A BACKGROUND TO THE NEWS

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 103, 25 January 1935, Page 9

A BACKGROUND TO THE NEWS

The Stratosphere Mr. J. A. Mollison says his stratosphere Hight attempt will probably be made in America during the summer. The stratosphere bids fair to occupy the place once occupied by transoceanic flying as an attraction for those who seek-fame as pioneers of the air. The United States, Russia, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Spain, Czechoslovakia and Hungary have organised expeditions to explore the windless, sub-zero, twilight regions of the upper atmosphere. It is a region of perfect weather, free from rain, sleet, snow or fog. There is no moisture, there, and the stratosphere promises to be tomorrow’s highway for high-speed air traffic, opening the way for speeds of from 400 to COO miles an hour. Among the scientific secrets it holds is that of the cosmic ray. Professor A. Piccard’s balloon ascent in 1931 drew the attention of airmen to the stratosphere. He reached a height of 52,490 feet. He made another ascent with Max Cosyns, of Belgium, in 1932. Last year Cosyns and a companion attained a height of 10 miles in a balloon. In July of last year three United States army officers reached 60,000 feet in a balloon. At this great height the envelope tore, but the airmen made a safe descent in parachutes. Three Russian airmen lost their lives in a balloon ascent, after establishing an unofficial record of 72,178 feet and a later attempt by Russians in September was also a failure. Aeroplanes as well as balloons have entered the upper regions. The Italian Air Ministry has organised a height squadron for the study and practical solution of problems inherent in stratosphere navigation. Com. Renato Donati, of Italy, flew to a new world’s altitude record of 47,352 feet in April last, and Wiley Post, the American aviator, subsequently broke this record. Preserving Whales. Nineteen countries have ratified a convention protecting whales, particularly the rarer species, by the prohibition of the killing of calves and the regulating of the chartering and registration of whaling ships. History gives a melancholy record of the results of intensive whaling. The Atlantic right whale is no longer to be found on the Biscay coast, and though it has made some recovery was once believed to be extinct. The southern right whale, once extremely common on the coasts of South Africa and Kergueln, is occasionally represented in returns by a very few specimens. The Greenland whale disappeared successively from the bays of Spitzbergen, the Greenland Sea, Davis Strait and the region of the Bering Straits. No indication of the reappearance of these animals off Spitbergen, where formerly they were present in immense numbers, has been seen. The Pacific grey whale was nearly exterminated off the Californian coast and was thought extinct, but recently it reappeared In small numbers. The capture of humpback whales has seriously declined. Other specimens which have been extensively hunted are the narwhal, white whale, pilot whale, bottle-nosed whale, the common porpoise and other of the smaller dolphins. The United States in 1844 had 315 vessels in chase of the sperm whale alone, but one fishing ground after another had to be abandoned. Of the important species the blue whale, finwhale, humpback, sei whale and sperm whale alone survive in considerable numbers, and the disappearance of the first two would involve the extinction of the greater part of the industry. Recently as many as 10,000 were taken in one season in sub-Antarctic regions, and in 1925-20 7000 were taken off the coast at South Georgia alone. Damming the Thames. Two alternative schemes have been submitted for the purpose of damming the Thames to keep the water at a constant level. The Thames, the largest river in England, is the most commercially important in the world. Its source is generally held to be at Thames Head, in the parish of Coates, three miles west of Cirencester. The length of the river from Thames Head to London Bridge is 161} miles, and from London Bridge to the Nore 47} miles, a total of 209 miles. Its width at Oxford is 150 feet, at London Bridge 750 feet, and above the Nore five and a half miles. The Thames drains an area of 6100 square miles, and is navigable 24 miles from its source. The London Bridge damming scheme will give 19 miles of still water between London and Teddington. At low water the depth at London Bridge is from 12 to 13 feet, at Teddington it is 16} feet higher; at high water the depth at London Bridge runs from 17 to a maximum of 27 feet, and at Teddington, where high water is two hours later, the depth increases from one to one and a half feet. The height of the river above sea level is 356 feet at Thames Head, and 237 feet at Lechlade. Below Lechlade the fall is 20 inches a mile. The daily flow of the Thames at Lechlade is 100 000.000 gallons, and at London Bridge 350,000.000 gallons. Authority for the construction of pound locks on the Thames was given in 1771 to ensure an efficient head of water during the drier seasons of the year and to facilitate the escape of flood water. There are not 47 of these locks, the upermost at Saint Johns above Lechlade, and tbe lowest at Richmond. Smallpox.

Owing to the effects of a spell of intense cold in the North-west and Central India an outbreak of smallpox and other diseases is feared. The cause of smallpox is not definitely known. A low standard of nutrition and general uncleanliness predispose to infection. It probably existed in the East in early times, was brought to Europe by returning Crusaders, reached the New World by way of the Spanish expeditions, and has penetrated to almost every clime in which contact with masses of Europeans has been made possible. One attack renders the subject immune, and the milder disease of cowpox may confer immunity. Inoculation against smallpox was practised by the Hindus more than 3000 years ago. In the LSth century probably three out of five grown ups met with in the streets in London were disfigured with smallpox. Thousands were blinded, many thousands perished every year, and in the days of Edward Jenner, to whom credit for effective vaccination against smallpox must lie given, it was reckoned that of 100 persons who died, 10 died of smallpox. Many people considered it hopeless to try to avoid smallpox. They deliberately came into contact with a patient in order to infect themselves and get it over.