NEWS BY MAIL.

Hokitika Guardian, 21 February 1925, Page 4

NEWS BY MAIL.

J WEIGHT OF BABIES AT BIRTH. ; LONDON. December 2. In his new book "Lystrata: Womans Future and Future Woman,” Air, A. Al. Ludoviei makes many dari ing assertions and prophecies. But - perhaps his most interesting pages are 4 t ier •■ in which be discusses a bat be ' calls the "absurd superstition that a baby should be 3 or Bibs at birth.' I It is notorious that a small, healthy j (ill, baby ferquently flourishes better than the heavier infant of 8 or Dibs, ; :■ also that, since the larger- baby us- - milly loses weight after birth, its bulk 1 is demonstrably unneeesary at that L stage. Wlmt then prevents us from adopting wlmt is obviously Nature’s plan—the birth of relatively thin ami small babies, through care of the ges- . fating mother’s food? Al.r Ludoviei has noticed that the i young of aninvils, "even when their I mothers are in splendid fettle, are only skin and bone at birth.’ and that, “young born in this way not 1 only never lose weight, but grow as , plump and vigorous as could be wished in the first 24 hours.” _> He is inclined to think that the dei sired result could be brought about by - following the diet laid down by Dr * l.ahmann, which could be rich in food--5 salts but poor in meat and cereals. Snell a diet “ seems to approximate , very well to what one may imagine i the food of primativc mankind to have - been.”

BRITISH FACES CHANGING. LESS USE OF THE JAWS. LONDON, December 12. "Vividly contrasting pictures of life in London to-day. and on the savage site of the vast metropolis 13,000 years ago were drawn by Sir Arthur Keith, conservator ol the Aluseum of the* Rocal College of Surgeons, when he delivered a British Optical Association foundation lecture at King’s College. London last night. Pointing out that the fossil bones dug up- recently at T ratal gar-square were those of the i,vat ox or aurochs, the stag and the mammoth, which were living in the Thames Valley towards the close ol the Ice Age, 10.000 years ago, lie said; We know that men were living at the same time as these animals over the future sights of London, for flint implements lie in the same bed of gravel. FAILING EYESIGHT. Modern civilsation has placed our bodies under conditions which are altogefelier new to them. It is said I think with truth—that our digestive sysems show, signs of breaking down under our dietary—appendieits is rife, troubles of the great bowel, and stomach are very common; our teeth are swept with disease. Our nervous system, in many instances, breaks down.

In a considerable proportion of our population changes are taking place in the bony framework of the lace, involving a change in the si.'ie and shapes of the orbits—the cavity in which the eyes are lodged. The fecial changes are attributed to a diminished use of the

jaws. . What is happening to our eyes which are now overtaxed by near work? The answer returned by opthalmic surgeons is that eivilsation is threatening our eyesight. They agree’that all children are born with eyes fashioned for •‘distant sight, just as are .the young of wild animals. .. When, however, we take a thousand British children and trace them from infancy to adult years we find by the end of tlie fourth year some ten or more of them will have lost the power of seeirm objects clearly which are at a distance; by the age of 20 about 150 of tlie 1.000 will have become shortsighted or myopic. _. . . We phtain.. "approximately the same numbers whether we take children from the "city or'from the country, from neb homes or from poor.

FINGER-PRINTS BY WIRELESS. * LONDON, December 2. ® Important wireless experiments are >eing carried out at Scotland Yard by i special recently established branch. Efforts have been concentrated on the sending by wireless of pictures used in the investigation of crime. In this direction Scotland Yard experts have been working in close co-operation with a similar branch of the New York police. Pictures of a New York policeman have been sent to Scotland Yard by wireless, and successfully received. The portrait was so exceptionally clear that any detective with the picture in his possession would easily lie able to distinguish the man. Experiments have also been carried out in the transmission of finger-prints by wireless. Remarkable success has attended these experiments. GOLD TREATMENT FOR TUBERCULOSIS. LONDON, December 2. A new treatment for tuberculosis, the “ gold cure,” is said to have given some good results in some of the hospitals in Denmark. It. is the discovery of Prof. Ylollgnard, who spent three years trying to. a compound of gold with other substances that would be poisonous to the tubercle bacilli while harmless to the patient. He found that a preparation of gold, sulphur, and sodium rapidly kills the tubercle bacilli and is harmless when injected into healthy animals. But when injected into tuberculous I,animals the results were disastrous. The wholesale destruction of the bacilli liberated their poisons, and in many cases these proved fatal. These consequences, however, can be prevented by first injecting a scrum, and the procedure now is to inject this serum, and a few days later to follow it with an injection of a mixture of the serum with the gold preparation, called saiiocrvsin. By this treatment Prof. Mollgaard claims to have completely cured two apes from the Copenhagen Zoo who were dying of consumption. i DOCTORS’ INTEREST. For the past year many hospitals in Denmark have been using the cure lor human patients. At first it was tried | 'on hopeless and dying cases and in many instances hastened their death, but with increased knowledge many have improved. I Saiiocrvsin, ’a white crystalline substance easily soluble in water which is quickly diffused throughout the- body. * is regarded by the medical profession l in Denmark as the most hopeful dis- ! cm-ery yet made for the treatment of 1 tuberculosis.

A STATE SERVICE. SYDNEY, .fan. 22. The Oueensland Government is the first in the world to institute a State ! broadcasting service. Under the bedoral Government’s regulations a tax is imposed upon every listening-in set, and the proceeds are distributed I amongst the approved conductors bl services in each State. In Quoensland the State Government is estah- ' lisliing the principal service, and will , therefore derive the bulk of the pro- | cecils from the listening-in tax imposed ' by the Federal Government in that 1 State. The station and studios and the service arc being established on 1 the roof of idle State Insurance build- ' iiig in Brisbane, and so powerful will ihe the service that it will penetrate j to the uttermost coniines o! the huge State, and many listener,s-'.u in ■ juilltttg States will also reap the benefit of it, and if will probably 1.-a beard in New Zen In ml. The State Government accepted the tender of the Amalgamated Wireless 1 Australasia), Ltd., lor the supply o! a modern 5 k.w. broadcasting transj milting set and lor the supply ul the necessary aerial and earth materials, sound collecting equipment, microphones, central panels, and geneial .! receiving equipment. The set lo he installed was manufactured in Aus'l India, and should enable constant i connnunicatiGn to he obtained tor ' ; distance of odd miles by day and 1(1.W) ! miles hv night. That is not the nmxi- ! mum range of the apparatus. It prob- ■ j ably will be heard in America and .'other countries, but the distances meu- [ tinned are the. guaranteed ranges o! 1 j the plant. The apparatus comprising i the main control and amplifying panels is of the tvpo used in most of the load- ' ing stations in the world, and will ou- ! ; able very delicate control of the stai tion to he maintained by the operator. 1 thus ensuring perfect transmission of . j all items. From the studio at regular j intervals late news items, stock cx- ' change information, up-10-tho-minute market reports, fashion topics for women, afternoon tea music, sporting information, high-class instrumental 1 and vocal music, discussions on topics , < ; f public interest, and many other ; ' features will bo broadcasted. [ 11 is expected that the station v.ll he ready for transmission and a very comprehensive service organised with very litllo delay. ’ m 9 wcatap «'a