BREVITIES.

Evening Star, Issue 13145, 29 December 1908, Page 8

BREVITIES.

London reports a severe cold snap, and that snow is general. I The Bank of Emrland has in its etn- ! ploy 1,000 people. " j It is estimated that there are always 4.000,000 people at sea. The bone frame of the average whale weighs about forty-five tons. There are fifteen tons of silver in circulation for every ton of gold. The United States produces half as much coal again as Great Britain. The sound of a bell carries much better through water than through air. A monthly postal camel service has recently been established in the Sahara. Between 30,000, and 40,000 tortoises are imported into Great Britain annually. There are at least eighty-five righthanded people to every fifteen lefthanded. The Anglesey newspapers announce a sale in the village of Llanfairmathafarnerthaf. Many of the women followers of the Devon and Somerset staghounds are riding astride. Last year 372,.51.5,754 passengers were earned by the London County Council tramcars. The average age at death of people who die through accidents is thirtyfive and a-half years. The Argentine Republic contains more horses than any other country, the proportion being about 112 to every 100 of the population. Every German soldier must learn to swim, some of them being able to cross a wide stream, carrying all their clothes, arms, and ammunition. Paper lace, which is much worn by 1 Parisian actresses, looks as delicate and beautiful by artificial light as the 1 real article, while the cost is trifling. Nettle-libre, after being treated with 1 olive oil, yields a fabric of great warmth, which is known as " nettle- ' wool," and which has all the advantages of flannel. 1 Mr J. Barker celebrated his seventy- . sixth birthday by winning the annual ' veterans' swimming race in the Serpentine. The oldest competitor was I Mr J. Classy, whoso age is eighty-two. Olympia, London, is to be converted 1 into a gigantic roller-skating rink. A Fun City will fill the annexe. While a cricket team was practising . on Moor Park Preston, Francis Hogg, i a local preacher, was struck on the F head by a ball. He played in the I match, but became ill and died.