MULTUM IN PARVO.

Otago Witness, Issue 2762, 20 February 1907, Page 62

MULTUM IN PARVO.

>— A man respires — that is, draws tn fttreath — 16 to 20 times a minute, or 20,000 times a day. — France derives nearly a quarter of a million pounds a year from the tax on bicycles. — India, is a nation of pawnshops. The Hindus will put in pledge their lands, oxen, jewellery, and even their children. —No less than 1,500,000 tons of food enters London, yearly by way of the Thames. — A dog otter, weighing 16ilb, has been killed in the Thames, a* Walton. — T&e Riksdag of Sweden is, with the 'exception of the British Parliament, the oldest of existing legislative bodies. — Mattresses made of paper shavings mre in use in Germany for soldiers' beds. The shavings are said to be more comportable than straw, and need changing oniy once in three years. ' — An aged inmate of the workhouse for St. George's, Hanover s"quare, has Tbeen found tc possess £1206 in consols. ■ ■ — Aged people dream less frequently snd less vividly than the young. Women's dreams are more frequent, more vivid, and better remembered than those of men. — Surinam, or Dutch Guiana, has the smallest range , of temperature of- any place in the world. In summer the average is 78deg, and in winter 77£deg. — The forget-me-not, marsh marigold, and water-lily live longer in water than almost any other flowers. — When the heat of the 6un first strikes the earth it causes the evaporation of a ch'lling moisttre. The coldest period of the day is thus a, few minutes alter sunrise. — A prize Cheshire cheese, exhibited at Wbitchurch dairy show, has been accepted by the King. Other prize cheese fetched the unprecedented price of £7 10s a hundredweight. — Opening a drawer in a piece of furniture he was about to sell, an auctioneer «t Tickhiil, near Doncaster, England, discovered in a tattered card-board box gold to the amount of £135 10s. — Many of the schools under tbe Hertfordshire County Council fly a Union Jack when, every scholar is present. This is toid to stimulate attendance as the duldren feel it a disgrace to see the bare pole. —It is reported that the Great Eastern Hailw»y Company are about to remove .their works from Stratford to some place In Norfolk or Suffolk owing to the eve~increaeing rates of West Ham. It will mean the transference of 8000 workmen, for .whom a garden city will be built. — Treacle is frequently used as food for cattle in 6ome parts of Germany. Cows, particularly, devour their sweetened provender with great relish. The food is claimed to be both healthful and economical. — The finest furs .come from the animals inhabiting the coldest climates, and the reason of the year in which they are killed greatly affects the quality of the fur; the summer skin of certain of these animate being comparatively' valueless. — A silver cigar-box bearing the arms of Norway and Scotland, has been presented to King Haakon by the Master of Elibank, on behalf of the Scottish people, as a token of the high esteem in which his Majesty and hie people are held north of the border. —In Ceylon there is a breed of oxen which are less than 30in in height. They ■re comparatively swift travellers, and are regarded by the natives as sacred. —No birds live on the southern shores of Lake Balkaeh, Siberia, says a Russian explorer. This is made more remarkable by the fact that the same traveller found • there reptiles and tortoises, as well as hams and mice. — Twenty-four patients in a ward of Sfc. Bochus Hospital, Budapest, sent an ultimatum to the director declaring that they had resolved to take no food or medicine until a nurse was removed. After the strike had lasted nearly 24- hours, the director yielded. — 'An eight-year-old boy, who speaks four languages fluently has been admitted to the Brookline, Mass , High School. His name is William James Sidis, and he ts thought to be the youngest High School boys in the United States. As well as knowing five languages, he has a remarkable knowledge of mathematics and physics. — A bogus musical instrument manufactory flourishes in an* American city. Here are made outwardly exact reproductions of cornets and other wind instruments, but j -which are sold much cheaper than the real articles, since they are for show only, being used merely to pad out big bands with men who cannot play. They are, therefore, not supplied with valves or reeds. — A broken-winded horse is a most uncommon spectacle in Norway. There the horses are allowed to drink while they eat, just as the majority of people do- A bucket of water is placed beside his manger, and, as he eats, the horse drinks also. The animals apparently relish water with their meals. Now they sip a little fiom the bucket, now they cat a mouthful, then another sip, then another mouthful, ai.d so on. — The latest experiment in automobile marriages is reported from Cleveland, where Miss Irene Dennart and Mr Lawrence Damschhert have been "hitched up," •s the telegraphic account cays " while soing at the rate of 40 miles an hour. The bride afterwards admitted that the ceremony was completed somewhere between Ninth street and Nineteenth street, but could not say precisely where In the absence of a clergyman, Magistrate Parker officiated. —An interesting gift, on behalf of a large number of Irish friends and admirers, has been made to the Duke of Connaught by Lord Rossmore and the Marquis of Ormonde. It was the jewelled star of the Order of St. Patrick that belonged to the late Duke of Cambridge, and was purchased on Lord Ross--nore's initiative at the sale of the duke'a effects at Christie's. The Duke of Conttaurght expressed himself as delighted with the beautiful gift. • —The most dreaded of all sharks, the white shark, frequently attains a length of Ssft and a weight of 20001b. Its bead is long and flat, with the snout far overhang ]ng the mouth. Its six rows of teeth ere ibarp as lancets and notched like saws. { Its mouth Is co large that one has been known to cut a. man's body completely in two at a single snap of its cruel jaws. Near Calcutta ono of three sharks was seen to swallow a bul'ck'j hoad horns and all. It is usually t!*e white -hark -.\hich ! foltorre vessels for day; at a uce. |

— Glafgow, with the originality and enterprise which characterises all its municipal undertakings, has developed a striking method of disposing of its unemployables. Off the Argyllshire coast is a little island known as Shuna. This belongs to the corporation, and thither it is proposed to transport all the useless encumbrances which the city feels it can dispense with. The island itself is a charming place, well wooded, with beautiful air and scenery, and even undesirables may have a good time there if they can develop a certain amount of industry. But once there they will have to work, and it will not be easy to get back without the assent of those in authority. The island contains 1430 acres, and offers facilities Jor a variety of employments. „ , , — Nearly half the railway mileage of the globe (533,000 miles) lies within the confines of the United States of America— viz., 212,350 miles. How insignificant in camparison are Continental pretensions in this direction is revealed by the fact that Russia and Germany, vying for second place, have only 34,130 and 34,000 miles respectively to their credit. India, Austro-Hungary, and France are all the superiors of the United Kingdom, which can only boast of 22,634 miles of metals Regarding gross receipts, however, Great Britain occupies a more enviable position. While the United States totals a sum of £395,000,000. with receipts per mile £1860, the British Islands can boast of £111,800,000, with receipts per mile £4940; and Russia's gross receipts, with about 12,000 more miles of line than we possess, reach less than a third of our figure I .„ . — A quaint custom is still in vogue in winter at Bainbridge. a Yorkshire village. Every night at 9 o'clock a huge horn is blo-.vn on the village green, so that anyone lost or rambling on the surrounding fells may be guided to safety. Very welcome has the sound often been to many a wayfarer lost in snow or fog on the cheerless moors. — The natives of New Guinea empliy extraordinary fishing nets of spider's web to capture fish weighing up to lib. They fix bamboos bent in the shape of a landing handle in the jungle glades, and the spiders weave their net all over the frame. The method of fiehing is to watch for * passing fish, and then to dip it out and throw it on dry land. . — The soil of Cuba is generally admitted to be the most fruitful in the world. Cabbages there are so large that heads weighing 201b each are common. All vegetables thrive there. Radishes may be eaten from 14 to 18 days after sowing, lettuce in five weeks after" sowing, while corn produces threo rr--i"« nor year. Sweet potatoes grow all the year. — \N<Micis of eye-glasse6 have noticed how they become dim when subjected to a sudden change of temperature— as, for instance, when the wearer goes from cold outer air into a warm room. This may be prevented by rubbing the glasses with soap every morning. They may be polished bright after the soap is applied, but an invisible film is left on them that will prevent the deposit of moisture. # — There are 430 manufactories of artsficiaJ flowers, leaves, plants, and fruits in the district of Dresden. The largest manufactories employ from 250 to 1000 persons, and the total number of persons engaged in the trade is estimated at 10,000, the larger proportion being women and girls, who earn from 8s to 12s a week by their work. — Great Britain and her colonies and the United States represent together the fabulous total of 111,000,000 English-speaking persons, figures which leave all competitors hopelessly in the rear. Germany and Russia occupy second' place with 75,000,000 a-piece, and Fiance, Spain, Italy, and Portugal follow, with 51,000,000, 43,000,000 33,000,000, and 13,000,000 respectively.