NEWS IN BRIEF.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14133, 7 August 1909, Page 1 (Supplement)

NEWS IN BRIEF.

Women* live longer than men. Every second the earth moves 19 miles. The .Chinese preserve vegetables in salt. Ladies' feet are larger than they were two years ago. In England births outnumbered deaths by five to three. In Madrid it is considered unlucky to marry on Tuesday. The population of the United 'States per square mile is 27.71. Twenty million shooting-stare fall upon the earth 1 surface daily. It has been found that good paper can be made out of grape-vines. The total •wealth of the United States is estimated at £21,400,000,000. The population of Russia is increasing at the rate of 2,500,000 per annum. There are no solid rocks in the Arctic regions, -owing to the severe frost. In the last half century Japan has recorded more . than 27,000 earthquakes. King Edward has just had a special tri< cycle constructed for hie personal use. During 1908 Wilbur Wright travelled between 2500 and 3000 miles in his airship.

lea will in future supplant beer and coffee as the staple drink of German soldiers.

As many as 368 new rocks and shoale, dangerous to navigation, : were discovered last year. ' During the last few years there has been * a steady rise in the number of deaths under anesthetics. The total number of railway passengers in the United Kingdom in 1908 was 1,278,050,000. . ,

A country gaol in Mexico is said to consist of a live oak tree with a chain and staple attached. Cardboard coins and scales have been introduced into London schools for use 'in' arithmetic lessons. Great Britain has 18 torpedo vessels and" Germany 1 and 148 "destroyers" against the 73 of Gerirany. ~ _•

England spends no less than £8,000,000 every year in , purchasing eggs and poultry from other countries. . . . • , The total cost of Army, Navy, and Civil Service pensions for the current year amounts to £8,882,306. - . 'In 1908 the total number of miles tra- - versed by trains in the United Kingdom amounted to 423,160,000. . The Turkish Sultan possesses a solid gold throne, .studded "with no less than 10,000 pearls as big as filberts. / - During the last six months 251 frauds, • ; involving a loss of over £200, have been made on the Post Office Savings Bank. Out of a willow-tree in Thames Ditton, Surrey, can be seen growing a gooseberry-: bush, a currant-bush, and an elderberrytree. ' ~, S * '*■ 'v- $

Believed to be the smallest horse in the world, a tiny black mare, standing only 17in. high,' "was recently; eold for 230 'guineas. . _ • ' ' , ■ ■

; Frogs can be caught by dazzling them at • night with a:< bull's-eye ; lantern, after which they can be taken' in a net or even .by the hand. , - ' ' With a flying-machine capable of travelling 80 miles an hour, practically the whols of Europe would be within a day's j<iur-i ney of Berlin. - ' > -.Y v Two rare Transvaal: stamps (Is, yellow green), ' formerly ;the property-' of .the- lata Mr.' E. J.xNankivell, were sold by Messrs. Glendining for £86.

" The highest total ever scored by ad, English Eleven in • . Australia was,; 769, against New] South Wales, by MacLaren'fi 'English , Eleven in 1902. » , /\ - H . Europe has 20,000 newspapers. j'A /which Germany possesses : the ' largest number. England, however, has the greatest number of daily newspapers. • There is only one day in the year on which the. inhabitants of . Monte Carlo are allo wed jto ] gamble at » the Casino tables—, the Prince of Monaco's birthday.; ■

In', order to . stop a-.; plague <of :locusts, .every rural i inhabitant of Northern Syria ; has "to collect and deliver, at least ; 2Jlb of . ' locust ■ eggs to ■ the Turkish Government. ■ v Silver-grey has.been adopted as i.he colour of the uniform for the entire German >| army. It is considered to be more suit-.: • able ; than khaki for campaigning in Europe. , - At a recent inquest at Stepney ft China- 1 . '• man took the oath < by blowing out the ; *s ; - flame of a candle, /and saying he believed that' if he lied his soul would be similarly extinguished. , - . . Taxi-cabs will soon carry an instrument ;j which will. automatically indicate at what Js] speed the vehicle is travelling. Should the speed - exceed "20 miles an hour a ; bell will ring. ' v 1 1 A sparrow-hawk's egg has been found in a robin's nest at Crow borough, Sussex, the • ; mother hawk having" apparently laid her egg in the nest first and then surrendered : i it to . the robin.. . V 0 \ Seen fishing in the Thames at Kingston with* an improvised net, a resident ex- 5? plained that he had . lost - his false teeth •in rescuing a child from the river the previous ; ; evening. • He recovered them. • Over 300 applications were received for the post of town hall' keeper at Guildford, at a Salary of £80 per annum. "A" local Ivarnessnraker and' saddler was appointed. He said motoring had killed his trade, . In the building and completing of a Dreadnought, daily work is afforded for - -iij between .1000 and .1500 skilled men. Of ,<, the' total cost of £1,950,000, about 70 per cent.—or £1,365,000-—would go in wages. , '• On the last' sailing 'of the Allan liner Corsican from Liverpool she had on board 16 brides for the Dominion, all young and ; - pretty. ' Although strangers to each other,. the ladies' secret leaked out shortly after ~ sailing. 7 . * 1 " *r.

In Boston, 'a-quarter of a million people are living entirely on vegetables ' and nuts. They dress in white, sleep in draughts, abjure milk, and remain alone , for half an hour a day. By this means they hope to' live 1000 years.; ' . '■ At a sale at Christie's of the collection; of Old English furniture, formed ,by Mr. H. P. Dean, of Bridgeport House, Buckinghamshire, a settee of mahogany, with triple back, pierced and finely carved with oak branches, realised £2047 10s. ,-t . r For the arrest of Edmonstone, the Fife murderer, a reward of £100 was 'offered, and Crown counsel are of opinion that this rightfully belongs to the Manchester ped-. lar, John Atherton, who lodged ; in the "y house where Edmonstoce was staying. 1 . MY. Isaac Falcke has presented his magnificent x collection of Wedgwood porce- ' lain to the British Museum, - and Mr. C. ' ; ; H. Read, keeper of British and mediaeval 0 antiquities in the: museum and president of the Society of Antiquaries, is preparing for their reception. ■ ; - ■ \ - •In 1908 the average rate of mortality at Yarmouth was two per thousand lower \ f/ than the corrected average death-rate J for -~ : the 76 great towns, so that on its popula- | tion of 50,000 no fewer than 100 lives were saved last year, as compared with the . - mortality in the country generally. ! : t The condition of pens and ink provided - • for the use of the public in post offices has been a ; frequent cause of complaint. The Postmaster-General has now issued an order that nibs and ink shall be renewed : with sufficient frequency, and that pens,v4. and ink bottles shall be kept clean. * . It was stated at the meeting of the Great Hanvood Council that the Council's - fire-engine could not attend a fire brigade demonstration, as it had been condemned, but that the men, some of whom were ' wearing;, uniforms 17? years old, rode in a waggonette painted and altered so as t«| repie.-vant a bat*' tender. ■ ' • . ' • '=