Varieties.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 370, 11 June 1903, Page 7

Varieties.

THE WORLD'S COAL SUPPLY. «gp*CCOEDING to a return jaat ißßued, @frl® the total coal production of the SflOK United Kingdom during last year *M 0 waß 2 1 9 .047,000 tons; the total known coal production of the world, ex4™Sf ive oi brown co »'» i« now nearly 700,000,000 tons per annum, of which the United Kiagdom produces rather less and the United Statee rather more than a thud. As cjompared with its population the production of coal in the United Kingdom still surpasses that in the United States. It amouated to 6i tons per head of the population in 1901, while in the, United States it is still onlj just over 8 1-8.

DOCTORS. A list recently compiled by the Egyptian Government showß, says the « Lancet,' that there are bow 1,211 medical men of all nationalities in Egypt. Six hundred 'and four are Europeans, eighty-five hold a Persian or a Turkish diploma from Teheran or Constantinople, forty-five are natives with a European diploma, and the remaining 477 are natives educated ia Cairo at the one medical school of the country. It will be noticed that the foreigners considerably outnumber the Egyptians.

,j SAUSAGES AND CHAMPAGNE. ' What is known as Bridge Pair has lately taken place at Peterborough. In the fifteenth century the abbots of Peterborough built a bridge across l the Nene, connecting the two counties of Huntingdon and Northampton, and Henry VIJ. gave the abbots power to charge tolls at a fair to be held in the oounties in October. The fair has been continued ever Btnce, its proclamation being attended with quaint proceedings. The ancient custom of Observing the fair by sitting down to a sausage and champage lunch, provided by the Mayor,-is till observed by the Corporation.

LARGEST EMERALD A vase cat from a single emerald has' been preserved in a cathedral in Genoa, /Italy, 600 years. It is the largest gem of ' the kind in' the world, its dimensions being: Diameter, 12£ ins., height, Sfins. Every precaution is used to insure safe keeping. Several locks must be opened to the key of each lock is in the .possession of a different man. |J 1 laoNEW PROFESSION. A French newspaper states that anew profession has arisen in the United States —United States is here distinctly appropriate. It is that of bridesmaid, or as a Gaelic contemporary has it,' bridemaid.' This profession, it is said, is excellently paid, and tie bridesmaid is hired in the same way as - a waiter, or any extra hand. At a recent wedding fifteen bridesmaids were in attendance, each of whom, besides her costume, received a 'gratification'of M, A joung lady of. great beauty (according to a French paper) has figured at more than 200 weddings, and has received magnificent presents in the performance of this new and curious profession.

THE GALLOWS. In the eighteenth century the lives of highwaymen who had fallen within the clutches of the law, or were likely to do so,' were frequently insured at Lloyd's. One instance is j still recorded of the possibilities of the execution of two Jacobite Scotch peers, a*ter the 1745 rising, at a premium of 1J per cent; the life of John Wilkesiwas insured at a premium of 5 per cent; that ot Alderman Bond at 7 per. cent. The return of Wilkes to Parliament was insured at premiums varying from five to; fifty guineas, and on his election to Middlesex at a premium of from twenty| to seventy guineas. The risk of warj with France was insured against at a premium of ten guineas, lh<dissOlution of Parliament at a premium of fifteen guineas. Travellers might insure their return ifrom foreign countries at various ratesi ! -'