THE NOBEL PRIZE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 11, 6 February 1909, Page 6

THE NOBEL PRIZE.

PROFESSOR RFT I IKK FOR I) ENTERTAIN ED. London. 18th "December. Fnrlbev high honor has been done tbe young New Zealand scientist. Professor Rutherford. On Saturday, at Stockholm. Dr. Lcffer, the well-known mathematician, gave a luncheon in honor of Professor Lippniann. of Paris, and Professor Rutherford, ('overs were hi id for 120 guests, representing the seient.itic world. .Monsieur Trolle. Mi;lisle!' ■for Foreign Affairs, welcomed the two guests of honor. Referring to (lie X«'w Ze.ilander iu ;\ cordial spm-h. tile Minister slid he wa?> a young exphuvr in the realm of that new and marvellous science which was neither physics nor elieinistr\, but a combination of both, In view of this fact lie ventureTl to hope that they might again welcome Professor Rutherford there as the winner of another .Nobel Prize, lie drank to the welfare of French and lirit science. The day before yesterday Professor Rutherford, accompanied hv his wife, arrived at Copenhagen, lie there told a representative of the Daily Telegraph that he had spent six memorable days ia 'Sweden, where he was shown the greatest courtesy, hospitality, and kindness ;bv everyone. He has not. vet decided use lie will make of his prize. Professor Rutherford undertook a long excursion from Stockholm to Upsala University. where great homage was paid him. and where he inspected the chemical and physical laboratories, lie is now on his way back to Manchester, travelling via Berlin. A remark made by the Westminster Gazette (hat Professor Rutherford was probably the youngest ... of scientists upon whom this higli honor has been bestowed has prompted Miss (instance Barnicoat (o spml to that journal <ome facts and figures taken from the Nobel publications. The average age of a Xobel prizewinner has been ")7 years 4 months; this calculation takes no account of the IS>OB awards. The Physics prize-winners, curiously enough, are the youngest of all, taken as a body, and the youngest of them is Madame Curie, born in 1807. and receiving, conjointly with her late, husband and M. Henri Rcs(|Uerel, the Physics Prize in l!M)3, which would make iier 3G at the time.

TUMP

•; (By "Moturoa"). f The Canterbury .Midsummer Meeting will be concluded at I'iccarton today. The Egmonl liacing Club'* Summer •Mectiug takes place on Wednesday and Thursday. A/oil', who won the Zealamlia Handicap at Takapuna. is a live-year-old j hrown mare iiy Menschikoll' Queen ( olc, aud therefore a half-sister to old P.attleaxe. Mr. 11. ("iiisiiolm won the First and Second Hurdles at the A.-J.C, Ann j* \ersary Meeting last week. English and '.Pretty .Maid scoring <a*iiy. English second favorite in a lield of four in the l-'ir-t Hurdles, and led all tinway, winning by four from Mainspring. who is trained aud ridden by T. Cahill. Pretty Maid had only one opponent in the Second Hurdles, ami the pair jumped indill'eroutly, -Mainspring losing his rider after going a mile and a hall. and the New Zealand mare was

left to come in "on her own." Oood stakes are offered for hurdle-races iu Australia.' aud there is money in the game for the man who takes across a top-notcher to "do" the summer meetThe nonchalantly-named Stroller liuished a bad last iu the .Maiden Hurdles at Takapuna. lie just strolled in behind Mark Time ami Co. The EguionL Cup appears lo be a very one event. Ngapuka, wlio is a four - year - old gelding by Soult— I'auliiie, ran second to IJully in the Takapuna ( up, and raced unsuccessfully a* a ihree-ycar-niil. but tliose who saw liim race last week consider that they clapped their eyes on a prad that is -likely to show to good advantage iu the near future. Tim Hon. J. I). Ormond's east-oil Wallasey, by Uirkcnhead -- Apliroditv, who raced unsuccessfully in the Land of the Moa last season, is now running iu the pony ranks in Australia, and at

the recent Ascot meeting lumped Ost into second plaee, being beaten by half a length iu a tour-furlong scramble run in 4Usee. In Melbourne, Penates and Soultliuu for the Newmarket and .Signor for the Cup are ruling favorites. It was hoped that Mahutonga would stand another preparation, but as soon as the old fellow was put into work again at Haudwick his lameness reappeared, aud, it being quite impossible to train him, lie will probably be returned to his owner at Oisbornc. .Mahutonga won many good races iu New Zealand, including an Auekla.nd Cup, and was taken across to Australia to pull oil' a Melbourne Cup or some such trillel • A Sydney paper states: "Late Hours workul before daylight.'' lie could not have gone to bed! Very little interest was taken locally iu the Canterbury meeting, but Flilaway, Valdimar, and Prim were well

fancied for their respective races. There i?s not much money about for racing, and many are saving up the shekels for tlawe.ra next week. Australians are not favorably impressed with Signor, and consider him rather 011 the small side, but, all the same, they keep backing him, and if well the New 2calander will very soon give tin w\ a taste of his quality. "I should like to see some of these newspaper chaps put-up to ride the horses thuiisclves. See what a mess they'd make of it." That is a very familiar jockey remark (rays an English writer). Of course, the •"newspaper chaps'* would make a nic-* of raceriding. It is not their business. All the same, a man asked to wear a bad-litting shoe ha* not to lie a cobbler in order to be a critic of the bout. A woman may not be able to make a dress, but none the less can quickly detect faults in the dressmaker's •construction/' lienee it is the merest-impertinence to contest the light of "newspaper chaps' 1 to criticise jockey-* and their jockeyship. If we had a little more criticism and a little less of the "•personal paragraph'' we might be a deal better oil'. Probably with a view to chasing the elusive gaol-breaker, or law-breaker, or any other kind of breaker, the local iioiico force has secured a handsome big chestnut horse by St. Clements, and .there is much speculation amongst sporting folk as to whether '"Mac" H going lo rush him over *hort courses or trim him 'ero** country. Words of wi>\lom from the "War Cry." li/2/('!l:--"lt is vain to run fast, if I the racer halts before he reaches til. 1 goal." The cove who penned those words must have backed Armlet in .1 bix-furioitg race! "I heard a funny story the other day. writes "Rapier'' in the Sporting and Dramatic, about one of tile best-known ■ of contemporary 'chasers, who as a two-year-old in Ireland was a good hoi'sl l . j ile had been highly tried, and was in a : race which looked the best of good things for him: but the. two allies who owned and trained him. were not always I ardentlv keen to win when they could, and they agreed that it would probably 1 be beneficial in the iutiire if they Jet ; their colt perform in this occasion : down the course. Thinking it over, ! however, the. senior partner came Lo the I conclusion that it. would be better to j change his mind .and lie wrote to tlie ' other" to that effect, making preparations for a dash at the starting price olliccs. This matter being cleverly arranged, be set oiY for the meeting to see ithn horse win. ■ I 'Tie arrived late, just in time to see l\w coll, cantering down to the start, and his associate entering; the gate of thei enclosure to take his place Oil the fctand. 'You told him what to do. T suppose?' No. ) asked. cs,' the other answered. 'I took his whip and spurs awav, said he would not want them, as we had not backed him, and there was no occasion to hurry.' Consternation •seized No. 1. 'But didn't you get my llctter";' he -frantically enquired. '1 told •you I was going .to have a monkey on! |Tvc had. no letter-not si word/ was the. reply, 'and if you have backed him 4lie money's gone!' But No. 1. was determined to make his last effort. Dashing to the weighing room, lie sowed the ta-hip and spurs, and jumping 011 to » car told the man lo gallop to Oie starting post. It. would make a better story toI*saw 1 *saw that he reached it jnsfi, as the •horses were oil', but this is a true tale; the arrived just in time, and Uie horse, who has won scores of races since, won 'this to begin with."