FACTS.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 9999, 25 May 1895, Page 5

FACTS.

Women neod, on the average, about nine-tenths the nourishment requisite for men. Only one out of every 1000 married couples liro to celebrate their golden wedding. The robin and the wren are the only birds that sine all the year. All other birds have periodioal fits of silence. A pair of eye-glasses has been invented which, being mounted with a mirror, reflects objects in the rear of the wearer without obatrooting the direot forward vision through the lens. Until it is sir or seven years of age, the pearl oyster does not produce any pearls, and it is a matter of great Importance that it should nut be disturbed in any way daring that length of time. At present it is oheaper to send packages of eggs to London from Belgium than from any part of Yorkshire. ] It Is said that nearly two-thirds of the crime in London is perpetrated between 2 p.m. on Saturdays and 9 a.m. on Mondays. The tramways of Great Britain and Ireland receive in fares annually at the present time about £2,600,000, and the omnibuses about £2,000,000. There are about 45,000 oabs in the United Kingdom, which altogether earn in fareß about £8.200,000 per annum. Broken Hill, New South Wales, ia the largest silver mine In the world- The mine is worked night and day in three shifts, and over 2000 hands are employed, la 1892 the mine produced 36,512,4:450z. of silver and 151,496 tonß of lead, valaed at £8,252,138. Weather forecasts in Great Britain grow more aconrate every year, and the Meteorological Oounoil announce with pride that 84 par cent, of those given last year were aucoessful. Three years ago nearly 17 per cent, of the stormwarnings were not fulfilled; but now the rate has fallen to 7 per cent. Three Irishmen and a Sootohman constitute the supreme tribunal of appeal for all English subjects, which is the Oonrt known as the " Lords of Appeal in ordinary." The names and nationalities of its four members are as follows : Lord Macnaughten, Irish ; Lord Morris, Irish; Lord Watson, Scotoh ; and Lord Eassell, Irish. The inventor of the dog tax was Mr Dent, of a Westmoreland family, and a partner In Child's Bank. After Pitt had imposed the tax, Dent was universally known by the name of "Dog Dent." He frequently received large hampers freely garnished with hares' legs, pheasants' tails, grouse and partridge wings, etc., but invariably filled with dead dogs. The bedrooms of tho Orient are far different from those of Christendom. Fully half the women of the world sleep upon the floor or the ground, and even the richest of the ladies of Asia have never known the luxury of hair mattresses and spring beds. Most of these Mongolian beauties do not know what a feather pillow means, and the Japanese pillow consists of a lump of wood about tho size of a loaf of bread, with a piece of soft paper tied on the top of it, so that it will just fit into Yum Turn's neck, and prop her head off the floor. Sir Thomas Mollwraith, when Prime Minister of Queensland, Australia, seriously proposed to abolish capital punishment. An amendment waa proposed to transfer the punishment from murder to the offence of importing a llv* rabbit. When one considers that it coats the adjoining colonies £250,000 a year to keep down the rabbits, and that it ia estimated that many million pounds sterling have boan lost throngh the ravages of this pest, it is not to be wondered that the orimo of introducing this post ia looked upon with unoh horror In a pastoral colony like Queensland. Tho operation to whioh Mr Gladstone recently submitted has invested the subject of oatnraet with an interest ao absorbing that it may be worth while to recall the faot that some 50 yea is ago a blacksmith at York romoved with unqualified gucceeß several cataracts, being, of ooarse, in total ignorance of the structure of the eye. An oculist undertook his instruction. The result, however, was that the blaoksmith, appalled by tho knowledge of the delicacy of the organ on which in his ignoranoe he had operated, loßt his nerve, and never again could be induced to attempt the removal . I of cataracts

There is a band of thieves in Naples whtoh, like rata, frequent the underground sewers, and bore their way Into shops for the purpose of robbing tills and goods. A leather dealer a short time back discovered, on unlocking his warehouse, a large hole in the flooring, and ikins and money gone to the value of 8,000 francs. He called the police, and several of them, together with some sewermen, penetrated into the dark vaults, slipping and sliding along the mud of the sewers, and with a single lantern. They bad not gone far when they discovered a man and oalted to him to atop. Bat with a cry , " Madonna, don't kill me _! " the man fled along the sewer, the police firing after him, and following him at least for a mile, passing under three or four streets, but without anoosas. The police are now watohing the sewers like cats, but there are many esonpe-holes. In the days at the Cape' when a muni property, and perhaps bis life also, depended upon his nkill with bis rifle, queer shooting competitions were frequent among the settlers:. A ring, 120 ft. In diameter, was marked out, in the centre of which waa a pole, having at its top the stuffed figure of a bird. The shooters were arranged round the ring, and each fired in turn, prizes of various value being awarded to the ones who made the best shots. At the present day the Boers are wonderfnl marksmen, and " np oountry " they may often be found indulging in the following queer shooting contest. A hole, large enough to hold a tnrkpy-oook, is dng In a loose pieoe of ground, and the bird having been put into it, is Bcoured in it by a looao piece of canvas stretched over it, and pegged down. The osnvan has a bole in its centre big enough to allow the bird to put out and withdraw its bead. The rapidly popping in and out hesd forms the mark of the Boer shooters standing one hundred paces away — a by no means essy target to hit. Marriage brokers are a regular inititntlon in Italy. In Genoa there are regular marriage brokers, who have pocket boobß filled with the names of the marriageable girls of the different classes, with notes of their figures personal attractions, fortune and other circumßtanoes. These brokers go about endeavouring to arrange connections in the same offband mercantile manner whioh they would bring to bear upon a purely business transaction, and when they succeed they get a commission of two or three per cent, upon the portion, with such extras or bonuses as may be voluntarily bestowed by the party. Marriage at Genoa is thus oftentimes Bimply a matter of business caloulatioo, generally settled by the parent or relations, who often draw up the contract before the parties have seen one another ; and it is only when everything elae is arranged, and a few days previous to the marriage ceremony, that the future husband is introduced to bis partner for life. Should he find fault with her manner or appearance he may annul the contraot, on condition of defraying brokerage, and any »ther expenses inonrred.