HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times, 1920-1-22, Page 3Summary cy Canada's Financial Position
A short review of Canada's' position
before the, war and its progress dur-
ing the war will be fouiut interesting:
Canada before the war imported much
more than she exported. Or as one
financial awriter has expressed it:—
"The salient features of the econo-
mio position of Canada shortly before
the war were the enormous predomin,
ance of imports over exports, the fail -
tare of the exports of the couu,try to.
expand in proportion to the immense
amount, of external capital whiohh was
being borrowed and upon which in-
terest had to be paid and the conse-
quent shortage of 'cash and liquid as-
sets in the treasuries of corporations,
h the vaults of banks and the purses
of the public."
This tendency the banks had set
out with some success to combat
some time prior to the,war. Canadian
imports for the fiscal year "1913-14
amounted to $618,457,174 and exports
came to $455,437,224, A similar pro-
portion hacl existed some years be-
fore. Canada , was borrowing • heavily
trona Great Britain for federal, provin-
cial, • municipal and railway purposes,
oses
,
and immense sums of British money
were being invested in Canadian en-
terprises. British financial experts
had called a halt in that respect, little
dreaming that Canada was' soon not
only to send her sons , to help the
Motherland, but to lend her credit as
well.
Canada a Credit Nation.
In so far as the balance of trade is
concerned, at the end of the fiscal
year 1917-18 ..imports amounted to
$962,543,746 and exports $1,540,027,788.
Of course, the war is responsible very
• largely for this remarkable reversal.
For the calendar year 1919 Canada's
favorable balance of trade was over,
$300,000,000. Moreover, Canada as a
nation has ceased to borrow money
from abroad, or practically so,
Canada has successfully floated her
sixth loan of $300,000,000, which was.
over -subscribed by about $400,000,000,
as were all the preceding loans.
Although a difficult thing to arrive
at even approximately a careful sur-
vey of Canada's wealth—what might
be termed productive value of realiz-
able assets, independent of undevelop-
ed natural resources --gives a total of
$18,000,000,000. Placing the prospec-
tive debt at $2,000,Q00,000, Canada
has assets nine times greater. 1 igur-
i..., ing the population' at 9,000,000, the
� • average wealth per citizen is about
$2,000, or quite equal to the estimated
average wealth per Bead in the United
States.
One of the best indications of pros-
perity and substantiality in Canada is
the savings deposits of the country.
Notwithstanding the large -ms raised..
in war loans, the savings eeposits in
chartered banks on May 31 were $1,-
107,993,070, as compared with $663,-
945,750
663,945,750 on the same date in 1914. As
a large number of depositors are of
the class who subscribed to the loans,
this result is really remarkable. There
was no advance made in the deposits
in the Dominion envernment savings
banke. Nevertheless. in 1917, more
than $14,000,000 was deposited, a
sum greater than in 1913.
Now taking conditions as they af-
fect industry the Iabor situation can-
not be described except as disquieting
everywhere, but it is remarkable at
the present time that Canada is prac-
tically free of strikes. The Winnipeg
strike in May, 1919, threatened to be
a trial of strength in Canada of cer-
tain labor elements. It was a triumph
for the better elements in trade union-
ism and good citizenship. Since then,
as the result of industrial conferences
and wisp leadership in the unions,
there is much better feeling and cer-
tainly much more friendly relations.
.As regards wages, they are closely
allied to commodity prices and there
does not appear to be any valid rea-
son for anticipating an - immediate
downward movement of any import-
ance in Canada or elsewhere. At the
time the war broke out and for seine'
time before—also for a time after-
unemployment was -manifest in all
parts of Canada. The war itself dis-
located industry and business general-
ly at first, but conditions soon read-
justed themselves, The manufacture
ofmunitions, together with enlist-
ments, brought into requisition everyes
available person, including many wo-
men, and: from almost the veryt'outset
wages' began to ascend and have
steadily advanced ever since, Prac-
tically every readjustment of wages
has been upward. , The remarkable
fact that the increase in the. savings
deposits of the batiks has been about
$500,000,000 in four year is .proof, too,
that a very considerable percentage of
..wages saved was put out at interest.
Canada has •not figured In the past
as a country exporting manufactures
to a large extent, • The war has ma-
terially altered that and the Don'tinion
has reasonable prospects of getting
foreign trade in other than natural
products. Canadian agricultural im-
plements will find a market not only
in Australia and Great Britain, but
throughout Europe, A leading cotton
company, as an example, has booked
$6;000,000 of orders , ror, Roumania.
Other large firms have also booked
very, considerable orders in various
lines required in the devastated. areas.
The immense investment of capital
in mining and smelting in Canada in
itself insures a large export, while
Quebeo is the sole producer of asbes-
tos. A British Columbia smelter has
discovered that there will be a large
market for zinc.
Perhaps the most attractive pros-
pect in the way of export is in pulp
and paper, in which Canada now holds
an exceedingly strong position. This
industry has had a remarkable expan-
sion in Canada. .• In' 1890 the exports
amounted to $120. At the end of
'March, 1919, they amounted to $99,-
259,165, and this industry, it may be
stated, is :sot one which has been
unduly stimulated by the abnormal
conditions of war. The demand, es-
pecially in the United. States, will con-
tinue to •increase rapidly and sub-
stantially. Well on to $175,000,000
have been invested in the pulp and
paper industry of Canada, the pro-
duction of which In 1917 was valued
at approximately $100,000,000,
Revival of Business Activity.
There is another question which
must be a large factor in the situa,-
tion. Will the big industries be able
to carry on withundiminished force,
now that war demands „have ceased?
The following opinion given by a
financial expert is probably as good
as could be offered on that point:—
"Holders
oint —"Holders=. of securities of Canadian
industrial corporations which produce
steel, cement, lumber, bricks and
other building .material, and holders
of real estate scurities should realize
that during the next few years thee
housing problem in Canada will bea
very difficult one and will necessitate
construction of much new building ac-
commodation, thereby creating a
strong demand for building materials.
In common with those of other coun-
tries, Canadian railway and transpor-
tation companies, which normally are
heavy buyers of steel rails and rail-
way equipment, will find it necessary
to purchase largely in order to re-es-
tablish plant efficiency, which has
suffered materially during four years
of war. Many Canadian industrial
andaepublic utility enterprises have
poitponed large construbtion work
and extension during the war, first on
patriotic grounds, and second because
the costs of material and laboi have
been so high. In addition to : Cana-
dian demands, there are the recon-
struction.
econstruction. and • food necessities of
Europe to be taken into account as
well. as the substantial world demand
for agricultural and, animal products,
for nickel, asbestos, lumber, pulp. and
paper and other products for the pro-
duction of which ,Canada possesses..
facilities second to none in the world.
When the conviction once becomes
firmly grounded that present price
levels are likely to be maintained for
some time to come, we look for a
strong reyivalI. of Canadian business
activity.
A ninety pound woman can work
more mischief with her tongue than
a 200 pound man can with his fists....
LADY DOROTHY CAVENDISH
Whose engagement to Capt. Harold
Macmillan, A,D.C., is announced. She`,
is the third daughter.. of the. governor;,.
General. . ,
Facts About
Canadian Agriculture
There are in Canada about 667,000
farms, with •an' . average area of
seventy five acres growing crops.
Much additional area is devoted to
pasture and ranching. , The value of
the field crop per farm is, therefore,
$2,174. If ta. this is added the aver-
age value of the dairy, meat and
fruit production, another $1,000 can
be added. The dairy production of
Canada is at least $e00,0Qp,000, and
the meat production probably more.
It is rather interesting to note that
the United States claims this year a
record production of field crops. The
value placed on it is $15,000,000;000..
This includes cotton, corn, tobacco.
But there are in the 'United States
about 7,000,000 farms s of the same
average acreage as in Canada, and
the value of the crop production per
farm works out at about $2,150, Con-
sidering the great advantage of a
larger variety of crops, made possible
by southern fruit -growing, and warm
climate crops, Canada's farmers are
holding their
gown fairly well, The
Unitedtate
s c
S Secretary of Agricul-
ture claims that United States crap
production per farmer is more than
twice as much, in value, as the Ger-
man, British or Belgian production,
more than three times as much as
the French and more than six times
the Italian. That may hold well
enough, so far as comparison's with
European countries go, but Canada's
million farm workers are producing
an average of $2,,000 each. This
compares very favorably with the
average wage of the Canadian factory
worker. The 1917 census showed that
the average factory wage was $775
and even if it now is $900, the much
higher cost of living in the cities
leaves theconi'parisoii as to net pro-
fit from labor clearly with the farm
worker,
Alberta's Old Horses
Wanted for P.E.I. Foxes
A despatch from Calgary says:—
,Fox ranchers of Prince Edward Is-
land want to .purchase some of Al-
berta's erta's old and worrreout horses to
feed the foxes.
One rancher from the little island
has written to George Hoadley; M.
P. P., of Oicotoks, asking for informa-
tion as to the supply and price.
The 'fox rancher writes that sev-
eral fox -breeders' are ready for an
immediate shipment of about 100
'horses, as the supply of old horses
in Prince Edward Island has been
exhausted.
Enver Has Become
Threat' to Britain
A despatch from Geneva,. says:—
Enver
ays:Enver Pasha, former Turkish Min-
ister of War, who was recently elect-
ed King of Kurdistan, has started
a Bolshevik revolution in Turkestan,
Afghanistan and Baluchistan, accord-
ing to a telegram from Baku. Enver
I is said to have many followers and
is directing his energies against Bri-
tish prestige in Southwestern Asia,
the ultimate aim being India. Large
sums of money, it is reported, have
been furnished Enver... by the Soviet
Ceevernment in Moscow.
Lord Mayor of Cork is
Victim of Sinn Fein Attack
A despatch from Cork, Ireland,
says:—W. F. O'Connor, the Lord
Mayor of Cork, was attacked' by a
party of men while returnipg from, a,
meeting of demobilized soldiers.
The Mayor was knocked down and �.
assaulted. A couple of 'former sol.
-r
diers rescued him from his assailants.
The attack is attributed to the
Mayor's opposition to the election.
policy of the Sinn Fein organization.'
c •�
Complete Independence
Of- Armenia Recognized
A despatch from Paris says:—Ac-
cording to the Temps,! the Supreme
Council, at one of its recent sittings,•.
decided to recognize the. complete
independence of Armenia, Georgia
and Azerbaijan. . ,
llouse.
(bags, proiiipt shipment, Government &west creamery, 67e to 67%c; do.
standard, $9,65 is $9,86, . delnvered at seconds, 62c to 63e. Eggs'fresh, 90c,
COW SAVES BELLE t 11lantreal, and $9,85, delivered at To- filo. selected, 63c: do. No, 1 stock,
ISLE CO ONLY
Milk and B
Bread
Only
Rations
For Month. and Half.
Weekly Market Report
Bread'stuffs-erial gal., $4.25,; per 6 imperia
Toronto ax" 1 ` �0,�—�Yl;anitoba wheat!' ! p$,00, sugar; 1b., 29 to :80c.
—No. 1 northern, $2.80; No, 2 north- �ka'vieione--Whnlesaie,
Bits of Information.Dew fa only found on vessels w$
thirty miles et land,,
1 gals,, Lusitania was originally the HMO''
Iof a large portion et a whole On ug;
water.
ern, $2.77; No. 91.northern, $2,78. Smoked meat's --Ham s medium, 34
Manitoba Oats--No.2 C.W., 91%e to 36c; do., heavy, 29 to 30e; cooked,
No, 3 C.W., 87;%c; extra No. 1 feed,' 47 to 60c; rolls, 30 to 31c; breakfast
87%c; No, 1 feed, 8514e; No, 2 feed,! bacon, 40 to 440; backs, plain, 49 to
51c; boneless, 58 to 55e.
Carred Meats—Longclear bacon,31
to 32c; clear bellies,0 to 31e.
oa72e:,
Manitoba Barley—No. 3 C.W,,
$1.72%; No. 4 C.W. $1.47%; rejected,
$1.34%; feed, $1.32%s, to BLard—Pure,
rd � Pure, tierces, 31 to 31%c;
Ontario lreat— '.o.b, ship:ping b , 21�? to 32e; pails 31:48C
4 to 32.14c
points, according to freight• --No: 1 1?rints, 32 to 22i3/z�crt Cbmpound
winter, $2 to $2,01; No, 2 winter, tierces, 27% to 28e; tubs, 28 to 28%c;
$1.97 to $2.03; No. 8 winter, .$1.93 to pails, 2814 to 28%e; prints, 29%c to
1,99;.No, 1 spring, $2.02 to $2,08; aoc.
No, 2 ` spring, $1,89 to $2.05; No. 8 Montreal Markets.
spring, $1.95 to $2.01. Montreal, Jan. 20.—Oats, extra No.
American Corn—Prompt shipment, 1feed, $1,07%. Flour new standard
No,. 8 yellow, $1.78; No. 4 ,yellow, ;grade, $13,25 to $13:5, Rolled oats,
$1,76, bag, 90 lbs,, $4.75 to $5.25, Bran,
rvnLeuN PARLlANIEr'T Ontario Oats ---No. 3ite 98c to 45.25. .shorts, $52.25, Hay, No.
wh ,2,
Speaker•-dexiguate of the Outeri° i $1, according to freight, per ton, car lots, $25 to $26.- Cheese
f
freest easterns 29Y c to 30,e Butter
I Ontario Flour—,Winter, in jute ,
550; do, No, 2 stock, 52e to 63e, Po-
ley—Malting, $1.'75ttoes to $1.80. tatoes, per bag, carlots, $3,76.
A : despatch from Quebec says:—
The lighthousekeeper's cow saved the
Belle Isle colony from starvation
while it waited relief from the out-
side world at the lonely island off
the Labrador coast. As long as there
was feed for her the cow supplied
milk,"wl;,ich, with bread, provided the
complete menu of the ' olony for a
month and a half. When the cow
feed was finished the cow was killed
and the beef and bread kept the.
colony alive until the ship Seal res-:
cued the members of the colony.
"We lived one month and a half
on bread and milk, and if help had
come some weeks later they would
have found the entire colony dead
from ,hunger," said Raoul Bergeron,
one of the refugees who has reached
Quebee with his wife and two chis- I
dren, and William George Wyatt, who
was with him at East Point, Belle
Isle.
The colony, he said, had been with- b
out supplies since last November,
when the supply ships failed to reach
them because of the ice and storms.
-Chances of hunting and shooting
wild game were lost because of con-
tinued storms, and the colony faced
starvation against the slin'i hope that
a ship would get through to them.
Forty barrels of fish which in an
emergency might have seen the col
ony through the winter were washed
into the sea by the storms and lost.
The gales were the worst in fifty
years, and part of the. concrete land-
ing atese un that had•. been built by the
Government at the island was washed
away.
B k t— 1 0 142
h 2 4 t St 1
N L` k t
$ M
uc w ea o, o Li
Manitoba Flour—Government stan-
dard, $13.25, Toronto, steers, $14,50 to $15; good heavy
oc t ares.
Toronto, Jan. 20,--rOhoice heavy
Peas—No. 2, $2.75. steers, $13 to $14; 'butchers' cattle,
Rye—No. 2, nominal; No. 3, $1.80 choice, $12,25 to $13; do., good, $11,50
to $1.85. to $12; do., medium, $10.25 to $11;
Hay—Track, Toronto, No. 1, $26.50 do., common, $7.50 to $8.50; bulls,
mixed, $25. Straw—Carlots, $14.50 choice, $11 to $11.50; do., medium,
to $15.50. 1$1,0::50 to $11.50; do., rough, $'7.00 to
Country Produce—Wholesale. I $7.25; 'butcher cows, choice, $9,50 to
Butter—Dairy,tube and.roils 43 to ' $10; do,, good; $9.76 to $10,26; do.,
, medium, $8.75 to $9.25 do,, comrnoon
44c prints, 48 to 50c. Creamery, fresh $7.00 to $7.50; stockers, $7.50 to $10;
made solids, 60 to 61c; ' prints, 62 to feeders, $10,to $11.50; canners and,
63c. cutters, $5.25 to $6.50; milkers, good 1
80to Egg8so—IIeld, 52 to 54e; new laid, to choice $110 to $175; do., com, and
med., $65 to $75; springers, $90 to i
Dressed poultry—eSpring' chickens, geee; sheep, $7,50 to $11.50; sprang;
26 to 32e; roosters, 25e; fowl, 20 to lambs, per cwt,, $18.50 to $19.50;1
hogs 'fed and watered, $17.25; do,
25c. .geese, 28 to 30c; ducklings, 80 calves good to choice $18 to $21•
to 32c; turkeys, 45 to 50c; squabs,
doz., $4.50.
Live poultry—Spring .chickens, 19
to 20c; roosters, 20c; fowl, 20 to'e5c;
geese, 22c; ducklings, 22c; turkeys,
37 to 40c.
Cheese—New, large, 31% to 32c;
twins, 32 to 32%c; triplets, 33 to
33%c; Stilton; 34 to 85c; old, large,
33% to 34e; Do., twins, 34 to 34Yee.
'Beans — Canadlian, hand-picked,
bushel $5.25 to $5.751 .primes, $4.25
to $4.75; Japans, $5.50 to $5.7'5; Cali-
fornia Limas, 171/e to 181,4c; Mada-; Good calves, $16 to $17; good veal.;
leaner Limas, Ib., 15c; Japan Limas, $16 to $17; medium, $10 to x:15; grass,;.
lb., 11c. 1$7.50 to.. $8.
Honey—Extracted clever, 5 -Ib.' Sheep, $9.50 to $10; ewes, 4$9 to
tins, 27 to 28c; 10 -ib. tins, 25 to 26c; $10; lambs, good, `$16.50; common,
60 -Ib. tins, 25c; buckwheat, 60 -ib.' $15.50 to $16.00.
tins, 18 to 20c; combs, 16 -oz., $6.00 to Hogs, off -car weights, selects,
$6,50 doz.; 10 -oz., $4.25 to $4.50 doz. 118.50; lights, $16 to $18; sows, $14`
Maple products—Syrup, per . im- to $15.
Lloyd George Gets'
Legion of Honor
A. despatch om Paris says:—On
the occasion of'the ratification of the
Treaty 'of, Versaillets, the' Grand Cross
of the Legion of Honor was',,bestcwed
IRlion" Premier, Lloyd George, of Great
Britain. and Premier Nitti of Italy.
Mteeele It feHONIN'
1 WONDER WHAT IT
1gs134.1.. Aoo''r?
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CAUCASUS ARMY
HALTS RED RUSH
Advance of Bolsheviki on
Odessa Stopped.
A despatch from London, says:—
The British Military Mission with
Gen. Denikine at the latter's head-
quarters in Ekaterinodar reports
that the Caucasus army, in the
line behind the Aksai River, repulsed,
in heavy fighting, five frontal at-
tacks, in an attempt to turn its left
flank.
The report of the British Mission
says the advance of the Bolsheviki
on •Odessa has been stopped. It also
states that the report that Gen. Den-
ikine has been superseded by Gen.
Wrangle or any other commander is
untrue.
The statement says the Don army
holds the line of the Don River from
its junction with the Aksa to its
mouth, and that the ,Reds failed to
force the passage' of the river at any
of the five points where this was at-
tempted. Crossing the . river would
be difficult, it is stated, except for
small parties of cavalry, because the
roads are deep in nrud.
The volunteer army'is said to be
holding the° line from' Nikopol to.
Melitopol, north of the Crimea.
•
Population of 833,267
In Saskatch, an Now
A despatch from Regina,. Sask.,
says: --Saskatchewan's population ,is
now 833,267, according to an an-
nouncement made in the Legislature
by Premier Martin, who based his
statement on figures compiled by
the vital statistics branch of the
Provincial Health Bureau.
_....
BRINiGING UP FATHER
EN 50 ''
YES Q M
S F1 '
E r`;e`
LETTUCE -TufkhoS'?'ND
THE, vER'',Vb ST LAND
d ,'yrs CHOPS • hI
11
fie) /d Nei
it
HELLO -15 THIS eeFFAt:lee f
WELL • WILL YOU SEND i�,,,
is
vP''HAT 40L0 CHAIN f i / , ,,
OROEReo R141 -IT .AWAY- i7b
111/ 40^ 'At I 1 (ii
fi rr
WE ACRE 4044'
'fO Howe ei
FINE• FEED•
,1
1,
weighed off cars, $17.50; do f.o.b.,'
$16.25; do., do., to farmers, $16.
Montreal, Jan, 20.—Butcher steers,
medium, $10.25 to $11.50; common,'
$8 to $10; butcher heifers, good,
$10.50 to $13; medium, $9.50 to $10.25,
common, $6.50 to $9.25; butcher cows,
good, $9.50 to $11.50; medium, $6.50;
to $9; canners, $5:25 to $5.50; cut-
ters $5.75 to $u 50• butcher bulls I
goad, $9.50 to $11; common, $G.25'
to $9.
Furs Worth Fortunes.'
The statement recently circulated
about a woman who wore a sable jac-
ket worth at least $10,600 is not so
extraordinary as it seems, for good
dark single sable skins will- almost' al-
ways fetch from $100 to $200, and a
robe of real sable, such as Russian
princes used to wear, may easily cost
$5,000.
But the npbles of the province of
Kherson presented -to the late Em-
press of Russia some years ago an er-
mine mantle which was valued at $50,-
000. Silver fox skins are even dearer
—at any rate, the price of a single
skin in Paris was at onetime $1,250
and a famous explorer has recorded
how, in Eastern Greenland, he met a
girl wearing a dress composed wholly
of silver -fox skins. At Parisian prices
this must have been worth quite $75,-
000,
There are said to be handkerchiefs
or rare lace in existence. worth. $1,000
each, and real "cloth of gold, made of
pure gold drawn into fine wire and
then woven by hand, is only nowadays
obtainable in Sumatra at $200 a yard.
MADE BOLSHEVIST
BY INTERVENTION
All Russian. Parties United
' .Against' Foreigners.
A despatch. from London says:
Lord Fisher, in a 'letter to The Lon-,
don Times on Bolshevism, says:
"The Bolshevist army is now they
biggest on earth, and exceedingly,
successful. Denikine and Kolchak
are both gobbled up, and the Cau-�
nasus and Odessa are both going Bol-
shevist, added to which our thrift*
rulers have now given the Bolshe-I
vist armies the vast and goodly sup-
ply .of guns, tanks, armored trains,
locomotives and airplanes previously
squandered upon Denikine & Co.
"What invariably happened before
has happened again.
"History tells us everywhere that
foreign intervention invariably unites
all parties.
=
"Imagine the effect of the French
army; landing at Dublin to help us
coerce Ireland.
"We should all become Sinn Fein-,
ere.
"That is exactly what we did in'
Ruesia. What was net Bolshevist
we made Bolshevist. •
"Bolshevism is an atmosphere.
i You can't bottle it up.
"The great war took out the stop-
per, and the determination every-
where for freedom, too long pent up,
as was the French revolution, has
burst out and suffused the world.
"All big things have exeeesses,
even Labor."
A. Humble Veteran.
•
In an Irish courthouse an old .man
was oalled'into the witness box, and,,
being confused and somewhat near-
sighted, he went up the stairs that lett ffI
to the bench instead of those that led
to the box.
The judge good-humoredly said, "Is
•' ... ... ... '�� i it a judge you want to be, my good
MISS CAROLINE CAbbt=LS, Toronto, man?
"Ali, sure, yer worship," was the re-
ply. "I'm an old minnow, and mebbe
it's all I'm fit for,"
who has been appointed a member of
the Board of Moving Picture Censors
for Ontario.
MAR.1 • I WAieT 'YOU TO ilAvE
AN EXCEPTiONALL`e NICE
OINNER ,1T5 To 15E
SURPRISE ^JUST SET
IT Fag ONE
IT'' FIOC; t C ll 1l1�DA •
AND t'W.AN1 THE LITTLE./
:DARLIty4 "f O HAVE A
GdOD
One gram} of indigo is•' sufficient tcf..:
afreet the color et a whole' ton
41r'
water,
Thunderstorms axe more frequent
n Java than anywhere else on the`
globe;
One California tpwn has provided,
its fire brigade captain with an aero-
plane.
Mere varieties of fish are found id
the Nile than in any other river in A
world.
A man's hair turns grey live yea.
earlier than a woman's, it has bee
estimated.
A lemon will'yield nearly twice as
much juice if warmed slightly before,
squeezing,
On a. first-class liner about 8,000
pieces of glass and crockery bre bro-
ken on each voyage:
Music as a curative power was ems
pioyed by the Romans in cases of gout
and sciatica.
Ad attains i
o A
real
g is full growth w
g h at the
age of two, is old at ten, and seldote
lives more than 20 years,
Buckingham Palace servants have
revived their football club
refs ivalesty
providing the necessary kit.
Nightcaps of cotton or wool. are res
commended by a French doctor as
safeguards against colds in the head:
A shark 6 feet long was recently
caught by a girl fishing with an orate+
ary hook and line in Buda Bay, Corn-
wall.
The largest coral reef in the world,
the Great Barmier of North Australia,
is 1,000 miles long and 30 miles wide.
The latest speed record for a .flight'
in an 'aeroplane is a distance of 171
miles in one hour, "flown at' Monte'
Cello, Italy.
The. tour of the Prince of Wales lin
Canada and the United States was of-
filmed,
f
iiciaily filmed, 15,000 feet being re-
ing required for the Canadian visit
alone.
Reclaiming the Zuider Zee,
Holland has once more taken up the
task she set herself .soiree months prior
to the war of draining and reclaiming,
the Zuider Zee, It is a gigantic task,',
but one which Dutch engineers feel
competent to accomplish. They are
ambitious of reclaiming what centuries
ago was dry land with well -populated
towns and village's. The pra;eet,
when carried out, will enlarge Holinad.
by more than. 600,000 acres, of which
it is believed 486,025 will besuitable
for farming.
Work has already been started on
the dam or embankment which is to
span the north end of the sea from
Wierfngen, in north Holland, to Pisani;
Friesland. This embankment, which'
will be nearly fifteen',iiles long and
will take nine years to complete, is to
carry a double railway and a road for
ordinary traffic, affording access be-
tween North Holland and Friesland,
and communication with the, North'
Sea will be by means of two lucks and
thirty-three sluice gates.
On completion of the embankment,
the four areas within are to ba drained
and reclaimed (yielding some 827
square miles), and .the Yssel and other
rivers will flow into the remaining
water and thus form a reservoir which:
will supply the needs of the .;;around-,
ing country. It is estimated that the
scheme will take thirty-three years to
complete, and that the reclaimed land,.
which will be the property of the gov-
ernment, will yield a yearly net return
in rents of at least $2,500,000.
—4 --
New X -Ray Use.
A new and interesting ccmmercal
use of the X-ray whereby defects in
materials like steel and timbee, may
be disclosed was discussed at ,>, re-
eent meeting of the Faraday and Rout-
gen societies in Loudon, according to
"Commerce Reports," a government
publication:
"It is claimed that one obvicus ap-
plication of the X-rays is tfi the ex-
amination of metal east ngr for de-
fects, such as blow holes, which cnn,-
not be revealed by external inspection
and yet may seriously impair . the
strength of the finished. article. If
the castings are not too large ,each of
them niay be subjected .to routine
testing by the rays and blow holes se.
curring at regular intervals -elimin-
ated.
Mr. Schneider, at whose plant much
work in radiometaliography has been
carried out, suggested that if a num-
ber of carbon steel and tungsten steel
bars had been accidentally ;nixed up,
they might be quickly sorted by means
of X-rays, the radiographs obtained
with carbon being blacker than with.
tungsten steel, because the rays pene.
trate the latter less freely than the
former, owing to the lighter atomics
weight of the constituent tungsten.
At present only a few Males can be
penetrated, but great improvements
have been made by the Coolidge X-ray
tube, and further advances niay be
Iooked for not only in this portion of.
the apparatus, but also In the methods
employed for detecting the rays after:
they pass through the material tinder
investigation."
Signalling by Radio, :
Successful tears of railway sig; ale
ling by a new system 11 ts:ed on radio
telegraph'? reeenfly ` were , .1+."rind out
in Pranre.
5r14'v e i' or Aral'.
The e,., oe, (1 t' ree:etitly pattutelt
sho'uel
e re velere ?e,cri 111/1• ssliarpea:e,I
so tboy earl l/' ,..;:red to cut rooter tell
buried wood.,