INTERESTING ITEMS.

Northland Age, Volume 2, Issue 41, 22 May 1906, Page 2

INTERESTING ITEMS.

The most interesting gem in the British crown is the ruby that once belonged to the King of Castillo, and was worn by Henry .V. in his hoK.rot at Agincourt. —j.— Gradations of Naval rank are indicated by a crown, a star, stars, or jan anchor, embroidered in silver I thread on the shoulder-straps, or by j the size and richness of the bullion cords. | The only two countries in Europe j in which no mines whatever are workj ed are Monaco and Montenegro. The j latter country, however, is said to j contain considerable deposits of iron, i lead, and tin. * j It was only in 1866 that the Emi peror repealed the law forbidding Japanese subjects to leave their own country. lii 1900 there were 124,000 Japanese living abroad, 15 of whom were in Russia. * During the seige of Port Arthur 265 per cent, of the garrison were put hors de combat. This apparently impossible feat was made possible by the fact that so many wounded men returned to duty from the hospitals. * Moving pavements, underground, to connect the East.and West ends of New York, are contemplated. The scheme provides for two platforms, one moving at the rate of nine miles an hour, and the other at four, capable of carrying 47,000 passengers an , hour. * Iceland seems to be hardly as cles- | titute of trees as some suppose, an : oltj. idea being that it possesses only 1 a single tree. An investigation shows 1 that the island really contains woods having various trees of considerable size, and that the climate is not unfavourable to tree growth. In the island of New Guinea, or Papua, the chief adornment of the women is a necktie made of black ants. The native girls find the ants in the gardens ; they bite off and swallow the lower end, throw away, the head, and ‘thread the thorax. | One woman, the bride of a chief, wore a lecklace lift, long, on which were the bodies of 2,800 ants. — * — j China is the country of Guilds, and the guild of thieves in any district might almost be described as a rej cognised body. It is treated with by i all householders, until it has become a kind of insurance agency against theft. All gate-keepers and nightwatchmen pay a small monthly fee to this guild in order that no thieving may take place over the premises over which they have control. * Of the many presents that the King of Denmark has received during his long life there is not one which he prizes more than a crown of gold which was given to him on the occasion of his golden wedding by ths school children of Denmark. The crown is composed of golden corn ears and clover leaves. No child, it is interesting to add, was permitted to subscribe more that a penny towards its purchase. a* Japan is the leading fishing nation to-day, although the value of her sea products is surpassed by that of two other countries. The United States, outside of Alaska and Great Britain, each produce about £9,000,000 worth annually, and Japan leads in the proportion of the total population engaged in the fishing industry, in the countries domestic economy, and in the support given by the Government to the industry.