IN BOOKLAND

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 26 November 1927, Page 18

IN BOOKLAND

Lord Grey, of Fallodon, lias completed another nature book, entitled “The Oluinn of Birds.’’ It will be illustrated with woodcuts by Mr ltobert Gibbings.

The Council of the British Association are contemplating the purchase for the nation of the home of Charles Barwin the naturalist, with its. surroundings, at Downe, near Fa.rnborough, Kent

An unusual war book lias been published in England. It is entitled “The Two Battles of the Marne,” and lias ben compiled from the separate accounts of Marshall Foch, Marshall Joffre, Marshal Ludendorf, and the exCrow, 11 Prime of Germany.

One possibly unexpected result of the boom in broadcasting, with its talks on various subjects, has been to overwhelm the provincial libraries ill England'with requests for books that have never been stocked or required. Librarians report an immense increase in the demand for books, oil music, travel, natural history, dietetics and anthropology. By more effective collaboration between the public libraries and the British Broadcasting Company, it is hoped adequately to cater for broadcast listeners. This subject was specially discussed at the International Conference recently held at Edinburgh.

We have received from Messrs Gordon and Gotoh, a copy of the latest issue of “Hutchinson’s Magazine, which contains a judieius assortment <if romantic and humorous stones and articles on more or less various theme?. The photographic illustrations of the stories are a pleasing and clever feature of this popular magazine In the same mail , came copies of “Weldon’s” journal with the latest fashion hints.

Marshall Foch lias announced that lie 's> writing his jncnioins, but* that they will not be published before Ids death. He has refused a fortune for them.

Adventures in the air are thrilling to read even when described as Col. Bindberg describes them in matter-of-fact language. Colonel Lindbergh in his “We” tells of an experience when he was flying the night mail between Chicago and St. Louis in 1925. He was trving to descend at Maywood, the air mail port of Chicago, in a heavy fog: After flying west for 15 minutes and seeing no break, I turned south-west, hoping to strike the edge of the fog south of the Illinois river. My engine quit at 20 minutes past 8 p.m., and I cut in the reserve. I was at that time only 1500 ft. high ,and as the engine did not pick up as soon as I expected, I shoved the flashlight in my belt and was about to release the parachute flare aud jump when the engine finally took hold again. A second trial showed the main tank to be dry, and according a maximum of 20 minutes’ flying time was left. There wore no openings in the fog and I decided to leave the ship as soon as the reserve tank was exhausted.. I tried to get the mail pit open with the idea of throwing out the mail sacks and then jumping, but was unable to open the front buckle. I knew that the risk of fire, with no gasoline in the tanks, was very slight, and began to climb for altitude when I saw a light on the ground for several seconds. This was the first light I had seen for nearly two hours, and as almost enough gasoline for 15 minutes’ flying remained I glided down to 1200 ft and pulled out the flare release cable as nearly as I could judge over the spot where the light had appeared. This time the flare functioned, but only to illuminate the top of a solid bank of fog, into which it soon disappeared without showing any of the ground. At this time there was in the gravity tank gasoline sufficient to last seven minutes. Colonel Lindbergh continues: “At 5000 ft the engine sputtered and died. I stepped up on the cowling and out over the right side of the cockpit, pulling the ripcord after about a 100 ft fall. The parachute, an Irving seat service type, functioned perfectly. I was falling head downward when the risers jerked me into an upright position and the parachute opened. This time I saved the ripcord. I pulled the flashlight from my belt and was playing it down toward the top of the fog when I heard, the plane’s engine pick up. When I jumped it had practically stopped dead and I had neglected to cut the switches. Apparently when the ship nosed down an additional supply of gasoline drained the carburetter. Soon she came into sight, about a quarter of mile away, headed in the general direction of ray parachute. . . The plane was making a left spiral of about a mile diameter and passed approximately 300 yards away from my parachute, leaving me on the outside of the circle

The ship passed completely out of sight, but reappeared in a few seconds, its rate of descent being about the same as that of the parachute.”

Within 15 minutes of his landing Lindbergh had found the plane, retrieved the mails, and begun to put them on to the train.