The Star. THURSDAY, MAY 14, 1925. NEW ZEALAND WEATHER.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17537, 14 May 1925, Page 6

The Star. THURSDAY, MAY 14, 1925. NEW ZEALAND WEATHER.

T ()!• hick of information from lhe Tasman Sea, it seems, Ihe Dominion meteorologist is redueecl to a stale of suspense and uncertainty as to the movements of the se\ ere cyclonic storm that is raging off* the coast of Australia, and, in consequence, New Zealanders will have to hope for the best without very much foundation for their hopes, there is a crumb of comfort in the fact that the persistence of a high barometric pressure over Xew Zealand has held off the Australian visitor so far, but the conditions are threatening, and one does not need to be wcatherwise to agree with Mr Bales that the outlook is unpromising. A cyclone is a low-pressure area, not necessarily of anv great intensity, and the normal weather of New Zealand is produced by a series of these low-pressure systems moving from west to east in an irregular succession. In the intervals between their appearance the Dominion is commonly under anli-cyclonic conditions. Sometimes a lowpressure system of sub-tropical origin moves southward or south-eastward upon New Zealand, and the influence of these sub-tropical storms gives Auckland province a climate that is different from the climate of the rest of New Zealand. However, in the present ease, a cyclone -which means a low-pressure system, presumably of sub-tropical origin was reported the other day from the neighbourhood of Lord Howe Island. Obviously, if there were ships in the. New Zealand trade between Australia and Xew Zealand, these ships report by wireless the movements of the* barometer, and although nothing like a complete range of barometric readings could be obtained, these reports would give Xew Zealand meteorologists a very close indication of the hack followed by this particular storm, regarding the storm in the sense of an area which may, be* a thousand miles in diameter. The centres of some of these storms move roughly through Look Strait or across Xew Zealand i further north, and under such influences the South Island gels its heaviest rainfall and its coldest southerlies, including its snow storms. The great need of Xew Zealand is a more complete | series of readings from the Tasman Sea, because (lie control ! of the Xew Zealand climate is almost wholly oceanic; and if meteorologists do not get readings from outside, they simply cannot forecast ltie course of the weather. As a matter of fact, the Xew Zealand Meteorological Office is inadequately equipped and is not supplied with information that is badly needed. It was only the fact that the present storm report was broadcasted from Sydney by wireless that enabled New Zealand to pick it lip. Otherwise, there would have been no information regarding the approach of the storm, and as it is there lias been no indication apparently as to the direction in which it is travelling. The statement that one or two young ladies have been feeling the strain of the Competitions calls to mind the remarks made by Mr .1. Laugh lev, Director of Education, last month, in urging that care should he taken to avoid the nervous strain of continuous competitive work. The view taken by Mr Laughley was that competitions should not he encouraged for children under fourteen or even sixteen, as they entailed too heavy a strain, and induced precocity at an age when children should not In* asked to express themselves. This view, however, is not likely to he accepted in Competition circles, for it is certainly Ihe : juveniles who contribute most to the success of these annual festivals, and the younger the children are the more i refreshingly they appeal to the audiences. There is another ! direction, too, in which the Competitions must do good, and that is by supplying the incentive to practice that would ! otherwise he lacking. ’‘Practice makes perfect" is a proverb that applies with particular force to music, and if practice is not carried to the point of exhaustion il is of great advantage to the* individual. If there is a point on ! which it is easy to agree, with Mr Laughley, it is in regard | to recitations, which certainly tend to develop precocity. and are of the least value in an educational or entertaining j sense, hut so far as piano playing and singing are concerned, the training is useful in after life, and there can be no doubt that the Competitions have served to develop much latent talent, while giving healthy entertainment to a large and growing following among the public.