NEWS IN BRIEF.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 14566, 31 December 1910, Page 1 (Supplement)

NEWS IN BRIEF.

Except on the coast, there--or hotels in Morocco. There is a plague of foxes in various parts of Warwickshire. j On the roof of the new G.P.O. wilPfltxj/ two miniature rifle ranges. i Stammering is practically unloiowxfi. among uncivilised people. j An asylum patient's death has" been? traced to a diet of flowers and roots. j The proportion of "Britishers in only one to'every 3000 of tho population..,^ The world's greatest liner will carry] 25 tons of potatoes and 10,000 bottles of.] ale and stout. ) A tramp who was charged atßlyth witbST lagging had on him a diary containing -hiu> daily " takings." 4 Nearly 641.000 rats have been. destroy«B in London docks since the work was syste-ft matically undertaken in 1801. ,| It is claimed by General Booth,, -on-be-q half of the Salvation Army, that, it-moss;, preaches in 32 different languages. /i Mrs. Godfrey, 27 years of age, ofßeo-3 lah Grove, Croydon, an inmate of CroyJ don Union Infirmary, has given birth its! triplets. ' 4 Seaweeds do nob obtain nourishment from tlio soil at the bottom, of tlio -seajl but from tho matter contained in. sea^ water. .j In some parts of Africa, children: -vriTO eat salt in preference to sugar. On the« Gold Coast a handful of salt will purchased two slaves. ' i According to tha London Gazette, Mid— die Island, South Shetland:?, does nofa exist, and has been expunged from therf official charts. ;

Football is almost as popular in Burma!/' as it is in England. The natives play tho< game unshod, and kick and shoot "goals? with bare feet.

The Giunfile Lock, on tho Seine, is--so; constructed that one man can open, or shut* it by simply touching an electric button! as he sits in his office. ;{ Pupils of the Grim soy Sooth Parade* Council schools, whose average number ia( 600, have deposited £4007 in the Hull Sav* ings Bank since 1902. !

Statistics just published show that in# Belgium there are 211,617 places where in-'j toxicaiing drink is sold, averaging on*® such place to every 34 inhabitants. , : In Stuttgart and some other South Ger-M man cities fishes are imported by the cart-/ load under municipal supervision, and soldi/ at low prices for the benefit of the poor, j A servant who applied for a summons for wages due at High gate said sho hadfour mistresses in six weeks, and had been* compelled to summon all of them, for her!

wages. ] After he last his arm. at Waterloo, Lard-/ Raglan had a telescope with a special holder made for him which ho used in thiV Crimea. This relic lias just been sold afe a London auction. j

The Rev. C. Birth, for 49 years vector' of Foot's Cray, Kent, expired in ohuj'chi during service after re.ivering a sermon; on " Communion with the D {-Darted."- :E[q! was in his eightieth year. 4

Lake Marat, in Switzerland, has the* curious property, every tenth year, og turning red, owing to the presence of cer-n tain water plants, which are not found irjg any. other lake in the vrld. ,4 So fart, has been the spread of the raiai war in the Orwell Peninsula,, around Ips-j wich, at Felixstowe, and at Wood bridge,! that an inside estimate puts the casualties!! at approaching 10,000 per day. |

"Men go by the signs of publicbouses# and women by milliners' shops." said a? witness at Shored itch County Court, gxm plaining why he described a point in aI road by means of a publichonr« sign. j A sensation was caused at Harwich -byA a Customs raid on the local Y.M.C.A. pre-# miees. A dozen Customs officials took! part in the raid. The search lasted iiitj hour , and a quantity of tobacco was Efforts to train the poorer children 08, London to be well-mannered and well-* behaved" are being made by the L-G.Cj Education Committee in the course of thai arrangements for feeding the children. }

A prize is offered for an instrument that! will show the aviator under any circum-tf stances the exact- angle of his machine to*, the level of the earth. _ A spirit level has? been tried by some aviators, but itisjiot-l satisfactory. {

Leon Isonnet, a workman in the navaßj artillery armoury at Toulon, has just con-«( structed an aluminium torpedo which,J when fully loaded, weighs 16£lb, and istj intended especially for use from aeroplanes: and dirigibles. ° < An Italian engineer has invented a cine-* matograph apparatus which can be con-< neeted with objects liable to be. stolen iru rrich a fashion" that, as soon as a person* lays hands on them his every movement! is photographed. I At Sotheby's an engraving of Lady Elizabeth Oompton, by VaJeoitinct Green, was sold for £260. There wasj also sold for £20 10s Sir Joshua Itey-« nolds's Mrs. Sid dens as " The Tragi Muse," by F. Howard. : j In the Sooth African pageant at Cipe-f town a wonderful c';ress was worn by ona of the performers. Miss Bosnian wore flowered brocade dress which her lineal! ancestress brought to the Cape from HoW land in 1740, exactly 170 years ago.

Walthamstow Council has decided tor issue tokens for use on the tramways.] T.'uey will be sold in packets of 13 penn'fl or 26 half-penny tokens for Is, and foa 5s worth and upwards 10 per coat.., oo 6cl in the ss„ discount will be allowed. . ! The Surrey County Council rejected «aS{ recommendation of the Highways Com-* mittee for the adoption of a by-law enforce' ing rear lights for oil vehicles, on thai ground that such a regulation should beJ enforced by statute throughout the >vhala( country. . j Mr. and Mrs. Graham, of Anchol Bayl Farm, Erith, have, during the whole o£j their 55 years of married life, lived in* the same house. Most of their descend-i ants in the made line are Thames v.-aterJ men and lightermen. One of the grand-i| sons two years ago won the Doggett's- coat«l and badge. I At- Yarmouth the tolls and rents of the"? market owned by the Corporation wens offered under the hammer for three years/ by way of an annual rental. At £1375; per annum the present, lessee (Mi-. WiM liaras) became the hirer. Before the au-4 tion started each intending bidder had tag hand the auctioneer £50 as deposit-. •.]

The latest fancy of the woman-smoker* is a pipe— the tiny affair that soil ices; for the Japanese, but a good-sized briaq or a neat meerschaum. The pipe boldly carried along with a gold caru-j case and chain-purse. For some time<j now the cigarette has given plate to aj cigar, small in size and mild in quality.# "Women said they were tired of the ciga-*' rette, and wanted a bigger smoke.

A single apple from a Herefonlslnrali orchard was sold at- Covent Garden re--cently for £14. It was the finest appW seen at the market this year-—a Mundi, weighing no less than 27<)z, ana;, measuring 163, in ronncl and sin high. It>i was put. up to anction in aid of the Char-J ing Cross Hospital. The bidding started.'] at one guinea, and. after keen compete tk>n, it was knocked down at £14. 3 George Anstey, aged 12, a. cripple, o£! Leicester, is one of the most rociarkabioy cydiits in the country. Both his legs are? withered and useless, hut the Leicester} Cripples' Guild has? provided him with ai two-wheeled pedalless m.ichine, with ;W padded tube covering the axle-bar J Across this he lies face foremost, ancq with wooden clogs strapped to his han3s( ho propels himself along the streets- and! roads in a marvellously rapid manner. He> has complete control ©£ tile machine, nisi bands acting as geJHr Ja . ,