BREVITIES

Evening Star, Issue 14494, 20 February 1911, Page 8

BREVITIES

Settlers in the Auckland province have lost considerably through busl tiros. There are believed to be about 12,001 Noclitcs—persons born on Christina; Day—in the United Kingdom. There are 21,000,000 horses in tin United States—a record number, am; prices have never been so high. The smallest screws used in a watel are so diminutive that it would tale 150,000 of them to weigh a pound. Tho Palladium, the now music hall ii London, which is said to hold 5,0K people, can he cleared in one minute. Sneak thieves at Auckland are cans ing much annoyance to the owners oi yachts, motor boats, and other craft. There wine 118 patients in tho Dunedin Hospital on Saturday. Ono death occurred in tho institution last week. Luke Spitfire confessed at tho Black burn Police Court recently that he had boon in prison more than 1,000 times. Tho Jordan is the most crooked rivei known, measuring two hundred ami thirteen miles in a distance of sixty miles. / Colored glass came from Egypt. Egyptians carried the art to great perfection long before history began to tell it. Two decayed teeth in tho month of a child are (says a Scotch doctor) sufficient to retard the child six mouths in its studies.

Two million children per annum die before reaching the age of twelve mouths in the fifty provinces of European Russia. The most valuable pipe in the world is tlie State pipe of the Shah of Persia, which is set with precious stones and is worth £BO,OOO. One Yarmouth boat-owner, who owns onh four boats, earned more than £IO,OOO during the recent fishing season of ten weeks.

The Berlin postal authorities intend to establish a new service by which people will be able to telephone for a postman to fetch their letters. The Welsh Memorial Fund to King Edward has reached £IBO,OOO. Efforts are being made to raise £300,000 to carry out a groat scheme for driving consumption from the valleys of Wales. The prize of £4.000 offered by Baron de Forest for the longest flight, including a Channel passage, on an aeroplane of all-British manufacture has been awarded to Mr Sopwith. The Michelm prize was won by Colonel Cody. All the officers and men belonging to the Ist Gordon Highlanders attended the funeral of Captain M'Laren, who died in a nursing homo at Colchester the other day. At his request four of the regimental pipers played ‘ The Flowers of the Forest ’ at his bedside before he passed away. One of the strangest domiciles on earth is that erected at Yokohama by Dr Van der Heyden, the noted bacteriologist of Japan. This is a dustproof, air-proof, microbe-proof building of glass, which stands in the open, unshaded grounds of the hospital of Yokohama.