NEW ZEALAND CUP,

Observer, Volume XI, Issue 707, 16 July 1892, Page 12

NEW ZEALAND CUP,

It is the fashion at this season of the year for the various sporting writers to criticise the handicaps and make an effort to pick the winners of the various big sporting events. And as it is as well to be out of the world as cut of the fashion, I intend making an effort to comply with the custom, at the same time premising that as there are so many chances against any particular horse going to the posr, the odds are very much Bgainst anyone picking a winner so long before the race. The handicap has certainly been commenced on a very low scale, but in the absence of any real good ones Mr Henry has pursued the proper course. Occident, with Bst 111 b, cannot be quite voted out of it, but he will need ro he as weil as ever he has beea to have a show. Prime Warden, Bst 101 b, I do not like, as I do not think he will stay the distance in a true-run race. On his running last

season, Merrie England might almost be voted out of it ; he may, however, regain some of his old form, and if he does he will be there or thereabout. Cynisca never runs well in the spring, so I think we may pass her. The Workman remains in Australia, and Cruchfield has been scratched. The next on the list, Craekshot, Bst 81b, is a hor^e for which I have great respect. He does seem to have gone off very much, but remembering the way in which he won the Auckland Cup as a three-year-old I cannot leave him out, as he carried Bst 31b and run the race like a lion. Boulanger, Bst 6lb, is a horse that has never succeeded in getting to the end of a long journey. Hippomenes Ido not care for in a race of this class. Claarahald, Bst 21b, is in my opinion, a firstclass colt and notwithstanding the fact that St. Legers so far have not been proved stayers I must have him with me. British Lion, Bst 21b, won last year with 6st 111 b; I think he must be getting in the sere and yellow, and as the cattle opposed to him were not up to first-class there was not much merit in his win. Crown Jewel, Bst lib, has shown some fi^t-class form this Autumn. Her wins in the Hawkes Bay Cup and Memorial Stakes when she beat good fields were of a sterling character, but I must pass her as I cannot stand mares in the spring of the year. Lebel is a little compact customer, and has, I think, been rather harshly treated. He is a game one and may improve more than I imagine ; he will certainly beat more than will beat him. If Morion is' kept here he will be, I think, the most dangerous in the four • year - old division, as I feel assured from the general build of the colt he will improve pounds more with age than any thrse-year old we saw out last season. Fraternite Ido not care for, as I have never yet seen a Dauphin that shaped like a stayer. Brigand is not a bad little horse, properly placed, but I thin l - a race of this description is a bit beyond his tether. Whisper has seen some good races, but being a mare I must pass her. Strephon is a fair horse, and if well will repay watching. Rosefeldt, Flinders, and Don Pedro, I do not care for in a race of this class. Kulnina, Vogengang, and Thane are a different class, and deserve attention at the hands of backers, more particularly Vogengang ; from accounts to hand, he is furnishing like a racehorse all over, and if he continues to improve, as his two- year- old form would lead us to imagine, he must have a big say in the final settlement. When running at that age, he promised to be a very big one, but I hear that he has not grown up so much as was expected, though developing splendidly in other respects. Coalscuttle (7st 21b) is a mare that always runs consistently, and if she is well she must, I think, run very forward. Stepniak and North Atlantic are a pair for which I have the greatest respect ; they both shaped well last season, and I feel assured that from the manner in which they raced they will both turn out stayers. St. Hippo is a colt that gave me the impression of sprinting, and though he ran well at the A.R.C. Autumn Meeting, I cannot help thinking, from the inglorious display he made at the Onslow Farewell Meeting in the early autumn, there is something^ wanting in him. Captive, a full brother to Freedom and Dishonor, is a three-year-old that is well spoken of. From Hawkes' Bay 1 hear great accounts of Spinfeldt, by Nordenfeldt from Spinaker, and from what I remember of him as a youngßter he should be a good one. I will certainly have him on my side. Of the rest, some have no chance whatever, and others, not having appeared in public, must be left till later development. To sum up, I shall take Occident, Cracksbot,Clanranald, Morion, Vogengang, Thane, Coalscuttle, Stepniak, North Atlantic, Strephon, Captive, Spinfeldt to supply the winner.

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' How do you pronounce S-h a-r-l-a-n-d-'s B-a-k-i-ng P-o-w-d-e-b ?' queried one housewife of another. ' Sharland's Baking Powder,' promptly replied the other. ' How else could you pronounce it ?' 1 1 pronounce it " most excellent," ' was the witty rejoinder. Speaking of baking powders, a scientific exchange explains that ' the various baking powders of commerce are employed to produce an artificial evolution of carbon dioxide, to support that produced in the dough by the action of the yeast. The composition of baking powders varies considerably. It appears to be most convenien to produce the carbonic acid by the action of hydrochloric acid on sodium bicarbonate, since in this way salt, which is in any case necessary, is also formed. Another widely-used material is ammonium carbonate. It has been hitherto assumed that this substance after aiding in making the dough rise was volatilised by the heat of the oven. Dr. Endemann has, however, found that the ammonia is by no means all removed, but remains more or less completely united with the gluten. This result was communicated to the Association of Chemists assembled at Washington in August, 1891, and although the presence of ammonia is not a source of danger for the consumer nearly all the chemists present agree in discouraging the use of ammonium carbonate in baking powder.' It is a true saying that ' what the eye does not see the heart does not grieve over,' but at the same time it s quite as well that we should carefully avoid any articles used in the preparation of food which am not healthful. Looking at the enormous trade now done in baking powder, users should be careful to select a good brand and keep to it, for it is on record that in the United States particularly alum and other chemicals not at all suited to improve the. delicate organs of digestion are freely used. Whose are good baking powders ? In settling this j question, we must not be too much guided ;by puffy testimonials couched in very glowing terms, nor — although it is necessary now a-days, in order to make any good preparation known, to advertise freely until such time as all possible consumers are practically acquainted with its value rely too much on newspaper advertisements. Nowherp, perhaps, more to than in ihe States is the baking powder advertising war raging fiercer. For instance, and to show the extent to which -this rivalry exists, we note a re« ference to the subject in a recent number of the Oil, Paint,- and Drug Reporter* The Reporter merrily notes that in one paper the pure-t baking powder in the world is made in Chicago, and the vilest of "all ammoniacal poisons is dispensed in New York ; while in another organ, evidently subsidised by an opposition com* pany, the verdict is reversed in a very de» cided manner. Do not, therefore, be altogether led away by flashy advertise- ' ments, but test tor yourselves. ' Indigeso tion doth make brutes of us all,' and many a deed, afterwards bitterly repented, has been committed when the mind we 3 upset by food made with faulty, not to say injurious, materials. 'Howdoyou pronounce S-h a b l a-n-d's B A KING P-O-W-D-E-B? 1 ' I pronounce it most excellent. It is a perfect preparation, healthful, and most satisfactory to use.'