LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20679, 18 March 1937, Page 6

LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS

Fire in Wool-Scour A fire which started in the boilerhouse of Mr W. Taylor’s wool-scour at Saltwater Creek about 9.20 last night charred several rafters and partitions in the building, but did not do a great deal of damage before it was controlled by the Fire Brigade. The building was insured. Bulbs Make Mistake DaffodU bulbs brought from England by a Nightcaps resident recently were planted at his home. They surprised their owner and everyone who saw his garden by suddenly flowering last week. The bulbs were part of a collection that previously flowered in early spring in England. The only conclusion their owner can come to is that the plants mistook the weather of the last few weeks for that of an English spring. £70,000 Estate Probate of the will of the late Mr John A. Plimmer, of Khandallah, has been granted by Mr Justice Reed in the Supreme Court at Wellington. The estate was sworn at under £70,000. The Public Trustee is the executor. Mr Plimmer was born in Wellington 90 years ago and was associated with the city practically all his life. He was twice married, but the only member of his family to survive him is his daughter, Miss Gertrude Plimmer. There are eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. “Getting on the Map” Gratifying evidence that Timaru is “getting on the map” was provided at a meeting of the executive of the South Canterbury Chamber of Commerce last night, when two requests for information were received from overseas. The first came from a farmer in Maidstone, England, who is contemplating selling his farm there and coming to settle in South Canterbury. He wanted to know whether farms were difficult to obtain, what was the average price of land and any available information regarding labour and marketing Acts. The second inquiry was from a firm in Minnesota (U.S.A.) regarding coal gas, the information being supplied by Mr A. Morrie Taylor of the Gas Company. Strange Fruit, for Pine Tree A specimen of the two-year-old pine trees that are growing on Haulashore Island was brought to the last meeting of the Waimea County Council and placed on a chair against the wall (records the Nelson “Evening Mail”). Now, the oldest member of the Council, Cr. Horatio Everett, has, in season, the kindly habit of bringing fruit to the meeting, which he distributes freely. Later, on reaching back for the pine tree to show members the remarkable growth which takes place on the Island, Cr. J. Corder (chairman) was confronted with a specimen remarkable in more ways than one, for to his surprise a healthy pear swung nonchantly amongst the needles. Astonishment was general. Prime Minister’s Friends Setting aside for a few hours the cares of office, the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage, paid a round of visits last week to old friends in the Auckland West electorate, mostly to elderly people confined to their homes by ill-health or the weight of increasing years. At the house in Salisbury Street, Herne Bay, where Mr Savage made his home with Mr and Mrs A. J. French for some years prior to his elevation to the Prime Ministership, he spent a pleasant hour chatting with a number of intimate friends who had gathered there. “I have lived in Auckland for 30 years,” he remarked. “Many of the friends whom I have known for that time are unable now to come and meet me, and I should be less than human if I did not wish to go and meet them.” A Giant Kauri There has been discovered in the Waipoua State Forest a fine old “Tematua Ngahere.” "Tematau Ngahere” has the largest known girth of any tree growing in New Zealand to-day, being 53ft around at the base, while the centre girth is only 2ft Gin less. The height from the mound to the first limb is 32ft, while the distance from the same limb to the level of the ground is 36ft. The capacity of the tree is 6500 cubic feet or 78,000 superficial feet. The well-known giant of .the forest, “Tanemahuta,” is smaller than “Temutua Ngahere.” “Tanemahuta,” which is estimated to date back to the eighth century, has a girth at the base of 43ft. Its lowest branch is 42ft above the ground and it is calculated to contain 72,000 superficial feet of timber. Ethics of Legal Profession “What was the need to have another executor appointed?” asked counsel in a will case in the Auckland Supreme Court of the solicitor who had drawn up the will and who is an executor of it. “My experience.” said witness, “is that a solicitor always suggests himself as executor When he can gee the opportunity.” “All I can say is I trust that is not the usual experience,” said Mr Justice Callan. “No member of an honourable profession should wish to put himself into a job if that job is unnecessary, and there should be no two views about that.” Witness said he had never heard of a judicial pronouncement that where only one person got a property there was no need for a solicitor to be appointed. “Well you have heard it now,” said his Honour.