Miscellaneous

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 884, 9 July 1913, Page 7

Miscellaneous

" Bank of England notes are numbeieu backwards, that is, from one to 10,001; hence the figures 000,01. The stroke of a lion's paw is the tliir.d strongest force in the animal world. The first is the blow of a whale's tail, and the second is the kick of a giraffe. Pearl divers remain under water water from 50 to 80 seconds on an average, but cases have been reported of their remaining as long as six minutes beneath the surface.

Arabians on meeting shake hands six or eight times; Once is not enough; If, however, they he persons of distinction, they pmbrace and kiss one, an-: other several times, arid also, kiss then own hands.

A llouen professor is the'owner of a collection of 920 human hoads, representing every known race of people. Burglars attempted to make a . selection on February 11th, but were discovered and captured. It is supposed that they wore bribed by a rival professor. ,'.--.," ■:;';

In mediaeval times rhinoceros horns were employed as drinking cups _by royal personages. The notion being that poison put into them would snow itself by bubbling. There may have been some truth in the idea, as many of thoancient poisons were acids, which would decompose the horny material very quickly.

■ Among the Arabs an interesting department of woman's duty is dairy work. This, like all other operations, is carried out on an old-fashioned and patriarchal plan. To make butter, tor instance, a small sheepskin is filled witli milk and tied to a ring in the wall. The woman then sits on the floor and rocks it to and fro till, little balls of butter begin to form within. These grow larger and larger and accumulate and are finally brought but as one big lump.

UNFAILINC MEANS OF IDENTIFICATION, The Russian method of identifying soldiers killed in battle is by means of little metal icons—sacred picture images—found on. the bodies. -On the back of each of these icons is stamped the wearer's name, regiment and commission. Every nation labels its soldiers one way or another, with a view to just such eventualities. Our own Tommies when ou active service are served with small oblong identification cards, which are supposed to be sewn inside the tunics. »

NOT MUCH WINDING UP REQUIRED. An Englishman lias invented a clod that will run for 2000 years. The motive power is a small piece of gold leaf which is electrified by means of a very small quantity of radium salt. The gold leaf bends away from metal substance and keeps moving under this influence until it touches the side of the containing vessel. At the moment of contact it loses its electriical charge and then springs back, and is again electrified, and the process is repeated. . .

AN ANCIENT SEPULCHRE. The cairns or giant graves at Bosad, near Eutin, Germany, are being excavated under the direction of 1 ro : feasor Knorr of the Kiel Museum oi Antiquities. One grave has already been opened up in which two urns and a gold bracelet twelve centimetres in length, were found. A stone grave three meties long, and 170 centimetres wide, containing a skeleton supposed to be oyer 6000 years' was also laid bare. Ihe work i's to be continued, and it is supposed that an ancient cemetery or place of sacrifice existed there formerly.

NO NATIVE JEWS. I Japan is singular among the-nations in having no native' Jews. It has. however, a couple of hundred Hebrew families, who have emigrated from other countries; but at the present time there are no Jewish communities except at Nagasaki,, where quite a romantic tale is attached to the synagogue. Some years ago a wealthy German Jew of the congrega'tion married a native lady, who embraced the religion of her husband. Ihe couple lived hapily together until death parted them, and then the sorrowing widow perpetuated her husband's me- : mory by contributing the greater part | of the funds for a.handsome synagogue for tho Jews of tne place. .

THE LARCEST CRAPE VINE !N the WORLD. What is claimed to be the largest crape-vine in the world is, like many other big things, found in America. When the Mission Fathers from Spain

settled in America-they'.brought wi*. | them; Vines from their native country. /.Finding-, the climate andsoil- to- their liking, these vines have, grown to huge proportions. 'The one growing in the Carpinteria Valley, in the' southrwest of the United States, is' 63 years old, and hasa double trunk to a'height of sft; Tin.,-where it: separates into two huge branches, the larger having a-err- , cumference of three feet. Six inches "j above;, the ground the vine measures Bft. sin. in circumference, and-it covers j an area of 115 ft. square, 60 posts supporting the framework. The owner says that/were provision, made it would : spread over a greater surface, but it is pruned every year. Fabulous stories iii e told of the grapes this vino produces. That it did actually yield te» tons, in a recent season seems to lo authentic.

V , HINDU CREMATION. In tho course of a recent lecture al tho Camera Club, London, the late Mr. Law Bros showed some.interesting photographs which illustrated the piocess of cremation as carried out by the Hindus. The body is laid upon a kind of bier, made of bamboo, and faggots ; .piled tip on all sides of it before/ fir. is applied. ' Bach body is wrapped by the relatives in a piece of crimson clou of considerable value and this cloth becomes the property of the man whu conducts the cremation, wh'oi in-order that ho. may not be haunted by the ghost of the deceased, invariably carries away from the cremation a fragment of burnt wood, which'is supposed to frighten the spirit away. .

SPITZBERCEN. li.r. IC..T. Garwood, wlio accompanied Sir iiartin Conway on a.recent-expedi-tion- to Spitzbergen, has given an account of choir wanderings into the interior of that inhospitable island, "The place is quite destitute of inhabitants, for although the weather is pretty open in the summer time, the pre-i ailing temperature in water, is 40d<;g. below zero. At one time the Russians rt'ada en attempt to colonies this No Man's Land; and happening to have on luirid some wretched culprits who had "been (Condemned to death, offered theso incn their lives on that they should be landed at Spitzbergen aim stop there. They accepted the reprieve and were duly landed on. the is-: land. But before the ship had time to' return, the men begged to be taken back and executed. They returned to Russia and their lives were spared.