HERE AND THERE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3338, 6 March 1918, Page 53

HERE AND THERE.

Children. Fight with a Wild Beast.— The King has awarded the Albert Medal to Doreen Ashburnham, aged 11, and Anthony Farrer, aged eight, of Cowichan ' Lake, Vancouver Island, in recognition of their great bravery. The story is told in a recent Gazette : On September 23, 1916, the children left their homes, at Cowichan Lake for the purpose of catching their ponies, and, when about half a mile from home, they were attacked by a cougar (the American puma, often spoken of as the American lion, but resembling more a leopard). They were almost upon the animal before they saw it crouching in a path at a corner. The little girl was first attacked. The cougar sprang upon her, and she was knocked down with her face to the ground, the animal being on her back. The boy at once attacked the cougar with his fists and riding bridle, and drove the animal off the girl. It. then attacked him, but the girl getting to her feet came to his rescue fighting with her clenched hands and bridle, and even putting her arm into the cougar's mouth to try to prevent it from biting Anthony. She' succeeded in getting it off the boy, and it stood on its hindquarters and fought with her; but evidently it was disturbed by some sound, for presently it slunk away and ran under a log, where it was afterwards killed. The children, though badly injured, were able to make their way home. The cougar was seven feet from nose to tip of tail. Conserving British Coal.—

The British Coal Conservation Subcommittee has submitted a report to the Minister for Reconstruction, which raises important questions. The subcommittee propose to supply, all industries with electrical power generated at big "super-power stations," not more than 16 in number, for the whole country, and to eliminate . or combine all small stations. The primary object of the scheme is to economise our coal supplies by a national scheme of electrification, and it is stated that 55,000,000 tons out of

80,000,000 tons of coal used in the United Kingdom .for the production of power could be saved. This, with the saving of byproducts now wasted, would effect a national economy of £100,000,000. The increased use of power is of the highest importance to the future prosperity of the country. The development of electricity has been hindered' by the large number and the sniiirtiess of the electrical undertakings at present existing. The supply of electricity in Great Britain is split up among 600 companies and municipal undertakings. The reform proposed by the subcommittee is to supersede small undertakings by laying down throughout Great Britain trunk lines to be fed by the 16 "super-poAver stations." The generating machines should be of 20.000 horse-power, and ifi important industrial districts of 50,000 horse-power. By-products might be extracted from the coal before it is used for the production of power, and various electro-chemical processes which are essential for this country should be carried on near by. The sites for the stations must be outside towns. Three Boys Frozen to Death.— An instance of self-sacrifice and devotion was revealed when the bodies of three lads residing at Darwen, Yorkshire, were discovered on the moors frozen to death during a snowstorm in -'December last. William Cooper Long-ton (18), Ralph Bolton (16), and his cousin. James Bolton (10) set out for a walk on the moors after attending Sunday school. Snow was falling, and it must have been heavy on the moors. - As it'was thought they had taken refuge in some out-lying farmhouse no serious anxietv was felt until they did "not return on Monday morning, when search parties were organised, but without success. On Tuesday larger parties went out, and the dead body of Longton was discovered lying face downwards in.a field. On Wednesday some 60 peonle joined in the search, and about noon the bodies of the other two boys were discovered about 300 yards from where that of the oldest boy 'was found. They were lying about 30 yards auart, the body of Ralph Bolton being without an overcoat, which was found around the body of his cousin, James Bolton, whore body was Iving as if sleeping neacefully. It was clear Ralph had given up his coat to his young cousin in a noble effort to save his life, but without avail. The surroundings told the story. The two older boys having made James as comfortable as possible—the body was leaning against a snowdrift, almost .covered—had set out to seek assistance. Ralph collapsed after struggling for about 30 yards, but Longton had climbed a wall, as was shown by his knuckles, and struggled on until he fell exhausted with his hands under his face. The father of James BoltoTi was killed in France a few months previously, and the mother is left a childless widow. Ralph Bolton's father was away fighting in France. Longton. who was secretarv* to Sunday school, was the only child of his parents.

Some rather' startling and unforeseen results concerning ventilation have been made known as, the results of experimenting carried on for four years by the New York State Commission, on ventilation. Specially fitted rooms and more than 200 persons have been used in these experiments. Mr G. T. Palmer, the chief of the investigating staff, says the most important of the results arrived at is that "so long as the room was kept cool, and so long as the temperature was not allowed to rise, it did not make much diflerence whether or not a plentiful supply of fresh air was supplied to the chamber. Even when the subjects spent six days in succession in the unaired chamber, breathing air that contained the accumulated products of the breath, they did as good mental work, felt just as happy, and did as much physical work as they did when the ventilating fans were constantly changing the air. Furthermore, the most careful observations of the heart and circulation and the general condition of the body failed to show any harmful effects. The only indication of any depressing effect of breathing this confined and several times used air was that about 5 per cent, less food was eaten." Mr Palmer shows, however, that this dons not mean that fresh air is useless, but rather that its good effects are due more to its coolness than to its chemical purity. The reason we are not all sick in hot weather is that our bodies produce less heat and perspire more; perspiration lowers the temperature. The lesson to be learned from this is that we should not allow our living rooms to be heated to more than 68 deg Fahrenheit. Fifteen per cent, less work can be done at 75 deg than at 68 deg. The Oldest British Colony.—

It was recalled by Mr C. W.- Bennett in a letter to the Royal Colonial Institute that, in Queen Elizabeth's time, Drake took possession of Drake Bay and district, which he named New Albion; and that the claim of Newfoundland to be the oldest British colony was, therefore, in some peril, as Newfoundland only became British some four years, after New Albion was practically proclaimed a British colony. Mr Bennett says : —"The incidents quoted came to my knowledge during the time I was Consul-general at San Francisco, and it is of further .interest that the landing of Drake and the proclamation of New Albion as a British colony are commemorated by a tablet erected in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, as a permanent record of the events mentioned. It is curious that, although Drake stayed over a fortnight at Drake's Bay and had boat 3 coasting all the while, he never discovered the Bay of Francisco. The Golden Gate is- an opening caused by volcanic action, and it is just possible that the earthquake which caused the oneninsc of the entrance to the harbour took place after Drake's visit. Otherwise it is difficult to see how such an intrepid seaman as Drake could have failed to find it."