TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume L, Issue 14909, 24 February 1914, Page 6

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

A Word for Thatch. In tho life-timo of people now young tho "lowly thatched cottage" of tho immortal song may bo a curiosity. To tho great regret of lovers of tho pie> turesquo tlie thatched roof is disappearing in England, and giving place to tiles or cOrrugnted iron. Tho colonial, so accuetomod to iron roofs and imbued with tho idea that thatch is out of dato and generally objectionable, may say, "Well, let it go." But thero is more in tho matter than ho imagines. Thero is no denying its pictufcsqitoness; it has become a necessary part of the Englieh landscape. But what the "Daily News," in an interesting article emphasises, is the eervieeabloncss of tho thatched roof. It is true that somo people hold thatch to be a bad roofing, in that it increases tho risk of fire and harbours birds and vermin, but others contend that these drawbacks can be guarded against, and that thatch is the best material for rural roofing. "Country cottages and farm buildings could not have a better roof than thatch, which will stand all weathers and last for years," says n land agent and farmer of 80 years' experience. "I found these roofs the least expensive to keep in repair, and if I were putting up a new range of farm buildings 1 should have tho thatched roof, as I well know its value. There is nothing to equal it for rearing tahy class of stock, and I think I may be allowed to know something about it, as I have bred and reared somo thousands of head of all classes of pedigree animals, and I have never seen stock do so well as when brought up Under tho thatched roof." This authority attributes tho growing Use of iron to the ignorance of thoso who Use it. Architects have a liking for thatch, and one of them has written a pamphlet in praise of it. By a curious irony, whilo the thatch is disappearing from the truly rural cottage, it is being used by architects who design week-cud Cottages for well-to-do Londoners. The "Building News," which may. be assumed to take a practical view, says there is no better roof for a cottage, no roof that will keep rooms so warm in winter and cool in summer. But it is to bo feared that the march of tiles and iron will not bo checked, even by the mooted society for the use of thatch. Motor Accidents. The expert who conducts the "Motors and Motoring" columns of London "Truth" has calculated the chances of motor accidents in England, and como to the conclusion that the number of accidents is not nearly so great as it might be. Recent statistics show that thiTO are 42.5,838 motor vehicles in tho United Kingdom, and G07.556 licensed drivers. Many car-owners, not to mention motor-buses nnd taxi-cabs, cover ten thousand miles in a year, but for tho purposes of his calculation the writer puts the average journeying at the very moderate figure of oCOO miles. The total number of miles covered per annum is. therefore, 2.120,190.000. In every ono of these miles the driver has to exercise skill to avoid accident. How many dangers or possible dangers are avoided in the average mile cannot, of course, bo calculated, but the writer thinks that ten is a low estimate. Taking ten as a basis, the total number of chances of accident per year is seen to be 30,000,000,000. In the face of such figures, he asks whether the proportion oP accidents can be regarded as remarkable for anything but its minuteness. "Even on the railway itself, with its prepared nnd exelusivo track, its scheduled trains, its block system which wns designed to eliminate all possibility of accident, we have seen this year how frequently the human element may err. and trrievously. How much more likely, therefore, is a motoring accident to occur in theory in view of the countless possibilities of road By the side of these the actual catastrophes aro but as a drop in a bucket, and no one who will look into the facts can fail to he amazed at the results." This is all very ingenious, and may be quite true, though

the reasoning would be more impressive if the number cf actual accidents were given. But it will take moro than this to convert the people who lock upon motorists as enemies of society. Time is the only thing that can change tho attitude of these extremists. Arabia's Prize. When the last mail left England, Countess Molitor, a young Russian, was preparing for what is probably, outside the Polar regions, the most perilous exploration journey in the world. The largest. unexplored tract outside these regions is tho South-east of Arabia. The Ruha-cl-Khali desert, a region of 600,000 square miles, has never been entered by a white man, and it is doubtful if natives havo been beyond its fringe. Some people believo it contains v,-ivst remains of buried cities, others that it has populated oases, and others that it is nothing but arid desert. Countess Molitor proposes to solve the mystery. She intends to go into Arabia by tho railway which will ultimately go to Mecca, a .id she will then striko right across Arabia in a southeasterly direction, coming out at Muscat. Friends have tried hard to stop her from undertaking such a dangerous task, contending that tho fanaticism of the Arabs and tho perils of the desert should bo faced by a man. The Countess is determined, but, judging by what sho says, it is doubtful if sho fully realises tho magnitude and difficulties of her enterprise. The last point in tho desert- marked on the map is Tamerah, itself several weeks' journey from tho railway. The explorer will set out from thore to cross 1200 miles of unknown desert, and travelling 30 miles a day, hopes to reach Muscat in May. She is travelling alono as far as Europeans aro concerned, and with very littlo luggage. Sho was to sail from Port -aid "with no more bolongings than can be carried in a single box." If tho Countess has not thought bettor of the business in the last few weeks, she is we!l on her way by now. If she succeeds she will be described as ! daring, if sho fails sho will bo called | fool hard v.