MULTUM IN PARVO.

Otago Witness, Issue 2244, 4 March 1897, Page 40

MULTUM IN PARVO.

— The British troops abroad suffer most from bronchitis in Canada and least in St. Helena. — The potato was found under cultivation, And with the appearance of ancient usage, at the time of the discovery of America. It is •till found wild along the west coast of South America, south of the Equator, which is believed to be the region of its origin. — Night blindness is a peculiar affection of the eye, in which the patient sees very well during the day, but becomes blind as night approaches. It is mostly met with in warm climates, and usually gives way to mild treatment. — During 1895 the United Kingdom imported from 20 foreign countries and British possessions 1,526,000,000 eggs (80,551 tons), valued at £4,000,000. — Fair-haired people are becoming less numerous than formerly The ancient Jews were * fair*baired race ; now they are, with Few exceptions, dark. So it is in a lesser degree with the Irish, among whom 150 years •go a dark-haired person was almost unknown, ■ — Size for size, a thread of spider silk is : decidedly tougher than a bar of steel. An | ordinary thread will bear a weight of three grains. This is just about 50 per cent, stronger than a steel thread of the same thickness. — A good railway engine will travel about j 1,000,000 miles before it wears out. However, the life of an engine depends as to its length upon the treatment it receives. With ordinary care it ought to last 12 years. — Every wind that blow* is caused by the heated and expanding air of some looality < rising, while tha cooler air rushes in to fill its , place. — It is intimated that the Shah of Persia ias announced that, owing to the necessity for reorganising the administration of bis kingdom, he cannot think of carrying out his projected visit to Europe before 1900. — Every ton of Atlantic water, when evaporated, yields 811b of salt ; a ton of Pacific water, 791b ; Arctic and Antarctic w&ters yield 851b to the ton ; and Dead Sea water, 1871b. ; — The heart of the common oak begins to sot at about the age of 300 years. The holly oak is longer lived. — One of the finest private collections of I birds in England is owned by Mr H. Stivens, of Chester, who has for 60 years been j an ardent naturalist. Mr Stiren* if now 77, j Ibut is yet" able to walk and shoot with any Sportsman in Cheshire. — One of the reasons why the army of no other nation is clothed in scarlet in the same way as the British is that material of this particular colour can be manufactured satisfactorily only in Eogland. The water of the West of England lends itself to the dyeing of this cloth as no other water does. | — Hair dye is considered so detrimental to j long life that a certain continental assurance J [company refuses to insure the lives of persons using it. ' —It is estimated that each seal consumes an Average of 101b of fish daily. — More than 6000 species of plants are cultivated, and most of these have been broken up into varied forms by the hand of man. Horticulturists create new species and show numbers of cultivated plants of which no one knows the original form. — The specie room on ocean steamships is usually 16ft long, 10ft wide, and Bft high. It Is formed of steel plates a quarter of an inch thick, with a steel door, which has a burglarproof combination lock. — Rheumatism is most severe in Denmark, Where 70 deaths in 10,000 are from this disease. — According to Oriental tradition, Noah's tomb is in the small town of Nakhitchevan, Hear the foot of Mount Ararat. It is said to be a niche in the wall of an abandoned fortreis. — The Japanese are now getting used to glass. At first glass in a railway oarriage window had to be smeared with streaks of 'white paint to keep passengers from poking their heads through it. —An eminent London physician has obtained good results in dressing burns with friilk. Compresses are soaked with milk and laid on the burn, to be removed night and Anoroing. — During the war between the Macedonians jind the Romans both parties met peaceably on the island of Delos, the reputed birthplace of Apollo, and offered sacrifices together to the deity of the island. — Stone steps may be kept free from greenpeas, and will become less slippery, by adding a small quantity of chloride of lime to a pail of Water when washing them. — The chemical constituents of the mushroom aro almost identical with those of meat, and it possesses the same nourishing properties. — The ear of the elephant, like his eye, is very email in proportion to the size of the 'animal, although the flap of skin which covers it is often of considerable size. The hearing of trhe elephant, however, is singularly acute. — The American army numbers only 25,000 tnen. — The largest telescope in the world is that heing made by M. Deloncle for the Paris Exhibition. The mirror measures near 80in in diameter. It is as yet in a rough, unfinished state, and has already cost £4000, and it is j estimated that the finishing process, which it will take a couple of years to complete, will bring the cost to about £10,000. — Tha baya bird, a native of India, spends his spare time in catching mammoth fireflies, which he fastens to the sides of his nest with moist clay. On a dark night a baya's nest is jttid to look like an electric street lamp. — Church bells are tuned by chipping the edge until the proper note is obtained. — Within a few weeks the 12 turn bridges in Chicago between Twelfth street and the lake will be changed from steam to electric power. Jit is claimed the change will save the city lOOOdol per month. ; — If a well could be dug to a depth of 46 miles, the air at the bottom would be as dense as quicksilver. — It is said that birds are nearly as sensitive in their likes and dislikes as dogs. Some people can never gain the friendship of a caged Bird. A bird has to learn by experience that it pa safe with a human being before it will respond to kind treatment. — A certain scientist says that the absence of wisdom teeth is common among the criminal class. — The uniforms of the Scottish regular and militia kilted regiments, according to the j TJnder-secretary of State for War, cost £15,000 more than the uniforms of the same number of infantry regiments wearing tronsers, — A reoent pamphlet on railways states that there are 391 depot* and stations within the lunite of London. — Electrioity in motor form has robbed teeth-filling of much of its former terror. The pork is done in one-fourth the time. The ballet, driven at a high rate of speed, is almost painless, when compared to the old )i»nd or foot beadle prooess.

— A machine has been inveut d which counts 500,000 postcards in 10 hour.», wrapping and tying the same in packages of 25 each. They are neatly wrapped in paper, and the slriog securely tied, all by machinery. ' — Compressed air his long been kn*wn to be the best way, theoretically, to nbore forra for use in transportation. There is no waste and no deterioration. The need is a cheap and efficient motor to apply compreised air to city transportation. — A simple method of measuring heights in the interior of churches and other buildings consists in Attaching a graduated string or tape to a small balloon such as is easily obtainable anywhere. ' — Food is served in one of the London restaurants on electrically heated plates, so that the guests can eat leisurely and still have the viands continue warm until the close of the meal. — Astronomers say that 1,000,000 " shooting stars " fall into the sun for every one that comes into our atmosphere. ! — The longest distance at which the long distance telephone is now practically operated ■ is from Boston to St. Louis, a distance of 1400 ', miles. This is twice as long as any European j line. I — One trade that has been practically ruined by the cycle is that of making walking sticks. — Extreme heat is more fatal to human life than extreme cold. * — Blotting paper is made of cotton rags which have been boiled in soda. I — More than 10,000 persons are engaged in the manufacture of explosives in England. Last year 40 persons in the business were killed and 167 injured by accidents. — From the top of tne cathedral spire in Mexico you can see the entire city, and the j most striking feature of the view is the absence ,of chimneys. There is not a chimney in all Mexico ; not a grate, nor a stove, nor a furnace. All the cooking is done with charcoal in Dutch ovens, and while the gas is sometimes offensive, one soon becomes used to it. 5—5 — There have been over 60 lions in the London "Zoo" the lait 50 years, many being presents from the Queen or members of the • Royal Family. — Bread as a daily article of food is used by only about one-third of the 1,500,000,000 people that constitute the present population of the earth. — Bats are most curiously constructed, the heart's action being aided by the rhythmic contractions of the veins of the winga. — The value of British ships and cargoes lost every year at sea is about £7,000,000. — A blind bidder at a recent sale at Christie's is, it seems, not alone in his singularity. For several years there has been one in Wigan, who, in addition to being blind, has lost both arms. A friend takes him round the lots in the saleroom and describes the various articles ; and anything he requires to be fully satisfied about is held up to him and j passed along his mouth. Notwithstanding his j double affliction, he is said to be a remarkably | good-tempered and even jovial fellow, and can enter into keen competition for anything he takes a fancy to.