MULTUM IN PARVO.

Otago Witness, Issue 2360, 18 May 1899, Page 46

MULTUM IN PARVO.

— A strange burial is reported from Amesbury, Massachusetts. Reuben John Smith, aged 71, erected in his lifetime a marble sarcophagus containing a commodious chair. As his will directed, his corpse was seated therein the other day, attired in a morning suit, with hat and overcoat, the steel door was locked and bricked over, and the key destroyed.

— Ten years ago a pound of aluminium cost about 16s in Germany. To-day it costs less than one-tenth of that sum. — The ink-plant of New Granada is a curiosity. The juice of it can be used for ink without any preparation. At first the writing is red, but af tei a few hours it changes to black — The Mexicans have a queer way of burying the dead. The corpse is tightly wrapped in matting and placed in a coffin hired for about a shilling. One or two natives, a 9 the case may <be, place the coffin on their heads and go at a trot to the grave, where the body is interred, and the coffin is then returned. — Some Egyptian boats' made of cedar, probably in use 4500 years ago, have been found buried near the banks of the Nile, and furnish an interesting proof of the power of that wood to withstand the ravages of time.

— A young man in Chicago has literally become a boy again. Twelve years ago he was struck on the head by a little playmate. Never since, till awakening from the anies'chetics after a successful cranial operation the other day, has he spoken rational words. Then, taking up the thread of life where it had snapped, he inquired, "What made you hit me?"

— The money-lenders in England, alarmed at the crusade against them, are said to be about to start an institute, on lines similar to the Institute of Chartered Accountants and others of that kind. — A single fine Russian sable-skin is worth from £20 to £50. It is a tiny thing about 14 inches long by eight oi nine inches around. —.In its time the Isle of Man has borne over a dozen names, of which six or seven ,\rere given to it by the Greeks. The Manxmen, in proportion to their numbers, are, with the exception of the inhabitants of Newfoundland, the greatest seafaring people in the world. Of the Manx language it is claimed that it is the best of all tongues for courting in. as there are 97 ways of saying *' my dear." ' — A person who has totally lost the sense of hearing in one ear, although he may imagine that the defect is of little consequence, cannot locate the direction of a sound to save his life, even when the centre of disturbance is quite near him. — The leather which is used to tip the hammers of the best pianos is of a remarkably soft quality. It is prepared by a family of tanners by means of» a. process, the secret of which they alone }K>ssees. The skins are prochiced in America from one kind of deer — the grey deer of the-northem lake district. Any other .buckskin is useless.

— The oldest letter. in the world is in the •British Museum. Although written over 30 centuries ago, the characters are still legible. •It gives an interesting picture of life in Egypt during the reign of Eameses 11. —To prevent deception regarding the age of children, some steamboat companies in Switzerland have established measurement rules. A child under 2ft in height rides free ; children under 4ft 4in pay half fare.

— It is getting to be the fashion to address and stamp envelopes on the back. With tho direction written across the folds, the letter cannot be opened by an unauthorised person .with cut 'the fact being noted. — Sugar which may be bought wholesale at .three-halfpence a pound in London costs 5d in Paris*. — Formerly the ashes in steamships were gathered into iron receptacles, hoisted to the deck with more or less difficulty, and thrown overboard. Among the devices for labourBaying in this direction is a slide into which a very etrong air current is forced. The ashes are placed in the slide as they accumujate, and are almost instantly blown througnthnP conductor into the sea.' — Cyclists in Denmark are forbidden by law to ride faster thari the speed of a cab through any town. — Ears do not change shape after childhood, although they enlarge slightly after middle life. It has been found that the right and left of each pair of ears uuaslly vary in shape.

—In some countries the fathers of marriageable daughters have an inexpensive and effective way of making the fact known. When a daughter approaches marriageable age an inverted jar on the roof of the house announces that such is the case. When she has attainet l the proper age the jar ie laid on its side with the top towards the street. — Mahogany is said to have been brought to England by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1595, but not to have come into general use till 1720. — The diamond is full of phosphorus. That is why gleams of light are seen issuing from the stone in ths dark. To this? quality alone attaches much of its value. The mffst phosphorescent stone is the one that is best cut. If there be phosphorus in the stone, its effect is greatly enhanced by proper cutting.

— The average number of horses killed in Spanish bull fights every year exceeds 5000, while from 1000 to 1200 bulls are sacrificed.

— A battery of modern German artillery, •ueing the new quick-firing guns recently supplied to them, can fire 60 shots a minute at a range of over five miles

— Violins and larger stringed instruments are now being made of aluminium. They are said to possess a rich and charming tone. — Two-thirds of the total number of children under ten years of age in the United Kingdom are insured in one form or another. — A strange clock was made during the last century for an eccentric nobleman. The dial was horizontal, and the figures, being hollow, were filled with different sweets and spices. Thus the owner could tell the_ hour without a light, by simply running his fingers along the hand and then touching his tongue.

— With a population of 5,500,000, London harbours every day 120,000 strangers. Some may remain a week, some a month, but all the year round there is an average of 120,000 visitors who are within the metropolitan boundaries.

— One of the latest exploits of a scientist is trapping and bringing down to the ground with the aid of an automatic apparatus attached to a balloon specimens of the upper air from the height of almost ten miles. The result of tho analysis of the captured air showed that at the height of 51,000 ft above sea-level the composition of the atmosphere " is practically the same as at the surface of the earth, although its density, of course, is comparatively sliffht. —Tn Bavaria each family on Easter Sunday bring tc the churchyard fire a walnut branch, which, after being- partially burned, 1b carried home, to- b© laid on the hearth during- tempests as a protection against lightning. — Nearly 600 periodicals are now published .In Jaoan* '

— Bachelors are to be rigorously excluded from the Parliament of the Greeks. The idea seems to be that \he bachelor has no real stake in the commonwealth.: If he is represented, that is as much as" he can ask for; but a representative he ought never to be, for whom does he represent except himself? The main object, however, is to discourage celibacy. " — In certain parts of the Himalaya Mountains the native women have a singular way of putting their children to sleep in the middle of the day. The child is put near a stream of water, and by means of a palm-leaf the water is deflected so as to run over the back of the child's head. The water pouring on the child's head apparently sends it to sleep.

— Estimates (made by governors of the various States) of the population of the United States at -the beginning of this year placed the number of inhabitants at over 77,803,231. — Nearly 1,000,000 women ■in Spain work in the field as day labourers ; 350,000 women are registered as day servants — that is, they work for their food and lodging. There is no such class anywhere, else.

— The French authorities have installed a number of electric lighthouses on their coast. They can produce an effect at an immense distance by their light reflected from the clouds, while they are far below the horizon. Cherbourg light has thus been indirectly seen 75 miles off.

— The use of slate and pencil by children is denounced as unhealthy. It has been forbidden in the schools of Zurich, Switzerland, and pen, ink, and paper have been substituted instead. The reasons given are that the light grey marks on the slate cannot be followed without straining the eyes.

— Sir Robert Ball, the eminent astronomer, has himself stated in public that anyone who takes- the trouble to lie on his back on the ground and gaze at a clear night sky will, as his eyes become accustomed to the heavens, soon perceive numbers of shooting stars.

— The term " guerrilla " is from the Spanish, and signifies " a little war." The term was first used during the Peninsular War, 1808-1814, and was applied to bands of?arcned Spanish peasants who at times were successful in harassing Napoleon's armies.

— Beef is never seen at a Chinese table. Oxen capable of working the plough are considered to be too valuable to the farmer to be consigned to the butcher.

— From coal is obtained the means of producing over 400 shades of colours, a great variety of perfumes, explosive agents, various acids and medicines, insecticides, salts, saccharin, fruit flavours), asphaltum, lubricating oils, and varnish. —An attractive lawn-mower is among new inventions. It ie a velocipede to which is attached a sharp knife, and this cuts the grass as the seated operator moves along. — Some of the Indians of the United States are among tho riohest farmers in the world. The annual income of the Osage tribe, for instance, consisting of only 1725 persons, including children, is £90,000. — Among the birds the swan lives to be the oldest, in extreme cases reaching 300 years. The falcon has' been known to live over 162 years. — A Spanish author has written five novels of a unique description. The first is without the letter A, the second without E, the third without I, the fourth without O, and the fifth without TJ.

— According to a celebrated doctor, man first appeared on Swiss soil about 28,000 years ago. He dwelt there during 8000 years, when great changes occurred, and for 8000 to 12,000 years he seems to have been absent. He reappeared at the beginning of the Lake Dwellers' period, which lasted 4000 years, and closed 4000 years ago with the introduction of bronze.

— The turkey was first discovered in America, and was brought to England in the early part of the sixteenth century. Since then it has been acclimatised in nearly all part* of the world.

— The largest railway map is exhibited in the general waiting room of the enlarged station of the Pennsylvania railroad at Broad street, Philadelphia. The map, which is claimed to be the largest of its kind in the world, is painted upon heavy canvas, and is fixed upon the north wall of the room. It is 15ft wide and 112 ft sin long. It shows the Pennsylvania lines with their connections, and there are 4000 names upon it.