General News

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 185, 6 August 1936, Page 6

General News

A Fish Problem. The Wairoa Harbour Board som« time ago spent £lOO interring the corpses of a number of black-fish which were stranded on the Waikokopu and Nuhaka beaches. Recent heavy seas, however, have despoiled the graves of the departed fish, and once again the odour of decaying fish is to be smelt. It is understood that the harbour board authorities have been approached to take approximate action and re-inter the bodies. Mineral Water at Hanmer. A supply of hot mineral water, of approximately 120 gallons a minute, has been obtained at Hanmer Springs by boring which has been done in the bath grounds, in an endeavour to increase the supply. The temperature of the water is 124 degrees Fahrenheit. The rate of supply will be sufficient for the enlarged bathing pool when it is constructed, but before starting the work it is proposed to take a tally of the supply to ascertain if there is any diminution in flow. A Rare Orchid. A rare orchid, Angraecum Sosqulpedale, is now in bloom in Q»e Cunningham House at the Botaitic Gardens, Christchurch. There are two blooms, in the shape of a six-point star, measuring about seven inches across. The more developed bloom is» of a pale cream colour, and looks as though it were a delicate piece of wax modelling. The other is slightly tinged with green. An unusual feature Is that the nectaries are about a foot long. The orchid rarely blooms, and this is th» first time there has been a bloom in the honse for some years. Too Old at Eighty. “The directors are too old, they are paid too much, their shareholding qualification is insufficient, and we have too many of them.” All this came from a shareholder, who admitted* he was 73, breaking in on the mutual back-patting of a isuccessful company’s annual general meeting, reports a correspondent of the Star. The critic agreed, however, when one of the directors got up, and proving that he at least had some vigour left, argued that some of the director? were perhaps not as good in the legs as they used to be, but they were still “all right in the head.” “Flying Doctor” Services’ According to Dr. C. F. Morkane, of Christchurch, the Australian Government has decided to nationalise th? “flying doctor” services. Briefly, the scheme as explained by Dr. Morkane provides for the building of a base hospital in each central town where the flying doctor is stationed. In the more isolated areas a cottage hospital in charge of nurses will be opened, and in still more remote districts radio sets for receiving and transmitting calls will be set up. The whole system, when in operation, will cover Australia as no service not assisted by air and radio could do. By the interlinking of radio, landing fields and hospitals, the services of a doctor will be available at all times. Eyes on New Zealand The New Zealand Labour Government’s new industrial legislation was being watched very closely by all Australians, said Mr H. Ritchie to ihe Southland Times. “Numbers of factories across the Tasman have been successfully working for some time on a 40-hour week basis, but considering the fact that the New Zealand Government has increased wages and reduced working hours, many business men in Australia wonder if we are not attempting to progress too rapidly,” he said. The Commonwealth Bank was floated on an inflation policy, and leading commercial men in Australia were inclined to think that, a mild inflation policy in New Zealand would not be detrimental to the Dominion’s progress. They seemed to realise that both Australia and New Zealand would find it harder to float new loans on the London market in the near future, and recognised that capital must be found to develop the Dominions. A Fish with a Fishing Line. A deep-water fish that is seldom seen in shallow water has been taken near the coast of Kaikoura, and presented to the Canterbury Museum. It is a small, eel-like dark-coloured fish, about seven inches long; the remarkable feature about it is that from the lower jaw hangs a barbel, a long filament with a pale grey appendage bearing a phosphorescent organ. The whole gives the appearance of a fishing line with a bait, and according to Professor E. Percival, one of the act-ing-curators, it is used for this purpose. The fish has an enormous mouth in relation to its size, and very large teeth; the mouth is kept open, and creatures attracted by the phosphorescent bait dangling in front are swallowed by the fish. On the lower side of the fish there is also a row of phosphorescent organs. It is one of the six species of a genus usually found in depths of from 80 to 1000 fathoms, though this specimen was taken near the coast in nine fathoms. » It is named Idiacanthus Niger.