2G 



DISCOVI-.HV 



harder, however, to indicate tlie source they should 

 seek to obtain the money to pay for it. 



American chemists have succeeded in preparing 

 leather from the inner membranes and the outer skins 

 of sharks. As the yearly catch of these fish may be 

 as high as ten thousand, an industry of some impor- 

 tance has been started. It seems that the tanning of 

 the shark-skins was a great difficulty, as this could 

 not be accomplished bv the processes usually em- 

 ployed. Some ingenious chemist found out, however, 

 that the outer skin could be separated into two layers. 

 The inner one was a leather of good quality, and the 

 outer, which was very hard, tough, and waterproof, 

 was found suitable for soleing boots and shoes. The 

 lining of the shark's inside is found suitable for gloves 

 and fancy goods. Altogether, then, the shark has been 

 found distinctly useful in America. 



***** 



From Canada there conies a book in which the 

 question, Has the North Pole been discovered ? is 

 discussed. The less sophisticated of us in this country 

 believe that Commander Peary got to the Pole and 

 that Captain Cook did not. The author, Mr. T. F. 

 H;ill, formerly a captain in the American Merchant 

 Service and past member of the Nebraska legislature, 

 has been investigating this point and has begun to 

 wonder. Indeed, he comes to the view that there is 

 no conclusive evidence that either Peary or Cook 

 reached the Pole. He began his investigations with 

 full faith in Peary, but evidently he has not continued 

 till this faith has been fully restored to him. He 

 thinks that Peary's different accounts of the journey 

 are inconsistent, and are contradicted on essential 

 points by those of the negro who was his companion ; 

 that the speeds claimed by Peary in his last journeys 

 arc impossible ; that some of the photographs, from 

 the very look of them, could not have been taken at 

 the latitudes claimed for them, and so on. It is a 

 ])itv that this book did not appear in Peary's lifetime. 

 A gramophonic record of Peary's remarks on reading 

 a review of it by Captain Cook (were he alive too) 

 would have been highly interesting and no doubt 

 instructive. This " doubting Thomas " attitude is 

 typical of to-day, when the maximum intellectual 

 satisfaction seems to be attained by many only when 

 they have perfectly negative opinions on every subject 

 of discussion except eating, drinking, and the weather. 

 The question, however, may be safely left to American 

 geographers. 



***** 



An important oil-well has recently been located in 

 the North-West Territory of Canada. Optimists think 

 it may develop into the largest oilfield in the Empire 

 — perhaps even in the world. The site was chosen in 



1914 by a party of linglish geologists on behalf of a 

 Canadian syndicate, but the war, difficulties of trans- 

 portation, and other causes have delayed matters. 

 The well is situated on the banks of the Mackenzie 

 River within a few miles of the Arctic circle. It is 

 about 1,000 miles N.N.W. from Edmonton, the capital 

 of Alberta, and no less than 1,300 miles' journey by 

 water beyond the northern limit of the railroads. The 

 actual drilling did not commence till the spring of this 

 year. At a depth of 800 feet in the first test well a 

 large quantity of high-grade oil was struck, and it is 

 expected that the well will produce several thousands 

 of barrels of oil per day. 



The long distance from civilisation, the severity of 

 the climate, and other causes are holding up the work 

 during the winter, but in next spring great hopes are 

 centred on what a geologist who has been out there 

 describes as " the biggest oilfield in the world." 

 ***** 



The question of the age at which rubber trees are 

 likely to become exhausted is one that is raised from 

 time to time ; it has so far not been satisfactorily 

 answered. The Rubber Growers' Association recently 

 received a communication from a company showing 

 that its agents in the Federated Malay States had 

 reported that a large number of estates were obtciining 

 a reduced crop from old rubber trees, and inquiring 

 whether any statistics were available on the subject. 

 Assuming that yields fell off at a certain age, the com- 

 pany' was anxious to know at what age this took 

 place, and the extent of the failure to yield. It is 

 admitted that there do not appear to be any statistics 

 bearing on the question. 



***** 



A number of members of the committee who have 

 had the matter under investigation have been unable 

 to collect any evidence to show that there is a 

 falling oU in yields owing to the increasing age of the 

 trees. The decreased yields are in a large measure, 

 in the past, due to such causes as over-tapping and to 

 insufficient time being allowed for bark renewal. They 

 consider that better conscr\ation of bark and lighter 

 tapping, coupled with cultivation of the soil and tho 

 careful nursing of the trees, will prove beneficial. 

 Provided trees have not been affected with disease, 

 they should regain their former latex-yielding qualities. 

 There is every reason to believe that the yield increases 

 with the advancing age of the tree. 



***** 



The subject is one which is of the first importance 

 to the industry. There certainly e.xist several of the 

 trees planted in the Botanical Gardens at Ceylon, 

 which are forty-four j-ears of age and are still yield- 

 ing rubber freely ; but these are not grown under 



