GENERAL INFORMATION.

Marlborough Express, Volume XXXVII, Issue 120, 23 May 1903, Page 1 (Supplement)

GENERAL INFORMATION.

In the German military movfemen'ta automobiles, motocycies, and bicyi cles, entirely replace horses ia tha General Staff service. /

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A Yale professor has grafted IKo tail halt" of a viper on the head of £U rattlesnake, and the combination is alive and ready for business;, The metric system of weights ami measures was adopted by France ia 1790, by Holland in 1816, by Belgium in 1820, and by Sweden ia 1889. iThe Chinese laugh is not so heart's] nor so expressive as that of tha European. It is more often a titten than a genuine outburst of merriment! There is little character, or force ill it. Thousands of microscopists are en£« ployed in Germany to prevent trich* inosis, which is periodically epidemic owing to the habit of the people of eating raw pork. In 284 cases of trichinosis in America 208 .were Iti Germans. The odour from burning leather is considered a protection against in* fectious disease. During the prevail ence of cholera in Vienna, years ago,; no shoemaker was attacked. Tuejfl prevented it by burning scraps of leather in their houses.

Tests in the cultivation of potato oes, show that, whether" planted whole or cut, the large potatoes gave the biggest yields in every case but when the financial results wera looked into, it was found that thfi biggest profit was made by planting whole large potatoes, and the next largest profit from whole small ones*

Tho fruit of tlie umganu tree ol South Africa yields a strong intoxicating drink for the natives T&U cphants are fond of it, becoming quite tipsy, staggering about, play* ing antics, screaming so as to bQ beard for miles, and having treniond^ ous lights. When in this stato tha natives leave them alone.

UNKNOWN

All mills in Japan run night an3l day, and change hands at noon and midnight. The vast majority ol millworkcrs are children, tvbo worM 11 hours at low wages. In ou« iniifi at Osaka 2,600 workers arc uuiier IS years of age and'operate only 3,700 spindles. In America, 800 p«*ons operate the same number.

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The " dogs of war " have been moro than a figure of speech for tii thousand years. They were used ia 'Egypt. 400 B.C. Tho Romans, tho Teutons, and other fighting nations of antiquity depended much on them for sentinel and defence purposes. Ins the Middle Ages they are said to> have even worn armour. The Spau*» ish discoverers used bloodhounds iJX tracking the Indians in America, anil dogs were likewise, it is stated,, made of service by tho Americai? armies in the Philippines.

In South Africa the waggon is & hugh lumbering vehicle drawn by 10 oxen. A waggon and its oxen extend for about 100 ft., and 50 ol them would extend for a mile in en straight line. Of these waggons there is an abundant supply, for ey«» cry country Boer has one or more. It is doubtful as to whether oxen have been taken, in the war captures with the waggons. For instance,. 1,000 waggons would require 16,000 oxen. Many of the waggons hay& been taken without their teams. la any case it seriously cripples thftBoers to deprive them of their wag-* gons, and so many have been captm> ed that lew remain.