Timely Topics.

Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle, Volume XVIX, Issue 969, 26 February 1924, Page 4

Timely Topics.

(By Mark Tnploy).

There was never a time when muling occupied a bigger place m the public mind than it does at present. Much of what we read m the newsprint and elsewhere, may not be always mentally healthy, but it is eagerly devoured by an omnivorous reading people. Wo have a local library that is liberally patronised, and for a country town can be regarded as efficient. *In • one department of literature, at least; it is fairly representative, and is continually receiving additions of quite recent fiction. It is certainly worthy of much greater publicity and support. * * * But speaking of reading generally!) we. often come across severe censures as to the sensational stuff that is so much m vogue. It is an abuse of language to call it literature. But it is glaringly easy of access, and is not healthy tor a developing generation. Still, thete are gleams of light. I think the danger lies ehieily m the crude and glaring advertisements, rather than m the books themselves. Most healthy young minds can be trusted to discriminate for themselves, other things? being equal.. But the mind must ' first be healthy, not fevered or morbid. Most young field animals will readily discern good pasture food from noxious weeds, and I think the same thing is true generally of youug humanity. # * * As an instance, take the following incident. Two high school boys«were travelling m the train, and the conversation came up, first about the " pictures," then about reading books. One of the boys, who was fond of reading, stated that a neighbour had lent him a couple of books to read, and told him that he could keep whichever one he liked, but must return the other. " What were they about?" asked his mate. "Well," was the reply, " the one I gave back was a blood and thunder sort of thing. But the other, the one he said I could keep, was a stunner yarn, called " The Cloister and the Hearth." There is surfely not much juvenile depravity about that. •^ * * • The Minister of Railways, and other Parliamentary magnates have been much m our midst of late. They have seen our country and heard some* thing of our complaints and needs. As regards the railways there have been specially emphasised overtures. Besides week-end trips, and especially Queenstown, has been spoken of. The railway authorities are very positive that Week-end trips do not pay, and figures am produced to show that they do not induce the public to travel. Most people are not as expert m "figure" juggling- as the. official authorities, and must apparently humbly accept these tremendous pronouncements. Surely the officials ought to know whether they do or not. But even a. humble public may still ask " | questions. Why, for instance, is it ; so transparently otherwise with the British. Bail ways. . What N is m the j minds of the managers thppe, when ; they make such a feature qf cheap. [ week-end excursions. ££. Week-end excursions were very . popular before the war, attd they uv [ again an important re-introduction, [■' They certainly induced people to trar I vel, for they took them to places { where they had no errand accept th.c L search for fresh air. Or to come nearer home, and visit Auckland or 1 Wellington, the local steamship com i panics, appear to fiud n worth wfcile i profit m the same line of business. { - t^uite apart from the aspect of the ■ question raised by moralists and religious teachers — and these things are 1 never advanced by the railway aur i thorities — is the business aspect. Is t it not strange that the Hallways alone cannot get a share of the business 1 It luok« as though a private company i* might luanagii the work better Is f m the failure to induce people to travel, due to the department's )a,ek of "knowledge of the art of inducing — a mere questiuu of business psyaUwogJ \ Poultry forming i» becoming qf increasing interest m late years, T;Jae old liit-and-niiss methods are giving place to ideals of more scientific cers titude,' and the veriest tyro may easi)y know the respective value of fancy and laying strains of birds, A great . multitude of people have $n)wn up tkd hobby of keeping a tuw fowls, and hare made it a, paying proposition. But efficiency is the final test here as exery where else, and the profitable birds are those which consistently lay over a prolonged period. Most fowl hobbyist!!!) wu es#er to get as many 200-egg producers jn th/air run as possible. ■;■ V- >v The popular, tijne-hououved joke about which came first, the chicken or the v.g%, has gi ven pjuce to unothei ' om, the question of " What is a fresh egg ? " This question is always crop ping up for discussfrw. J'fc is one oi the pathetic paradoses of the poultry ists, that beyond a certain point it v comparatively easy to tell when ai egg ia not fresh, but up to thut ddiiiiti

point it is just as ditlicull to decide what is fresh.' The grocer will often! quite cheerfully sell fresh eggs, that i the. customer is -by no means so sure j about. Am I this state of things reflects very discouragingly upon the producers, the .poultry-farmers themselves. Perhaps that i.s why luany people like to 'get their eggs direct from the poultry-farmers. But the chief producers, the hens themselves, seem oblivious of this sad mix-up. Indeed, they seem to care not a whit. They strut about the yaTd, aiid cackle cheerfully, without apparent thought of the ultimate result. Whether the egg shall furnish a breakfast table, or produce a chick, or embellish a poli- [ tical meeting, is either above or be- ■ neath their thought. '•■■ :■. I I ]Jut the outlook is not quite hopeless after all. A cable published a little while ago announced the necessity of knowing both the pedigree and the age. of eggs sold m the open market. This is encouraging. 1 have read some\vher6 of an old lady J who purchased eggs, and set them | under a hen, and finally hatched out | a healthy brood of lizards. She had j a lasting grievance against the poor I egg- merchant. Happily this state of things belongs to the dim past. There need be no fear of. fulfilling the old saying about warming a viper m our bosom, or hatching a viper under a hen. We may profit by the modern study and research. It is possible now, we are told, to be not only sure of good eggs, but to tell with some certainty, the age, and also the sex of tliese oviparous products.