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Otago Daily Times, Issue 13835, 23 February 1907, Page 5

—Nearly- half the railway mileage of the globe (533,000 miles) lies ■within- the confines of the United; States of America—'viz., 212,350 miles. How insignificant in camparison are Continental pretensions in this direction is revealed by tho fact that Russia and Germany, vying for second place, havo 0n1y,34,130 and 34,000 mikss respectively to their credit. India, Austro-Hungary, and Prance are all the superiors of the United Kingdom, which can only boast of 22,634 miles of metals. Regarding gross receipts, however, Great Britain occupies a moro enviable position. Whilo the United States totals a sum of £395,000,000, with receipts per mile £1860, the British Islands" can boast of £111,800,000, with receipts per milo £4940; and Russia's gross receipts, with about ±2,000 more miles of lino than we possess, reach less than a third of our figure I

—A quaint custom is still in vogue in winter at Bainbridge, a Yorkshire village. Every night at 9 o'clock a huije hqrn. is blown on the village green, so that anyone lost or rambling on tho surrounding foils may bo guided to safety. Very v/eloomo has the sound often been to many a wayfarer loat in snow or fog on the checrle6s moors. —The soil of Cuba is generally admitted to bo the most fruitful in tho world.. Cabbages there are so largo that heads weigh--ing 201b each are common. All vegetables thrive there. Radishes may bo eaten from 14 to 18 days after sowing, lettuce in five weeks after sowing, while corn ■ produces three crops per year. Sweet potatoes grow all the year.

—An eight-year-old hoy, who. speaks four languages fluently, has been admitted to.tho Brookline, Mass., High School. His name i 3 William Jamea Sidis, and ho Is thought to bo the youngest High School boys in the United States. As well as knowing five languages, ho has a remark-' able knowledge of mathematics and physics, —No less than 1,500,000 tons' of food enters London yearly by way of tho Thames.