Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), Saturday 22 July 1916, page 6


NEWS OF THE "DAY

THE TUNNELLERS.

Describió;; the work of a lunneller at the front in an Enshsh ne»vspaper, a member of a Tunnelling Corps says:The lunnelliTs Usually work in eight-hour shifts, being taken to and from the trenches in motor-lorries, in »vhich they can y their implements and supplies of limber, sandbags, and other iicccssaty adjuncts. .Theil- .Kllcte _ are geneinlly .ibout inree milra oj «o "rom the filing ¡inp. TunnelHiig/ia'priictically only car-ried on in tho5" place-, »»hero the trenches oro near together, uni in the cases of tkoso operations upon which i havo been engaged the dislnnro has varied from 60 to.IOO yaids or so apait. Shafts arc sunk to the depth agreed upon, and then tho tunnels are driven touuids the enemy's linea, connections being mudp where it. is possible »vilh other shaft,» ,to assist the ».culilation, and allow at tee sam« limo of two or mon íncnnn of ingles') ano egress. It need hardly he- 6aid, I think, that these operations have always some definite obiect in vie«, biich as the de-molition of a gun emplacement, the de-struction of a communication trench, or the frustration of operations being car-ried on by the enemy. When at last the moment arrives when it is dcem/d ex-pedient to charge-that is. to la/ the ex-plosives and fire the mine-the excite-ment -begins, for it is usually when the enemy's »vorkings are 6o close that they «¡und as if they wera going lo" break through at any momont. . The goldeu -rulo of these operations fjroni beginning to end is always that, in so far as it is

humanly possible, absolute sirencc must hi maintained, and in this mntier it mny be said that the Briton is, vastly superior to his foe». - v, '"" , '

MINKRAL COLLECTION. ;

The collection of miner.ils to bo .in-cluded in'lho Tasmanian óxhibit-at th'e Ilrisbuno Agricultural- Show- next month lins been 'forwarded loathe f-'ecrefnrv pf Mines (Mr. AA*. U. AVallnrn) by the 'Go-vernment Geologist (Mr. Twelvetrees)," and will in due coui-ft bo handed over to iii,- director of the Government Tourist Department (Mr. E. T. -Emmett). Itis a tlloioughly representativo collection, comprising-sixty specimen:),, and includes con!limitions by the Mount Bischoff Co., Magnet Co., Latrobe Shale Co., Guiding Star Co., and Messrs Geo. Castley, J. C. Macmichael, and L. H. Sadleir, of Laun-ceston. After tho agricultural show the collection will form n ncimunenr. ex hi bil. in th» .Tasmanian Tourist Bureau' at Brisbane.

MENINGITIS-CASES.

Another case of meningitis, nn infnnl al Devonport, '»vhs vaporled to the Health Department yesterday. One-of the cases repotted rhe previous day ha*> sines been diagnosed as a severe attack of influenza.

APPLE GRADING MACHINE.

Among recent American labour-saving devices is on apple-grading machine that has attracted nuieb attention in tho npple-giowiug Stales. Tho new applegrading machine is operated by motor power, and hïis a capacity varying from 10 lo 60 bartels per hour, according to tlinisiV.a of the lippies and the speed al which it te operated. Hie latter being variable to suit reiitiireraei.ts. The ap-ples cm be graded in seven difleient sizes, from 2}in. up to 4}in. in dia-meter, each size varying one rjunrler of un mell. Although th-» machine is highly efficient in it« -ivnrk, its désien and consiruclinn are of the most simple form possible. Briefly, the principle involved, is lhai of an endless belt, with plates form-ing squares »vhich change their fllzo on an ascending «colo as lhey.tra\-el to»vnrds the end of the grader. The variation in tiie size of the squares is accomplished bv llio spreading of the belts. "Willi lho use of the new- grader'there is no possible chance for the. apples lo vary m.size, si wo Die fruit cannot f,»ll through any holt» until it reaches the proper bííc.

FRUIT FACTORY FOR LAUNCESTON.

The proposal of Messrs. II. .Tones and Co.. ol Hoibnrf, to erett a truil pulping and etaporation factory at launceston"ts now l.ikiDg diefinitp shape, and it' H ex-pected that building operations will com-mence next month. Mr. .Tones is going to Launceston on Thutsday lo,select the site, »vhich will be on (he leolnimed land near th" river. Then the land will he assessed, and the trims of sale complet-ed. The buildings to be erected im-mediately »vill really he the first instal-ment of the «chenie, and will oo=l be-tween .£3,000 and .£4,000 .exclusive of the mnrhinery, wbith has nlieady been order-ed from America. Making «11 reasonable allowance, for any delays that might oc-cur in Hie shipment of the machinery in those times of w-.ir. ii is confidently evporied Ibat the factory will bp read»- to deal with fruit n"xt season. AA'hilo Messrs. Jones and Co. are establishing the factory it is mobahle that eventually a number of local gentlemen »vill heeomo interested, with, a view to working .it on a co-operative basis. "

COMMANDEERED MEAT.

The Imperial Goiernmonl Supplies Office has now- (sa»s the Wellington cor-respondent of tho "Svdney Morning Herald'') bepn. operating m.New Zealand for 15 months. It was first established to manage the frozen beef and mutton business of tim Dominion Government. As such it has to dato paid for and ship peel meat »v-orth over ,£10,500,000. The wotk, »vhirh was of a purely experimen-tal character, has proiod, what some were inclined to qeustion before, that a Go»eminent department can bp run on strictly business lin"s. It is the unani-mous opinion of those who aro concerned, from the outside, with its operations, (liat.theie. has been comparatively no friclion in connsction with the purchase of meat by the British Government. But it has to be «pointed out that the position is not nil duo to the business-like mel hods adopted in dealing with the problem at this end. The Imperial Go»-ernmcnt, having bought the meat, it »vas its busi-ness to see that thero were the ships lo. carry i Chorno. That is- just where the producer has benefited by the arrange-ment. No ^matter if he' sold his meat ¡n the Dominion at a shilling a pound, if ho could not get it home, it »vas »vorthless. The »var had created an unprece-dented demand for insulated ships. Ar-gentine cargoes, »vith l8 days' run, com-pared »vith our 40 lo 11 days voyage, »vein worth much moro per ton in actual money to tho shipowner than our own »veie foT moro than twice tho time of the

passage. The New Zealand producer has, inceed, come off very well, thanks to Britain's still dominant, position ns a seacarrier. He. has been very fortunato in being able lo sell .ill his meat at a re-munerative price ivhile all the »vorld is at war,and German submarines havotbeen so active. » .

TRAFFIC REGULATIONS.

A large deputation, representing the Tasmanian Automobile Club, »vailed upon tlio Premier (Hon. AV. H. Lee) at Laun-ceston last night, and ' asked for an amendment of the existing traffic regula-tion, to provide for the abolition of the harassing-spo?d limitations, uniformity of administration throughout the State, instead of present system of municipal control, and I he compulsory uae/óf a. tail light by slow-moving vehicles on the roads at night. The Premier ijavo a most sympathetic reply, and promised that a bill should b» introduced' during the coining session, embodying all that the deputation asked, and trusted that it would bo ou tho Statute-bonk at lho end

the session.

ORCHARDING ON THE EASr COAST.

Our St. Helens correspondent »vrites:

"Some of our oroliardists an; clearing land, ready for this season's planting, which proves that they are satisfied with

the resulta so far obtained from their .»onus orchard». As showing the quality of Hie fruit grown here, Mi". Kirwan lately received letums for tbo New Yorks and Cox's' Tipping thal he shipped to England, shoiving that they leuliscd 15s. 6(i. per cafe. The earlier maturing of fruit, due to the mild climate, hail, no doubt, much to do «with the high prices

realised.''

FLINDERS ISLAND.

At the request ef Mr.' R. J. Sadler, M.H.A.. .the SedHiry of Mines (Mr. AV. H. "Wallace) hac- sent a wireless message, to Flinders Island, instructing tho As-sistant Government Geologist'(Mr. L. L. Waterhouse) to remain there for two or thietv, »veeks longer, for the purpose cf in-specting any places .of geological interest tbat hn nany deem necessary.

" NO TRAGEDY. - v

In regard to the finding of a lady's dress basket hidden behind a rock on the zigzag path at the Cataract ?Gorge,.. Laun-ceston, ou Thuisdny, and tho suggestion that a tragedy might possible havo oc-curred, ,i young wonjan yesterday inform-ed the polia'1 that she left tho bosket lhere whilst seeking employment in Laun-

ceston.

"ACCIDENT AT. RIDGEAVAY.

Mr. L'. .1, Charley, manager of works in connection uifch rho construction of the reservoir at Kidgevoy foi' the Hobart Corporation, met with an occident yes-terday morning. He »vas attending to a mctor-engme, when a mishap occui-aed, with the result that his right foot »vas rather bed!/ crushed- He -vas taken to the Highhurv Hospital, and on inquiry being made Hioro last night he was stated to b; progressing satisfactorily

LOCOMOTIVE-EXGINEDR1VER6.

Mr. R..1 AAT. Conner, presidenc of the. Tasmanian branch cf the Federated Lc<:cmoriv.-> Engint-drivera, Firemen, and Cleaners' Association, has lecoived a let-ter from the Minister of Home Affairs <M>. King O Malley), stating in regard to conferences that may be held in futn.ro between-the. Federal Government-and th? association in regard to »va^es and condi-tions of labour on the Baft-AVeot Ba.il»va.v,, that rcpreseutaH»^ of th? Tas-manian Association would be invited to attend. This l?ttcr>is m reply to a let-ter from the lccnl association, nnd con-firms the .promis?. prc»"iously made to its representatives who recently wailed on the Minister, . . - , . " - ?