In the Dominion

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 72, Issue 290, 6 December 1929, Page 10

In the Dominion

“Gas” for the Meter. An audience is often blissfully unconscious of what is going on behind the scenes. To a capacity house in Timaru last week, supper was to be supplied at the close of the entertainment. The gas meter went on strike, and gasfitters who were hurriedly summoned installed a new meter As the entertainment drew to a close, ten more minutes were required before the urns could boil. The minister stepped into tho breach, and, in moving a vote of thanks, which ordinarily would take a minute, occupied the ten minutes till the hissing of steam signalised that the troubles of the commissariat were at an end. Science in the Home. A sum of money from the Carnegie trust fund was donated to the Otago University some time ago for extension work in home science. A tutororganiser and an assistant tutor have already been appointed, and, under the direction of Professor A. G. Strong, are preparing for the practical lecturing and demonstrating that they hope to commence next February. The object of the scheme is to bring women together in such a way that they may discuss their problems to mutual advantage, seek information that will help them to minimise the wofrk in their homes and give them more leisure to devote to other things. The field work for the present must of necessity be confined to Otago, but it is hoped to reach women all over New Zealand.

Tapping the Far North. A definite impression arising from the commerce train tour was the need for an all-weather road from Auckland to Kaitaia, a distance of 213 miles in a north-westerly direction. On the authority of Mr C. J. McKenzie, who represented th e Public Work a Department on the tour, the 50-mile gap between Waiwera and Maungaturoto should be filled by the season after next, and if so this will provide a metalled road from Auckland to Whangarei, a convenience which, will be of great assistance to all who are engaged in motor traffic. Mr McKenzie states that in the last 18 months a sum of £lOO,OOO has been spent in metalling the road between Auckland and Maungaturoto, mainly on th© Waiwera section. He also predicts that in 18 months the railway link between Kirikopuni and Dargaville will have been completed, also the more northern extention from Okaihau to Bangiahua, on the upper reaches of the Hokianga Harbour, from all of which it will be realised that in the matter of facilities of communication by road, water and rail the North is steadily coming into its own. River Canoe for Museum.

A valuable and interesting addition to the Maori collection at the Auckland War Memorial Museum is a river canoe (Whakatiwai) from Tamaho Maika of the Waikakahi district, in the Far North. The letter, in Maori, accompanying the gift, contains a typical lament, the interpretation of which reads as follows: “Th.i s canoe of ours —thou were made in day s of former happiness; now closed and past are those days for thee —thy successor is a bridge, a thing of the days of a newer world—depart, therefore, oh, canoe, alas! to that final home of rest of thine, to the Carved House of Tamaki, alas!” This humble and sincere address shows the pride the natives take in their heirlooms, many of which are now being sent to the museum as treasure token s from various tribes. Interesting Museum Exhibit.

The Otago University Museum authorities have prepared for the Auckland War Memorial Museum two exhibits illustrating the difference between bony fish and cartilaginous fish. The work was done by Mr E. H. Gibson, who is in charge of the department in which animal specimens are pre] ared, and it is admitted by all who saw these skeletons in Dunedin before they were shipped recently for the North that he has done his work well. One of the exhibits is a dogfish, which ha s no bones at all, unless inchlike spikes along the so-called backbone may be termed bone, though as a fact they are cartilage, as is also the spine. This tiger of the sea, so fiercely predatory, looks like a walking stick with wings, breathing apparatus, and a mouth. The other exhibit is a groper. It is cased in bone and ribbed up likea battleship. Every bone and every bit of cartilage is wired separately and knitted to its place—a very delicate and tedious operation. The specimens are heated by a glycerine-gelatine process, which preserves them and gives the required transparency. Powers of Marketing Board.

New Zealand poultry farmers will be interested to hear that the constitution of the Egg Marketing Board in Sydney is being challenged in the Equity Court. The action arose because the board sought to restrain two Cumberland poultry keepers, evidently contracting suppliers, from selling eggs to other than the board. The defendants retaliated by disputing the validity of regulations. It was pointed out for the board that £40,000 of Government money was involved in the scheme, and defendants had no right to sell eggs around Manly in defiance of the board’s proclamation. The board, said counsel, was the owner of every egg from the moment if. was laid. The case has been adjourned until next month. Green Isle. Long before New Zealand women had tweaked the nose of society to such an extent that the vote was handed to them, just to keep them quiet, women in an odd litle island kingdom not only voted, but elected members to power in that ancient Parliament, the House of Keys, which still holds sway in the Isle of Man. A little lady who comes from that quaint place, and who is now cookery demonstrator to a big city branch of the Gas Company, told me something of her homeland’s ways. Not so long ago, the red sailed fishing launches were the most frequent passers-by: but they have been replaced by launches now. There is just one tiny railway, and the train’s whistle can be heard from one end of the island to another. Just to show that the past is not altogether forgotten, in Castle Russian, one of the most ancient buildings on the Island, the great clock that was there in Queen Elizabeth’s day still ticks steadfastly on.