AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 74, 30 March 1910, Page 10

AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

TEETH »OF SCHOOL CHILDREN. It was announced some weeks ago that the Victorian Government medical inspectors were commencing the examination of the scholars of the six type schools, and that the dental inspection would be conducted by members of the Odontological Society of Victoria. Thirty denial practitioners assisted iv the inspection, which occupied three weeks. Tive report to be presented to the society reveals (says the Melbourne Argus) a deplorable condition, due mainly to neglect of tlm teeth and mouths of the children of Pcn-t Melbourne. The examination included 491 children, and it was found that iil. 18 per cent, of the children could be elfissed as having clean mouths, 50.10 per cent, fairly clean, 26.29 dirty, and 1.63 foul mouths. Of the mouths 60.9 per cent, contained stained teeth, 18.74 per cent, showed a little tartar, and 3.67 X per cent, much tartar. It was found th.wt only 35.64 per cent, of the scholars us* *l a tooth brush regularly, 17.63 admitted possessing a tooth brush, but never using it, and 40.84 per cent, did not possess one. One boy said that he bad never seen one ; another that he used one each Christmas Eve ; and a third tliat his four sisters owned one between them. Ono hundred and three mouths presented 145 fistula of the gums, 72.50 per cent, of the children were deficient in grinding capacity through unsound or absent contiguous I tfrfiih." Of the 12,218 tetth examined 43i9 were temporal y and 7879 permanent | teeth. Of the temporary teeth "49.34 per cent, were defective or missing, and of the permanent 34.44. EARLY MELBOURNE MEMORIES. Two old men, who are interesting from the fact that they wore both born in tents on the site "of the city of Melbourne during the early years of settlement, are patients, by a peculiar coincidence, at the present time in Wangaratta Hospital. The parents of these ruen, whore names are John Rootand Charles Pierce, followed Batman and Fawkner from Tasmania to Victoria in 1835, and Pierce was born where Lonsdale-street is now situated in 1837; Rees, near the Sarah Sands Hotel in 1838. One left Melbourne when twelve years old, but tho other was taken away when very young, and, after many years' wanderings, they have discovered, by interchange of reminiscences during their present residence in the hospital, that they were probably playmate*, as children, on the banks of the Yarra. Both men are of tho labouring class, and undergoing treatment for minor infirmities of old age, bnt they have a clear recollection of many events of the early day*. SHIP'S REMARKABLE RECORD. A remarkable Tecovd of a ship's run of bad luck has reached Newcastle, New South Wales, in a letter from Mrs. Wood, wife of Captain Wood, of tho ship l«ady« Doris. The veseel left Newcastle on 30th June last, but misfortune did not overtake her till she left Port Talbot for Tal Tal. When five days out the cook committed suicide by jumping overboard. Next morning a steward fell and 'broke his leg, and the ship put into Madeira to get another steward. A few days after leaving Madeira one of the crew broke his arm, and an apprentice badly injuiecUhis back and was laid up for some weeks. The ship then ran into a gale, was thrown on her beam ends, and the cargo of small coal shifted. Had the weather not suddenly moderated, nothing, sayfe Mr?. Wood, could have saved the vessel. All the cabins on th© port side were under water, and the Ladyc Doris had to be hove-to for a week in order to right the cargo. The strain proved too much for Captain Wood, and it was decided to put into the Falkland Islands. Captain Wood,' being too ill to continue with the ship, left for England with Mrs. Wood and their two children, leaving the mate in charge. The chip's bad luck did not desert her even then. Captain Jajnes, also well known in Newcastle, arrived to take charge of the Laaye Doris, and ho fell down the hold and was killed. 'The mate then took the ship back to England. COXSERVATION~OF FORESTS. The London Times, commenting on Empire afforestatipn, strongly blamed Australia for disregarding the conservation of forests, and added that wanton sacrifice would bring retribution. The Premier of Sevr South Wales was questioned on the subject. "No doubt,' Mr. Wade said, "this charge of injudicious destruction of timber has been true, not only with regard to Xew South Wales in the past, but also in other countries in tho world. As a matter of fact it is not so very long since a, gentleman visited New South Wales with the object of obtaining a supply of timber for the construction of a railway in Central America, and he stated that in a very short time the whole of the available hardwood in that part of America would be absolutely exhausted. However, the fact that we have passed an Afforestation Act recently is clear evidence that this State recognises the desirableness of conserving our forests and also of making provision for the continuous growth of new timber. The Forestry Department is now at work classifying the permanent forests and making full provision for planting in all the suitable areas of the State. In the past it has been impossible to make timber land available for settlement, and at tlw same time make the timber available for commercial purposes. In many in- j stances the timber was so far removed from the market that the cost of felling and conveyance was absolutely prohibitive. The ideal method, of course, would be to get the timber off the land first of all, convert it into a marketable product, and then utilise the land for purposes of settlement, but in practice in a young country, with a scattered railway system, it is impossible to achieve that ideal." WIRELESS ON THE R.M.B. MAKURA. As mentioned in a recent cablegram, interesting experiments with the wireless apparatus were made by the operator on the R.M.S. Makura, of the Union Company's line, on the voyage across the Pacific from Vancouver. The Daily Telegraph states that the mailboat was in communication with the mainland for two weeks after leaving Vancouver, and it was remarked on board that had Suva and Brisbane possessed wireless stations the ship would have been in touch with Canada or Australia all the way across the Pacific. Passengers by the Makura had their morning newspaper — the Makura Wireless Tribune — eacb day for a fortnight after leaving Vancouver. It contained a budget of the very latest news from the United States, 'covering the actual news contained in the shore newspapers. All the messages were received by "wireless" and the results of the races ashore were even included, whilst negotiations for the Jeffries-Johnson fight figured on the sheet. When the Makura was a long way this side of Honolulu she spoke the big Pacific liner Korea, bound for San Francisco. The two vessels were steaming in opposite directions, but messages were exchanged over a distance of-2i7X ; ffiiiesj)X.mreieM 1 the M*kur»

herself beinff 1624 miles this side cf Honolulu. She actually spokf to the Cane Flattery station, "too, when 1800 miles off.