fortunate confreres’ both in town and country as long as it lasted. Altogether 25 tons were distributed. Assistance was given in this way to all the local bakers and in the country as far away as Opnnnke and Okaiawa. Inglewood was kept going for a fortnight. But for this: generosity many people would have been without broad during a very trying time. The thanks of ,the community are due. to Messrs. May and Arrowsmith for their public-spirited- action. An item in the Estimates, of £IOO for investigation of the mosquitoes of New Zealand, raked a. question from Dr. A. K. Newman (Wellington East) in the House of Representatives on Friday evening. In reply, the Minister of Internal Affairs (Hon. G. W. Russell) stated that the work which has been done in the Panama Canal- in the direction of stamping out mosquitoes showed that there was justification for doing the same, tiling here'. Mosquitoes were carriers of disease, and if the problem which they presented could- be successfully dealt with in New Zealand it would more than justify the expenditure of£loo. A scientific officer had been engaged, .and his duty would be to go through the Dominion to prepare reports on the type of-insects which were prevalent in'this country, and to suggest methods for their eradication. In connection with the increased Government grant sought for the rebuilding of the New Plymouth Boys’ High School and the intimation received last week that a further £IOOO had been allocated, the Citizens’ Committee, which has been instrumental in raising a largo sum privately, has sent the following telegram to Sir Joseph Ward, Minister of Finance, and Sir James Allen, who went into the question with the Citizens’ Committee on his last visit to Now Plymouth:—“The committee urge reconsideration of the New Plymouth High School subsidy on a £ for £ basis up to £8000; money is still being raised; citizens determined- to have school well equipped ; amount asked for is vital to provide for present pupils.” The following reply was received today from Sir James Allen; “I have received your telegram of the 30Hi rc High School subsidy. Cabinet has deckled the subsidy which is to he paid and I do not think it can be re-consid-ered.”