FOODLESS FOR DAYS.

, ♦ A CREW'S ADVENTURE. The members of the Italian shifi. Monte Bianco, which put into. Sydney, on Tuesday of last week, on., a voyagg from Genoa to Newcastle, hay e. had. an eventful experience, for they were driven out, ...of. . their course -by stormy weather, and their food supplies , ran short, and at last they were without anything .to eat for nearly, five, days, until relief came through, . the . timely appearance of the Commonwealth steamer Gilgai. The Monte Bianco .left .Genoa- short of provisions m August, during the.industrial trouble, when food was practically unobtainable. The. master, intended.. calling at .Gibraltar:, for. supplies, but trouble with the. crew precluded this, course, and ..eventually he decided to., make" for Teneriffe. Violent ,; storms and gear troubles took the . ship right out .of; its course, and eventually those on:, board found themselves-, down m the 'southern, portion of the . Atlantic, many miles. south of Capetown. . The food r problem became acute, and all hands were placed on, short ..rations. It was .decided to steer for. St. Paul's/ and Amsterdam Islands. On December .2o, m lat. 38.30- south, long. 62.15 east, the ..- Commonwealth steamer Gilgai was sighted. The lookout on tliei,Galgai noticed vth'atr. the ship was endeavouring to cut off the steamer, and when close handy the signal "Am m want of provisions" was hoisted on tßce ship. At ;-tliat::time<'fche crew of the - Monte Bianco ; were. . m serious straits, having been without^ food for nearly five days. Sixty days' provisions were • pjaced on boasrd'frony the Commonwealth liner, and the ship; with her crew deeply 'grateful: for • tftis succour, resumed her voyage^. The- Monte Bianco- put into Sydney because the dense marine, growth on her IMI and th& adversef northerly winds- retarded hor on her.- already very long voyage of 15&) days.. SKe will probably be towed to her- destination. She is m- ballast, ano! v has been? chartered to load?'afull earg!»\.of"coaiiat Newcastle for -G>enoa. # ' , A' total of ' 2; v 3SO;000> motor cars weremanufactured' irrn the^ United States of" America m 1920: Only 485,000 caxs ;were manufactured 1 tsliere> m 1913. ,l ) The umbrella was not introduced iir>to London . till the > seventeenth century. [■The present! umbrella^ population of." •London is estimated' at over 2,500,009*. An Italian engineer claims to have discovered 1 a metftod' whereby static electricity, can be» drawn from the atmosphere and" tiaosfibrmed into dynamic energy. Hog: Island; tlie> largest shipbuilding yard; m tto world, boasts 50* shipways /.Their total area is 1,529,560 square feet: The- total area 'of B&g Islands is- over 900' acres. : "Fortune'"!* friend is mishap-'fe. foe." — Bishman. Here's a good, dependable friend : t&nt will protect you from many ills ' nnd' 'ailments. It is Baxter's Luna i^Preserver — a sterling remedy that en- ' sures speedy relief to victims of coughs, colds, bronchitis and! influenza. I A delightful degree of ease is apparent ' after tnu first soothing dose, while it- ; also tones-up impoverished systems. by enriching the blood. Costs but 2s <6d for a generous sized fcottle. All chemists and stores. A new wharf recently <xvmpleted tit Seattle, U.S.A., is 367 ft. wide and 2580 ft. long, only lacking 60ft. of being half a mile. It is the largest cbmmereial wharf m the world 1 .