MULTUM IN PARVO.

Otago Witness, Issue 2284, 9 December 1897, Page 40

MULTUM IN PARVO.

Bonaparte's, house at Long wood, St. Heleua, is now a barn ; the room he died in is a stable ; and where the imperial body lay in state may be found a machine for grinding com. — Someone declares that in 50 years' time there will not be a single tree in America. Each year it takes 500,000 acres of timber to supply sleepers for the railways. — Women have a greater tendency than men to accumulate fat ; it sppears that while

men attain their maximum •we l ght at about 40,

women, whose growth terminates a*, a distinctly earlier period than tbafc of men, keep on iacreasing their weight till the age of 50, or even beyond.— 3. F. Nisbet. — A strip of land nearly half a mile JoDg and an eighth of a mile wide is said to be floating in the Pacific Ocean off tbe point of Cape Flattery. The captain of a ftNhing schooner repoits that tome months ago his vessel was almost run down by tbe floating island. — The Cathedral of St. Paul is the most important example of Ihe late Renaissance in England. It was 35 jears in building, and although 60me details and the ornament generally iodine to the Baroque, the building as a whole is oce of the finest and most impressive works ever produced in any country. — J.

— The shortest )nan in the world is Robert Hodge, a native of the island of Auguilla, one of the British West Indian possessions. He is pure black,- measures 28Ln in height — that is, 3in shorter, than G^noral Tom Thumb— weighs a little over 3sfc, and is very healthy. He •is

Baid to be about 30 years of age. . — A cashier of a London bank claims to be vab'.e to reproduce a signature «t a single glance. He sajs the •• knack " depends largely upon the handling of the pen like the original writer. — A Chicago company is working on a new horseless carriage. Mr Overman considers that others who have studied the matter have made a mistake in following the models of vehicles built for horses. He began on the suppoeition that no horses had been used, and banished all idea of shafts' or dashboards. Japanese officers who fought in the late war against China have petitioned their Government to erect a monument to the memory of the horses that fell in battle. "More men have died and are buried in the Isthmus of Panama, along the line of the proposed canal, than on any ejual amount of territory in the world. — A large number of advanced people, Socialists and others, are possessed with the idea that the effect of travelling facilities, which have extended enormously during the Victorian era and are still growing, will be, in course of time, to sweep away frontiers and to blend all the civilised peoples of the earth into one big happy family. — Toe Referee. During 1896 the British Government called in £2,400,000 worth of l«gb<3 gold coiu, and rehabilitated it at a cost of £33.000. — The entire coast line of the globe is said to be about 136,000 miles. " .. — In the Forth Bridge there is a horizontal ' pull of 10,000 tons on the chief span", and a , wtightof 100,000 tons on their bases. Half a t doz^n British ironclads, might, be hung upon ' Iherii without causing any undue strain. —Mr Hiram' Maxim has jast completed » • naval -or coast'defence automatic rapid firing, gun which projects a shell' weighing 91b a ' BisUnce of over three miles. It is claimed for

■ this weapon that it has a rapidity of fire more : üban double that of any other gun of its size.

— Great Britain has.one-fourth of the wealth of Europe, with bat one-Dinth of the -population

— A Kussian physician asserts that the pain of neuralgia, if eupeifieial, can be relieved at once by throwing a beam of light from a bright

jtrc-light upon the affected part. — On October 6, as -a train from Victoria For the Crystal Palace was entering Brixton Station, London, a lady, dressed in black, jumped from the platform into the four-foot way and laid her neck across the outer rail. The whole of the train passed over her. Death i was, of coarse, instantaneous. — An extraordinary clock has just been set

np in Paris. It is made entirely of various parts of bicjcles. Thirteen tyred wheels of the ordinary size have been used in its construction. At the top is a device made with several handle-bars, and even the figures on the face of this " Horloge Cyclisle "> are compored of fragments of the übiquitous wheel. — There * are snails actually resembling thorns. This species remaiued for a long time undiscovered, until a close observer saw one of these thorns walking round the branch of a tree. — There is no reliable case on record where resuscitation has taken place after the complete freezing of the body in man. This has been frequently accomplished in the coldblooded animals, such as fish and reptiles, if thawing be gradu»lly brought about. — Itliaving transpired that a Welsh clergy-

man recently drew a cheque for fourpence, the l.tatement is made that cheques for threepence, twopence, and tven a penny have been cashed in London. A cheque is said to have been 2ra'wn for a halfpeany at Worcester.

— Someone has calculated that the postmen of London walk, together, something like 18,360 miles per day, a distance equal to twice the citcamference of the globs.

— The tramways, ornnibuees, and underground railways in and around London, within a radius ot five miles, c*rry each year, it is calculated, about 453,000,000 passengers.

— A native of Berkthire, born without arms or hands, can write with his mouth, thread a needle, tie a knot, and shuffle, cut, and deal a pack of cards. — Most of the shoes worn in Japan are made of straw or wood. In the entire country there is bnfc .one factory where leather shoes are -wade.

— A most ingenious system is employed by which the director of the Suez Uanal can tell afc a glance the exact position of all vessels passing through it. A model is placed in the office at Port Said, and the whole canal is worked from faeadquarfcers by means of the telegraph, the position of each ship being marked by a figure jon the model. It is thus made easy to arrange for vessels passing each other. — Russia has' the most rapidly increasing population of any country in the world. The growth during the last 100 years has been a traction less than 1,000,000 annually.

— The time required for a journey round the earth by a man walking day and night, without resting, 'would be 428 days ; an express train, .40 days; sound, at a medium temperature, 32£ hours ; a cannon ball, 21J hoars ; light, a little »ver " one-tenth :of a second"; anS electricity, passing over a. copper wire, a little under onetenth of a second.

— It is said that a flower has been found in Sonth America which is visible only when the

'wind is blowing. The shrub belongs to the cactus family, and is about 3ft high, with a crook at. the top. When the wind blows a number of beautiful flowers protrude from little Jumps on the sl&ik.

.— No two nations pronounoe theic vowels alike. The interjection which we call " Oh.! " sounds to a Frenchman like *!Aoh,"and the Italian sesm3 tob.im to speak the word "fus" as if written "fous." Nor are consonants much better. A German left to himself would say " bersonage " for "personage," and "faide" for "faite" ; while a Chinese will turn " rue" into"lue," and "rigueur" into " ligneur." — Academy.

— A man was charged with stealing a pui>e containing a cheque for £500 from a gentleman's pocket in a Glaegow street during the Duke of York's visit. On being followed, the thief doubled on his pursuers ana slipped the purse back into the pocket of the geutlemiiu from whom it was abstracted.

— Nearly every flying insect is provided with a series of hooks on the front edge of its hind wings, which it can fasten together at will. This explains why you have occasionally noticed one of the species flying apparently with two wing?, and have seen him display four upon alightiug.

— Only 30 per cent, of the railway stock in America pays a dividend.

— Perhaps the most carious occupation conceived by a woman is that of diuner- taster. She spends a part of each day visiting houses and tasting dishes intended for dinner. She suggests iniprcvt-rnt-nts, and shows the cook new ways of prepariug^dishes. — It has just been pointed out that since 1837 the British nation, though the greatest of her interest's is-peace, has gone to war no fewor than 41 timea. Many of the <! wars" were little more thanmilitary parades, like the sending of troops to Beuin. — A mail coach leaves Manchester every night for Liverpool at 10 o'clock, and one from Liverpool at the same hour for Manchester, for •the conveyance of parcels. The drivers and conductors are armtd with revolvers and bayonets, and carry a long horn, quite in the olden style.

— Nobwithstandw & the great erosion cf the English coastline by the sea, in many places additions are being made both naturally and artificially, so that, according to Professor Tovley, it is prohable that the total land area of Eugland and Wales is as great now as it was 500 years ago.

— Iv connection with the railway communication between Scotland alid Ireland, it is no .v proposed to send trains through a tunnel which shall float at a depth of 60ft below the surface, and which shall be kept steadily in its place by means of anchors.

— Photographs of flying bullets recently made show, just in front of the projectiles, dark fclieaks and blurs which, ifc is thought, are the images of little clouds formed by the sudden condensation of moisture as the advancing bullet compresses it".

— A powerful aesthetic, which volatilises on exposure to the air, has been invented. Ib is believed that bomb? filled with this chemical and thrown into the ranks of an opposing army would in a few minutes utterly paralyse the foe.

— Some time ago people on the Ramsgate cliffs saw what was thought to be two rockets fived by a Bbip in distress on the Goodwills. The lifeboat went to the rescue, and ascertained from the lightship men that the lights observed from the shore were not rockels, bnfc falling meteors.

7- MaDy church .. steeples in Eogland are -covered with copper, one of these being that of St. Sidwell, in Exeter. The spire, which is covered with sheet, copper, was added 70 years ago, the metal being taken from the bottom of an old man-of-war broken up at Deronport.

. — The -long tails of the Shah of Persia's Itorees are dyed crimson for 6ii£at their tips— a jealously -guarded privilege of the ruler and his sons.

— If the moon stood etill the waters on that side of the earth where the moon was stationed would rise in one huge mass, while the opposite side of the earth would have a smaller bulk. Not only that, bu' tHe phenomenon of the tides would practically cease.

— In tbe course of an interesting discussion which followed the reading of a paper on colour-blindness the other day, a most curious statement was announced — to the.effect that"i after long research, not a single case of a woman suffering from this defect Oould be discovered.

— A scientist has discovered that chloroform and ether have a wonderf al power in awakening the vegetable kingdom, while they put the animal world to sleep ; a closed flower can be reopened instantly by either of these agents.

— The steam power of the world may be reckoned as equivalent to the strength of 1000 millions of men, which is more than twice the number of workmen existing.

— The floating stone of Corea is one of the wonders of that country. It ia of great bulk, and shaped like an irregular cube. To all appearances the stone rests on the ground, and is perfectly free from support on any side. But if two men, standing at opposite ends of it, hold each the opposite end of a thread they will be able to pass the thread under the stone without encountering any obstacle.

— One of the most curious stones in the world h found in Finland. It is a natural barometer, and actually foretells probable changes in the weather. It turns black shortly before an approaching rain, while in fine weather it is mottled with spots of white. — As many" as 36,000 people have been accommodated in St. Paul's Cathedral, but that ha« been with temporary galleries, &c, erected. On festivals only between six and seven thousand people find seats.

— It has been calculated that a gold coin passes from one person to another 2,000,000,000 times before the stamp, or impression, upon it becomes obliterated by friction, while a silver coin chinges about 3,250,000,000 times before it becomes entirely effaced.

— A machine has been devised which goes by electricity and which can cut and butter 750 loaves of bread an hour. The butler is spread very thin by a cylindrical brush— so thin that a large caving of butter is guaranteed.

— The most expensive carpet in the world is now on the shelves of the Gobelins Factory. It is worth £10,000, and was made during the years 1869 and 1870. It was ordered for Napoleon 111, but was unfinished when the Franco-Prussian war broke out. When that war was finished he had no use for it.

— A remarkable discovery has just been made at the village of Orton Longueville, near Peterborough. Several workmen were engaged in excavatory work under some old and dilapidated outbuildings on a farm, when they came across a well-made floor, about 6ft. below the level. On a minute examination being made, they^ found that, the floor was entirely constructed of knuckle bones, supposed to be those of sheep and cattle. It is estimated that the singnlar work is afc least 150 years old.

' —In London the omnibus horse is worn out in five years; the tram horse in four, the post office hone in six, and the brewer's in from six to seven, while the vestry horses .last eight years. The post office horse costs £36, the vestry horse £75, and the brewer's at least £90 apiece.

— In the public schools of Germany the bright pupils are separated from the stupid ones, Medical men. do the sortina.