Town Talk

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 306, 31 December 1935, Page 6

Town Talk

Slugs and Snails. Both slugs and snails have been causing much havoc in vegetable and flower gardens this season. One gardener on a recent evening in the course of half an hour caught no less than 209 of the pests.. The problem of coping with the pests is a difficult one and many gardeners have had to resort to nightly raids to reduce their numbers. Late Night To-night Retailers in the city will keep their premises open to-night, New Year’s Eve, until 10 p.m., but on Friday night the usual late shopping night will not be observed. The weekly half-holiday will he observed on Saturday as usual. “The Chronicle” will not be published to-morrow. Many Motorists at Camp. The Aramoho Park motorists’ camp has been very popular this year. From the period December 21 to 29, inclusive, 196 motoring parties made use of it. That total brought 882 persons, mei»-, women, and children to the camp, an average of 98 per day. They came from all over New Zealand, several from the South Island, and they all expressed appreciation of the facilities at the camp. Beneficial Rain. The heavy rain which fell throughout the district on Sunday night and early Monday morning will have a beneficial effect on gardens and lawns which were commencing to ehow the effects of the dry weather. This time last year lawns and pastures were in a parched condition, but during the present summer there have been frequent falls of rain which have kept the grass in a wholesome condition for stock. Holiday Traffic. Holiday traffic was buoyant in Wanganui over .the Christmas •hol'.ciiys and returns for two weeks up to last Saturday show a big increase compared with those of -Christmas, 1934. Outward passengers at the Wanganui Railway Station this year numbered 3391 and the revenue amounted to £1092, compared with 2980 passengers and £995 revenue in 1934. The increase in passsngers numbered 221 and the revenue increased by £95. The sale of tickets at the Tourist Bureau from. December 16 to 28 amounted to £576 7s Id, compared with £5ll 18s last Christmas.

Visitors to Art Gallery. The Sarjeant Gallery has been well patronised by visitors during the Christmas holidays, the number being up to the usual holiday figure. Quite a number of the visitors have taken a keen interest in hud expressed their appreciation of the display c.C the Wanganui Society of Arts and Crafts which closes on January 16. Many niitois have also commented on the lay out of the gallery and the high standard of the pictures on exhibition. The museum, too, has also received a good measure of patronage from visitors. An Awkward Lift.

During discharging operations at the Town Wharf yesterday morning, the winches and derricks of the Canterbury Company’s new coastal motorship Gale were required to lift a big churn, weighing 4 tons 17cwt. from the ship’s hold to a transport lorry on the wharf. The churn was loaded at Lyttelton last week and was consigned to the Ruahine Dairy Company at Rangiwahia. By rear-on of its size and shape it made an awkward lift, but was handled safely by the ship’s gear. The lorry conveyed the churn direct to the factory and a second vehicle followed with a ■ large quantity of fittings.

“Wanganui-s Fortune.” The opinion that Wanganui people had a great asset in their fine art gallery, museum and. library was expressed by a Dunedin visitor to the city yesterday. The art gallery, he said, presented au imposing picture viewed from the Avenue, while the pictures which it housed were equal in standard to those of the art galleries of the four main cities. He considered that the lay-out and appearance of the Public Library made it one of the finest of such buildings in the Dominion and one of which the city should be proud. “With regard to the museum,” he said, “I think that your Maori collection is excellent and is better than anything I have ever seen before.”

Crossing the Airport. It is not generally known that the landing ground at the Wanganui Airport is not for general use by the public. In fact there is a grave danger to pedestrians using this area indiscriminately. Home are careless enough to stroll over the flat regardless of the fact that ’planes are likely to land. The caretaker (Mr. F. Rowan ) has to be continually on the alert to keep the public from making use of the landing area, as some people pay little attention to warning notices posted about the entrance. It is intended by the port authorities to prosecute offenders in future, particularly .those who use the level area to drive motor-cars nearer the beach.

New Year Resolutions To-day throughout the world many people will follow the age-old tradition of declaring good resolutions forth c coming year, but how many of these good intentions will survive more than the first month? New Y’ear resolutions, like promises, are cary to make but the test of perseverance and will power that is required in the attempt to carry them to fruition is frequently greater than the human body can bear and the good resolves, like those of other years, fall' by the wayside. Still each year sees the framing of more, resolves for the correction of some habit or peculiarity of temperament or for the better living and advancement, spiritually, mentally or from a business angle, of the individual concerned. Hydreangeas in Bloom. Conversing with a reporter yesterday, a visitor from IDunedin remarked on the wonderful showing of hydrangeas in city gardens. “I don’t think I have ever seer so many hydrangeas and so many different coloured blooms of this pretty plant,” he said. “Practically every garden in your city >oen>i to have hydrangeas in profusion and the colourings in some case? art remarkable. In one street mere wcie only three gardens in which 1 did not seo the blooms. I have been told that the climate here is most suite 1 for these plants. Dunedin has too euid a climate and the plants do not flourish at all.’’ The visitor also commented on the beauty of the residential area rf the city, remarking that t compared more than favourably with that of any other centre in the Dominion. “ i our people,” he said, <f secrr. co lake 1 delight in tending to their gardens and I must say they are j» pretty sight.”