TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14564, 15 January 1913, Page 8

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

A new industry, and a new English chapter, in British agriSugar, culture has opened in England with tho erection of a large beet sugar factory in Norfolk. This is practically England's first sugar factory—two previous pioneor attempts having com© to noth* ing. Tho company running tho factory is a Dutch one, and under the management of a Dutchman, M. van Rossum. Contributions to its activity says tho "Daily Mail," camo in from all parts of England, fom Lincolnshire, Yorkshire. Buckinghamshire, Kent and from as far as Bristol, and from people as far removed as tho small holder and the Duko of Bedford. By far tho most of tho material is supplied, however, by Norfolk and Suffolk farmers, who havo so far supplied 35,000 tons of Biigar boot. The factory, the machinery of which is of the newest design, has a capacity of turning out ■ 150 tons of sugar a day, and dealing with tho produce of 10,000 acres^in one "campaign" or hundred days' poriod of activity. This factory is only a tentative beginning. "I have Conio over," M. van Rissum says, "not to start ono factory but a number, and for this factory I want not 3500 aores of boot but 10,000." A dozen suggested factories are waiting on the result of tho Norfolk pioneers. Germany it may b© noted, i& less suitable for sugar than England, but yet succeeds in producing over two million tons of beet. It remains to b© seen whether this attempt will succeed in reducing tho £21,000,000 which England giv«<* yearly to the foreigner for her sugar. The result depends on the Pii4?""sh farmers Sugar beet is ono of the most difficult crops «o harvest, and in this ; t differs widely from tho mangold, turnip and swede. "Your farmers" the Dutch manager told a "Daii.7 Mail" representative, ''are clovJr fellows. They do not like to work too hard Still tlie Norfolk roots havo so far, provided at least as good a proportion of sugar as any foreign roots, and th© yield is over 10 tons per acre. There is every likelihood that tho Dutch, who years ago drained what Sro now the most fertile part? of Eastern England, will prove England's benefactors in this second Venture. An innovation which is A how . being introLibrary duced into tho Free Experiment. Public Library, Sydney, is likely to be of widespread value. It is intended to extend tho scope of th© library, and from being an institution used only by the inhabitants of the city, to make of

it a kind of intelligence bureau for the entire State. People who want useful information and do not know exactly where to obtain it, as well as those whose means do not permit them to buy works of reference themselves, are invited to write to the Library and ask lor it. All that has to bo done is to mention the name of the subject on which information is desired, and the right book is sought out and sent to the enquirer. It is not necessary for tho latter to know the names of tho books he wants, or even what books he wants. Tho library staff take upon themselves the task of hunting out the desired information. Officers with special experience nro employed on this work. In order to meet this object a special Country Reference Section is being built up. At the present time this department contains nbout 2COO volumes, but it is proposed to increase tho number to 5000 or so, when special country reference catalogues will bo published for the use of enquirers. The scheme is in operation already, says the Sydney "Daily Telegraph," and, from what tho now principal of tho library, Mr W. H. Ifould. says, it appears to bo working out admirably. All sorts of enquiries have already been received on all possible ■subjects, and wero in every case answered. A dozen recipes wero supplied to a lady who wanted to know how to remove mildew from a linen collar. A letter f__m Queensland asked the difference between opal and opal matrix. One enquirer wanted a book on Australian aboriginal languages, another books on Wagner, another a text-book of higher mathematics with special reference to annuities. An immigrant wanted to' build a houso for himself out of reinforced concrete, and wrote for directions on the subject. Tho request of one up-country student had to bo refused. Ho wanted some university text-books, but as he meant to use them for six months, and ap they were obtainable cheaply, the library authorities came to the conclusion that they could not supply him with them. Sometimes books have to be sent for. At other times voluminous extracts are required which necessitate the applicant either visiting tho library to copy them out, or employing a typist. The conditions aro simplo and generous. Three volumes may be obtained at a timo, and may bo kept for a month. The library pays freight ono way, so that the expense to which the borrower is put is quite inconsiderable. Recent discoveries in Prehistoric different parts of Arizona. America combine to show that tho New World is by no means so young as its titlo would imply, and that ancient civilisations have existed there, which rival in antiquity those of Babylon and Nineveh. Traces cf ono of these old civilisations have been unearthed in Arizona by a mining engineer and archaeologist, Mr A. Lafavo. On a high plateau of tho Mazatazal range, not many miles from tho modern city of Phoonix, lie the ruins of a prehistoric Arizona city. The buildings of this city are constructed principally of sandstone, and Mr Lafavo says that they show high architectural skill. Their age—approximately 7000 years— is indicated by the great accumulation of earth, ten or more foot deep, which covers the ruins. This earth, flir Lafavo says, tan only have gathered thus through being blown thero by the shifting sands of many centuries. It cannot bo tho result of wash or drift, for the site is high abovo the surrounding country, and the real city is on tho top of a mountain. In tho excavated walls was discovered a crude box containing cotton balls in a perfect stato of preservation. This fact is particularly noteworthy, inasmuch as no cotton exists within several hundred miles of the spot, nor hns cotton been cultivated there within the memory of man, while Indian legends contain no references tc it. The inevitable inference to be drawn is that seven thousand years ago the climatic conditions of tho country wero. widely different from what they aro at the present day. In the foothills of the Tinto Basin ■near by, Mr Lafavo unearthed, at a depth of about twenty feet, an ancient well, walled up with masonry, and eloso to it was found a quantity 'of potter;- of exquisite design. In one sealed jar wore specimens of maize in a wonderful state of preservation. Another interesting find was a child's leg and foot embedded in a solid rock of silicified mud. Designs on the walls of tho ruins show that sun worshio prevailed among the inhabitants of this long-vanished city. One of the most remarkable- features of tho disctovery is the high artistic quality displayed in tho pottery and other objects, unearthed. 'The designs," says Mr Lafave. "reveal an artistic ability and conception far superior to that of other sculptors and painters of ancient times."