MULTUM IN PARVO

Otago Witness, Issue 2010, 1 September 1892, Page 36

MULTUM IN PARVO

— Of 32 patents which have been granted in America for inventions designed to utilise the power of ocean waves, one-half have been granted to residents in the State of California. This is probably due in large measure to the high price "of coal in that State. Victor Hugo records in his notes that when he was at Brussels he refused to visit the battle field of Waterloo. To him it represented not only the triumph of Europe over France, but "the complete, absolute, startling, incontestable, and final sovereign triumph of mediocrity over genius." — There was an interesting discovery of remains of mammoths and other prehistoric animals under the streets in the heart of London lately. Workmen *who were excavating the Btreets for sewerage works, came upon the remains at a depth of 22ft below the surface. — Many life insurance companies have refused to insure women, but two leading companies of New York have placed Mrs Juana Neal, of California, in charge of their women's department, and given her the organisation of the work in the Pacific Coast States with a yearly salary of L2OOO. —In steel bridges the greatest stress allowed by the Board oE Trade is not more than 6£ tons per square inch. — Benares, the religious centre of all India since countless generations before Christ, is described as a city which bear 3 the same relation to Hinduism, or Budhism, that Bethelhem did and does to Christendom. Its origin cannot, it is said, be traced by man. It was occupied by hundreds of thousands of people over 6ix centuries before our Christian era.

— Chalk is in reality composed of diminutive fossils. If one takes the smallest of pieces and places it under a powerful microscope, there is immediately presented an infinite number of extremely diminutive shells, wonderfully perfect in their separate formation. — It is stated that not a single accident has happened on the Holland railways since women were appointed switch-tenders. — A joint committee of the two houses of the English Parliament has reported electricity a suitable and efficient source of motive power, and recommended that electric railway construction be encouraged throughout England. — It has been ever believed that mankind has gone on steadily degenerating in height, strength, beauty, manners, and morals, " ali the time." Seeing that the process has been going ori for 2500 years at least— since the annals hark back thus far— it is rather awesome to think, how good and big and lovely the race must once have been. — National Observer.

— A German man of science says that the lands in Germany devoted to grains used in beer/ production would support 50,000,000 people. — The recent mobbing of G. A. Salain Hyde' Park, London, was caused by an article on " Servants " which appeared in Sala's Journal, and of which the following is an extract: — " Depend upon it, if the plague of bad servants continues in England we shall hare to engage more and more aliens as domestics. Of coarse it will be 'dreadfully un-English' to have Italian or Chinese cooks, French ladies' maids, Swiss parlourmaids, and Dutch or German housemaids."

— The Americans assert that, considering the length of the run, they have now the fastest train in the world. This is the Empire State Express, which leaves New York at 9 a.m. and reaches Buffalo, 439*6 miles, in 8P668 P 66 hours— a rate of 507 miles an hour including stops. The train consists of an engine and four cars, and weighs about 230 tons. The weight of engine is 60 tons, on drivers 40 tons.

— At a loss for a new motive for a gamble, two members of a Paris club deposited 100 louis each with the secretary, also their watches, both, timed to the same minute. He was to retain them for two hours, at the end of which time, having dined, they called for the watches, and the one whose watch was in advance of the time of the other took the louis.

— , The number of men who presented themselves for enlistment during 1891 was 69,902 ; but of these only 36,003 were actually enlisted, 10,930 having failed to come up for attestation, and 'the remainder being medically rejected. During the year 5916 courts martial were held at Home, arid 7666 fines for drunkenness were inflicted.

—In London the other day, the Southeastern Railway Company was asked L 1,250,000, 250,000 for a small and practically useless peice of ground in Bermondsey. The land is about 16ft in depth and comprises an area of 4134 superficial , feet ; so that the claim is at the rate of over L 13,000,000 an acre.

— A million matches are used in Europe every 12 minutes. — A new Jkind of submarine boat has been launched at Savona by an Italian engineer, Signor Abbatti, which is designed for fishing and recovering lost property. It is driven by im electric screw, and is capable of remaining under water about six hours at a depth of 330 ft.

— • About one-half the area of Algiers, which comprises 330,000 square miles in the boundaries of Sahara, is being put under successful cultivation by means of artesian well irrigation. . There are now over 13,000 wells in active operation. The sun gives 600,000 times as much light as the moon, 7,000,000,000 as much as the brightest stir, and 36,000,000 as. much as all the stars combined give to the earth. In size the sun equals 1,300,000 earths, but, owing to smaller density, its weight equals only 300,000[earths. Prince Roland Bonaparte has installed a meteorological station in the valley of the Oned Rhir, Sahara, where observations are now being conducted to determine the conditions of climate suitable for the eultivatien of date palms. _l-~ Britain signifies " the country of tin," great quantities being found in it. The Greeks called it Albion, which signifies either " white" or "high," from the whiteness of its shores or the high rocks on the western coast. — Roughly speaking, there are in Ulster about 47 per cent, of Roman Catholics and 53 per cent, of all other denominations. — Sixty-two boys have committed suicide in the streets of Berlin during the past 14 months. Of these, 54 were under 15, and one had not reached the age of seven.

— Rome was not only for ages the ruling city of the civilised world, but throughout its existence never entirely lost its primacy — its place, that is to say, as the centre of things, the one point on the planet which mankind never forgot, and the opinion of which was never without a commanding influence. — Spectator.

— A Sussex, England, horticultural correspondent announces, on the authority of his vicar, that nine out of ten among the humbler brides swear to "love and honour cherries and a berry." The soldering of aluminium, which has long been a difficult problem, has been recently solved. By spriDkling the surfaces to be soldered with chloride of silver and melting down, the soldering is effected simply and satisfactorily.

— One of the most extraordinary collections of walking sticks ever made wa3 formed by Robertson, of Kincraigie, who was popularly supposed to be " daft." It was his practice to carve on his stick the head of any friend or foe he met with, and in time he owned quite a portrait gallery of wooden heads, which proved the cause of much wonderment to his visitors, for every batch ' he entertained had their features promptly reproduced in oak orhazel!

— Heligolanders are by no means reconciled to their lot since annexation to Germany, and are full of grievances and troubles of all kinds ; many of them would like to leave their native place and go to England to enter the English navy, but cannot afford the expense ef the journey over. — The proportionate number of births in Russia is nearly double that of France ; while the German population increases faster than that of any other country. ' — A company engaged in the manufacture of explosives in New York has for sale now small bombs, about the size of sausages, with which, it is alleged, the farmer can bring down small showers of rain whenever he sees clouds over his land.

— Few blue-eyed . people are said to be colour blind, and we are told that women as a rule have better eyesight than men ; but, on the other hand, three women have false teeth to every two men that wear them. — The Russian Government is preparing a bill intended to stamp out Mohammedanism by means of harsh measures, such as those appli ed to the Jews.

— All gold found in Siberia has to bo sold immediately to the Government, who buy it at the current prices of St. Petersburg. A mine owner is not permitted to sell to a private individual, nor even to have the smallest amount in his possession beyond a certain time. If he should desire to keep a small nugget, say, as a curiosity, he must "buy" it from the Government.

— The effect of the Free Education Act upon the schools of England and Wales has been unexpectedly gratifying. Out of a total of 19,000 schools affected by the act, it is estimated that between 15,000 and 16,000 are now absolutely free, and the attendance has largely increased, especially among younger children. — The pupils of the eyes are constantly changing under the various physical states and the passions of the mind. This is well seen in the case of a highly-sensitive child brought into the presence of strangers, when the rapid oscillations of the pupils indicate the various mental changes which he or 6he is undergoing, such as alarm alternating with confidence. — Magazine of Art. — The incandescent electric light is claimed by authorities to be the most satisfactory artificial light known to science. The arc light should never be used for indoor illumination, being detrimental to the eyes. — With the disappearance of Mr Gladstone, the House of Commons will be a very common house — if something in the nature of a pun may be admitted. No figure since that of Charles James Fox has so attracted and impressed men. Beside Gladstone men like Peel, Palmerston, and Russell seem commonplace. The tone is superior, the personality greater. — Radical Review.

— Along the West African Coast there are now 200 Protestant churches and 35,000 pupils. Thirty - five dialects or languages have been mastered into which portions of the Scripture . and religious books and tracts have been translated and printed, and some knowledge of the Gospel has reached about 8,000,000 of benighted Africans. — There are 500,000,000 people in the world who bow to the Buddhist faith — worshipping as devoutly as ever Christian worshipped Christ.

— All honourable medical men will not grow rich by secret remedies; they will not use them ; they will not countenance them. They unitedly and voluntarily contract themselves out of the use of them. Nay, more, they mutually and heartily agree that, if the knowledge of any new or secret remedy comes into their possession they will ab once make it known, and that, without charge, to all their medical brethren, for the benefit of the whole world . — Hospital. — It is claimed that the anchor lost by one of Columbus' ships on the night of August 2, 1498, off the Island of Trinidad, has been recently unearthed on that island. — Mme. Blavatsky's ashes are now placed in three fine brass urns. One of these reposes in the London headquarters of the Theosophical Society in Avenue road, N.W. Another, having been transferred to India, has been placed in the headquarters at Madras. The third, under the keeping of Mr Judge, the leader of the American Theosophists, will shortly be placed in a niche covered with glass in the wall of the principal lodge in New York.