TOPICAL READING.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXVIX, Issue 8127, 28 April 1906, Page 4

TOPICAL READING.

In connection with the census forms uow being issued, eaob individual householder is requested to. state thereon the number of poultry he is possessed of. This might to some people appear unnecessary and ridiculous; but the objeot, as explained by Mr Hyde (Government Poultry Expert), is .to obtain in figures the poultry production of the oolony. Hitherto, in this connection, it has heen merely guesswork, whereas in America the value of the poultry production oan be gauged to a dollar. Some aocurate and valuable information will be gained from the figures get clown in the census papers, and the totals, when anuounoed, will probably be a surprise to many, for the poultryraising industry is one that, with the pushfulness and fostering of the colonial Government, has Hammed big proportions.

Plana to combat "raofl suicide"— some of them novel, some of them foolisb—are v a tl.eme of perenaial discussion by American newspapers and politicians. The street car compauy at Sheboygan, Wisconsin, has decided (writes the San Francisco correspondent " of the Melbourne Age) to accept babies as passes. That is to say, any woman boarding a car, with her baby, in'her arms, will be given a free ride. The baby ma3t not be more than two years old. In the State of Illinois Edmund Beall, the Mayor of.Alton, has announced his uandidaoy for Congress, and the leading plank of his platform, is "More American babies."" "I have decided to introduce a Bill, if elected, to make men who refuse to accept the responsibility of parentage leave the country," he says. "We want more babies of good American stock. The only way we can have Amerioaus is tq grow them—we can't import them."

A lecture was recently given at the Parkes Museum, London, on "Child Life in Japan," by Miss Miyakawa. Toe lecturer said that the two most important lessons taught to Japanese children were loyalty to the Emperor and love for , their parents. "If we do not love our country," she stated, "we oannot

love one another The very reason why you British love foreigners is because you have a well-ordered Government, and you love your country so well that it radiates od the foreigners. No child goes to eohool in Japan before six years of age, and when there, besides the ordinary sobool curriculum, two hours are set aside each week to teach the child etbioal knowledge, and one hour a week is given to studying etiquette—how to walk, pour out tea, bow, and hold the hands and fingers. We do not give any prizes," the lecturer went on, "nor do we hold examinations: no marks are given; the child is taught to learn for the sake of knowledge, and not to obtain a certain number of markg."

Quite the latest addition to the already comprehensive range of vegetables which now grace the tables of the gastronomical cognoscenti is lava, served hot with roast mutton, instead of, (or in addition to, the time-honoured currant jelly. Lava, when served, looks like spinach, save that the rich emerald tint of spinach is replaced by a mingled deep green and amber, a dark, neutral shade, like tbe corner of a Rembrandt canvas. To the palate lava brings a subtle commingling of pleasant salinity as of marinated fish, and a delioate hint of the sub-acid of lime or lemon—a lingering bonne bouohe that produces a desire for further acquaintance. Lava is a marine legume, and is found among the wild rooks of Scotland's ironbound coast. It grows there at tbe water's edge, in long wavy fronds, and when in the sea displays a brilliancy of beryl and ruby. It ia purveyed by the fish-mongers, by whom it is put through a course of maceration in weak brine. When served from the hands of a chef, lava is flavoured with lemon. Gourmets welcome lava as a highly palatable and very nutritious recruit to the table, and physicians classify it as a valuable diuretic.

The question of affording better facilities for the education of the children in the baok-blocks of the Auckland district has been before the Auckland Education Board for some time. A report on the subject was submitted by Mr Petrie, Chief Inspector, at a meeting of the Board on Wednesday. He stated that, in general, each case of this kind would have to he considered on Its merits. Some oases could be met by employing itinerant teachers who would teaoh in each family for week at a time. In all other case* the usual grant of £6 for each unit of average attendance should be offered on condition (1) That the head of the family makes provision for the instruction of the children in accordance with the terms of the Education Acts, and (2) That an inspector of the Board certifies year by year that the instruction given is reasonably efficient. Mr H. J. Greenslacie, M.H.R., said that he had recently completed a tour through the remote, back-blooks, and it was oertainly regrettable to see how children were penalised as regards education, because their parents were obliged to go away back and carry on the laudable work Of pioneering. The report of the inspector was adopted, and referred to the Education Department.