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Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12282, 8 July 1914, Page 4

With regard to the erection of workers' dwellings at the north end, definite arrangements with the Superintendent of Workers Dwellings have now been made by the local Inspector of Factories (Mr A. E. Waite) for the work to bo placed in hand at oiice. The matter of . attending to tlie surface drainage under the railway line will be proceeded .with immediately, after which the prices' of_ the sections will be fixed and the ejection of the homes put ill l hand. Tlie conditions of labor, employment and trade generally, us revealed during, the past nine or ten months in the labor reports submitted every four weeks by the local agent of the Department of Labor, have been uniformly bright and encouraging. It is pleasing to note that the report for June, which is published in this issue, fully •maintains the standard set by its predecessors, < and gives a very good accoiint of the trade conditions now obtaining. From inquiries we elicit the information that prospects are excellent for a continuance of these conditions ■and the district is to be congratulated upon its undoubted prosperity in what are usually considered the dullest months of the year. • '' A curious position lias arisen on the Mangamalm telephone line (says the Dominion), which is under the control of the Wangairai County Council. It is complained by nearly all tlie settlers that they .attempt a telephone conversation tliey are interrupted by catcalls and other weird noises, which make talking impossible. A certain person is strongly suspected, hut lie, like all others questioned, stoutly denies causing the annoyance, and the County Council is rather puzzled to know what to do. At the meeting of that body the other day the matter was referred to as having demoralised the . whole line, and become a. public scandal. The matter has been placed .in thecounty chairman's hands to take such s,teps as he considers necessary. The party ,of deerstalkers, that was sent out by /the Acclimatisation Society ,to thin the herd on the Hauraki Reserve shot no fewer than seven hundred stags and liinds (says the Masterton correspondent of the Dominion). ■ The suspension of work at some of the large collieries at Newcastle is affecting the supply in several Australian ports, notably at 'Lannceston and Hobart (Tasmania), where - a mild coal famine is said to exist! Consequent upon the shortage inquiries are being received in New Zealand for shipments to "both the ports mentioned.

An entertainment of a varied and interesting nature will- be given m Columba Sunday School Hall to-morrow evening. The proceeds of the entertainment, whicli has been organised i y the Columba Girls' Junior' Bible Class, will- be devoted to class funds, vvhioh should be much increased l thereb v. Thcyouug people have taken upon themselves a. large portion of the proceedings. and with the aid of many wellknown musicians and. v.j.-Jist:;'should provide an excellent eutertaiinient. Included are two -..umorj «s "Caught Napping" and "Mefe-'s and Women's Eights." . Botri are .fv.'l-bf diversfon and have been- in rehearsal for some time, so {•.»i Sjcipva»its • should give a account" of themselves. The entertainment will commence at 8 o'clock, and- Is has been fixed as the price for admission.

The other' day, when Deputy Superintendent Salmon, of the Dunedin City Fire Brigade and President of the United Fire Brigades' Association, was in Oainaru. he visited Takaro Park for the purpose -of testing its< suitability for lire brigade practice and competitions. having in view the possibility cf holding a gathering here at Christmas time under the auspices of the southern districts Fire Brigades' Association. Deputy Superintendent Salmon remarked that so far as- the ground was concerned he found it suitable, but- he was surprised that the Borough Council did not lay a suitable water main to the centre. This alpne would make Takaro Park suitable for fire brigade

purposes. Jf this were done there was every possibility of a demonstration being held in Oamnrii in tile near futtir?.

A well-known Russian aviator and <lesigner has just built a huge aeroplane, weighing 110 less than three tuns and a-lialf. It .stated that the new u:athine is propelled by i'our motors of 10()-h.p. each. The new biplane is also said to have a carrying capacity of 20 people, and that -cabins with, sleeping accommodation are. provided. On the trial trip the machine is said to have risen in the air after a rim of 100y<ls and to have circled the grounds without difficulty.

Mr Alex. Hamilton, of Riverton, lifts been appointed manager of the loed branch of the National Bank, in siltcession to the late Mr W. C. M'Doualli Mr Hamilton stands high in the bank'! -service, and was one of the first in Nevj Zealand to take the diploma of tin; Bankers' Institute of Australasia. Fo; many years Mr Hamilton was a member of the bank's staff at Dunedin. Mr Jolly, who lias been the National Bank's relieving manager at Oamarir during the past few weeks, will resume his duty as one of the bank's inspectors as soon vis Mr Alex. Hamilton, the late. Mr C, C. M'Douall's successor, arrives to take, np his work. A very large, yield of gasolene .from petroleum can bo obtained by catalytic hydrogeiiation. The method is practically the sanie as that "recently applied in the. conversion of liquid fats to x a solid form or to solid fatty acids with a higher value. A tall still with a conical bottom receives a steady feed of petroleum and Tiydrogcn gas tinder pressure. This mixture enters at the bottom and passes over finely-divided nickel which catalytically brings about a reaction between tlio hydrogen and oil. Gasolene is formed which passes off as a vapor at the temperature of the still, while the heavier hydrocarbons formed fall back into the catalyst and react with hydrogen. Finally a tarry residue must be removed and the nickel regenerated. The issuing gases pass into a cooling chamber where the gasolene is condensed. The li.vdrogen utilised up to that woint- is forced back and passed through the still ouce more. The efficiency of the nrocess is verv high-

On the earth and on 'Mars the oceans dominate the austral hemisphere. This fact may be attributed to the translation of these two planets in a southnorth direction across the primitive nebula. T.lie rotation so set up would result in the production of cold, currents which might cause the temperature to become inferior to 364 degrees, the critical temperature, of water, and the currents would be such as to-cause the- condensation of the oceans to he produced round the South Pole, and to determine that the direction of the currents should be toward the equator; which explains the pointed form of the austral continents. The theoretical calculation of the, velocities of these currents and the amount of solid mattor transportcd by them is verified by direct measurement. Thus, 2000 meters beneath the surface of the, sea, the magnitude of the oceans is constant on the parallels of the austral hemisphere, and the magnitude of the continents is constant on,the parallels of the boreal hemisphere.

( Great things were expected from the i recent erection in many parts of France ' of large lightning-rods, known as "elec- ' trie Niagaras," supposed to be efficacious in averting hailstorms. The futility of such devices seems obvious to persons familiar with the mechanism of thunderstorms, of which hail is merelv ;i by-product, Vet hundreds -of the rods have been installed at great expense. In a recent- communication to the National Society of Agriculture of 'France the -director of tlie French meteorological service, after pointing out the absurdity of the "Niagaras" from a scientific point of view, cited a. number of instances in which the rods had signally failed of their purpose. Thus, the large rod installed on the Eiffel Tower lias not had any effect on the frequency of hail in its vicinity. In the suburbs of Clermont-Ferrand a- big "Niagara" stands on an iron tower 100 feet high. This rod was itself pelted with hail twice in 1912- and four times in 1913; in one storm some of the hailstones attained the size of hen's eggs. Similar eases have been reported from other parts of France.

'Hie following figures may prove of interest to those fearing the exhaustion of tlie world's water supply:—ln a, summary of the water power of the. world tlie possible horse-power or France is estimated at- 4,500,000. of which only 800,000 is utilised. About au equal amount of power is available in Ttalv, but only 30,000 horse-power is utilised. Falls of 10.000 horse-power are abundant in tlie Alps. The- estimate in .Switzerland is incomplete, but about 300,000. horse-power is in use. ' Germany has 700,000 horse-power available "with 100,000 applied. Norway has 900.000 horse-power available, with a large part already developed. In Sweden there is 763,000 horse-niA'cr available. The resources of Russia, are estimated at- 11.000.000 horse-power, of which nnlv 85,000 has been developed. The' United States is credited with 1,500,00!) horse-power, while Japan has 1.000,000, o:f which 70.000 has been exploited. IM India- 50.00 horse-power lias alteadv been developed, mostly at a considerable distance from any industrial centre. In Great Britain there is 70,000- horse-power .alreadv utilised,' and an equal amount in Spain.

A Swiss watch-making concern has recently put on the market a combination of time-piece and barometer which it calls' the aviator's watch. By merely looking at the 'face of this instrument, which resembles an ordinary watch in size 'and general appearance, the airman can ascertain his altitude, as well as the :ime of day. The barometric \ end of the watcli is of the aneroid type, fin which height above the earth's surface is indicated as the- result of the contraction or expansiou of a thinwalled. metal box from which the air has been exhausted. The variations in atmospheric pressure cause slight movements of the box walls, and these are magnified by suitable connections, so that the pointer on the dial face of the * watch indicates the height of the avia- | tor in meters. Obviously, it rrqnires considerable ingenuity to make this combination, and very careful and expensive work in the matter of preparing dependable scales and providing for the necessary readjustments. Despite this, the instrument is said to be reasonable in price and thoroughly practical.

An apparatus and method which, while effectively cleaning a vessel's hull, at the same time en a sles the operation, to. he achieved quickly, cheaply, and without the necessity;.for dry docking, lias heen invented by an Australian. The cleaner comprises a- flat-bottomed barge 30-Ft in length by 12ft beam, which draws from 2jft to 3ft- of water. Ft is fitted with a special winch, submersible brushing gear, and the neces-sai-y electric generating plant. A crab winch., fore and .aft suffices for manipulating the mooring There is also a propelling motor for driving the barge, which is thus able to move tinder its own power at about five knots an hour. The cleaning gear consists of 'a brass and gun-metal frame in 'which is mounted the brush, electric motors, and the propeller, the last constituting an outstanding feature of the invention. The brush i? longitudinally mounted upon the front side of the frame. It is sft in length bv 12in in diameter, and is-' fitted with ,2iin' fibre bristles. Behind the brush is a- threebladed nhosnhor-bronze propeller. Between the brush and its propeller an electric motor is fixed for driving both the brush and its propeller. The motor is of a- special submersible type and receives current- through a three-core rub-ber-sheathed cable. The brush is driven bv chain gearing from an intermediate shaft, which itself is driven through worm gearing by the motor. The later also drives the propeller.

A feminine emulator of one of SI. Pegoud's feats has appeared in the person of Mine. Decastella, who at Sevres Aerodrome descended from a "biplane with a parachute invented by lier husband. sfme. Decastella: rose to a height of 2000 metres in a biplane piloted by M Pe.Uet-ier. and then, leaping from the aeronlane descended gently to earth. She was welcomed with enthusiastic chec-rs. Probably the most unconventional prince in Furope, Prince Aage of Denmark, better" known as Count Rosenburg, is the best boxer arid has the biggest "punch" among the male re-

present-atives of the reigning familcs. .He litis boon going about Loudon qui to unhampered and unknown, and _ has visited Premierland and the National Kportiim Club to witness tlie bouts. Onlv recently in Denmark he reached ilie"scmi-fniai in a hexing tournament.

Mrs Mortimer Singer, accompanied by Mr Mortimer Singer and Mr C. F. Pollock, left London on a recent Saturday afternoon in the balloon Planet "to compete for the long-dis-tance cup offered by Mr Singer to members of the Royal Aero Club. A descent was made eight miles west _or Launceston, the distance covered being 200 miles. The voyage constituted two records, being the longest distance in one flight from London confined to England, and the first balloon voyage from London to Cornwall.

Ride a B.S.A. Mr Winters, Edwinstowe, rises a B.S.A. and side-car in liis business. "I take 16 stones of bread, 3 stones of flour, and go across fields ,or. anywliorfc. It li<is snvt?d 12s 6d. p©r day."—W. Stuart Wilson and . Co., Rond street. Dunedin. A doctor on a visit to London from Utah lias just- been the- victim of the confidence trick, by which he has lost £4O. When visiting the British Museum he made the acquaintance of aplansiblo individual, who invited him to a tavern, where they were joined by another. This man represented that lie had just arrived from Ireland, and 'lie told the well-worn story that he ;liad been loft a fortune by an uncle in Pennsylvania, and t'hat he was legally bound to giveaway a substantial part of it in charity. The American and the Irishman were then shown round the citv. and eventually the doctor was persuaded to easli a bank draft for. £4O. which he handed oyer to the pair in a iave.ru in C-heapside. They soon made in. excuse to leave, and when the doctor had become tired of_ waiting for their return he reported his loss to the p'oliee. In another ease a Chicago-moV-chant was robbed of £1.70. Tie was tiken to the city by a. man whom he nlet in Westminster Abbey, and then. a> in the other ease, a third party appeared. This person professed to he wealthy, and visited several banks in Lombard street. The merchant, however, became suspicious. iind_ an omnibus to return to the West End, biit the'two accomplices insisted on accompanying him, • Soon they suddenly left the omnibus, and later the American found that hi.« nocket-book, which contained 3'3 £5 notes and about. £lO in gold, had been stolen from his hip pocket. Stir in boiling water, add sugar and milk, and "Camp" Coffee is ready. .'lo' If a child once gets a. really bad cold it is always liable to a return of Ihe trouble. Mothers should always have a reliable cough, medicine at hand to cheek a'coid in its early stages. Baxters Lung Preserver is a remedy that has been before the public for over half a. century, and it lias certainly proved its worth as a cure for all kinds of colds. A Is lOd bottle will keep the whole family free from colds. Order Lung Preserver from your chmcist or storekeeper or direct- from J. Baxter and Co., Chemists, Christchurch. Mr J. SWINDLEY. Surgeon Dentist, will visit iOJROW on Thursday next, 9th inst., and may be consulted at Spiers' Hotel. 835 Years ago a young New Zealander fixed rubber heels to his hoots. His idea, patented would have netted him a huge fortune —he let it pa-ss. There may be others with ideas just as good. They should at once consult a reputable firm of patent agents like Messrs Baldwin and Rayward (local representative : Mr E. Piper, Thames street), who would give them honest advice and make their rights absolutely secure.