Local and General News

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIX, Issue 21994, 20 June 1941, Page 4

Local and General News

Early Lambs Early lambs are making their appearance on the farm of Mr F. Stephens, Clevedon. These are among the first to be reported this year and the date is considered to be very early for lambing. The real season will not begin until about the middle of July. Thousands of Cats Die Thousands of cats are dying in Melbourne. A highly infectious disease which veterinary surgeons are unable to identify is responsible for the deaths. The cats die in from three hours to five or six days. Some suburbs have been completely denuded of cats. The disease apparently is not infectious to human beings. Cows Have a Plan A cow works only eight hours a day. That is the time it spends on feeding, according to scientific investigations carried out at Minnesota University in the United States of America. The observation of the cow’s habits also revealed that it stands or lies down for twelve hours, walks about for four hours, and chews its cud from sixty to seventy times an hour. Tea Confiscated The good intentions of an Aucklander who thought he would assist an English friend by sending him a parcel containing tea, now rationed in Britain, have proved to be wasted through over-generosity. A cablegram received from London yesterday by the sender of the tea stated: “Regret kind present tea confiscated because exceeds two pounds. Your post office ought to have informed you before accepting despatch.” Doctorate Conferred “This degree is reserved for work of an original and high standard,” said the president, Mr W. H. Cocker, at a meeting of the Auckland University College Council, In mentioning the conferring of the degree of Doctor of Science of the University of New Zealand on Dr. L. H. Briggs, who has carried out valuable work In the extraction of alkaloids and mineral oils from New Zealand products. It was decided to congratulate Dr. Briggs on the honour bestowed on him. Desk-top Carving No longer will pupils of the Napier Boys’ High School find a diversion during a dull geometry lesson in whiling away their time by carving their names on desk-tops as the Napier Secondary Education Board has a scheme to circumvent the mutilation of the furniture. At its meeting this week the board authorised the purchase of a certain type of hardwood; a thin layer of which is to be screwed on top of the desks, some of which are too far gone to be planed to a smooth surface. Retrieving Bottles "There is more in bottles than their contents," remarked the Chief Justice (Sir Michael Myers) when it was found that none of the five judges or the three barristers in the Court of Appeal on Tuesday was able to tell how the owners of beer bottles retrieved their own. His Honour’s remark closed a period of wonderment in the case in which a man has claimed that his former employers, a brewery company, libelled him by advertising that he and another man were no longer authorised to canvass for them or collect cash or “empties” on their behalf. Art Union Grant Declined Among the grants to various philanthropic institutions from art union profits announced recently by the Minister of Internal Affairs, there was one of £2OO to the Wellington Ci Sy Mission. The mission is pot accepting this sum. “The board of trustees of the mission recently passed a resolution to the effect that it would not accept any grant from this source,” said the board’s honorary secretary, Mr D. S. Hancox, in a statement. “Though it is in urgent need of finance, the board of trustees feels that it can confidently rely on public and private donations for the furtherance of its work in the city of Wellington.” Cottages for Dairy Workers As a result of the need for housing for additional workers who will be employed in cheese factories in Hamilton when the policy of working two shifts a day is started the Public Works Department has been asked to provide by August 1200 cottages similar to those being erected for farm workers. Because of the difficulty in securing single men for the positions, the majority of those taken on for the work in cheese factories will be married men, and the housing question I* presenting a serious problem. During the last two years approximately 300 cottages have been completed in Hamilton for farm workers, and if the required number is to be made available by the beginning of August a much greater rate of production will have to be reached.