THE FRESH-AIR FUND.

Otago Witness, Issue 2883, 23 June 1909, Page 61

THE FRESH-AIR FUND.

! SUBSCRIPTIONS TO DATE. We have received the following subscrip. tions in response to Mr C. Arthur Pearson's appeal for support for his "Freshair Fund." the object of which is to provide country holidays for children in GreatBritain who would otherwise ccc nothing but tho most sordid side of city life: — I Collected by \. and \V. Roy,

We should like to close the fund for th-. present year on the 30th inst., and we shall be obliged, therefore, if those who can see thoir way to assist this deserving eharit-v v. ill send ivs their subscriptions by that date. The fund, it will he of interest to the public to know, was instituted in 1c92, and in 1894 tho children mado happy in th: largv c-itios of the Old I»and liad risen in number from 20,600 to 74.000. ~ tfc was in 1895 that the fund tackled the waifs 'in every town of over 200,030 inhabitants, and curing tho next ik.-c.adc nc/irh- a million and a-half little lives were gladdened. In, 1907 tho mission of fresh air was carried into the towns of 90,000 inhabitants, and at that limit it embraces 40 elum centres in Great Britain. The promoters can point v, ith pride to the fact that during its 17i jeais of operation the fund has, been able to give country holidays to a grand total of 2,075,655 little ones. In 1903 the fund set out to give 2000 children cxtend-sd holidays, and at the end of the summer no fewer than 36+5 littlo ones had enjoyed a, fortnight of freedom from the slums. Last year the sum of £12,050 Is 2d was sub-fn-ibc-d, and the promoters ere confident that this will be exceeded for this summer's work.

— A novel lifebelt has recently been invanted by a Hamburg man. It is a hollow belt of rubber, five and a-quarter inches in diameter, and the ends consist of flat plates of the same diameter, fm-nnhed with the requisite attachments, so that ths bel can be quickly and easily hoolced together beneath tho arms. Closely fastened to tho uppsr surface of the belt is a email metallic cylinder filled with liquid carbon dioxide On turning a tap the liquefied gas escapes at once into the belt, volatilising and inflating it to its fullest capacity of 27£ quarts. The whole- operation of attaching and -inflating the belfr'taaiifrfts 30 >«A<y>nob.

lJor(,ol>ellol J or(,ol>ello E. 0 Collected by Mrs EL A. Bell " Ang-10-Jsraelite " . ... " Sympathy," Barewocd '■ Sympathy," Tanamti • ••• L. M. F. "Waif" "M. A." ... .-. . £b 8 ..11 :. 1 0 ..08 ... 0 5 -.. 0 5 ..0 3 ... 0 2 ... 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 I! 6 0