NEWS IN BRIEF.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 12859, 6 May 1905, Page 1 (Supplement)

NEWS IN BRIEF.

London covers an area of 226 square- miles. The Gentian navy for 1906 will be manned by 36,622 men. About 13,000 horses arc killed every year in Berlin for human food. The total value of the. regalia, of Britain is estimated at £3,000.000. A statistician says that Franco has about 1000 duels a year and Italy 2800. Graves average sft deep in England, sft 6in in France, and 6ft lOin in Russia. In England there are 2c! cows for every 100 of the population. Aiwtralia has 280. The growth of girls is greatest in their fifteenth year, of boys in their seventeenth. New York possesses over 200,000 telephones, in comparison with London's 85,000. Egypt, with 10,000,000 people, lias only one lunatic asvlum, and that with onlv 500 beds. . " Horses, giraffes, and ostriches have the largest eyes of land animals, cuttlefish of sea creatures. In a hurricane blowing ufc 80 miles an lour th© pressure on each square foot of surface i.; ol^lh. Musk in a crude state is worth £8 an ruiice. It looks like axle-grease and does rot smell much better. i British railways pay income-tax on £36,400,000, mines' and quarries on £13,420,000, every year. ;- Before obtaining a license at St. Petersburg droaky drivers have to take an oath to be civil and not to overcharge V The common measure of road distance in France is tlio kilometre, or 1000 metres; a little over three-quarters of a mile. Although 346,590 marriages took place in Japan last year, it is stated that not one bride was over 22 years of. age.

Over 500 fossil elephants' teeth have been dredged from the sea of Moluusea, on the coast of the Mediterranean, since 1870.

Out of the sixty-one races lor the University boat-race, 'Oxford has won 34, and Cambridge 26, one race being a dead-heat. *

The present House of Romanoff, of which the Tsar is the head, was founded by the Tsar Michael Fedorovitz Romanoff > in 1613. Though Paris possesses a greater number of dogs than London, the number lost in the hitter city annually almost doubles that of Paris. ' ' y, ■

Pineapples are now brought to London from South Africa in good condition; they are packed in peat dust, whit acts as a preservative. , ,

Norway's coast-line—l7oo miles in a straight line—becomes 12,000 miles, if followed round the fjoida. In these fjords are* over 150,000 islands. ■ - - Russia, with a population of 127,000,000. lias only 18,534 physicians. hi the United States, with a population of about 75,000,000, there are 120,000 physicians. " : ""- '

A Frenchman named Molliurd has. found a way of transforming radishes into potatoes by cultivating them in glass retorts in a concentrated solution of glucose. .

The boys of Westminster School, hold the unique privilege of admittance to the House' of Parliament without special permits, pro-' • vided they are wearing 'cap and gown. -

One halfpenny per square yard , tax imposed on all advertisements displayed on. hoardings would product the ■ sum of ' £2,000,000 sterling .for -the British Ex-:. chequer.

A pair of Charles 1. fire'dog.i of French enamel and brass, bearing the Royal arms, fetched £465 at auction at Horham Hall, Esses. A large portrait of Sir = William Hedges was sold for £5. ' • . ■

During one week recently 30,000. quarts of champagne and 10,000 quarts of .cognac were ordered for the "Russian officers'! in Manchuria. Doubtless material for the celebration of the coming Peace. f

The latest cure for snake-bites, according to h communication to the Paris Academy of Sciences, is radium. Its emanations totally destroy the venom, and at the same trine kill all germs contained therein. ,

Mahomet Haiku, a Tunisian lad of nine, shot his father dead because he had beaten him for laziness. When ; he was arrested [ he said he was glad ho had killed his father, who now could never punish hire, again. ; ; *

A schoolgirl at Illinois, U.S.A., saved her cents until they numbered 11,700, and. weighed 701b. She hauled them in a toy. waggon a few days ago to the local savings bank. She received credit for £24 7s 6d. ' Last year the output of coal in the United States exceeded 300,000,000 tons, or over one-third of the world's annual supply, and' only 3 per cent, of this enormous! output was exported. Nevertheless, this did not beet England's output. "

A notorious character, known as the "Mud Doctor," has just died at. Philadelphia. His treatment for all ailments consisted in rubbing mud and grea,se upon the 1 affected part, and mumbling certain *' charm" words as ho rubbed.

The Rev. J. Guinness Rogers conducted a service at Westminster Road Congregational Church, Liverpool, recently, and was assist-. Ed by his son, who is in charge, of the church, and by ids grandson, who is also in the Congregation at ministry.

Food adulteration is on.'the increase in England; 29,452 samples of milk were inspected last year, and of these 3427, or 11.7 per cent., were reported against. Cream was condemned as adulterated in 69 cases- out of 150, and butter 865 cases out of 13,387.

'J he post-mortem examination of a lunatic in one. of the asylum's of Pennsylvania revealed to the astonished surgeons that. Lis stomach contained the skeleton of a moose, a cravat, five handkerchiefs, a. silver spoon, a pair of spectacles, and some rubber tubing.

The United .States contrived to inaugurate President Roosevelt at a profit of £600. The expenditure on the gorgeous spectacle provided at Washington was £15,800, * but the receipts were no less than £16,400. The sale, of tickets for the inaugural ball realised £9200.

John Graham, who left Chicago in 1897; to seek his fortune in the Klondike goldlields; Succeeded in amassing £20,000 after. eight years' hardship and adventure. Oh 1 his way homo his boat, upset while shooting the rapids on the tSilok River, Alaskaj and he lost all except £500. Shadrach Ferris-, a blind matt, appear6\l before the Swindon magistrates to explain., why he had not paid his late-'. He suid ha had only just started business as an electrician and found it difficult to pay his way. Although blind Ferris has fulfilled a number of electrical contracts in a most satisfactory . manner. :

. " This is the third motor-car fatality I have investigated during the past few months," said ft London coroner recently, when an open verdict was returned in the case of a child named Winifred Vaughan, • who was Fatally injured in Shored itch. "Six * similar deaths have come to my knowledge this month.''

A male child, whose parents are ordinary Burmese cultivators, has the broad, ilat Hose, largo head, and other features characteristic of the pure Burinan, but his skin vi »-■ "fair as a. lily,'' and his hair is flaxen. Mkuy stories about reincarnation are afloat , to account for what the Burmese consiuet , the supernatural event, . Mrs. Daniel Kellogg Baker, daughter of Mr. William Campbell, one of the wealthiest wallpaper manufacturers in America, is the* latest young woman reared in luxury to ■ adopt the stage. When her relatives objected, she replied: "1 have decided to do something which will employ my time better " than the round of society entertainments/' Mr. Otto Landsberg has just died at Capetown, at, the age of 101. He migrated to the * Cape at the age oi* thirteen, arriving there the year after its cession to Great Britain ,: by the King of the Netherlands, and lie had - lived there longer than any other man. In the week when he celebrated hi* hundredth'., birthday—Jlttyr * was. painting « , picture to add to the series he had contri* bated to colonial ait. '.''•-,'■ , i>' , ' -S r h /":.' *!'"'•" "*>; . _i • - ■ ■ i i i ii«^-——arm