CURRENT TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 98, 16 October 1911, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

VALUE OF X-RAYS. At the recent Medical Congress in Syd- J ney Dr. Herman Lawrence read a paper on "Radiumtherapy," of which he said that while it was of immense value in the treatment of skin diseases, there was , nnieli uncertainty as to when it should ■ be. applied in -the treatment of skin affections. Norman Wulker, of Edinburgh, had said of the X-rays in the treatment of skin diseases that he considered the X-rays the greatest therapeutical agent ever yet. introduced into the domain of the dematological armamentarium. 'T think." Dr. Lawrence continued, "most dermatologists will agree with Norman Walker that if a judicious selection of east's is made, and the X-rays treatment is carried out with judgment, not only thinking of the immediate improvement to be obtained by this method of treatment, but remembering well the untoward results which may develop after X-rays- treatment, even sometimes when the dosage has not been excessive at any one particular exposure, then with these necessary precautions, I think we must agree that X-rays therapy is beyond doubt of the greatest value in the treatment of cutaneous disease. And t would >ay that of no less value has been the later discovery of radium as a therapeutical agent in the treatment of skin affection*. But, here again, as in the case of the X-rays, a judicious selection of the cases suitable for this form of treatment is absolutely necessary. And a knowledge of the 'variety of thera- \ peutical action of radium necessary in I the particular disease chosen for trcatI ment, was just as necessary, Radium- [ therapy will remove from sight, and. so ! to speak, cure many forms of skin- all'ecI tions, hut it by no means follows that radiiimlhearpy is the correct method of treatment to adopt in all such cases."

AUSTRALIA'S SALVATTON. The doctrine that drought in Australia is a blessing is being preached by Mr. C. K. Doutreband, a resident in Sydney. He declares that drought is '-Australia's salvation," because it "kills oil' diseases, sweetens the ground, and enables the stock to fatten with the following good season in a way they will not fatten afterwards." He" has-had fourteen years' experience as a pastoralist in the bush country of New Zealand and New South Wales, and he states that he has been forced to the conclusion! that droughts are necessary. "When the drought breaks," Mr. Doutreband remarked to a reporter last week, "you can almost see the crops growing and the stock getting fat. But after several good seasons in the very same country you will find it d-iflk-ult to get stock to fatten. Tn good seasons the land never gets a spell. In Canada it is fallowed four or live months- in the winter, and here the climate is so mild that the land is never idle. In districts where the rainfall is fairly good we hear of lluky, sour country, but in- the west it is sweet and beautiful—all because of the droughts." Mr. Doutreband believes that the operation of the droughts is in favor of small holdings, since the small holder can grow enough fodder in good seasons to tide his stock over bad ones, and by practising rotation of crops he can keep the soil sweet. Probably there is a certain amount of truth in" the theory of the value of droughts, but expert opinion does not agree entirely with Mr. Doutreband. Professor Watt, who is professor of agriculture at Sydney University, admits that droughts help to clear the country of stock diseases, but they also cause stock to starve. There is a difference in Mio nature of the pasture after a drought, hut it is hard to say exactly what the difference is. The '•sweetening of the soil'' appears to need some anah" sis and explanation. In most cases the drought is apt to become a worse evil than the diseases for which it furnishes a, remedy. Probably careful scientific farming would provide a remedy which would be quite as'effective and considerably less troublesome and costly.

PRICE OF CRASS S'KKD. The .Touniiii of the Department of Agriculture, says there is every indication that, there will yet be a considerable iniTeasre in price, for the majority of grass and clover seeds. From reports to fraud it appears that the European and l American grass-seed harvests have been below (lie average, while the demand has been of an expanding nature. It, is probable Hi-it. an extension of spring sowing will lake place this year in the South Island, partly by reason of the ravages of the grass grub. Some, idea of the present shortage may be gained from the fact

thai, the.be-d lines of white clover are at present worMi £1.70 a ton. wholesale in New Zealand. In the United States timothy seed has been selling at over IKH) per cent, above its normal price. Tl;-. 1 present shortage f of New Zealand cocksfoot will be somewhat made up by the re-shipment to New Zealand of lines exported to Britain from the Dominion two seasons ago. To find a parallel to the price quoted above, for white clover—£lso a lon wholesale—it is necessary to go back many year.-) (says the Hawera Star). In IS.-),'i*n New Plymouth settler sent an enquiry for white clover seed to Auckland and received a reply to the effect that there was no colonial seed to be 'had ami a very limited supply of imported seed —only about l%ewt. The price, was Is fid per lb in small quantities, but if a hundredweight or thereabouts were taken a reduction of a ■penny or two might, be made. (At Is fid per lb the price per ewt. would be lfiSs 1 , or £IOB per ton). This settler in question forward a cheque for £lO, which would secure about two-third* of the stock of seed held in Auckland, which would probably be all that there was to be had in New Zealand at the time. Times have, changed, and the Dominion has grown, but it would appear that there is a chance of history repeating itself in this respect, that a ten-pound note will be able to secure the bulk of the stock of white clover seed, and that the price will he about on a par with that of L 5.73.