LOCAL AND GENERAL

Waikato Times, Volume 194, Issue 22245, 14 January 1944, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Progress of Haymaking Haymaking in the Matamata and Hinuera districts is almost completed, full advantage having been taken of the dry weather and the availability of territorial labour. Cafeteria for Staff A cafeteria is being installed in a Wanganui factory to supply morning and afternoon tea to the staff, which, besides award wages, also receives bonuses and participates in the profits earned by the firm. Tree Falls on Child A girl aged five received a fractured leg when a young tree fell on her at her home at Te Kauwhata, i The girl, Dawn Birkett, daughter of Mr H. D. Birkett, was admitted to the Waikato Hospital. Visitors to Wellington Numerous sportsmen from Hamilton and .other South Auckland districts are visiting Wellington, with the national yearling sales today and the races at Trentham tomorrow as their special objectives. Atlantic Flight Record Two Lancaster aircraft carrying mail for Canadian troops made a new record between Montreal and Britain. They flew the distance in II hours 15 minutes, beating an earlier record, by a Liberator, by 20 minutes. Roads Damaged “Drought conditions have loosened up the sand and gravel surfaces of roads to an extent which favours corrugation, rendering grader maintenance of little avail and repair work difficult in many cases,” said the county engineer, Mr M. E. Fitzgerald, at yesterday’s meeting of the Matamata County Council. Use For Nasturtium A retired sugar planter from Fiji, who has, been struck by the prevalence of curly leaf among the peach trees in New Zealand, states that in some parts oi Fiji it is a recognised cure for the disease to plant nasturtium at the foot of peach trees and let it grow a foot up the trunks The result, he savs. is often a good crop c-f peaches. Nasturtium does not impoverish the soil, and seems to have some chemical property which nourishes the plant life of fruit trees. Preservation of Bush The Minister of Rehabilitation, the Hon. C. F. Skinner, on a visit to Taumarunui was approached by local body members regarding the preservation of bush on the new Tau-marunui-Tokaanu road. He motored over the road in fine weather and stated that the view was incomparable. The Government had practically completed negotiations for the bush, he said, and it would be perserved, although selected timber trees might be removed without detriment at times. Fast Hay Baling A performance surpassing that claimed as a record by a Waipukurau gang of harvesters, who had baled 111 bales of hay in 50 minutes, has been put up by a gang at Patumahoe. Using wire cut and looped in New Zealand, these men baled 23 bales in the first 10 minutes and 72 in the first 30 minutes. In the full hour 145 bales were finished and out of the press. . Their full working time on the job was 12 hours 50 minutes, and in this time they baled 1423 bales, averaging 30 to the ton. Just tc test themselves out, they baled 45 bales in 174- minutes. New Zealanders’ Handicraft New Zealanders’ inventive ingenuity was exemplified in a collection of art and utility objects exhibited at a brigade headquarters in the forward Pacific area. Men of all ranks devoted many hours of otherwise idle time to making examples of handicraft of an exceptionally high standard. In most instances carving and intricate metal designs were done with pocket knives and small tools made on the spot, and the objects range from a comfortable cane chair to a minute fully-rigged sailing ship, carved from a coconut shell and polished to a rich natural colour. Adjudged the best exhibit is a canteen of cutlery, comprising knives, forks and spoons in' three sizes, fashioned from aircraft duralium. The set is enclosed in a lined wooden case, also made by the soldier.