MULTTUM IN PARVO.

Otago Witness, Issue 2416, 28 June 1900, Page 56

MULTTUM IN PARVO.

; The mines of South Africa give work to between 60,000 and 70,000 men.

— It has been computed that there are 100,000 railway locomotives in the world at the present time. — A number of the poorer Beers will be in a sad plight when the present war is over. iWhile they are fighting their farms are becoming ruined through Jack of attention. Many of the Boers have had to let their crops go to .waste, .and to sell what few cattle they possessed in order to make provision for their .wives and families while they were taking ipart in the campaign. — Lobster hatching by means of floating incubators, which were invented by a Mr Neilson, is carried on to a very great extent in Newfoundland, these ingenious contrivances 'being placed in nearly all the large bays of .the island. The result has been an unqualified success, for during the first year no fewer than 90,934,000 lobsters were hatched and planted, and since then the number has .ibeen more than doubled. The cod fisheries of that land exceed those of any other country of the world, the average export of this fish being 1,350,000cwt per annum. — - The national airs of- "great countries are ehort, while those of little countries are long. "God save the Queen :> is 14 bars, the Russian hymn is ,16 bars, and "Hail, Columbia! " has 28 bars".' Siam's national hymn 'has 76 bars, and that of Uruguay 70, Chili 46, and so on. San> Marino has the longest national hymn except China's, which is so long that people take half a day off to listen to it.

— It is estimated that in England one wosian in every six earns her own living. ' — Of all the ruling sovereigns of Europe, the Austrian Emperor can boast the largest (SiUHiber of titles ,of /lobility and territorial rank. In addition to his Imperial Crown, his Majesty is in nine different ways entitled to wear regal tiara, twice is he qualified to be addressed as Grand Duke, once as Archduke, 18 times as Duke, once as Grand Prince, and in 'numerous ways he is entitled to be called count or lord. In all, hi* different titles amount to considerably over 100.

. — "If tKe sponge as brought up fresh from the sea bottom were a familiar object," says an authority on the subject, " few would be in doubt as to its' being an animal." When fresh, it is a fleshy-looking substance covered with a firm skill, and if cut it presents somejwhat the appea/ance of raw meat. Its cavities are filled with a, gelatinous substance called "milk." ' The finest of all sponges is the Turkey toilet sponge, which is cup-shaped.

— The Shah of Persia has had in preparation for some months the examples 1 of national crafts which he designs to bring with him to {Europe during his visit next summer as gifts *o his Royal and Imperial hosts.. The presents that will /each this country will comprise inanimate objects only, such as textile . fabrics, repousse work and faience, but the gifts to the Czar will include fine types of "desert-bred horses from the Royal stud. The . reason why these will- not be brought west is "aiot'so much the difficulty of ' transport, it is said,, as the fact that it would be deemed inappropriate to present such gifts to Q-K'Ui ."Victoria.

— The French Aero Club received from an aronymous donor the sum of 100,000 francs, is to be given to the aeronaut who, with ia balloon or any other aerial vessel, will start "ffrom the headquarters of the club, pass round jthe Eiffel Tower, and return to the starting r point, a distance of eleven kilometres, within (half an hour. This competition is international. If the prize is not won within five __years it will be withdrawn. .—. — Reports received by Messrs John Aird and- Sons," the contractors for the great Nile reservoir, show that the progess of the works continues to he of the most satisfactory character ; <md it is thought to be even possible <*hat the foundations throughout may be constructed within the present year. Another cataract, it is stated, has been dammed at Assouan, and the foundation works are being carried out. There appears no reason now ]why the works should, not b© finished twelve 'cnonths short of the contract time of five years jfrom July 1, 1898. Twenty-three thousand men are engaged, 20,000 of whom are natives. ~ — >A remarkable collection of Nelson relics, .which has.remained in private hands for many years past, has just recently been dispersed. •It included a silver two-handled cup,, in an oak box, which was presented to the admiral by Lady Hamilton. The cup is engraved with the shield of arms, supporters, coronet, and crest of Nelson, and tears the inscription, "From Emm.a, July 2nd, •1798." There were also a gold ring, with an intaglio bust of Nelson, engraved "Lord Neleon, o*b. 21 Oct., 1805," and a French rapier, the pomel set with, a turquoise and brilliant cluster, which was taken from a French officer at the "battle of the Nile, and presented to iio'rd Nelson by Admiral Brueyes. & —On March 11, 1702, exactly 198 years ago; * was published the first British daily paper. It was called the Daily Oourant, and was devoted entirely to foreign news, the editor announcing that he shpuld not presume to air his own views, supposing other people to have sense enough to make reflections for themselves. The office, "against the Ditch by Fleet Bridge,' was probably close to Printing House square. Soon after its appearance it passed into the hands of Samuel Buckley, who became the printer of the Spectator. In 1735 the Daily Courant was absorbed in the Daily Gazetteer. js — The visit of the Queen to Ireland may * render |it of interest to know that since the Norman Conquest only six other English Sovereigns have been in Ireland. Henry II went to Ireland in 1172, and remained till the next year. John was in Ireland in 1210. After the lapse of nearly two centuries another English monarch, Richard 11, visited Ireland in 139*, and again in 1399. For nearly three hundred years subsequently Ireland was unvisited by any English King till 1688, when Jamea II arrived in Ireland, from which he was expelled by .William 111 in 1690. Then, after the lapse of 130 years, Royalty came to Ireland in the person of George IV, whose visit lasted from August 5 to September 5, 1821. The Queen has on three other occasions paid short visits to Ireland, from August 6 till August 10, 1849; from August 28 till September 3, 1850; and from August 21 till 'August 29, 1861. The Queen, with the sole exception of Richard 11, who was in Ireland twice; is the ojily. .English monarch who has . paid more than one visit ±o that country. — Death duties have proved a fruitful source of income to the Imperial Exchequer. A member of Parliament has recently pointed out that the fact that the receipts during the current financial year are swollen by contributions from the estates of officers who have met their death, fighting in South Africa, is mot one to be contemplated with equanimity. So mentions the case of a young officer who >had managed to save £200 out of his moderate allowance. He left the money w his eisters, and although he was killed in action, the State claims its share of his hard-earned savings.

— Ostrich feathers will be scarcer this year than usual owing to the war. Ordinarily, in the course of six public sales, some £800,000 worth are annually sold in London, but at the impending sale the average figure of £131-, 000 will be reduced by; about £54,000. In London the feathers vary in price from 30s to £16 per lb weight, and as the best wing plumes average about 115 to the pound, the highest price works out at about 3s a feather. — The most expensive wine manufactured is not champagne, as most people imagine. It is a Rhine wine from the private vineyard of Prince Metternich, and sells for about 30s a quart. The vineyard is on the side of #. hill overlooking the Rhine, which is not accessible except to human feet. As a result all the work has to be done by hand. The grapes have to be carried down the hill on the shoulders of men, and in a like manner fertilisers have to be transported up the acclivity. The sun shines on the vineyard only at certain hours of the day, and in this way the grape receives a flavour that distinguishes the wine from that of any other Rhine brand. •4- — It is an interesting thing to know that 4200 species of plants are gathered and used for commercial purposes in Europe. Of Uiese 420 have a perfume that is pleasing, and entei largely into the manufacture of scents and ! Doaps. There are more species .of white flowers gathered than of any other colour— 1124 in all. Of these 187 have an agreeable scent, an extraordinary large proportion. Next in order come yellow blossoms with 951, 77 of them being perfumed. Red flowers numb er* 823, of which 84 are scented. The blue flowers are of 594 varieties, 34- of which are perfumed, and the violet blossoms number 308, 13 of which are pleasantly odoriferous. — Journalism in Greenland is represented by a. single paper, conducted by a certain Mr Moeller. This energetic gentleman performs single-handed the functions of editor, printer, and distributor, and the entirs paper is the product of his own pen. He has sex up a primitive prifoting establishment at Godthaab, and twice a montli he performs a long voyage on skates through the country to dispose of his journal. Originally nothing more than a collection of crude illustrations, Mr Moeller gradually introduced into the pages of Ms little paper first words, then sentences, and finally regular articles on the affairs of tha day. In fact, he may be said to have actually taught his subscribers to read. — With the Bank of England the destruc-. ti6n of its notes takes place about once a week, and at 7 p.m. Formerly it used to be done in the daytime, but owing to the unpleasant smell with which the burning was attended the neighbouring stockbrokers petitioned the governors to do it in the evening. The notes are previously cancelled by punching a hole through the amount in figures and tearing off the signature of the chief cashier. The notes are burned in a cWed furnace, and shavings avid bundles of wood form the only agency emploj-ed. For future purposes of reference the notes are left for five years before being burned. The number .of notes coming into the Bank of England every day is about 50,000, and 350,000 are destroyed every week, or something like 18,000,000 every year. The stock of paid notes for five years is about 77,745,000 in number, and they fill 13,400 boxes.