TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 10450, 14 September 1899, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

• In the latest number of The Effect of the Canterbury A- and -Frost "and Thaw P. Association's Journal on Plants. appears an article by Mr Cockayne, on the effect of cold on plants. In this the writer explodes, or seeks to explode, the belief widely held among gardeners, amateur and professional, that the devastating effect of a spring frost upon young growth can be obviated by the ■watering of the plants. If the people wh» do this so often during the spring months in Christchurch, when early morning frosts are apt to play havoc with seedlings and young vegetables, were asked to explain why they did it, roany of them would probably be unable to do so. There is a vague idea, current that watering, the plants liable to be affected by the frost, especially those or. whicb the morning sun strikes, "washes the frost off/ and saves the ruinous effect of warm sunshine on the frozen leaves. "Until quite recently," Sir Cockayne remarks, "botany taught that plants were more often killed by rapid thawing after a frost than, by the frost itself, and if such, frozen plants were very slowly thawed <&ey would be undamaged." He states that in many cases ■thie has been proved to be a fallacy, and, we gather, regards some experiments he himself conducted with New Zlealand Alpine plants, whiCM were frozen in the Lytfelton Freezing Chamber, and then rapidly thawed without sustaining injury, as additional proof of the error of the common belief. Many, however,

[who hold by the popular belief will baWy not agree with him Th. nature of th e _ plants experimented upon was such ns might be expected to withstand at ume the efc&t* ' of frost and of thaw, while the practice if" watering young potatoes that, have hejJQ frozen is due to a belief that the damage H done by the early rays of the sun, and »j are not told that the Alpine plants were su& jeeted to sunlight. Mr Cockayne points mi that the artesian water generally used ft* watering purposes thaws the leaves rapicU* possibly quite as quickly as the feeble heat of sunrise does, sine© artesian water ji' fcwenty-two degrees above freezing point, aotf he says if the practice is any gocd at all i^;" cold water should be used. It may be as he argues, that if the plant dies it is because of. the cold, and that if it revives after bea*. watered it is because its protoplasm ha! been quite uninjured by the frost, but it will f^ ' a great deal of scientific argument to coft. vine© a> number of people that "washing nfj" the frost ,, does not sfcve, their young potatoes. A mutual improvement The Young society in Qisborae| New Zealander. wishing to gain soas r idea as to what were the* chief characteristics of the young New Ze*. lander, addressed a circular letter tvtely to* '- number of the leading men of the colofif , asking them -to furnish their views on tfct' subject. They sought to draw the . but he would not be drawn. Ho did boI ■ think it fair, he wrote, that those actively engaged in politics should express thefr ' views on such matters, a reply which r&tfafe" implies that Mr Seddon felt that his opioj<& of the young New Zealander might not alt<£' gether please that, young person. Biahpp ' Julius declined to answer, as he had no tuhf.-i to spare, whilo Professor Bickerton declared ; his inability to distinguish between tue youth of the colony and of England. All our y«Jt»-" people, in Mr John Joyce's opinion, may be divided into two parties—the one noble and patriotic, the other vicious and criminal We can make a bold guess as to the in which Mr Joyce places the youtn of J»yV; ■ telton. Sir Robert Stout does not think that ' any special type has yet been evolved, but : the New Zealander of the future will pro. bably ba fonder of outdoor life and amusements. We hope so, as far'as the outdoor ' life is concerned. At" present there 'is «, --' strong tendency towards the desk and count* ing-house, "which would be better directed towards the farm. Tho Chief Justice, is onJy -. one of .several who refer to the -New Zea- • lander's love of sport. Indeed, if we had to - J point out one striking feature of the national character so far as it lias been, evolved we ■, should have to say that it was a passion for out-of-doors sport, from hockey up to racing,, Ibis is the view taken, by the Eev. J. G.A' 1 Peterson, of Napier, who lias not, appamt- v ly, a very high opinion of the rising genera* '■ tion. In addition to an overwhelming fond; "' ness for sport, they have little or no rever- •'■ enoe for anything, they are not "over much, given to intellectual activity, and are mudt "' more in earnest in developing their heels th«L [ 'their heads." Mr J. 6. Williamson recently;"'• lamented the lack of persistence in the young ■' colonials who would ba actors; Mr Pater-, eon finds in New - Zealanders the'-,,-' same serious flaw. „ jHigU cl*s»i-' o music* nor oratory, nor art, do notH attract them, and "their great desire is to be l ' 1 amjised with as little mental effort as possi-*\ ble." Surely -the not allow this'to pass unquestioned IHγ r - Edwajd Tregear, of .Wellington, goes al< :*' most too far on the other side.. He declare* the young New Zeaknder to be sober, bold, fearless, and truthful; deafr- ) headed, especially in matters of Belf-advafc» ; •tage; so , olear-sighted that prejudice, wsti, ' religious form, national clanniekuese,- - ar&kfc severed with a keen razor-edged logic .ftpd*' directness." Against this summary of the virtues have to be put a lack of poetical' thought and imagination, a prosaic kai ■ thoroughly Philistine way of looking at ;- things. We hardly think any of th* repliqe , do justice to the subject;'. we are' t<lo "young - a country to have yet developed a type, aifd even the young New Zealander's loveiif, , sport and amusement is not characteristic of.him alone, it is merely a trait, perhapl - rather over-encouraged, which he has ffi - common with the youth of other countries and, indeed, with most young things, from lambkins upwards. " - * The rules of the Duned&V Library Books Aibiwraseum, which sup*, \ fcwtihe plies the place in DuaV Country, ' edJa • fißed in" GbrM*." , church by our public ph. ', vary, permit of am egUminan of t3ue lending:'; departmanit wKch must be a. great boon \S ;, couatay dwelkms, though we gaibher that tfee ktter do mot, penhiape through, ignorance, , take smeh tadYiaintaige of it,,as they might,By constituting tliemeelvee into emaiU groups , country people,' ut appears, nmy.pu't them* ■ selves upon <b pmacutoal equality witOi tdww ' folk. At at recent meeting of the Aitihenteum ' Comittltitee, a - letter was read from a.twfw-, , . dent of a dkttaict 99 mijes distant from thin* .- edlin. He enclosed subacdpttona amountstog to £2 12s 6d, be&rig a- guinea for Manself find balf a guinea eoob. for three others/ and eg* pressed the greatest saitasfaction in which. Ms group (bad been treated, i»* marking thaib fif anore people knew of ike terms under -wlbicli country • .people oouiW nioke U93 of ithft Dxnaay many more ywdd do so. ,J As to ouraelves," ihe wrote,''"four of us, lfivisag nitoeity-diae mate? from Dunedw,' , got a JUirge ean4 txtgaSex eupply of Jbooto chosen by ourselves from the Uaitest caitac loguej, as well as a eupply oi magix/axs, at, ;> a rtotaj annual cost *o> eaoa of ouiy-l7»-6d» That includes oainiage cod all other e*>i= peoses." The BaHwAy Departanent, with a . piblic-spinited desire to pitomoto the con*venience amid welfare of tibe wMoh coe could waalk ftttiey pursued in reapebt »•' to ell ifiieir respooa£bffi.taea, carry books to ttnd from eubsedbera to reoogadaed circuUut<jng ' Owaiilej at tMie-quaateaf - paroela rate, with a miriiinnjn charge of 24. " At Home, »_i tj* writer pcrinte out, every effort oe mode t>7 the great cuxjufaitang Kbnariee to cater for the country eutieoribers, and there are daubtleee peopJe in CshnJs.tchurc(h wlio remember the pleasure which <Uhe regulair fortoightly es J rival of 4ihe "box faxan MudieV ca*u*d ia - many a fannltouse remote from town. The email country Übrories in. iMa ookmy are, we be3eve, recovering a lafctle from the dreadful state iato which matoy of them ihad mtok, but in any case they cannot offer the choice which ia open to tie eiibscifter to tftte krgeff institutioms in tihe vairious cenires, and the ej-srtem pursued by 4he Pumedisn Aftheneum . with, so much apparent satisfaction to thee* ! -who avail themselves of it i» one which w* should K&e to see wifely eaatended , tihrougliout ■tie cokay. At present aaeither j'oung vat old New Zealandera in mamy parts of the country have a fair chance of obtaining that recreaitcion from, books which would at* as * wholesome omrreotive to tihe 011-powerfttl aituremeots of eport.