RANDOM NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 114, 7 February 1935, Page 8

RANDOM NOTES.

Sidelights on Current Events (By Kickshaws.) After all, it is better to have an aerial peace than aerial pieces. * * a Air. Egon Kisch, the convicted prohibited immigrant, has won his injunction. That should egg him on a bit. * * * The Archbishop of York declares that, the “Amen” at the end of a hymn tune is rather a bore. On the other hand, at the end of a dreary discourse it is rather welcome. / Regarding AA 7 ellington’s remarkable spell of calm fine weather, “G.W.AA r .” says: “An incident which occurred during the recent bowling tournament held in Auckland is worth mentioning. A bowler among the spectators, in a breeze, was endeavouring to light his cigarette without success. An Auckland bowler produced his safety matches, pushing the slide match container out threequarters of an inch: removing a match, and keeping the box open, he struck a light immediately inserting ’the flame into the ‘dip recess at the other end of the box. This protected the light from the wind without injury to box or matches. Only a few moments are necessary to light either a cigarette or cigar, and no matches in the box are exposed to the| flame from the opposite end. This tip saves annoyance and is economical.

The Governor-General of South Africa welcomed the Empire Press delegates to “a land of gold.” The gold scarcity has led to a great boom in South African mining. But there is one aspect of gold discoveries that many of us forget. If vast supplies of gold were suddenly made available, either by x chemical reclamation from the sea or by the discovery of huge deposits on dry land, gold would lose its value. Gold in itself is not a useful commodity. Even lead is more serviceable and copper is of far greater practical use to the world. Gold’s chief claim to importance is that on account of its rarity it has been chosen to act as a pawn in the marvellous game of currency. Roughly £64 million of gold is the average yearly output of mined gold. Anybody unloading vast supplies of gold on to the world would be confronted with the fact that the nations of the world would not want the gold. So soon as it became known that gold could be obtained for next to nothing, by some method or other, obtaining raw gold in that manner would be put on the same plane as counterfeiting coins, or forging bank notes. Certainly England would make it a penal offence to make gold, because London controls and finances the largest gold mines in the world.

Investigation of miracles in Scripture often lead to curious discoveries. There are innumerable curious trees and shrubs in the world, and those burning bushes of Biblical fame are probably no exaggeration at all. The dictamnus, now established at Kew Gardens, exudes such an inflammable oil that when a lighted match is applied a vivid scarlet flame shoots up and travels along the flowering branch without injuring the plant. In India and Afghanistan burning bushes are well known. In fact, there is a mountain called Sufed Koli in Afghanistan which appears to be on fire on spring nights. Certain bushes on the slopes of this mountain have the power of becoming phosphorescent at certain times of the year and cover the mountain with their weird glow. The oldfashioned dittany, rarely seen to-day, but beloved of our great grand-parents, also had the property of becoming luminous at night. On a warm, still evening dittany emits an inflammable gas, and under conditions the plant produces a curious luminous halo. * ♦

Wellington' has discovered that women can play cricket. AVhether they will ever be able to play it so well that some of them will become world-famous is another story. It is hoped that the following figures will not deter them from trying. Bradman’s famous 132 runs in 90 minutes works out at just under 90 runs an hour. Certainly it is fast scoring; these days anything over 40 runs an hour is considered fast scoring. Nevertheless, there was a time when scoring used to mount up even faster. Gilbert Jessop, for example, has scored-100 runs an hour on at least four occasions in county cricket. Against a AVest Indian team he once scored 157 runs in an hour. In 1903 Jessop made 286 in three hours, or an average of 95 runs an hour. Perhaps Jessop’s greatest feat was making 93 runs in 63 balls. All these run-getting figures pale in comparison to the prodigies of hitting that were such a feature of Alleston’s batting. It is stated that on one occasion he made 89 runs in 15 minutes. This works out at the rate of 356 runs an hour. Two overs from one bowler produced 56 runs and two overs from the other end 34 runs. P. G. 11. Fender, another great hitter, once made 74 in 47 minutes, and 50 runs in 20 minutes. Aloreover, C. I. Thornton has been known to make 34 runs off eight consecutive balls. • There is, of course, a difference between a cricketer who produces big totals aud a cricketer who makes big hits. Sometimes the two are to be found in the one player, and the cricket world wakes up. More often the big hitter takes big risks and gets, out. So far as can be discovered, one of the biggest hits on record, if not the biggest, was made by a clergyman named AV. Follows. AVhile practising at Oxford, he drove a ball 175 yards from hit to first pitch. C. I. Thornton, during practice, once hit a ball 168 yards, and 152 yards in a club match. The biggest hit of all, however, appears to have been 286 runs. According to this fairy tale, or it may be true, the batsman hit the ball during a game in Australia into the fork of a jarrah tree. It was ruled that the ball was not lost because it could be seen. The gum tree was within the boundary, so the batsmen started to run. They continued while an axe was sent for. No axe, however, could be found. Nobody could climb the tree. Eventually the ball was shot down with a rifle. The. batsmen were as relieved as any—the running of 2SG runs means running nearly four miles. » « * THE VOICES. It is said that wireless wave voices go on and on for ever. And who in time knows whither we may vent The treasure of our tongue, to what strange shores This gain of our best glorie shall be sent, T’ enrich unknoweing Nations with our stores? AVhat worlds in th’ yet unformed Occident May come relin’d with th’ accents that arc ours? —Daniel .(Elizabethan uoet).