TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 9009, 23 January 1895, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Everyone knows by cx- ! A Cold Cure - perience that cold weather for induces a much larger and Dyspepsia. healthier appetite for food than ia felt in summer time, when the mere thought of dinner is occasionally distasteful. This fact must have been in the mind of Professor Pictet, of Paris, when he began the series of experiments which have resulted, so he claims, in his discovery of "frigotherapeucy," or the cold cure. The subjects of his first experiments, which, io is stated, have interested the scientific world, and which came' before the French Academy of Medicine at its lost sitting, were some unfortunate dogs. He found that these animals, when plunged in a bath of low temperature and kept there for some time, became ravenously hungry. Whether on emerging from their cold bath they endeavoured to satisfy their hunger fby making a meal off the Professor, the historian does not say; at all events, their desire for food was so unmisUkeable that a new idea suggested itself to Dr. Pictet. He had for some, six years suffered from some internal disease, and had in consequence forgotten the pleasure of being anxious for dinner-time to arrive. Pet haps a similar course of treatment to that which his dogs had undergone would have a beneficial effecG upon himself. 80 wrapping himself up in a thick fur cloak and many other warm clothes he went down into a refrigerating tank, the temperature of which was many degrees below zero. " After four minutes he began to feel hungry, and in eight minutes climbed out of his tank with a painfully keen appetite. Many such experiments were made. All the meals he took after a short stay in the refrigerator agreed with him, and he found his dyspepsia cured after the tenthdescentV'Hecannot, ibis said, explain yet the law that underlies his discovery but his confidence in its efficacy is such that he is about to build a freezing chamber in which dyspeptic Paris may find relief from its pangs, to emerge with a tremendous appetite. Here is a hint for the enterprising managers of our local freezing companies. The same plant which serves to lreeze carcases of mutton could surely be made to partially freeze the dyspeptic residents of Chrislchurch, with much benefit to both the shareholders of the companies and the patients. The works are, it is true, rather inconveniently situated for a business of this description, but who would. niind suffering a little inconvenience if thereby they could regain the hearty and omnivorous appetite of their boyhood's daya ? With every man and boy, The and a good many of the Glorious women, in Australia wait Uncertainty ing with feverish eagerof ness for the latest details Cricket. of the test matches between Stoddarb's team and the Australians, a contributor to a Sydney paper is rash enough to ask "Is cricket a failure t , ' and to answer the question in the affirmative. It is true that by signing himself "Non-Cricketer" he makes partial , amends for his folly, but even this lame apology would hardly, we fear, save him from the violence of Australian followers of the game, if his identity- became known. " Cricket," he says, without any jocular intention, " is played out, and the old game has disappeared from the laud, and the winning of a match now means often no more than the winning of a toss." Hetemembera with apparent affection the days when two ordinary Clubs would, meet on a bumpy Buburban paddock and play a two-inniegs match en- a Saturday afternoon. In those days a man did well if he got into double figures, *• to-day anything under * a century' is a comparatively poor innings," and one man will stay as long at the wicket and score as much while he is there as both teams used to do in the old days. The consequence is that "to see a' cricket match now you must spend a week over it." What happier fate would a good cricketer ask for ? And yet, urges this candid critic, "although the game has become almost painful to the spectator in the monotonous precision -with which' ib is played, the element of uncertainty and disappointment has increased instead of diminishing. ,4 The »" glorious uncertainty "„ oi the old game hr>s disappeared, and left bub an unevrtainty with nothing glorious about it. " The game moves, as a rule, with the monotonous slow precision of a machine, and given two fairly matched teams,' to forecast bhe result is more a' matter of weather, prophecy than anythiug else." - Hβ quotes the effect of the weather upon the result of, the first test match played in Sydney, and exclaims, " This is not cricket, it is simply gambling against Providence." Unless a match takes place in a week of good weather—which is seldom the case—"the power of Providence rather than the skill of the players decides to which side victory shall go." This, ,in "NonCricketer'e " opinion is not a$ ib should be,, 1 and he proposes a remedy. The remedy he suggests reAlternate' quires, he admits; the..entire Cricket. . reconstruction- of the system upon which cricket, is now played,.and the complete breaking away from its traditions. Cricket, however, "to survive the rash of modern life must keep pace with the times," and this, the writer thinks, will be best accomplished by an arrangement *' which will enable the public, upon whose patronage everything depends/ to see both sides at the wickets during one visit to the ground, and to also have the assurance that tho decision.of the match will not be , according to the accidents of the .weather." Ihe arrangement he suggests is as follows:— . "First let the number of players on each aide''be .raised from eleven to thirteen. When the game-commences let two men from one side go in as at present, while eleven of the other team take the field, two remaining in the pavilion. On the fell of a wicket the sides to change, as at* the conclusion of an innings, the two men from the pavilion taking the bat. .When their partnership was dissolved, the not out man of the other side to resume his innings with a newcomer from his own ranks, and so on,each aide going alternately to the wickets until ' the match' was concluded. The reason for having thirteen men instead of eleven will now be apparent. By keeping two always in the pavilion it would nob be necessary for 1 the batsmen to go straight from the field to the wickets. They would go in as fresh and cool as under the present arrangeimenb. The only effect of the alteration ! would be that the innings of both sides would go on concurrently instead of alternately." ' , . " Look' at the advantages," he save, we confess we have looked tor. them withono much* success. The weather wquld of course, as he points out, cease to influence the result of a match as much as ib does now. It is also trne that the wicket for one , would be the wicket for the other, while each would bat and bowl in the same light and with, the same wind blowing, conditions ' which certainly do not always govern'cricket as ib is now played, 'The spectators would also have the chance of seeing both sides in each' phase of the game, which they can only do now: by, going- to a match for several days. .But on the other side the disadvantages of the suggested new style of cricket are enormous aud obvious, and would we believe far outweign its advantages. The beat anew er to." Non-CricketerV' assertion that modern cricket is getting beyond the, public is to be found, in the enormous crowds whioh have thronged the cricket grounds of Australia this season.