GENERAL NEWS ITEMS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20235, 20 April 1929, Page 3 (Supplement)

GENERAL NEWS ITEMS.

THE WRONG CAPTAIN EVANS. There arc two men in tlie House of Commons owning to tlie nanio of Evans, and both arc captains—Captain Arthur Evans am] Captain Ernest Evans. The similarity has led to an amusing error. Captain Arthur Evans recently went to tlih West Indies with a Parliamentary delegation. When ho and his wife reached Trinidad, to their utter amazement, they/ found a number of cablegrams congratulating them on the arrival of a new baby ! PRINCES AND FASHIONS. What the/King's sons wear is of deep interest, not only to the young men of England, but throughout Europe. Their taste in clothes iias a quick reflection on prevailing fashions, and each of them has p style of his own. Prfnce George is particularly followed by tall young men. He dresses to suit himself, and persists in wearing a large butterfly tie with "tails" and an evening shirt with two button-holes. The Prince of Wales varies his evening formula from season to season. Ue is known, bo wever, as a "one button" man.

INTEREST AT 1400 PER CENT. When a woman money-lender, a widow, . !*as fined £2O at Salford, for carrying on business without a licence, it was Raid that she charged a woman, who borrowed £l, interest at the rate of 1400 per cent. A detective said that the woman caused trouble in several working people's homes. The women, who had borrowed from her, however, were reluctant to appear in court for fear that their husbands might know. Other cases quoted, showed that borrowers repaid at the rate Pf 1300 and 346 per cent. WHEN HATS WERE TAXED. Tha first man in England to wear a tall fcat of the "topper" variety was arrested. Its appearance on the streets of London created a sensation, and it was stated in Court that the extraordinary and terrible Eight caused some women to faint. The hat, as an article of man's attire, was invented in Paris by a Swiss in 1404. They became very popular. It used to be the custom of Popes, in Solemn conclave on Christmas Eve, to bless hats of violet silk, lined with einunf: and embroidered with gold and jewels, flhcsc blessed hats were sent to oririces ®nd commanders of armies as a high token pf favour. Hie Jews (if Spain were formerly compelled to wear yellow hats, and in many <o\vll s in Germany bankrupts had to wear green and yellow hats. Hats were first manufactured in England in 1510, and Pntil 1785 were heavily taxed. EPIDEMICS OF INFLUENZA. If is stated that (he name influenza perpetuates one of the earliest guesses at the origin of tho disease —that of the Italians, who blamed the " influence " the stars for the seventeenth century tpidemic. 'J here is still an uncertainity as (o |he causes of influenza though one no longers looks for them in the stars. The Uncertainity is natural enough, so baffling a re soiiip of the influenza epidemics. For Instance, that of 1889 started simultaneously m Central Asia, Greenland, and North-West Canada—places thousands of lilies apart—and then spread all over the >vor!u lhe 191b visitation, one of the most Virulent on record —there were as many 2400 deaths from the disease in one £eek j n j ioric j 011 alone—raged throughout Europe, the United States, India, New Zealand and Australia.

PRINCE AS NOVEL READER. In a West End bookseller's recently a journalist noticed the Prince of Wales unostentatiously selecting an armful of the latest novels. The heir to the throne is an omnivorous reader, whose taste ranges from veterinary manuals to detective stories. The Prince chiefly reads whe» travelling. but probably ho also likes a book last thing at night, for a set of bookshelves has just been built in his bedroom at York House. WOMAN ALONE IN THE DESERT. Desert terrors have no meaning for Miss Ada Bovland, who has gone from England to Arabia to spend some months alone among the wild tribesmen of Transjordania. She will call upon the Emir Abdullah, ruler of the country, and then strike with her camels and Arab servants into the Hauran mountains in search of the Berii-Sakr, the Druses, and the Bedouins. " If you trust the natives," Miss Boyland says, they will do anything for you. I never wear jewellery or carry much money, so they are not tempted to robbery, and I never go armed."

MEDALS PRESENTED TO DOGS. Honey, a poodle, could only wag a tail when presented with one of the two medals given for meritorious deeds in 1928 by the Boston Animal Rescue League at its annual meeting. The recipient of the second medal, Major King Yukon, a German shepherd dog, looked every inch a hero as his citation was read. Honey one night barked until not only his master and mistress and six children, but also a neighbouring family were awakened during a fire. Major King Yukon was also a fire hero, having barked and tugged at his mistress until she was awakened and warned of an outbreak in her apartment.

BEAUTY BY THE WAY. Gorse and broom, osiers and poplars are being planted in great numbers along some of the new arterial roads in Britain. There is a double object in this. In some places —Middlesex, for instance—the slopes of banks and cuttings have, a tendency to slide, and quick-growing plants check this. Then, the plants themselves will be pleasant to look at and will help to " make " the new highways from an artistic point of view. Some of the older roads in England are unequalled for quiet beauty anywhere in the world, and at certain seasons both sides of them are ablaze with blossom. The old-world country lanes especially are a revelation to visitors from abroad. Golden willow, hawthorn, laburnum, berberis, double cherry, and crab apple are also being used in roadside " decoration "

schemes. WORLD'S JUNIOR JEWEL. A black opal, two and half inches long and two inches wide, was recently valued in England, at about £IO,OOO. This is an amazing figure, for when the first black opals wero discovered the dealers would not pay more than £2 an ounu,' for them. , Australia, the most famous source of op ah) in the world, is the homo of the black variety. Tho earliest specimens were discovered about twenty-six years ago, so that it is really the youngest of the gems. According to some experts, the black is the most beautiful of the four varieties of opal that Australia produces. it has been predicted that the blackopal will ultimattely become the costliest gem on earth. It derives its namo from the fact that, it held so that tho light will pass directly through it, it appears jet biaciv

MAGISTRATE PAYS A FINE. After having fined Thomas Humphries, an unemployed- labourer, 10s for having kept a dog without a licence, a Sheffield magistrate paid the fine and gave Humphries 7s 6d to take out a licence. Humphries had stated that ho could not afford to pay for the licence, as unemployment relief was his sole income. The clog was greatly attached to his crippled daughter, who would bo lonely if it wcro taken away. She could rarely attend school, and .she was often alone iu the house except for tlio <l"g. DETECTIVE'S WONDERFUL POCKETS "Detective-Inspector Burt, who always accompanies the Prince of Wales, is known among his intimates as the "general supply stores." His pockets resemble those of a small boy. Out of the way things that arc needed at a moment's notice ho supplies with the casual certainty of a post-ollico clerk handing out a postage stamp. In Mr. Hurt's pockets arc such things as pieces of string, scaling wax, an electric torch, a foot rule, a ready reckoner, time-tables of local railways, rubber erasers, pins (safety and ordinary), needles — in fact, he is something between a small boy and a general dealer.

TULIPS IN NEW COLOURS. There is a craze just now not only for realistic artificial flowers but also for producing real flowers of a hue other than that ordained by nature. This takes a great deal of experimental work on a large scale, generally without success. One grower in the Midlands has, however, been so successful with his tulips of unusual colours that he is inundated with orders. He has grown green, orange, pink and flesh coloured tulips, and his latest is of an electric blue shade that is entirely new to gardeners. They are not "dipped" in any way; they attain their colouring by a secret process which is jealously guarded by the grower. Dutch growers, especially, would give much to know it. BRITAIN'S BUSY DOCKS. Around the greater part of the British coast stretches a chain of railway docks of the utmost importance to the foreign trade of the country. These great docks feed, and are fed by, their owners—the railways. The gross tonnage of steamships entering and leaving railway-owned docks is over 60,000,000 tons a year, while the tonnage of imports and exports aggregates 90.000,000 tons annually. From these docks frequent services of railway-owned passenger steamers afford services for both passengers and freight with (ho Continent, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, both by day and night. In Britain there are 168 docks, harbors and wharves,, with a water area of 2459 acres and a quay frontage of 550,500 ft., owned by the railway companies. A " BIG MAN " OP THE SEA. The " big man " of the Merchant Service is undoubtedly Sir Arthur Roslron, •captain of the Berengaria, who has lately received the French Legion of Honour. Besides being a K.B.E. and Commodore of tho Cunard Line, Sir Arthur is an aide-de-camp to tho King, tho first merchant seaman to be so honoured, and a former commander of -the Mauretania, in which ho crossed the Atlantic nearly 250 times. When he was captain of the Carpathia in 1912 Sir Arthur Rostron rescued 868 people from the sinking Titanic. Fortius lie received a loving cup from the survivors, a gold medal from tho United States Congress, and a cheque for £2OOO subscribed by admiring Americans. Immediately his vessel docks at New York or Southampton, Sir Arthur removes his cap and says a short prayer of thankfulness for a safe crossing.

THE " TRUDGEON " STROKE. Tlio origin of tho namo " trudgcon," applied to tlio overhand stroke in swimming, as distinct from the breast stroko and tho side stroke, lias often given riso to questions. It seemed to l»o one of thoso words which sound like the action they denote. " Tnulgcon " suggested laborious effort. The stroke was first practised by a man named Trudgeon, a fitter employed on shipbuilding m tho Isle of Dogs and Woolwich Arsenal. J lis name fitted his invention quito well. REMARKABLE POLICE TASK. One of tho most remarkable tasks ever undertaken in connection with a murder inquiry has been carried out in Southampton at tho request of tho Scotland Yard detectives investigating the death of Vivian Messiter, who was found dead in a garage. Tho water supply to tlio vast sewage mains of tlio town has been cut off, and men wearing waders have searched tho mains to iind an ordinary Yale-pattern key. Tho key, it is thought, may have been dropped down a drain. It is the one by which tho garago was locked after tlio murder. lis discovery would fix the district in which it was discarded. This would bo of great help to tho police in view of other information in their possession. BEAUTY 2400 YEARS AGO. In an Etruscan tomb of 400 8.C., presumably belonging to a woman, the following objects were recently found liougo pots, broken mirrors of silvered bronze. Tl lo " Grotto Bella," a tomb excavated at the ancient town of Caere, contains a sarcophagus in which a woman's skeleton hits been discovered. Buried with the skeleton were two amphorae, some tarnished gold and jewels, ornaifcented brooclfes, and some small pieces of leather 011 which designs had been worked. Inside tho Grotto are handsome wall frescoes, tho colours of which are still vivid, although they are about 2400 years old. Search is still being made at Cervertori, tho modern town standing on the site oE the ancient Caere, and discoveries of interest are often made. COLORADO'S " MIRACLE ROCK." One of the largest balanced rocks in the world is Miracle Rock, near Grand Junction, Colorado. Towering over 75ft. above its small base, it stands on tho very brink of a cliff overlooking tho valley of the Little Dolores River, in Glade l'ark. Occasionally balanced rocks are of a piece with ihc strata on which they rest, the "neck" between the two often being" due to acolion or wind-blown sand erosion. Generally, however, these rocks arc glacially transported boulders deposited in precarious positions by the ice. Of these a few have happened to come to rest in such a position that massive as they are a child can teeter them. Miracle Rock may stand a few more thousands of yoais, but in a short time, geologically speaking, it will go crashing to the valley below. ERRORS AT THE MINT. Tho Royal Mint, Tower Hill, London, contains specimens of some curious errors which have been made in its coins. When tho florin was coined for tho first time in 1849 it was found that the letters " D.G." had been omitted, and the dies had to bo changed. In 1887, when some new sixpences were coined, there were many complaints of tho alarming resemblance the reverse side bore to that of a half-sover-eign, and tho sixpences were immediately withdrawn. It was said that the coinage of 1887 made Queen Victoria look ridiculous. She was represented as an elderly, austoro woman with a tiny crown stuck jauntily on tlio back of her head. After a committeo appointed by tho Chancellor of the, Exchequer had gravely reported on the subject tho coinage was withdrawn* I