Untitled

Evening Star, Issue 12866, 16 July 1906, Page 4

. A . starfc h j“ made with the excavatmg tor a foundation for tho now Public Library m Moray plaoe. Messrs Heenan and Fronde, Limited, of Manchester, have just received an ord«r r th °c? ty ° f - We,lin gt<». New Zealand, for the erection of a large destructor capaole of dealing with 120 ton- of refuse per day. An engine and dynamo for generating electricity for lighting the works is also to be put down, and when this plant is completed, Messrs Heenan and Proude state, it will be the largest in Australasia V\ hen will Dunedin go m for inch a necesl sary adjunct to its sanitary equipment. The traffic returns for the City Corporation tramways for the fortnight ended 7th July, 1906, as compared with the corresponding period last year, were as follow : 1906, £1,823 14s lid, 43,316 miles 56 chains; 1905, £1,653 3s sd, 37,455 miles 3 chain*.

la reference to the Dunedin statement that in consequence of the inadequacy of the back allowance clause of the Teachers’ Superannuation Act a large number of teachers are refraining from subscribing, and that the scheme is therefore in a great measure defeated, opinions here (says “Our Own ” at Christchurch) differ as to the accuracy of this view. The secretary of tbo North Canterbury Board of Education is not able to say that a large number of teachers are not availing themselves of the facilities provided by the Act. Interviewed, he said: “ That is not our experience. Of course, we wish the Government could provide a better back service allowbut I cannot say that many teachers are abstaining from joining. The Sydney City Council plump for electric light. Tenders for separate sections of the additions to the plant required by the Council have been recommended for acceptance, the whole amounting to £47,389. The city electrical engineer (Mr T. Hooke) says this additional plant will last for twenty years, although by the end of ten years it will probably bo desirable to replace some parts of it in order to keep pace with improvements. He further says that the profits now from the electric plaut approximate £9OO a month, after providing for all costs, rates, and taxes, including 5 per cent, interest on a capital expenditure of £275,000. A recent cable message stated that a veritable epidemic of flights from the harem has broken out among the Turkish women of the better classes. A few months ago the two daughters of Nouri Be\% Secretary-General of the Ministry of I* oreign Affairs, left their harem surreptitiously and fled to Paris. A little later the daughter of Redvan Pasha, the city prefect (who was recently assassinated), fled to Beousa. Now comes the news that the daughters of Mendouh Pasha, Minister of the Interior, and of Turkhar Pasha, Minister of the Pious Foundations (VVaknf), have fled the country in order to escape the deadly duiness of harem life. Similar desertions are reported from quite a number of families of good standing. Old Turks who remember the time of the Crimean War state that never since that time, when hundreds of Turkish women fell in love with French officers and followed them to Europe, has there been such a wave of pro-European and anti-Turkish sentiment among the best classes of Turkish women as at present. At Washington there has lately died a lady, Mrs Betsy Ware, whose “duly authenticated” age was’l3o years. President Monroe presented her with a suitably inscribed ring on the occasion of her silver wedding in 1824. She was the daughter of the English financier who put Necker up to the Mont do Piete and the Caisse d’Escompte. The Bishop of Autun, Talleyrand, had baptised her; Marie Antoinette had petted her; Robespierre had written her verses; for dance partners she had had Bonaparte and Murat. In point of fact, it was all so long ago that it was impossible to sav what had not happened to her. One matter, however, is a matter of simple arithmetic. She loft ninety-eight great-grand-children.

Tf the farmer, after grass-seeding, sows his land without cleaning the seed, and repeats the process season after season, he will get dirtier and dirtier land, for weeds are j much more prolific than grass. For that j reason seed-cleaning is receiving more and more attention. The plant recently acquired from A. Moritzsou and Co. Ny .Mur- , ray, Roberts, and Co. is believed to'be the i biggest south of the Line. It is erected in what used to be the old Art Gallery build- i ings, and under that roof are stored bags on ! bags of dillerent kinds of grass seeds—enough to row down half the land in Otago they look. The machinery, which sifts out the good seed from the worthless, is very interesting when seen at work. The motive power is supplied by gas engines, and the machines themselves are a series of riddle;—some shaking riddles and some swinging. Ryegrass seed is principally treated by the latter and cock foot tn .nu former. First of all, however, the seed is cleaned by passing through a drum (like that on a threshing mill), with brushes re- i volving inside it. The straw and light, ! worthless stuff with no'gcrm inside it is : blown away by a draught of air. Then the seed goes over a series of six riddles, and worthless intruders, such as sorrel seed, are i sifted out, the seed finally coming out ns clean as if the plot from which it was gathered did not contain a weed. It takes an expert, however, to get this result. He has to find out what kind of sieves are needed to properly treat each parcel of seed. There are no fewer than ninety sets of riddles for the £wo big machines. These are interchangeable, and five or six are selected for use on one machine. Eacli of these machines is capable'of turning out about ten sacks of clean seed per hour. Another machine, of a rather different type, is us'ed for cleaning clover seed,. while Italian ryegrass receives special treatment. This seed has a hair, or “ horn,” sticking out from one end of its cigar-shaped body, and special care has to be taken not to knock this “ hem ” off. One curious fact elicited during a visit to the plant was that clover seed has to be polished to make it the more marketable. This is done by placing it in the drum with the revolving brashes. The seed is just as good without being polished, but the farmer’s whims have to bo considered. In the grass-seeding season the capacity of the plant is heavily taxed, and two shifts per day have to be worked. Seeing the cheap rate at which, the farmer can get his seed cleaned—something like 9d a sack, while railway freight is only charged one way—there appears to be no reason why he should ever have to be content with anything short of a practically clean crop. Pursuing the argument further, it looks as if the seed-cleaning machines must ultimately defeat their own ends, and rob themselves of employment, but we know from experience that Nature is seldom to be beaten in that way. Dr Ogston, the Health Officer, intends making arrangements at as early a date as possible to meet school teachers for the purpose of instructing them in detecting the beginnings of disease or affections of any kind amongst the children under their care. This proposal, it will be remembered, was brought forward by Dr Mason at the meeting of the Educational Institute on Friday evening. Incorporated in the report of the Education Committee of the city of Manchester for 1904-05, some interesting statistics showed that the system of medical inspection and observation by teachers was invaluable. The total number of children tested for eyesight was 32,486, and of these 2,126 were found to bo suffering from defects of such gravity as to warrant a circular being sent to their parents. Three hundred and sixteen cases of defective hearing were reported, and in 119 cases the parents were advised of some defect. The treasurer Public Art Gallery building fund acknowledges receipt of the following sub;criptions; —Mr T. S. Culling, £5 ss; Mr D'Arcy Haggitt (Christchurch), £2 2s; Mr Peter Barr, £2 2s. The lest of time proves that Tussicuxa has no equal for throat troubles. [IO9J Some of tbe most beautiful designs in fancy combs are to be seen at Hendy’s Hairdressing Rooms. Prices range from 6d to 21s each; inspection invited. —[Advt.] The annual meeting of the Blackwater River Gold Dredging Company will be held in Queen’s Rooms, Crawford street, to-morrow afternoon at four o’clock. Dr Eusor’s Tamer juice is obtainable from all leading chemists and storekeepers. [lo9] Mr Morris makes the most charming portrait studies of all children. Their portraits are beautifully soft, naturally lifelike, and totally unstudied. Charges, 21a per dozen, cabinet size. See specimens in vestibule, the studio. Princes street.—[Advt.] The July number of ‘ Progress,’ the new monthly journal issued by Messrs Baldwin and Bayward, Wellington, has several interesting features. Sketches of a number of new houses erected ah Oriental Bay appear, and some particulars of the P, and B. flat roofs, now coming into use in Wellington, are given.. Harbor improvements at Patea and Wanganui are pictorially dealt with, and attention is paid to motor and other machinery. Tussicura for cough and cold has stood the test of time. [lo9] It is a matter of common knowledge that leather goods are rising in prices. Simon Brothers, Princes street, are pulling down prices at their annual stock-taking sale; you should visit them.—[Advt,] Substitution is a fraud. Tamer juice for indigestion, liver and kidney troubles.—[lo9]