NEWS IN BRIEF.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20650, 23 August 1930, Page 1 (Supplement)

NEWS IN BRIEF.

Switzerland has nearly 13 million fruit trees. On New York's 1,750,000 telephones there aro on an average 100 calls a second* According to old acts of Parliament still in forco in Britain, coconut-shies aro illegal. Retaining a policeman to escort children across a busy street in London costs £3OO a year. Wrestling matches between women aro the latest exhibition offered to sensation seekers in Paris. \ man who does no work can In 0 on 16oz. of food daily, but a labourer requires from 270z. to 30oz. For every ton of steel which is made in British foundries, four tons of coal have to be hewn in mines. Silver foxes and other fur-bearing animals are now being bred for their skin 3 on over 500 farms in Germany. In spite of popular belief, it is stated that Frenchwomen use less make-up than women of any othet civilised race. Approximately £111,774 is to be spent on medical and dental treatment for London school children during 1930-31. Snakes, frogs, and tadpoles are deaf, but lizards have very keen ears, while turtles can hear well even under water. Four hundred guests consumed over 12,000 oysters, which took 17 men all the morning to open, at the Colchester oyster feast. Local authorities are being invited by the Roads Improvement Association in Britain to make street names more conspicuous. The Russian Government is to nationalise private seagoing ships of Over 50 tons capacity and lake and river ships of over r 25 tons. ; - A metal found in South-West Africa, and known as zinc-blende, produces a bright light when struck or rubbed, even under water. Four thousand clubs in Berlin, representing 250,000 members, have supported a rally arranged by the National Council of Girls' Clubs. Furs are being dyed practically any colour in Britain, so that fashionable women may now have a special fur to wear with every gown. Of the 80,000 tons of blended butter sold in Britain every-year, about threequarters of this contains a proportion of inferior butter from abroad. A 60-vear-old woman who applied to the Cardigan Board of Guardians. Wales, for a pair of boots, stated that the pair she was wearing were 27 years old. y Thcre are two churches within the Tower of London; St. Peter and Vincula, near the site of the scaffold, and St. John/ inside tbo White Tower. People in England drink only half a pound of coffee per heacL of the population every year. - The consumption in America is 131b per head per year. No fewer than 37,000,000 poppies and 20,000 poppy wreaths were made at the British Legion poppy factories in preparation for Armistice Day last year.

The Bridge of Ten Thousand Ages, at Foochow, China, which is more than eight centuries old, is 1350 ft. long, and is built of slabs of granite, some of them 45ft. in length. The number of motor-cars stolen in Great Britain last year was seven times as great as in 1925. In Loudon alone 3155 cars were stolen; of tlieso 3041 were recovered. Excavations at Jericho have uncovered the famous wall of that city, showing the platforms on which the Canaanito archers defended themselves against the Israelites. --: r "100 A 1 at Lloyd's" denotes the highest classification assigned to iron and steel ships, 100 A denoting the condition cf . the hull, while 1 denotes the efficiency of. | the equipment. A woman, aged 28, 6ft 9in in height ? and still growing, has applied to tha hospital at Cluy to have her growth stopped. She is under observation, but is in good health. " A man is ' under the influence o! drink' within ten minutes of taking any alcohol," said a medical authority, giving evidence in England . before the Licensing Commission. Bringing Africa within* 30 hours of London by connection through the Air Union Golden Bay Service, a new airway is to be operated daily between Marseilles aud Algiers. Mr. Hugh S. Jenkins, of San Diego, California, has travelled more than 'OOO miles with the sole object of finding the caddie who went round a Manchester golf course with him 12 months ago. While the physical condition of American men is beginning to decline after the age of forty, Britons show, on an average, a distinct improvement rather than any deterioration after that age. An increase of 3,250.000 Bibles in the number sold last year is reported by the British and Foreign Bible Society, the total reaching 12,000,000, the _ largest number in the history of the society. To place one grain of wheat on the first squaro of a chess board, two on the second four on the- third, eight on the fourth, and so on, 18,466,744,073,709,551,615 grains would be required for the 64 squares. Britain's output of coal during the week ending December 28, 1929, was 3 420.000 tons, with 945,900 workers, as compared with 5,647,200 tons the week before, when there were 949,400 workers.

France's oldest war veteran, M. Louis Mathon, who received an English decoration from Queen Victoria at the time .; of tho Crimean War, has died at Licques, near Boulogne, at the age of--103. Russia has a network of 7500 miles of regular flying routes, her line between Moscow and Irkutsk being the longest regular air route in the world. It covers a total distance of over 3000 miles. An airman who lately paced a vulture found that it can fly at 110 miles an hour. Many birds attain* great speeds in their flight. Swallows average 200 miles an hour, and ducks and geese can often reach 100 miles an hour. r The White Star Line has made arrangements for tho installation of shot twave radio telephone equipment in the Olympic, and passengers will be able to telephone from mid-ocean to their homes or places of business. Legion of Honour. D.5.0.. Croix de Guerre, Order of St. Maurice and St. Lazarus (Italy) and Order of Avia (Portugal) are the decorations held by Brigadier J. 1?. S. Blind, appointed Major-General, Royal Artillery, India. There have not been any additions made to. London's Roll of Fame since 1884, and a movement is on foot to have it brought up-to-date by the addition "oE tho names of those statesmen, explorers, scientists, soldiers and sailors whom tho city has honoured. A feature of the International Association of Garment Manufacturers held in Chicago was a suit with a stop-loss-pocket. According to tho inventor, anybody wearing a suit with this tvpe of pocket can stand on his head and then right himself without losing a dime. In three army" ccntVes in Great | Britain, whore time-expired soldiers aro taught somo trade, about 300 men aro trained every year, the vocations ranging from valeting and waiting .at table to electric wiring, building, motor building, and all forms of painting and decorating.