CURRENT TOPICS

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 7048, 9 February 1910, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS

WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY. Commander Home, of H.M.S. Pegasus, .who VTsrbocT Gisborne last week, gave some jnteiresfiing infonnafikm in the conns© of a conversation respecting wireless telegraphy. The Pegasus is fitted with on installation of comparatively low power. , It was'a ■ angular filling, he said, that wireless would not work as well dn, New Zealand waters that he had visited as in other parts of the world. For , instance, when at Fiji' recently he had no difficulty in talking with Auckland,.. but subsequently found he oould not oommunioate from Auckland to Fiji. He did not know the reason for this, but thought it might ho the volcanic conditions. The same thing applied to the New Hebrides.* Wireless /again worked hotter at night than in the day, from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. being the best hours. Tho cause of this so far as ho knew was still unknown. The apparatuls- on the Pegasus had ordinarily a .radius of 200 miles in the day and 400 at night, but had spoken na far as 900 miles. Another curious feature wtas that wireless was found to work hotter east and West than north and south. The Commander added that with high power stations, there would not he any difficulty in establishing a system between Australia and Now Zealand. NELSON APPLE MARKET. An authority, in referring to the 'Scare guarantee of Id a lb for apples shipped to London, said that so far as he could see it would mean that even if all tno fruit Wear© lest the'growers would receive 3s 4d la icalse (remarks the Nelson “Moil”). If tho cases were sold locally the grower would get 4s 6d, hut about Is expenses would bring Hie price down to 3s 6d. Now, supposing the cases ore accepted as good on the London market, and there is no reason why they should not ho, as the refrigerating apparatus is most up-to-date on the steamers, -and the fact that all oases 111111 have to he passed by Government experts will ensure a (high standard throughout, the grower, it is calculated, Will clear anything from 6s to 7s a case without the Government subsidy. The price at Home is given ns about 11s and 12s a case, and from that about 4s 6d ho os a case expenses tbaJs to bo ■ subtracted. England. imports £4,000,000 worth of apples every year, land there is a sure market there bo long as the commodity can be procured, and Nelson, it has been' clearly demonstrated, loan produce fruit equal, if not surpassing, that grown in any portion of Australasia. And the growers are to ho complimented upon the result. - Besides there is a market at Rio de Janeiro for "apples and other fruit. At the present time fruit from Tasmania is being transhipped lat Now Zealand for tho South American port—only three weeks away—where it realises from 14s to I6s a ease. MONTHLY HEMP REPORT. One of the most satosfaotory returns issued by the Department of Agriculturo'is the monthly circular giving the amount of hemp and tow graded and exported. Not only is tho total amount for each grading port given, but full particulars. are. furnished of the different grades into which the hemp, is classified ait each port. It thus be seen with cxaclu’tu/je the quality of the hemp being produced end where the good, indifferent and low grade qualities are coming .-from. The comparative'figures visually furnished with tho report; >are particularly useful. Of late the reports have not been issued frith it/no same .promptitude as fqr-

mcrly, but oven belated as they are ths information is very useful.

BANANA RUBBER. According to the “Daily Chronicle' 1 of Georgetown, British Guiana Mr George U. Denson, who is said to nave already achieved some success in the extraction of rubber- from tho banana plant, and is 'in hopes of converting his methods into a practical ooUHneroial undertaking, sends tho following particulars with regard to the banana rubber and tho j'osition to which his investigations have thus far carried him “About two ' yeans ago, whilst experimenting with some banana juice, £o as to find out how host to mordant ft. a thick and pliable rubber was found to’ attach itself to the sides of the enamel dish wdiioh held the juice. The rubber was ultimately sent to England and to Armorica and it wu3 found to hortvhiat is known as a synthetic rubber, and when compounded with other anibhors at appeared to have a, distinct market value, by increasing both the weight and the value of the p.’uhbous with which it was compounded. This fact is about to he put to the severest teat, and numerous samples are to be sent to the best judges both in 'Europe Bind Amioaioa.”