TOPICAL READING.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8183, 14 July 1906, Page 4

TOPICAL READING.

Writing on May 22nd, a few days before the American tinned meat exposures, the St Jame's Gazette, London, apropos Of an address by Sir F. Treves, wrote:—"Not only in the poorer districts, but all over this great metropolis, we can see the joints we are to eat exposed in open shops to all the foul and noxious filth that is blown by the wind off our ill-washed streets. It is a horrid sight, almost enough to turn a sane man vegetarian, if it were not that the vegetables are treated in muah the same way. In time, no doubt, we shall have better sanitary regulations to control the sale of foodstuffs. And meat would be a good thing to begin with. In Anierioa they manage their butchery better, while our methods are a diisgraoe to civilisation." As has often been remarked, "One should never prophesy until one knows."

The Carnegie Institution "Yoar Book" gives a partial list of the plant* upon which Mr Lather Barbank, the American plant."wizard," is working. It inoludes 300,030 new hybrid pinms, the work of the last twenty-five yeara in crossing about every known species; 10,000 new apples; many thousand peach and peach nectarine crosses; 8,000 new seedlings of pineapple quince; 1,000 new grape vinos; 8,000 new hybrid chestnuts, crosses of American, Japanese, Chinese and Italian species; 800 new and distinct hybrid walnuts; very numerous other fruits in less numbers, and 10,000 new rare hybrid seedling potatoes. A most valuable work done by Mr Burbank has been his experiments ou grasses, forage plants, and especially caoti, of which be has obtained specimens from all parts of the world, and has developed, for the benefit of arid districts ! groups of these plants, which produce enormous quantities of nutriti--1 ous food for all kinds of stock and i poultry.

A representative of the Dunedin Star had an interesting chat with an offlaer of the Frenoh steamer Briez Huel, who said:— u Maoy Frenchmen hate the English as they hate the Germans, and they do hate Germans, especially the Prussian part of it, but since the entente the feeling of the educated olasses in the oitiea has been friendly, —very friendly—bat the provinces take u long time to understand. If you went into the Province of Laoguedoo, or even into Normauby, and said to Messieurs Les Payaaus, 'l'm an Euglishman,' they would not thiulc muah of you. As to business the Freuoh are behind. They do not push, and those wuo have money are afraid to risk it; they are what you call 'conservative.' In the works at St. Nazaire they can build uny'thiug, from a bat ieatiiv) to a boat. When the Briez lluel was last at St Nazaire they were building a mail boni for the Atlantic trado. This was the La Provence. Though she may not be the biggest in the world, she was made to be the fastest. In England you have the Royal Naval Reserve, which some join and some do not. In our country we all have to pass a naval training, and we are all liable to be called upon until we are fifty years of age. Our merchant service is helped by the Government bounties—so much subsidy for every ton and 1,000 miles steamed.

Captain William W. GilleD, an iutrepid American seal-hunter, is now at New York (says the Daily Mail) making arrangements for the moat daring venture ever attempted at sea. He proposes, with one uompanion, to row and sail from New York around Cape Horn to San Franoioao, a distance of about 11,000 miles. Bis boat is to be only 20ft 6in long and 4ft lOin in beam, with only a little cuddy forward for storing papers. He will take a pair of Bft oars, and another of 9ft, feeling at liberty, of course, to use a mainsail and jib in a fair bi-beze. He hopes to start from New York in September, and reach San Pjanoiaoo m seven months. Hie provisions will be mostly tinned

staffs packed in waterproof painted oanvaa bags. He will not use the ordinary lag sail, bat will have a gaff. He will take a rifle and 500 rounds of ammunition for sbooting game birds, and will also take fishing tackle. A watoh and sextant are to be his only instruments, tie will continue to the deep sea route, and will not oall at any port, bat proposes hauling up at Cape Island to repaint. The absolute impossibility of accomplishing such a tasK in an open boat round Cane Horn, which tests the endurance of the biggest ships, remarks the Mail, need not be commented on.

In an interesting lecture on "How Nature Takes Cover," Professor Kirk, at Welliugton on Wednesday, showed butterflies resembling green or faded leaves so perfectly, even to details of venation, that not only their enemies, the birds, but even human eyes might be deceived. Even the wings had narrow projections at tbe»hip so that when they were folded and th« insect perched on a twig it seemed to be attaohed by a footstalk. E'erfeotly harmless flies in some cases so strongly resembled bees, wasps, or other stringing creatures, that birds left them in peaue. Caterpillars simulated buds, and even had the habit of resting standing on end at the proper angle to the branch. The New Zealand "walkijng stick" was well known, the lecturer stated. He showed a number of living examples on a native plant. As an example of the effective mimicry of these curious oieatures, Professor Kirk said that though he knew that there were fifteen on the plant from which he bad taken them he could only discover three in the coarse of a long search. He explained the accepted theory regarding the evolution of these remarkable adaptations, that in the course of ages the elimination by natural enemies of the "unfit," particularly the conspicuous, left only those possessing exceptionally deceptive qualities to carry on the suooeaaion, and that the type was modified accordingly. He remarked that human intelligence had been slow to take the bint from animal instinct. The lion and tiger wore the livery of the jungle, but until lately men went forth to war in the brightest and most conspicuous garb.