SCIENCE CONGRESS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1644, 10 January 1913, Page 5

SCIENCE CONGRESS.

3 j . ■■ ■' > - • ' ' A VAEEETT OF TOPICS. ) 1 • • • ' • J. By Telecraph—Press Association—Oopyrlfrlit 1 ,(Reo. January 9, 11.40 p.m.) 1 \ Melbourne, January 9. '• The Council of'the Science Congresshas ; oabled Dr. Alfred,' Russell Wallace, the : 'veteran scientist, greetings on .his' ninetieth birthday and expressing' appreciation 'of his illustrious life nnd'work. o. 15Ir? ! Djfiq!/' tKo 1 -' Gbverriiierit ,»V ; the Mdffra beetOTgar' in. a paper i read before the Congress,' olainied 'that' ; there was 'no reason .why:. tHe^culture;'of, ■ beet-sugar,should, not tain as high'.' a position, in maintaining-, the" fertility' '.of Australian soils, as it iiid in reclaimiig J thoso of Europe and America. ' Professor/Fawsith, of. Sydney, in bis presidential address to the chemistry sec- ; tim, said the greatest development of this' ; generation-had ,been the'gradual, but sure, ■ .reduction,pf to an"exact science.'' ' : Mr. F.i Schann, in dealing . with. tnilitary/Bcience,; said the defence, scheme had already' had a,.marked effect for "the bet-; ter in the observance of law, and order amongst young Australians. ' r'. , •.. Mr.: Petherick, of Sydney, claimed that Australia had been discovered oyer' 400 years';ago by. the Portuguese 1 : navigator accompanied by .Vespuciji, for whom the honour was claimed of first; making the American coast. Mr. Petberick flso I 'stated.' that he possessed; evidence showing that the coast; of West Australia had been": visited by Europeans as far back as 1499. ; ' .' Br. J., S ; Purdy, Chief Health Officer, of Tasmania, in'a paper read'before the. Science Congress on' the reduction of typhoid fever in Australia, showed that the death-rate from this disease had been reduced by one-third; in the last thirty yeaia. Still, however, it was fifteen per hundred thousand during the decade endod 1910, whilst only fl.fi in New Zealand,' 7 in England,' 6.2 in Scotland, and 4,6 in the United Stateai'