CURRENT TOPICS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXXIII, Issue 16061, 16 October 1912, Page 8

CURRENT TOPICS.

After tho wreck of the Titanic many experiments were made with a

DETECTING ICEBERGS.

view 1 to detecting in good time the presence of icobergß at sea. A Canadian scientist, Professor Howard Barnes, of the M'Gill University, delivered an interesting address on the subject, and explained the results of some extensive experiments which ho had conducted. In studying the effect which ice had on, tho St Lawrence River tho professor, found that the ordinary thermometer was of absolutely no use, and to overcome the difficulty he devised an instrument which he called a microthermometer, capable of recording ■ thousandths of a degree of temperature. The. instrument was tested on Hudson Bay, and it was found that as the iceberg was approached the temperature of tho water first rose and then fell suddenly. 'This rise in the temperature, the professor stated, was caused by the fresh water floating off the berg. The fresh water was at first colder than the sea; but became gradually warmer as its distance from the berg increased. During a trip across the Atlantic the professor placed his instrument in the circulating water drawn in by the pumps. It was so constructed that every variation in temperature was shown on a chart, and/the professor was able to ascertain the variations in temperature not only when the ship was approaching a berg, but also when it was nearing the land. When approaching tho coastline tho temperature of the water fell between one and two degrees, but when the vessel was passing over tho great banks, 400 miles off the coast of Ireland, the temperature rose considerably. It is suggested that by means of a sensitive self-recording instrument such as that invented by Professor Barnes, navigators will be able to tell when they are approaching an iceberg and that when the observations have been extended and the rate and characteristics of tho variations'in temperature are known, the repetition of such a disaster as that which overtook the Titanic will be impossible.

When addressing the

MAKTXG HYSTEBIA.

physiological section of the British Association

last month Mr Leonard Hill advanced a novel theory to account for the hysterical outbreaks of the suffragettes. In his opinion windowsmashing and other excesses are entirely due to the monotony of city lifo. The dull round of society functions, shopping and amusements to which so many women condemn themselves result, sooner or later, *in a hysterical outburst, more or less violent. Mr Hill made a strong plea for the openair life and dilated on the bracing effects of draughts. "It is not the wind which God tempers to tho shorn lamb," he said, "but the skin of the lamb to the wind." In order to prove that the alleged degeneracy of the race was not duo to city lifo, Mr Hill showed that draymen, navvies, and policemen in London and other cities were as strong and vigorous as workers in the country. It was the stuffy rooms and offices which did the damage—the windless rooms heated by radiators. Tho daughters of the well-to-do classes and the clerks in city offices alike suffered from confinement in a vitiated atmosphere and sadly needed fresh air. Tho electric fan, Mr Hill stated, had improved the life of the worker in the tropics, and it would do the same for workers in the cities. He suggested that each clerk should have a fan as well as a lamp upon his desk. For hysterical women fresh air was necessary. Living in close rooms they became filled with "vapours" and had to seok some excitement to got rid of tho poison in their system. Tho monotony of their lives caused a revulsion usually of a theatrical nature. Everybody, the lecturer stated, whether living in a city or not, could keep physically fit by proper breathing and suitable exercise and employers ought- to realise that it " paid" to keep their workers healthy. j

A WOMAN NATUKALIST.

One of tho most daring collectors in South America is Mrs Eliza-

beth Kerr, who, for the past three years, has made numerous expeditions into the interior of Colombia in search of specimens. She collects chiefly rare tropical birds for museums and private collectors and has had many startling adventures in the course of her work. Mrs Kerr foves tho jungle and has often been alone in it for weekß at a time. The natives, in addition to being treacherous, are very superstitious and not for any money will they enter certain parts of the country into which Mrs Kerr wanders. Tho dangers to be encountered Mrs Kerr puts under five headings—savago beasts, alligators, hostile natives and fever. >To avoid the savago beasts she sometimes spends the night in r the treetops, with monkeys for companions. Tho outfit carried on these expeditions must, of necessity, bo very light for the natives who sometimes act as bearers have a habit of retreating when any danger threatens, and tho naturalist must be prepared to travel alone. Colombia, Mrs Kerr states, is a naturalist's paradise. The abundance of animal life is remarkable and some of the specimens to be obtained are of great value. The rarest bird which Mrs Kerr seeks is the jabiru. It is five feet tall and its wings have a spread of ono hundred inches. Its feathers are snowy, satiny white and it has a band.of crimson wattles about the neck. This bird, Mrs Kerr says, shows great intelligence in looking after itself. It always selects the most open spaces in which to feed and at every step turns .its head from side to side. At the least motion or sound to which the bird is unaccustomed the great wings are spread and away it soars. Sometimes when night closes around in the jungle this intrepid hunter dreams of daintily dressed women, and all the activities of social life; but when the rising sun wakes the birds and the call of the woods is heard again she shoulders her gun and finds delight in her hazardous calling.