WITHOUT PREJUDICE

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 116, 14 February 1928, Page 8

WITHOUT PREJUDICE

NOTES AT RANDOM [During the absence on hdiday of “T.D.H.,” “Notes at Random” will be contributed by “Wi.”l Hilaire Belloc predicts that ‘the demand for a hell will return soon.” Evidently tlie supply is beaming a problem.; Scientists say that, the next tig war will be with the insects. We have several small wars on hand wit! them at present. Good-by, old bus! A fond fareveil! The junk man has you now. You’ve earned.your rest; I hate :o sell Your carcass, I allow. My boon companion you have been, In courtship and in marriage. My moving van! My medicine! Of late, my baby carriage! —Bill Tar. A New Zealand periodical, ii the throes of . death, sent out a pithetic appeal to its subscribers. Here is a poignant paragraph: “It is impossible for us to cany on as we are already behind: with our printers’ bill, and are unable to bear the load any longer. . . Thqre are same subscribers whose subscriptions have not yet run out, to these we will return, when we have sufficient funds, what is due to them, if they so desire it; but will they please request us to do so. We are quite fra'nk in admitting that we hope they will not do so as we need much more than we have ' in hand to settle' with our printer.” ■, ■

The neon light, referred to-in Saturday’s cable message about the progress of experiments in signalling aircraft through fog, resembles a. ball of reddish orange fire when in use. It emits practically all its visible radiation in the long wave-lengths, which tests have shown to have greater fog-pene-trating power than light higher in the spectrum. It was found that during a heavv morning mist, when the laboratory building in which the new lamp was housed could not be seen 500 feet awav. the brilliant red glow penetrated to a distance’of half a mile ot more. A neon lamp of earlier type, with but half the candle-power, was reported seen bv an aviator on a cleat night at a distance of seventy-five miles. A feature of the lamp is its low wltage, substantially the same as that used for household purposes.

We now have an. earthquake calendar. According to a British‘earthquake expert (Dr. Charles 'Davison the iigxt big upheaval will probably occur between 1951 and 1958. It his long been known to geologists that serious earth shocks are more frequent in some wears than in others. One of these periods of numerous and powerful earthquakes seems just now to be closing, heavy shocks having been frequent in manv parts of the earth since about 1918. I'singa list of more tian four thousand severe earthquakes compiled bv another famous earthquake; expert, Professor John Milne, Dr. Davison has determined the number of years that pass, on the average, between one year of many earthquakes and the aext one. As was already suspected, this earthquake cycle turns, out to be die same as the eleven-year cycle of jun-spots on the sun. Just why the condition of the sun that causes sun-spots should affect the number of earthquakes remains a mvstery, but there is little doubt, Dr. Davison’s figures, indicate, that the time every eleven years when violent earthquakes - are numerous nearly always happens shorjy before there' is to be a time of very few sunspots. Other earthquake cycles of 19 rears, of ‘22 years and of. 33 years also have been detected. It is approximate coincidence of several .of these cvcles that indicates the unusually active earthquake years predicted for about 1951 and about 1980. .

That annual demonstration of the Briton’s steadfast adherence to custom and tradition, the Lord Mayor’s banquet in the Guildhall is the largest public dinner in the world—has provided a statistician with a means ot investigating the nation’s evolution along gastronomic lines. Data gathered from the account book of a well-inown city caterer show that the amount of food and drink consumed at the banquet nowadays is -only half that required fifty years ago. Only seven courses were served. We did better than that once. At,the Lord Mayors banquet of 1761 foir services, each ot io. dishes, were presented to the guests, or 48 courses in all. .Twenty-five years ago the allowance of wine at a big city banquet was two bogles per man. The average allowance to-day is half a bottle. - ■ ,

A modern banquet for .about 1000 guests calls for the fdlowing supplies: 350 quarts of turtle; soup, 5001 b. of salmon, 400 calves’ sweetbreids, 250 Surrey fowls, Four barons, of beef, 1200 maids of honour,550 bottles of champapie, 1300 bottles of white wme and bottles of red wine, ’ , 20 bottles of sherry, 85 bottles of port, 30 bottles of brandy,

30 bottles of whisky. ’ Turtle soup' takes four lays to maffe, and a baron of beef, wncli weig .is 1501 b takes 12 hours to oast. A total staff of 300, including 20 cooks, must be emploved to produce fhis banquet for 1000 diners. The spirit,if the great citv banquet is . the only remaining link with the glorious days of PicKwick.

Minister (in the United states, of course): “Who giveth tins rrtman? Bride’s Father: “I do. Abd now, folks, I wish to remind you that to-, dav’s’ programme is comine to yon through tlie courtesy of Waltet'Q. Blub’blah ' father of the lovely brde, and president of the Blubblah Buhmg and Winch Corporation, manufactarers ot the ‘Little Wonder Wmcles and ‘Miladv Dainty Bushings,’ at all hardware shops of the better sort.

When a certain type of traie union officials fall out, the collecto- of epithets comes into his own. Ar lock Wilson, of the Sailors aid Firemen’s Union, recently and pmhely expressed his disapproval of Ar. A. .L Cook; three pages ofthe ‘? ean V*“ were devoted to establishing :he fact The article was headed The World s Greatest Imbecile,” and- tiese are some of the epithets used tn it:— Libeller. Slanderer, Hot-air lerchant, Moscow Agent. Self-confessed; Failure, Blatherskite, Harbinger of Trouble, Fool Ingrate, Braggart. Ravng Lunatic Cad, Bluffer. Coward, looh-Bah, Mountebank, Spellbinder. Hatherer, and The Alan Who Has Broight the Miners to Poverty. IN HOSPITAL. Thank the dear God for pdn And its knife-keen smart; After it, peace again, And a quieter heart. The cold, sweet ether smdl, And four white walls; The sound of a chapel bell Through silent halls. Everting . . . and night . . . and dawn . . . A maple tree! Laughter across a lawn— And Life' for me! —Dorothy Stott Shaw.