SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 1905. NOTES.

Bush Advocate, Volume XVII, Issue 5, 7 January 1905, Page 4

SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 1905. NOTES.

♦ The cableman lias forwarded a great deal of information of late in reference to the unrest in Russia. From these scrappy items it would appear that the whole nation is in a seething mass of dissatisfaction and discontent. First there were the murders o£ several prominent officials, including M. de Plehve, one of tlic principal ministers. Then we were informed of the demand of the Zemstvos for a more liberal constitution, which was flouted by the Czar. Next followed a meeting of the Grand Council, in which the Czar declined all overtures for concessions. The latest information is to the effect that the country is in a most disturbed state, and that all the elements of a revolution, with one exception, are in evidence. The one thing wanting is the necessary determination of the people to carry out a programme of rebellion. They have been so long accustomed to the iron rule of the bureaucracj', that matters will liave to be desperate indeed before they will shape a fresh constitution. At the same time, tlie position is an alarming one, and may lead to some extraordinary results. Thk war with Japan is most unpopular with the people. Many proofs of this have been provided. The reserves in some districts have been compelled to take up their arms, and it is not surprising to find that in some cases interruptions to the railway services have been created by the relatives of tbese men. It must not be forgotten that the war has caused an immense amount of destitution. Thousands of people are out of work, and a Itussian telegram to Berlin recently announced that tlie

great buttles of the contesL wil count for nothing in history compared with the unseen slaughter wrought by the war. In this telegram it is* stated that the peasants all over Russia are clamouring for food. In parts of East Russia the wretched people were eating roots, birch bark, and weeds, while ignorance and superstition are completing what hunger has begun. The war is causing a ceaseless drain on the resources of the people, , and these burdens will be increased by the necessity of providing ships to replace the squadron lost at Port Arthur. In all directions, the position is a most serions one indeed, and-it will be surprising indeed if some upheaval does not take place. Thk bush fires in Australia have proved a most calamitous business for many of the unfortunate settlers in the firestricken zone. Fortunately, Australia has enormous powers of recuperation, and it will not take long, under the ] nfluence of the wonderful growth which I takes place in that country, for green swards to replace the blackened pastures. At the same time the individual losses will be very heavy indeed. So far, it has not been definitely stated whether outside help will be required. It is clear that if such is offered, it can be utilised, but whether the residents of the Commonwealth will prefer to provide for their own wants has not yet been made known. Yesterday it was stated the losses in some cases were not as severe as had been reported. It is easy to understand that in face of such a disaster, and in the hurry to obtain news of the losses, some exaggeration may have occurred. On the whole, it may be desirable to wait for a definite request from Australia for assistance before a general fund is raised in the colony. Should such be necessary, we have no doubt but that the people of New Zealand will respond with their accustomed spontaneity and liberality. A cheap, effective means of dressing New Zealand phormium tenax for market is a great desideratum The present method is crude, expensive, wasteful, and inefficient, and the wonder is that some process has not hitherto been evolved which would give better results. Dr Rockstrow, a well-known colonist, who recently returned from a visit to Germany* has brought with him the particulars of an invention which appears to supply all that is required. Strange to say, the inventor is a lady, and Dr Rockstrow has been given a free hand to deal with the invention in New Zealand. At a meeting of flaxmillers at Palmerston North yesterday some details of the process were given. Dr Rockstrow said it was partly chemical but it did not injure the fibre. It could be eaten if necessary. Fifteen hundred gallons of" prepared mixture would cost 2s 6d. No j paddocking was involved, the fibre being J put through a wringer, which improved its appearance. Explaining the process, ' Dr Roekstrow said the flax was first placed in boiling water, with chemicals at a cost of 2s 6d per 1500 gallons, the flax was left in the water for an hour to an hour and a half, then rolled to remove the fleshy part of it ; washed in another chemical preparation to remove gum, the cost of the latter being included in the 2s 6d already stated, put through a wringer, and then scutched damp. The cost would be about £5 per ton production, and there was no offalThe invention is now being considered by the flaxmillers, and more will pro. bably be heard of the matter in a few weeks' time. The suggestion of a chemical process for stripping the vegetation from the leaf is not by any means a new one. It has been tried in New Zealand on several occasions, but the experiments were never considered promising enough to warrant practical steps being taken to produce fibre in large quantities. If the process now introduced by Dr Rockstrow is a success, it will revolutionise the industry. The vigorous remarks made by Mr J. M. Johnston, of Palmerston North, concerning the lack of advertising of this colony, referred to in yesterday's issue, should command attention. Mr Johnston is a shrewd business man, and one who would not complain without a cause. His suggestions as to future conduct are well worthy of consideration, aud we consider his idea that the mail agent on the 'Frisco boats should be utilised as an officer of the Tourist Department, for the purpose of advertising the colony among the passengers, an eminently practical one, and one that might' with advantage be adopted. In view of the general ignorance prevalent at Home regarding the colony, it is not surprising that Canada is so popular j with British emigrants. Mr Johnston j has indicated several ways in which this deplorable neglect might be remedied, and is entitled to the thanks of the community for his suggestions. A German physicist, Herr Liebenow, puts forth the theory, which has been hinted by others, that there may be enough radium in the crust of the globe to account for the earth's internal heat. It is only necessary to suppose, for this object, that radium is " uniformly distributed throughout the mass of the

earth in quantities of about one-thoa-sandth of what is known to occur in pitchblende." But there are many indications that radium occurs more frequently than this in all known rocks,, and that its occurrence is more frequent near the surface of the earth than in the interior. "This theory," the Electrician observes, "demolishes at » blow all our conceptions of a liquid interior at the tremendous temperatures? j implied by a uniformly rising gradient.'^ " It now- becomes permissable to assume that the temperature rises towards the centre of the earth, but attains a maximum at no very great depth, and that the interior beyond that point is at a uniform and comparatively low temperature." On this an exchange remarks:—This is making rather too much of radium. What we know of volcanic phenomena in the * past, of heat as a, factor in the formation of the heavenly bodies, of the sufficiency of La Place* theory to account for the solar system as so many slowly cooling bodies^ negatives the supposition of their being another sufficient cause for the sameeffects. Besides, do we know enough, of the break up of the radium atom, and its liberation of heat, at such pressures as exist; at great ftepth of rockito be sure that tke phenomena of the laborar tory would be present there ?• The departure of the steamer Gothic for London with 50,000 boxes of butter included in ier cargo supplies a sug. gestive indication of the extent of the dairy industry in this colony. Despite the fact that some heavy shipment* have gone forward N.Z. butter is lioldingits own fairly well on the London market. Bat what the effect of this shipment will be remains to be seen. One unwelcome feature of the trade this year is the fact that the season is a very late .one, consequently a great deal of butter has been delayed in shipment which would otherwise have participated in the high prices ruling prior to Christmas. One factor in our favour this year is the break that has taken place in the output of Siberian Butt >r. Accobdixg to one account the Russian Government at first made every effort to assist the movements of produce, and thewar did not have much effect on Siberian production. But under the exigent cies of the campaign the butter-trains were withdrawn, and, the trade beingnow at a standstill, the dairies have had to discontinue their work. The country; people close to the railway succeeded in selling their milk to the transport trains at a good* price, but those at a distance were unable to do so, and had to shut down altogether, selling large herds; of milch cows to the Army Providing Department. At first there was a complete panic, and even the best cows wer* sold at ruinous prices, but by degrees the excitement subsided. .The sale of cream-separators ceased entirely. Many 'r firms stopped payment ; others dismissed the whole of their staffs. Altogether' the war wrought havoc amongst the dairies and merchants. The Siberian batter season, does not ' properly open until March or April, and consequently the stoppage of supplies will scarcely befelt on the London market before that" date.