UNDERSTANDABLE SCIENCE.

Evening Star, Issue 21820, 8 September 1934, Page 12

UNDERSTANDABLE SCIENCE.

At the annual meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, now proceeding in Aberdeen, speakers will address themselves, we are told, to many practical questions, such as nutrition in relation to disease, the problems of noise, and questions affecting the rearing and feeding of cattle. It is hoped that knowledge thereby will be extended, though if a dictum that was pronounced last night by Mr P. J. O’Regan applies to more spheres than the one he mentioned the scientists might be better engaged in educating themselves. “ The instincts of the masses,” Mr O’Regan is reported as saying, “ were a surer guide to right views on politics than the reasoned conclusions of so-called educated men. Whether this is so or not, the members of the British Association will be hard put to it to find subjects more likely to be congenial to the popular mind than some that were discussed by the scientific sections of the British Medical Association, meeting a few weeks before it. Mr Theodore Just, aural surgeon at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, said he was sure they would all agree that in these days nasal catarrh was more common among young women than other people. Ho thought the reason was not that the young women were more neurotic, ' but that practically all women used face powder. Quite often a change of the make of powder was a valuable aid to treatment, but it was more than a physician could do to stop its use. Mr E. D. D. Davis, of London, spoke of cases where it was only necessary to pull the trigger, so to speak, and an attack of catarrh occurred. He was thinking of the anxious intelligent young woman who had violent catarrh if she used a face powder containing orris root or ■ blew cigarette smoke through her nose, or had an orgy of dancing and cocktails in a hot, stuffy room. Another doctor mentioned a housewife who got catarrh when she mixed flour. Ho had a patient who, if he drank a glass of milk or ate a tomato, had terrific running of the nose the whole night. An amusing case of catarrh was that of a man who got it at 10 o’clock every Sunday morning. It took the doctor a long time to discover that Sunday was the only morning during the week when he had bacon for breakfast. At last ho was persuaded to give it up, and all went well. Dr S'. Watson Smith, president of the association, speaking at a breakfast, warned young people against the dangers of the cocktail habit. At present, bo said, the death rate from alcohol, cirrhosis of the liver, was on the decrease, but the disease waa an insidious one. They were going to find in the course, of the next ten or fifteen years a decided increase in the number of deaths from alcohol, cirrhosis of the liver, owing to the prevalence of the present-day habit of cocktail drinking. The cocktail was sometimes in the form of gin and sometimes absinthe, so it was said, and they wore both a harmful form of alcohol. No “popular account of the interpretation of the spectra of stars,” such as is promised for the British Association’s conference, is likely to vie with these addresses in practicality, though, in the face of Mr O’Regan’s flattery of the democracy, we might be loth to add “or in intelligibility.”

The ‘ Sports Special,’ with full reports of the Australia-New Zealand Hockey test, the Otago-Wellington Bugby match, the Kaufurly Shield match, Auckland v. Hawke’s Bay, and tlie other sporting events of the day and week, will be sold on the streets to-night. This will be the last issue of the ‘ Sports Special ’ for the year.

Pleading guilty at the Police Court tin’s morning to a charge of drunkenness, Angus M‘Kay, whose second offence it was within six months, was fined 12s 6d, in default twenty-four hours’ imprisonment. The tramway manager's statement of tlie traffic returns for the past fortnight (which will be presented at tlie City Council meeting on Wednesday night) indicates an increase in the revenue for tlie period of £2lO. The position, from April 1 last to September 1 (twenty-two weeks), compared with the corresponding period of last year, is that the revenue shows a total increase, over the whole of that period of £419, or .04 per cent. The revenue and expenditure statement for file first twenty weeks ot tile present financial year shows a net profit of £537. which is a decrease of £1,115 over tlie same period of the previous year, “It is impossible to stop stealing in the Botanic Gardens ” said a member at a meeting of tlie Christchurch Domains Board. “We have had wooden fence posts, chains, fencing wire, plants, and flowers taken. We have to post men in various parts of the parks to do nothing else hut keep a-watch. Wo must try to stop tin's somewhere.” The chairman, Mr H. Kitson, said, “ there are more vandals in Christchurch to the square inch than anywhere else I know of.” The matter was left to a committee.—Christchurch Press Association.

Authority has been granted by the General Committee of the City Council to invite tenders for the proposed additions to tlie surf bathing pavilion at St. Clair in accordance with plans and specifications prepared by the City building surveyor. Tlie Plunkct Society’s annual street appeal in Christchurch yesterday (says a Press Association telegram) realised £570, slightly less than last year’s total. Tho total this year will yet be considerably augmented by tho proceeds from tho photographic baby show which has been running for a week.

In view of the fact that one bus has now about reached the end of its economic life and that the chassis of another will also be required in the near future for use as a tower wagon, the Tramways Committee reports that it will be necessary to purchase two new buses at the earliest possible date. Authority has accordingly been given to invite tenders for the supply and delivery of one motor omnibus chassis to seat twenty-nine passengers, such chassis to bo in accordance with the Government regulations, and to be of a design permitting the _ fully-loaded vehicle to operate on a third-class road. With regard to the second bus, the committee recommends that tenders be called for the supply and. delivery of a thirty-one seater compression ignition (Diesel) engined bus. This bus is required primarily for the Pitt streetMaori Hill service, and, from the information now available with respect to this type of vehicle, it is apparent that it would be a particularly useful and economical unit on the hill run to Maori Hill.

The city organist, Dr V. E. Galway, will give one of his popular afternoon recitals in the Town Hall on Wednesday next at 3 o’clock. A varied and interesting programme, which should suit all , classes of music lovers, has been prepared for this occasion. Authority has been granted by the Finance Committes of the City Council for a further expenditure of £2l for effecting necessary renewals and imprr ,-ements to the electric light installation at th Public Art Gallery. The cost already inclined is £8 3s Cd, and fuller investigations by the E.P. and L. department indicated that a good deal of additional work was required to put the installation in proper order.

During a rncent discussion on the composition of sausages by an Australian Health Commission, the chairman described an economical method of making saiisages. An American sausage “ sophisticator ”, had demonstrated the method to a Melbourne grocer, whereby 1001 b of meat went into the machine, and 2001 b of sausages came out. In the frying pan, however, the reverse process took place, ami the fat, appetising looking sausages were reduced to the size of the “ cocktail ” variety. The law of the conservation of mass was apparently reasserting itself. Before Mr H. W. Bundle, S.M., in the Police Court yesterday, George H. Claridge, a motorist, was charged with driving at a dangerous speed across intersections. Mr A. G. Neill appeared for the defendant. Evidence was given by Traffic Inspector Cameron, who said the defendant had admitted that he was travelling at thirty to thirty-five miles per hour, and had stated that he was in a hurry at the time. He stopped within one and a-half lengths when accosted. The defendant, in evidence, said he was doing from twenty-five to thirty miles per hour. The magistrate said it seemed to him that, if the car had stopped within one and a-half lengths, it could not have been travelling at the speed alleged. The charge would accordingly be dismissed. Consideration lias been given by the Reserves Committee of the City Council to a petition from the relief workers employed at the afforestation nursery at the Botanic Gardens for payment of standard rates of pay. The bulk of these men are classified as unfit for ordinary work, and hence were grouped for work at the nursery, where the nature of the operations does not call for heavy labour. The petitioners drew attention to the fact that the relief workers to be employed on the plantations at \Vaipori will have their wages brought up to the standard rate. In the case of the Waipori work, however, the operations called for comparatively heavy manual labour, and men were selected who were physically able to perform such labour and stand up to camp conditions and exposure to all kinds of weather. Under ordinary conditions all the essential works required at the Gardens nursery would bo carried out by two of the department’s regular staff, working full time. The committee had accordingly advised the petitioners that it was unable to accede to the request contained in the petition. At a recent meeting of the Executive Council of the New Zealand Institute of Horticulture, Mr i‘. 8. r-’opo (chairman) extended a welcome to Mr J. A.. Campbell on his return from overseas. It was reported that district councils had been communicated with on the subject of road beautification, and it was decided to request the Mayor of Wellington to take the lead in this matter for the Wellington district. Ihe committee’s report on the Native Hants Protection Bill was adopted, and a further proposed amendment was referred to this committee for consideration The Judging Rules Committee reported that it had agreed upon definitions- of “open or professional,” “amateur” and “novice” upon the request of certain affiliated horticultural societies, which had been duly advised. These definitions will bo published in the next issue of the institute’s journal.

The fusing of an electric motor at the premises of the Para Rubber Company, Cumberland street, was responsible for the Fire Brigade turning out at 3.40 yesterday afternoon. Beyond the burning out of the motor, no damage was done, A chimney fire in George street was attended to at 7.23 p.m., and a malicious false alarm from the corner of Glen avenue and Crosby street, Mornington, called the machines out at 8.32. ,

A recommendation to the City Council is being made by the General Committee that a-motor cycle be purchased for use by members of the traffic inspection staff as required. It is pointed out in the committee’s report that the second-hand car which has been used by the staff for some time has now reached the end of its economic life, and it is essential that some means of transport be provided for the inspectors if their duties are to be efficiently performed.

That the gas engineer (Mr A. Couper) be authorised to attend the Gas Congress which is being held in Melbourne during the forthcoming centenary celebrations is recommended by the Gas Committee of the City Council. The congress is being attended by leading authorities in other parts of the world, a number of whom will, bo reading papers on appropriate subjects. It is considered that the papers and the discussions that will ensue should prove of great value to all attending the congress.

Notification of Sunday services as enumerated below appears in our Sunday cervices advertising columns: Anglican: St. Paul’s Cathedral, All Saints’, St. Michael’s and All Angels’. Presbyterian: First Church, Knox Church, St. Andrew's, Chalmers, Musselburgh, St. Stephen’s, Roslyn, South Dunedin. Methodist; Trinity, Central Mission, Mornington, St. Hilda, Cavershanl, Dundas Street, Abbotsford. Baptist: Hanover Street, Caversham, Mornington, South Dunedin, Roslyn, Sunshine. Congregational: Moray Place Church, United. Church of Christ: St. Andrew Street, North-east Valley, South Dunedin. Y6rk Place Hall, Playfair Street Hall, Christian Science, Theosophical Society, Spiritualist, Orange Hall.

The Grange Cricket Club will hold its annual meeting on September 11. Particulars arc advertised in this issue.

Rehearsals of the Dunedin Operatic and Dramatic Society’s next production, ‘ No, No. Nanette,’ will be commenced in the society’s rooms, Dowling street, on Thursday next, at 7.30 p.m., when all members and intending members arc invited to be present.

Dunedin North branch of the New _ Zea. land Labour Party advises all those interested in the recent decision of the City Council regarding the issuing of permits for the holding of Sunday night concerts and community recitals that Cr Mark Sil verstono will speak at a public meeting to bo bold in the. State Theatre on Sunday night, at 8 o’clock, taking as his subject ‘ Should the City Council Grant Permits for Sunday Night Concerts and Community Recitals?’ Mr B. O’Donnell will occupy the chair, and an invitation is extended to all interested and to Cr M’lndoo to reply to Cr Silverstonc. Doors will open 7.15. The usual collection will be taken.

Mr P. J. O’Regan has an advertisement elsewhere in connection with Tuesday’s rating poll.

Attention of ratepayers is called to an address to be delivered by Cr M. Silverstone on ‘ Unimproved Rating ’ on Monday, at Opoho, when lie will take the opportunity to reply to the statement issued by those councillors opposing a change in the rating system.

Don’t delay with eye troubles. To give complete satisfaction is the Ideal of W. V. Slnrmcr, Optician, 2 Octagon, Dunedin.—[Advt.]

Try Akaroa for your holidays. Bathing, healing, fishing, hill walks, and motoring. Book with Booking Bureau, P.O. Box 3, Akaroa.—[Advt.]