THE SKETCHER.

Otago Witness, Issue 3595, 6 February 1923, Page 59

THE SKETCHER.

IS BRITAIN A BACK NUMBER.

By

LORD RIDDELL.

Nothing has changed the world more than the electric cable and electric telegraph. A striking demonstration of this is the fact that Liverpool cotton-brokers, with special cable facilities, frequently send messages to New York and receive replies within live minutes. The cable systems of the world have been mainly established by British capital and enterprise, by the efforts of men such as the late Sir John Pender, another Scot, and his son, Sir John Denison Pender, chairman of the Eastern and Associated "’olegraph Companies. In 1872 the systems of these companies covered about 14,000 nautical miles. To-day they cover no fewer than 140,000 miles. In 1913 these companies transmitted 64,000,000 words. In 1918 the 64,000,000 had grown to 180,000,000, exclusive of Government traffic. All performed bv British enterprise. Other important cable undertakings have had similar historiesBritish brains, and in "articular Scottish brains, produced the inventions which made these things possible—Lord Kelvin's siphon recorder; the duplex working system of Muirhead and" Taylor; Dr Muirhead’s automatic transmitter vastly improved the cable service; while the transmitter of Judd and Fraser, Mr Brown’s drum relay, and Mr Creed’s automatic perforator are among later inventions which have reduced difficulties and saved time—all British! Then we come to electric light. Dating from the time of E araday, the British have taken a leading part in developing the electrical industry. It is only neces T sary to mention the names of Lord Kelvin, Clerk-Maxwell, and Sir Joseph Swan, joint inventor of the incandescent light; to prove this point. The gas industry was founded bv a Scot, one Murdoch, who was assistant to James Watt. Murdoch first invented gas to light his way across the moors, and used to carry it in a bag on his back. Ever since. his day Britain hag been the leader in 'all matters relating to gas manufacture. Gas engineers, like Dr Carpenter and Professor Boys (the inventor of Jie wonderful calorimeter), are maintaining the British tradition for ingenuity and efficiency. The first dynamo was discovered by an Englishman named Wild.. Needless to say, his invention is (Used in all parts of the world. Outside expert circles he is little known. His invention was improved by John Hopkinson. a Manchester man, who, like Lord Kelvin, combined the commercial faculty with the highest scientific attainments. He was also largely responsilbe for the improvement of lighthouse illumination, and introduced the system of group-flashing lights which is now exclusively used. Here again Britain has been to the forefront. Not only has she charted the seas, but she has erected or arranged for the erection of a great number of the lighthouses which guide the mariner on his wav throughout the wmrld. Other nations followed her example, but Britain was the pioneer. In the manufacture of steel Bessemer. Siemens, Thoma®, and Gilchrist, and later Arnold and HadfiehL made epochmaking improvements. Siemens was a German, but had settled in this enuntiy, and Britain had the 'honour of adopting and exploiting his inventions. Now let us take the subject of motive power. Everyone knows that motive power is the basis not only of commercial prosperity, but of our happiness and comfort. It meets us at every point. During the past half-eenturv inventions and improvements have been made of equal utility to those of that remarkable inventor James Watt, a Glasgow man who lived 100 years ago. It is the- comnjon idea that W T att invented the steam engine. Great genius though he was, he did nothing of the sort. There were steam engines long before his time. What he power produced by the steam, and thus obtain greater results from each pound of coal used U nroduce it. The coal consumption of Newcomen’s engine, which preceded that of Watt, was about 20ib per horse-power per hour. Watt reduced this fo from 51b to 71b. British engineers during the past half-eenturv have reduced thG figure to from lib to 21b. The invention of the steam turbine by that remarkable man. the Hon. Sir Charles Parsons, an Irishman—a son, hv the wav, of the scientist, Lord ■Ross.—is in itself a romance. Sir Charles Parsons began his work in 1884. In 1894 he r.rodue-'d the engines of the Turhinia. giving 2000 shaft horse-nower. To-day thp turbine engines of the Mauretania and other great Atlantic liners give no less than 75.000 horse-nower, and in the navv ship- of the Courageous class as much as 100.000 horse-power. The aggregate horse-power of turbine plants throughout the world is now about. 50.000.000. Without the turbine the enormous liners, hattleshins. and electric liubt stations would h e impossible. Sir Charles Parsons’s inventions are to be found on every ocean and in everv great nower station throughout the world. It is interesting to note that Watt foresaw the no«sibilitv of the turbine. But he thought it' impossible to construct eueh an appliance because no workman could he found who could make machinery sufficiently accurate to work at such speeds without undue friction. Watt thought himself verv lucky when the pi=tou fitted the cylinder within oneeighth to one-onarter of an inch. This is an answer to those who allege that the British workman of today is inferior to those of -past times. The truth is that better v finer, and more accurate work is produced than tat- anv earlier period of our history. Professor

Boys has shown us how to make quartz fibres for certain instrumental purposes which are less than one-ten-thousandth part of an" inch in diameter, and -wnose strength is that of hard steel—namely, 60 to 70 tons per square inch. One hundred of these fibres would occupy the space of a human hair. Think of the precision and accuracy required in such an operation And vet these fibres have been devised and made by the decadent British during the course of the last few years ; We all know that motor cars and aeroplanes are due to the internal combustion engine, but most of us /-do not realise its importance as a means of producing power for other purposes. The stationary gas and oil engine have effected a small revolution, and have done much to solve agricultural and other problems. Here, again, during the past 50 years, the British have taken a conspicuous part in the development of this important industry. Sir Dugald Clerk, a Scot, and other British inventors are known throughout the world as pioneers in the design and construction of the' internal combustion engine. Without petrol the motor car and aeroplane would be seriously handicapped. Britain has taken an active share in exploring and developing the oilfields of the world. Vast sums of British capital are invested in such undertakings, and the story of British enterprise in this direction is one of the romances of history, with which the names of D’Arcy (the origin'ator of the Burma Oil and Anglo-Pereian) , and Lord Cowdray will always be identified. Had they lived 300 years ago they would have been canonised as commercial saints. As they are of our time they receive little public credit. Before I leave the subject of motive power I must sav a word concerning the abstract scientific discoveries which have rendered incalculable service to inventors in connection niith the developiftent of the modern steam Engine, the turbine, and the internal combustion engine. From the days of Roger Bacon Britain has always shone in the domain of pure science. What is known as the science of thermo dynamics, or the relation of heat and power, was* discovered and defined by an Englishman and «i Scotsm an. Joule’s celebrated “Laws of Heat,’’ as modified and extended by Lord Kelvin, govern the construction of all machinery for the production of motive power. Before the davs of Joule and Kelvin it was believed that heat was a material substance. They proved that heat and work are mutually convertible in definite and invariable, proportions. This was one erf the greatest scientific discoveries in history, and had a remarkable bearing upon practical work. . Now, regarding engineering. Who builds the docks and great harbours all over -the world from Valparaiso to Dover ? Who makes the railways? Who makes the tunnels? Who build the bridges of the world ? Mostly Britons, and chiefly Scots. Who designed and constructed the four <rreat tunnels under the Hudson, comprising 24,000 ft, with 60ft of water overhead and the Atlantic behind? Lord Cowdrav's firm, in which Sir Ernest Moir, a Scot, is one of the leading spirits. One of the gigantic railway stations of which New York is so proud was designed by an Englishman. The railways < in tne Argentine, some 22.000 miles, and in Brazil, some 31,000 kilometres, were built and financed hv Great Britain. In India we have built railways extending to 40,000 miles. The face of Egypt has been changed by the construction of huge dame, reservoirs, and a vast network of canais. These great works, planned by the British and financed bv British capital, have added some 2.000.000 acres t-o the land available for cultivation, in addition to increasing the value of that already cultivated. Canada was develoDed in a great measure bv Scots —Lord Stratbcona and Lord Mountstephen. All over the world British contractors and engineers are prominent —notable for the boldness of their engineering designs and the excellence of their work. British sanitation W made strides during the last 60 years. Britksfi engineers first discovered the means of dealing with the sewage of thieklv populated districts, and Bntisn methods and enoliances have been used and cooied all the world over. Chadwick and Simon, two Englishmen, were the nronhets of improved sanitary methods.— John o’ London’s Weekly. POLAND. ITS HlSTOlftr AND ITS HOPES. In the centre of Europe there is an extensive plateau; that plateau is,, named Poland. Its people are Slavs : their neighbours on the western border are Teutons During the recent war the two were n serious conflict. But that was notning new; they have been fighting off and on for a thousand vears. Poland has been the meeting place of two racial types that- are never likely to blend, the ’domineering Teuton and the dogged Slav. Again and again the former has tried to hustle and jostle the latter, but the Pole has grimly held his ground. The one hope now remaining is that the Prussian has learned sense, and will henceforth leave the Pole alone. Only so will there be peace. The word Poland means “the country of the plains.’’ The Poles are plaindwellers, and there is a widespread notion that such people are rarely as sturdy as mountaineers. The notion is fiction; the Poles are convincing disproof: It is to he feared, too, that some Australians who ought to know better are inclined to consider Poland as one of those little European nations that don’t very much matter. The fact is Poland is third largest in Europe in size, sixth largest in population, and is very likely to become one of the first in influence. The Poles have had a remarkable history. As children we caught glimpses of it in the old School Readers. I)o you still remember the couplet from Thomas Campbell's famous poem? “Hope for a season

bade the world farewell, And freedom shrieked as Kosciusko fell.’’ We shall pretend you knew Kosciusko was a Pole. One of the hard things that have befallen Poland is that she has been denied the credit of her children’s achievements. Everyone knows Paderewski is a Pole. But many people are confident Chopin was French. Sienkiewicz, who died lately, is described as “the great Russian novelist.” Madame Curie, the scientist, is considered a E’rench woman. Copernicus is classed as a great German astronomer. Yet every one of them Poland can claim. Poland’s thrilling story has just been retold lately in a book entitled “The i\ew Poland’’ (Allen and Unwin), by Major Charles Phillips, a member of the American Red Cross Commission. He presents (says the Age) an animated picture of what Poland is now doing and what she aspires to do. He has boundless faith in Poland's future; he considers that faith justified "from contemplating Poland’s past. That past stretches far back. Like that of most European nations, it is for a long time a mere record of rivalries between dynastic families, then between the successful family and the nobility. But even in the days "of monarchy the Poles never accepted the divine right theory ; they elected their rulers. Her modern history dates from the 18th "'century. With Prussia, Russia, and Austria hanging on to her sides Poland was leading a'dog’s life. Inspired by the example of France she made a fresh Bid for freedom. In 1794 she proclaimed a new constitution. Furious at her audacity her tormentors swept down upon her, and though Kosciusko put up a game fight, he was defeated. Poland was battered and tortured and divided into three parts ; each Power brutally trampled its portion in the dust. But, though throughout a hundred years it was bodilv dismembered, the soul of Poland survived. In 1863 she made her last struggle for liberty. It failed, and Russia made her pay the penalty. Many people regard with horror the government that has succeeded the Czaristic. v If they wish a corrective to that' emotion, they will find it in the annals of Russia’s treatment of Poland at this juncture. Presumably it was meted out with Imperial sanction, yet nothing more revolting disgraces the pages of history. The awful and cowardly brutality was sufficient to brand Czaristic Russia with ignominy tp all eternity. Poland’s history centres largely in her capital city of Warsaw, with its million and a half of people. Its geographical position is exceptional; it is the natural emporium for all the fertile plains and valleys of Eastern Europe. It stands at a rare vantage point on one of the .great rivers of the old world ; on every side it opens out into avenues of trade. The famous engineer de Lesseps predicted that ..ai'saw would become the greatest city on the continent in the twentieth century. Inside the city to-day the national flag is flying everywhere. It is largely an expression of a reaction. For 150 years it was forbidden to fly that flag anywhere. The Polish flag was proscribed ; the Polish language was proscribed ; Warsaw University was Russianised ; it was decreed that Russian should be the sole language used in the schools. Tp be caught reading /Polish poetry was a crime to which attacked the " heaviest of penalties. By manly that penalty was paid. One lad of seventeen, sentenced to imprisonment because a Polish epic poem had been found on his person, burned himself to aeath for fear that he would betray his companions under the maddening pain of the Russian knout. In Warsaw there stands a citadel, a mass of fortifications and dungeons spreading over acres of land. It represents the story of Russia\i tyranny written in stone. It was built a hundred years ago by Czar Alexander I. to punish tlie Poles Tor attempting to gain their freedom. The Poles were taxed for every penny spent on that gigantic slaughter house. Its guns were forever turned on W'arsaw as a perpetual intimidation against rebellion. Not only were the Poles taxed, but everv stone of the citadel was hewn by Polish hands. Political prisoners were turned into labour gangs, forced under Cossack whip to build their own cells, to erect their own scaffolds. When the dungeons were completed the leaders of the insurrection were taken out on to the ramparts and shot or hanged. Hundreds of their followers spent the rest of their lives behind barred doors and in heavy chains. Since its erection sixtv thousand Poles have entered the citadel, to be there condemned to death or exile for no crime save that of fighting for their country’s liberty. • E'or nearly a hundred years no Pole entered the citadel save to die or to bid farewell to the living dead. To-day the gates of the citadel stand wide, the court yards ring with the music of a Polish oand playing Polish airs, the buildings have been turned into barracks, schools and playgrounds. In the central court Czar Alexander had erected a great obelisk •« his.own honour. The, obelisk has gone, f \ monument to the Polish heroes who suffered and died behind the walls is to rise in its place. Poland was reborn in November, 1918. Prussia, Russia, and Austria were sent about their business. By the decision of the I'eace Conference a Polish Republic was created. It was at this crisis that i ax-erewski, the world-famous pianist, flashed forth as a prescient statesman and able man of affairs. He was acclaimed the most acceptable reorganiser of his country. And no country needed reorganising so badly. The nation had been made the victim of triple murder. One million rtussian Poles were compulsorily fighting against 50u,000 Austrian Poles and 400,000 Uerman Poles. When peace came fusion seemed an impossibility; there had been no training in national homogeneity. Yet out of the chaos the Poles, with Paderewski at their head, swiftly evolved political order. By the first ’ National Assembly the constitution of i>ew Poland was framed ; in March, 1921, that constitution was proclaimed amid intensely emotional scenes.

In the demonstrating procession the most honoured position was given to the veteran insurrectionists of 1863, white-haired, feebj j old fighters, wearing the uniforms they had not dared to put on in public for bu years, and their new insignia of the rams of officer which has been conferred on every living veteran in Poland bv the Government of the new republic, which has also pensioned every one of them. The Polish Constitution is broad-based upon the people’s will. E’or political purposes the republic is divided into 15 couii ties. The national assembly consists of two houses, a president and cabinet. Both bouses are elected for five years ; together they elect the president for seven years. Every Polish citizen over 40, women Included, is eligible for the nresideney. Already there are seven women members of Parliament; the fact, that a dozen of the members are Jews suggests that the Poles do not share the anti-Semitic prejudice. There is absolutely equal adult sufferage, save that soldiers and Government officials do not exercise the franchise. The age limit for members of Parliament is 25; one member is elected for every 50,C00 of the population. Although the Poles were so long and so completely divided by the surrounding ring of bullies the bitter experience is now being turned to Poland’s prone. Each party has something distinctive to contribute to the commonweal. As a consequence the reconstructive development of Poland is acknowledged to be one of the most striking facts in Europe to-day. The country’s natural resources are amazing, but under alien tyranny scant encouragement was given for their development. Her coal fields have an estimated reserve of 110 billion tons; the annual yield of her salt mines is laO million tons; she is the third forest country in Europe, with 16,000,000 acres of timber land. Her oil fields are among the richest in the world, despite the fact that the Russians, before thev quitted the country, set 600 of the greatest wells afire. With such resources under the control of her democratic, progressive people Poland may well cherish gh hopes concerning her future. These hopes every freedom-loving man and nation will surely share. For never has a national heritage been more nobly won. And it seems extremely likely that that heritage will now be wisely used. THE PAPAYA-TREE. The tropical nlant known as the papaya or papaw tree is a native of South America, and is now widely grown in all tropical areas t he world over, where it is appreciated for the fruit it produces, which has a rich, appetising flavour, and exerts ’a highly digestive influence on the stomach. There are two species—the male and the female plant. The male plant flowers, but does not produce fruit, and for this reason is not usually cultivated. - So tar as the writer’s practical-knowledge goes, there are only two varieties of the papaya, similar in every respect save tor the colour of the outer skin of the fruit. The fibre in the stem of the leaves and in the trunk of the papaya tree presents big possibilities, and it should be well adapted, to judge by its texture, colour, and breaking-strain, for twine, and even sacking of superior grade. The plant flourishes Lest on rich loamysoils, but when cultivated does almost as well on clay soils. Although the papaya tree luxuriates on moisture-retaining soils, where it fruits heavily and freely, it is very susceptible to the slightest excess of moisture above its requirements, and a nerfect drainage system is an essential which, if omitted, would be disastrous to the growing, crop, if not completely fatal. Shallow soils and low-lving land with imperfect drainage and water-logged subsoil are quite unsuitable. Under suitable soil and climatic conditions the papaya tree yields a prolific crop; but no attempts has yet been made to cultivate the plant on svstematic plantation methods. The unripe papaya fruit vields a maximum flow of milky juice, obtained that valuable article of medical commerce known as papain or papay In South America and the West Indies it is a custom, when dealing with tough mea" of any kind, to wrap it m paqya leaves' for from six to 12 hours, ati.r which it becomes auite tender, withoa the leaves in any wav affecting the properties. of the article so treated. the ETilkv juice of the fruit rubbed over meat has the same digestive effect on it, anc J the process is more rapid, requiring about Sur lmius onlv for the meat to become quite tender.' It is said that this■ methd L preferable, as a proportion of the milk is absorbed by the meat, and .the constituents contained there in assist m no small Z fn° n 6 s U om e e of digestive properties of the vapava juice nnd leaves' are so well recognised by the natives that they hold a superstitious idea that a paoava tree growing withini a radius of 50 yards of any habitation produces relaxing symptoms in occupants and is a menace to health. In the 1 an Lb district of India the papaya rui carries the native name of castoi-oil melon,” demonstrating thereby its pronerties as a laxative. ... , _ P The unripe papaya fruit makes a superior grade of chutney, and when cooked as a vegetable forms an excellent and delicious substitute for yegetaole marrow. Boiled in syrup, and aiso when crvstallised, it becomes a preserve of first quality, which would hold its own against all comers in the open market through its fine flavour, digestive properties, and low cost of production. Propagation is carried on by seeds rom the fruit, and the general rule has been to grow the papaya tree along with other fruit trees in orchards, gardens, pleasure grounds, etc. ; but if planting be carried out on systematic lines, trees should be spaced at a distance of about Bft to 10ft apart when grown as a pure crop, but three times that distance if a mixed

cultivation is desired—the most suitable plants for mixing being the cassava, tomato, pepper, egg-plant, etc. The only cultivation the plant needs is a weeding or two to keep the weeds under until the plant reached a height of about 3ft. The crop, as with the cocoanut, is a continuous one, the papaya being somewhat more prolific, and commencing to harvest within the first twelve-month; but the life of the tree is in comparison short, as it outgrows its fertility in "rom two to five vears.