MULTUM IN PARVO.

Otago Witness, Issue 2319, 11 August 1898, Page 48

MULTUM IN PARVO.

v- A Chinesa thoroughfare i« the e^xaet reVerß» of «urs in shape, the middle part being considerably higher than the two pavements «n each side. In the rainy seasen, if : a vehiale should slip, the eecupants run considerable risk of being smothered in the mud mnd water which always accumulate at that period. — To five a State pensian of fiv« shillings" a week to eyerybody over the age of 65 years ia the United Kingdom the sum annually required would ha £24,399,613.

— Epernay, in Franco, is a vast subtar ranean city, tho streets for miles being hewn cut of solid chalk, flanked with piles of champagne of all blends and qualities. The largest champagne manufacturers in Epernay possess underground cellars which cover no fawer than 45 acre 3, and contain 5,000,000 bottloa of wine. — The ruling Prince of the Indian State of Rampore has rather a novel way of celebrating the birth of a daughter. A weok s pay has been deducted from every State employee. The hope is expressed, and justly t«o, -that lo make things equal the Nawalo Will gire the Stot9 employees a bonus of a -we«k 8 pay in the event of a royal funeral. — Tho smallest perfect watch ever made is owned by & Russian princess. It was first placed in an exquisite goM case ; then, at the princess's desire, the works wore removed and placed inside a spiendid diamond scarcely two-fifths of an inch in diameter. —It is ■ reported., that 400,000 canaries change hands every year in the United Kingdom alone, the value of them being'aboufc £20,000. — Girls employed in the crape industries are under a curious contract not to engage in any house work after their hours of labour. The reason is lest their hands should become coarse, and unfitted for the delicate nature of their employment. — It is claimed for Netley Hospital that \t is the longest building in England, being nearly a quarter of a mile long. The next to this' particular dimension is Wontworth Wodehouse, in Yorkshire, the seat of Lord Fitz william. — The life of a sailor is becoming every year Bafer with the improvements in the conitruction of vessels. Twelve years ago one »ailor in every 106 who went to sea lost his life ; now one in 256 is lost. — The tints of bids' eggs, especially the light colours, are apt to fade on exposure m museums to too great sunlight. By experiment the darker-coloured eggs of olive brown or chocolate have been found to undergo little change. — The Chinese emblem of the dragon consists of a five-clawed imperial dragon, suspended by a yellow ribbon, and has the following inscription in Chinese characters: " Before it the lion turns pale and the tiger is silent." , . , — The English Quakers number about 15,000. rt , . — The yearly profit of the buoy. Canal is £2,750,000. — Recent investigations have shown that the principal source of the Gulf Stream is not the Florida Channel, but the region uetween and beside the islands of the West Indies. At Binioni the volume of this warm water is 60 limes as great as the combined volume of all the rivers in the world at their mouths. — The entire collection of coins and medals in the British Museum consists of nearly 250,000 specimen* — A certain Chinese flower is red in the sunlight and white in the moonlight. —In the West Indies a lemon bath is almost a daily luxury. Three or four limes or lemons are sliced into the water and allowed to lie for half an hour, in order that the juice may be extracted. A remarkable sense of freshness and cleanliness is given to the skin.

— Vultures cannot discover a carcase by the sense of smell. They rely entirely upon their sight when in quest of food. — The monthly consumption of snails in Paris is estimated by the million, and there are 100 restaurants, and at least 3000 private tables, where they are accepted as a delicacy by their epicurean consumers. — Many sailors believe that the Irigate bird can Btart at daybreak with the trade winds from the coast of Africa and roost the same night upon the American shore. It is at least certain that tho bird is the swiftest of winged creatures, and is able to fly, under favourable conditions, 200 miles an hour.

— The waters of the Grand Falls of Labrador have excavated a chasm 60 miles long.

— Two horse-power about equals the strength of 15 men. — An act of Parliament was passed in the reign of Edward 111 prohibiting any one from being served at dinner or supper with more than two courses, except on some great holidays therein specified, on which he might '">& iberved with three.

.—. — An ingenious little machine for making gun cartridges for ordinary use in sport, etc., has been introduced by a Parisian. H is actuated by a motor of one-fourth horsepower, and turns out 1200 cartridges an hour ; but it can bo worked by a man and pedal with an output of 800 per hour. — The sudden changes of climate encountered by soldiers when troops arc moved from one quarter o[ Ihe world to another are estimated as increasing the annual mortality in armies by 50,000 men. — The term "infantry" soldiers oiiginated with the Spanish, and was first applied to the military foice employed by an infante, or young prince of Spain, to refcue his father from the Moors.

— Veneer-cutting has reached such perfection that a single elephant's tusk 30in long is now cut in London into a sheet of hey ]50in long and 20in wide, and some sheets ol rosewood and mahogany are only about a fiftieth of an inch thick. •— Klectic door mats have beon invented, which, ring a bell hb soon as anyone steps on them, thus making it safe to leave Ihe door open. — A prize of £2000 ia offered by the Belgian Government "for the discovery of a chemical . that will take the place of phosphorus in the manufacture of matches. — Herr Appunn, of Hanau, has invented a bell of a now shape, which is to have a deep tone, and to be as powerful as considerably heavier bolls of the form at present in vogue.. The shape is peculiar, being hemispherical, while the metal is Uniform *n thickness excopt near the sound bow. From the edge to some little distance above the sound bow the motal is \ory thick, and then alters suddenly to the uniform thickness which it has for the rest of the boll.

—An authority says that the blackboards \ised by teachers in schools arc not of Lho right colour. lie assorts that croam white, .with ordinary crayons of sky-blue, and oxtra colours of canary-yellow and a clear dark green would be [at 1 better. Black is bad for the eyes»

— A wild swan was lately shot in Cumberland that was 4ft 4in tall, and had a spread of wings of 6ft 9in. — There is no record of the costumes of the Syrian Arabs having changed during the perod covered by human history. Saving only the use of firearms, the Bedouin of the desert clothes and adorns himself as in the days of Abraham. — Tho doubtful value of a patent is demonstrated by figures quoted recently by a writer. During 1896, out of all patents disputed in the law courts of England, 43 per cent, were declared void ; in Germany those rejected numbered 42 per cent., in the United States they woio 23 por cent., in France 24 per cent. — Early man used to be able to wag his can> ss an indication of pleasure or to brush away flies from under his back hair, but as the muscles were not brought into continual use they beoame rudimentary. — The new "Victoria" postal scalo is a great improvement on the old method of weighing letters and parcels. There are no calculations or references to postage rates to make, as the machine indicates both the weight of the letter or parcel and the postage which it requires. Another great advantage of the machine is that there are no weights to lie about and get lost. — Have you ever been in great physical pain and injected morphia? The following sensation is so strange. You can still fesl the pain going on, but you feel as if it were in some other body than your own — some body lying on a bed a thousand miles away. And though you feel it, or, perhaps 1 should say, know of it, you no longer mind it. For you are dreaming, and though you are dreaming of pain the dream is sweet. It holds you like a deep and murmuring sea, and you s;ive yourself up to if with a divine and harmless sensuality. — World. — There is no doubt, says an eminent doctor, that most drunkards can be cured by a very simple and pleasant course ol treatment — namely, by eating apples at every meal. Apples, if eaten in large quantities, possess properties which entirely do away with me craving that all confirmed drunkards have for drink.

— At the head of the list of the big million aires of Germany stands M. Rothschild, with £10,740,000. and an income of about £550,800. After him comep M. Krupp, with £6,400,000, and an income of £450,000. After them come two landed proprietors, with £4.260,000 and £3,200,000 respectively, and a third . with £3,000,000.

— The Scottish Highlanders' dress as worn at the present time ia sometimes very expensive Somo of the officers' uniforms in Highland regiments cost £200 each. — Turkey and Greece are the only European countries into which the telephone has not yet been introduced.