TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 10991, 14 June 1901, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

I_.--.;■ " , ' The .shooting provided for Th< Duke's in N*t? South Shooting ,Wal«Jr\fell immeasurably Expedilian; short" of tfeat supplied b? i>, ' Klmany. Park. - -His-Royal ■Highness, leaving Sydney on the Monday morning, -reached Derrigong siding,, 320 miles from Svdaey, W seven o'clock the next mqrmng* after ,an uneventful journey. Here and. there, at country stations along the line/ local **idente had gathered to cheer the &>yal visitor,- wad during the night many a bonfire lent colour to the scene as the * train sped" through a township. A fairly long drive lay before the party on their arrival at Derrigong, and before they had gone far the Duke and several others? relinquished their , seats in the wagonette in fiwW of horseback* The country traversed was fla£ and uninteresting, and though the scene of the day's operations had been stated' to be full of game, the sport was poor. Ducks were said to be plentiful on one of the lagoons*, but though the first shots put up a number of only a few stray bird? were subsequently seen, and after halt? an hour's waiting it was decided to more elsewhere. Some high, rocky ground provided rabbits galore, but rabbit shooting was not an absolute,"novelty to the visitors, and they were greatly interested at 'hearing that some emus had been seen some miles away. Horses w*fe mounted in a hurry, and oH galloped-off. but by the time tha ?pot was reached, the emus had left, and the of the day yielded little , better sport than the morning. Of the bag of eighteen brace- of ducks, several w*re i 'credited to the Duke, who-also shot a coupls of cockatoos. .- It seems unfortunate I . that in a colony where gpod shooting can , be obtained, tie Duks was taken to axplace. where the gaihe'w«w ttecidedly not at home. We could show him 'something tetter than that iiyCanterbury-. The Royal.party returned, for the night to the railway carriages at Derrigong, the return journey being apparently more fruitful in incident t"aan tha day. Ons of ths vehicles—it is not stated whether the one occupied by the Duke— Tas neaiCy overturned into a creek, and another, occupied by the detectives and Press representatives, became bogged in a lagoon, while a third, containing some of the Koyal servants, was "bushed,", and [mounted troopers had to-be,s&ist out in ' search of it. The Duke is said to have j thoroughly en-joyed his bush experience. , which certainly provided a change frem tha ! incessant functions and well-oiled machinery of his itay in ths cities. A German chemist, Siebald, Plasmon. has prepared, from the waste milk separated at creameries, a. new substance called piasmon. After all the cream has baen removed, the separated mi:k is treated co as to coagulate all its proteids, the coagulated mass is kneaded and dried at a high temperature under carbonic acid gas, and is then grou'na into a soluble powder. In this final state it.is a portable concentrated nutrient, one ounce of which is equal to three and a quarter pounds of the finest beefsteak. Its value in war is obvious, and the German Government already supply it in large quantities to their army and navy. Piasmon, has created a new industry in England, especially in Birmingham, where it was originally manufactured. It has been found especially useful in feeding tyohoid patients, and is equally suitable for consumptives, or, on the other hand, for athletes in training. It should also bo particularly welocme to vegetarians, who can get from it the albumen which is conspicuously aibsent from their usual diet. As an anti-fat medicine its virtues are supreme, all its constituents going to strengthen muscle and to form flesh, but no fat. Again, in racing and stud stables it is becoming a favourite food. With all these uses, it is clear that piasmon has a future. Unfortunately, it is -not likely to be manufactured in the colonies for same time to come, as . the process of preparation is very expensive, and involves sending to Germany for" special machinery. Otherwise, dairy fanners who supply creameries might find a remunerative way of disposing of their skim milk. At present this ia either kept for pigs and •hand-fed 'heifers, or, with poorer settlers, for the family themselves. The reaction against the Gardening, crudity and precision of Wild and caTpet bedding prepared the Otherwise, way, for the "wild gardening." of which Miss Gertrude Jekyll, in her charming book, is at once the prophet and the practical guide. The fashion was, of course, growing ere ever she laid pen to paper; the ■ natural loathing of "toujours lobelia, scarlet geranium, and yellow calceolaria," with their variant*, was bound to induce a remorseful return to the old-fashioned flowers of the ''mixed border," which had been neglected during the carpet bedding craze, and the immensely widened love of flowers ■ and gardening characteristic of the past generation bad its consequences in the extension of the list of plants suitable for the more natural style of horticulture. "Wild" gardening "in its purity was, of "course, for the few with grounds sufficiently spacious and favoured by nature to allow of it. Miss JekyU's garden, if we remember rightly, comprised fifteen acres, and included a Sγ coppice, a walled, garden, and other features not common in the majority of either English or colonial gardens. The style became, however, , the rage, and there ensued a good deal of what a contemporary jiistly ' terms "very wild" gardening, which is probably the reason why the pendulum has again, swung back, and a mi.d reaction set in in favour of carpet bedding. The present fashion, however, is Jess geometrical than of yore: One individual, we are told, has set himself to make a map of England, set in a sea of blue lobelia, in his garden, with all the counties outlined, and filled with plants of different colours. It is a harmless fancy, but we cannot imagine his children welcoming the idea. A floral map of England will give too great-scope for the questions of well-meaning relatives who cannot understand that geography is a matter solely for the schoolroom. Beds j representing coats of arms of various noble families,in living plants, are being actively prepared, it cs stated, at their owners' various country seats, and Dulwich Park will probably contain among its attrac- j tions this summer a -huge carpet bed representing the coat of arms of Dulwich College, surrounded by its motto. People i -who have no coats of arms are contenting themselves with monograms or initials, or patriotic seatimente, such as "God" Save th* King." Carpet bedding i» something of an art. ."The bed,", says a recent writer, 'Wds.very careful preparation and levelling, and before a plant ie put in the whole design is carefully mapped out over its surface in silver sand to ensure the geometrical accuracy of pattern, which is so desirable. Great care has also to be exercised when the plants are well grown iky nip off any projecting; shoots. .With very large beds this work has frequently to be carrjed out by men lying oir raised* plants, stretched across t&eir surface," One.might be sorry were carpet bedding to become an entirely ' lost art, bat it is sincerely to be hoped it will never become'so popular as- it was i twenty or tWrty years ago.