MULTUM IN PARVO.

Otago Witness, Issue 2425, 5 September 1900, Page 53

MULTUM IN PARVO.

• — The Lord Mayor is the only person, besides the Queen and the chief constable, who knows the password to the Tower of London. The password is sent to the Mansion House quarterly, signed by her Majesty. - — The United Kingdom spends over £10,000,000 a year on charities of various kinds. — Tlip 12 Atlantic cables now in use represent a total capital of about £17,000,000. — There are 18,000 Quakers in the United Kingdom. — England has one clergyman to every 610 people ; Ireland one to every 1270. — The oldest school teacher in England is Mrs Sarah Davis, aged 83 years, who has charge of the Infant room in the National School at Finmere, where she has taught for more than 50 years. y — The yellow and led Spanish flag is the oldest of any used by the European Powers, as it was fkbl flown in 1785. The French cricolour was first used-in 1795 ; the red English ensign, with the present Union Jack in the upper canton, in 1801 ; the present Italian flag in 1843 ; the present Auslro-Hun-garian. flag in 1867, and the German flag in 1871. * — One could not get a habitable "house or s?t of rooms in an apart^nent house anywhere near the centre of New York for less than £300 a"*year, and even at that price it might not he a very nice one. The same apart- ■ xnents _thot in London would cost £300 a year would' not be had in New -York for under £750. — • The American 2 3a P 6rs tell *>f a good minister's wife who was thrice married, to a Mr Robin, a Mr Sparrow, and a Mr Quayle, with children or stepchildren by each marriage, so that in the home-nest of her third estate there dwell together little Robins and Sparrows and Quayles. . — Great Britain has some 2,000,000 domestic serwjrV-. —it is said that the population of the world increases 10 per cent, every 10 years. — The barbers in some towns in Germany are compelled by law to rlspuse and disinfect their combs, brushes, and razors immediately after use, ond before they aie applied to the hair or head of another customer. — The average duration of life in England is 26 years ; in Scotland, the same ; in Ireland, *27.5. The average for the civilised world is 27.5. — A marvellous tor. capable of spinning 43iraiii, and then remaining erect and "still, has been constructed by Professor Charles Jacobus, for many years superintendent of the New Brunswick (M.J.) public schools, biit now of Springfield, Mass. The inventor of thisfiiop guards it carefully, and never allow? it to pass out of his hands. He has spun it scores of times before scientists in New York, Philadelphia, and othei cities*. — It is reckoned that the household and personals refuse of ull kinds and slieet sweepings of a town amount to about half a ton annually per head of • the population, or in London to 50,000 tons per weekv — The pavement in front of the William EL "Vanderbilt's residence in New York City cost ovei £_8000. The single stone lying cli-le'clly-'in front is the largest known paving stone, and cost, transportation and all, £2000. — The magnitude of the Escurial, tho great Spanish palaca, may 'be inferred from the fact that it would take four days to go through all the rooms and apartments, the- length ot the way being reckoned at 23 .Spanish leagues, which i» about 120 English miles. — In Norway, Sweden, and Finland women arc frequently employed as sailors, and do their work excellently; and in Denmark several women are employed afloat as State officials, generally in the pilot service. They go far out to sea in their boats to meet the vessels coming into port, aud having nimbly climbed on board and shown their official diploma, they calmly and coolly steer the new - comer into harbour. — The most magnificent work of architecture is the Tai Mahal, in Agra* Hindustan. It is octagonal in form, of pure white marble, inlaid with every sort of precious stone. The work took 22,000 men 20 ycaiv to complete, and though there were numerous gifts and the labour free, the cost was £3,200,000. — Saccharine obtained from tor is 220 times sweeter than cane sugar, and it is used in sweetening and preser\in^ jams, fruit preserves, and jellies. Unlike ordinary cane sugar when so u&ed, it is not liable to mould or ferment. On the other hand, it does not fatten or nourish the body, and in, certain ailments is therefore recommended by doctors for sweetening coffee, tea, and other "beverages, in place of the ordinary cane sugar. - — The difficulty of keeping tight joints in the high pressure steam piping now generally in use is a constant worry to the engineer. A substance called "manganesite" is now being introduced, which, it is claimed, is far superior to red lead composition for all joints exposed to steam and water. The material is in the form of an oily black paste, resembling' "blacking"," which remains .soft indefmitely when stored in a eloped box or under water ; it is stated that lib of manganesite will go as fai as 31b of red lead, and the joint, once made, improves with age. — Tl^ere are several trees and plants in the world whose berries, juice, or bark are as good to wash with as real soap. In the West Indian Islands and in South America grows a tree whose fruit makes an excellent lather, and is used for washing clothes. The bark of a tree which grows in Peru, and of another which grows in the Malay Islands, yields & fine soap. The common soapwort, which is indigenous to England, is so full of saponine that simply rubbing the leaves together in water produces a soapy lather. — Perhaps the oddest suite of furniture in the world is owned by a holelkeeper in BudoPeath. For many years he has made it his b-usiness to collect matchboxes, of which he has now a collection of 4000. He ordered a skilled cabinetmaker to equip a room • with furniture made of these boxes. The outfit consists of a writing table with smoking apparatus, a, fire screen, a cabinet, a chair, and other smaller articles. Though the boxes are empty, they are adjusted so ingeniously that the pieced arc fully as strong as the ordinary furniture. — New street station, Birmingham, is one of the most notable railway stations of the country. Some idea ot the business done at New street may bo gathered from the fact that on any ordinary day of 24 hours there are close upon 700 trains in and out of the station,. exclusive of shunting opeiations. This is, an avera-ge of one train in or out every two minutes ; but if it be borne in mind that during certain hours of the night, gay between midnight and 5 a.m., the trains are very few ia number, it will be evident that during the more busy-part-, of the day the number mnsl greatly exceed the average. — ■ Cork is* ar» ril the most buoyant substance there '*, but a cork sunk 200 ft deep in the ocean v ill not rise again ,to the surface, owing to the great pressure of the water. At any le-s di.-tance from the surface, however, it Mill gradually work its way back to light ones more.

— JvJofl Londoners are familiar with the famous Whispering- Gallery in St. PaulV, but there are other instances of curious, if less 1 known, echoes in ohurches. In a Sussex church there is said to bo one of tho most remarkable ever known, while in a HertfordI fchire church the tick of a watch may be heard from one end of the building to the other. It is also st-itcd that in the Cathedral of Girgenti, in Sicily, the slightest whimper is borne with )Jsrfect distir.clne^ from the great western door to the cornice behind the altar, a distance of about 150 ft.