TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume L, Issue 8535, 15 July 1893, Page 6

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Fibs and iempest are reMisfortune ported from Chicago, and the -t alarm consequent on these Chicago, visitations following oa the

ravages conunitted by the grasping American hotel-keeper must "have detracted considerably from the pleasure of visitors to the World's Fair. The attend, ahce has fallen far below what was anticipated, and it seems probable that tJw j gigantic undertaking will turn out a gigast* failure. Recent estimates indeed put down the probable loss at no less than a million aud a half. Up to a certain point the arrangements were an admirable ilka.' tration of Yankee "push" and enter, prise. No concern could have been better advertised, and the vastness of tbe idea, the ingenuity of the schemes connected, with it and the skilful strokes of provoked on all hands wonder and surprise* Where the promoters failed was ia arranging with the'great railway and steamship coiapanies for the cheap and swift transport «| the expected hosts of visitors. They bare also failed in their promise that lodging accommodation shall be available on moderate terms. The consequence is that tt stupendous exhibition which depends foflti success on being thronged by the Many, cast present bo visited only by the Few. !

The high prices which are Mushroom reported to prevail at Chicago Hotels. cannot be the result of de&

cient accommodation. Oae of the most astonishing things connected with the Exhibition is the marvellous p>©t vision winch was made for housing ths e_* pected invasion of visitors. The Times correspondent tells us that around the Faay which is half a dozen miles from the centre of Chicago, quite a brand new town, d large dimensions, chiefly composed of hot«W sprang up as if by magic In «h» beginning of May there were built and building in this new region no fewer than 279 hotels of from 50 to 1200 rooms apiece*: The construction made a sharp demand for building lots, advancing rentals 50 to 75 plf cent, with a most surprising "boom." The new hotels in the "Fair District" had a capacity estimated at 33,500 rooms, aad fcf the business section of Chicago were twentysix more large hotels with 14,000 room* Here was capacity, averaging two persons 0 a room, for about 100,000 Btrangers daily -r-a Capacity that is said to be fully equal t# the ability of all the railroads to bring visitors into the city. The meaty for these mushroom hotels' has been provided mostly by persons living at & distance from Chicago. There can be no use for a half of them after the Exhibitioh ll over, and the Times' correspondent more than hints that financial disaster is likely td be the result in a good many eases. No doubt the proprietors now realise.this, as 4 are endeavouring, by high prices, to rake ii as many dollars as possible while the Fair lasts. This, however, is not the most serious aspect of the matter. " Many of the structures," says the correspondent, "are verm crude, with poor accommodation, aad they look like perfect death-traps should they ever catch fire and have the blaze fanned by " one of the vigorous Chicago zephyrs that so frequently whirl the sands about in Jackson Park." We can, therefore, easUy u_d«r« stand how it was when the great fire occurred at the Exhibition Buildings the other day, visitors living round about felt» much alarmed.

The London correspondent of Canned the Melbourne suggests Butter, that the Australian colonies

might do a good trade in canoed butter. Tbe market for this product is in India, in South America (Brazil chie'l.. in the Spanish Mam, and ia Cape Colony, It ia. urged that Australia might supply the. South American market direct by means e£ . the New Zealand steamers which call .a*' Rio, whilst India and the Cape might aba; be supplied direct if necessary via ths Mauritius. At present CapeColonyandßrazll | get their supplies from London, Bordeaux, and Havre. Canned butter. howevei scientifically put up, suffers from crossing the Equator. Consignments from Australia to Rio or Cape Town would not have to cross the line at all and ought, therefore, to be delivered in better condition than the European shipment*, while to reach India bss one crossing would be necessary. It is _c* use sending the butter in the ordinary soldered tins. The heat of the soldering iron passing through the metal leaves a - circle of melted grease around the top ef the butter and this grease speedily becomes rancid, spoiling the whole contests of the tin. The proper way of seaUog the receptacles is by a powerful screwing motion applied to the top lid, which is performed by the aid of special machinery to be procured in France. According to the Argf* ; correspondent the whole plant for a cob- , siderable factory would not cost more than £1000. The whole subject is one that a well worth enquiring into. One thing is quite certain, and that is that if sack-a trade is at all possible New Zealand ought not to be cut out by Victoria in supplying the South American market. The scieaiiao bodies of The Flora New Zealand apparently of despair of preserving the New Zealand, fast vanishing native fior* of New Zealand freo destruction, but they are espedaliy anxious to procure a good descriptive record of the species before they finally disappear. Tbey have accordingly petitioned Parliament to take steps to have a new and revised edition of, Hoo-fir* "Flora of New Zealand," published, with additions comprising all the new species dis* . covered since Hooker's time. According to Mr Hamilton, the Registrar of the Otsgo University, nearly 1500 plants woald now have to be added to the work. In 1343* there were 632 New Zealand plants catalogued by Dieffimbachj Hooker's work,

which was issued in 1863, comprised" no fewer than 2451, and at the end of 1391 tho cumber of known, ."species nad increased to 3920. This allows a most creditable amount of labour and research on the part of the botanists of the colony, and «t the same time demonstrates the urgent peed for a later work of reference on the subject than Hooker's " Flora." The Jitter will always remain a model work of its kind, and was really a marvellous achievement considering the diaadvantages nnder which the author bad to labour. Apart, however, from its not now being up date, it is practically unobtainable by lluJents, the fact of its being out of print, md its scarceness, having caused its price to rise to a figure which ouly wealthy bibliophiles can atlbrd to pay. Meanwhile, of course, it is impossible to teach botany H it should be taught in our schools, M»ojs it i* hardly advisable in studying the subject to ignore New Zealand plants; and the work of those investigators who are seeking to extend our knowledge of New Zealand plants, is rendered doubly difficult from the fact that they have no standard work of reference to guide them. Properly managed the work ought to be very nearly if not quite self-supporting, and that it is a jcientific undertaking of great colonial Importance no one can doubt.