MULTUM IN PAEVO.

Otago Witness, Issue 2845, 23 September 1908, Page 58

MULTUM IN PAEVO.

I — A 60ft high oak tree contains on an average more than six million leaves. — There is no proof of camels ever existing in a wild state. -r About 30 per cent, of the people who go mad recover. —If a new pen-nib is burnt with a, match it will write much better. — Only one couple out of every thousand live to celebrate their golden wedding. — Newfoundland is without reptiles. It is said that no snake, frog, toad, or lizard has ever been seen there. —In proportion, more female prisoners have previous convictions against them than have male prisoners. ; —In parts of South Africa much damage ie done by baboons, who go about in large marauding parties. I — The cow tree of Venezuela yields jniHc so similar to that of the cow that it is used by' the natives as food. — Envelopes were only invented one hundred years ago. Previous tc that the letter was folded up and sealed. — The screws made in watch factories are the smallest in the world; 100,000 o£ them would go in an ordinary thimble. — A London coroner recently stated that he did not believe that 30 *^er cent, of the people who committed suicide were really insane. J —In Sweden doctors do not send ac- . count* for their service; they cheerfully accept whatever sums their patients offer them. — The Dominion of Canada is nearly as large as the whole of Europe, contains nearly 3,746,000 square miles, and has a population of 5,765,606. — Berlin will presently contain the largest hotel in the world. The building now in course of erection will be able to accommodate 2000 visitors. — A Frenchman has discovered a means of planting artificial eyelashes and eyebrows The former operation ie especially painful. A hair from the subject's head • is threaded into & very fine needle, and a. neat row of stitches is then made on the border of the eyelid. 'dfißhe loops thus made are separated with scfeors. leaving a row of lashes, which are pressed with an iron. A similar operation, somewhat less painful, is -performed on the brows, and the transformation is complete. — The velocity of wind varies very considerably, according to the strength at which it is blowing. A gentle breez* travels five miles an hour, or thereabouts; a. brisk wind at ten miles an hour. When a storm is blowing- the velocity of the wind .is about fifty miles an hour, and it is difficult to make headway against rt when walking. Boisterous puffs — spoken of as " blowing #reat guns" — attain s> velocity of anything from eighty to on© hundred miles an hour. i — Much interest has been shown of late*, by the Army and Navy authorities in a new method of preserving flour- by means of compression. With hydraulic pressure apparatus the flcor 16 squeezed into the form of bricks, and experiments are reported to have shown that the pressure destroys all forms of larval life, tiiua preserving the flour from the ravages of insecte, while it is equally secure from mould". Three hundred pounds of compressed flour occupy the same space as 1001b of flour in , tho ordinary otate. — There was once a living sign to ba" 1 seen over an inn at St. Germainen-Laye, near Park. The landlord wan an adept in iDreparinjr cutlobs, and Alexandra Duma*. - who wa» evidently very fond of these, rag up a bill to the amount of £1000. "WheiJ a settlement was suggested, the au£ho| wrote back and expressed bis inability to» pay; but sent a- live eagle and proposed that the inn-keeper should recoup himself by exhibiting it. Making the beet of ife, mine host did co, and for many years hie living eign drew much attention to his hmiafl.

ment of an annual grant of £50 to any car-owner whose machine answers certain specified requiremenrt-s, the machine having to be maintained in order for five year?. The motorist has to enter into an agreement to sell his car to the authorities for £200 if it is required for active service, oar a larger sum in the case of big-powered and valuable ~g,r6. The owners of cars are bound down in the case of disposing of cars to only sell to fellow-countrymen residing in Germanj, and to those willing to take over the original contract with the War Office. By* adopting this new movement the German authorities expect to have at their immediate control thousands of efficient motor cars for transport purposes, etc. The latest move of the German War Office it being watched with interest in European military circles, and it is thought more than likely that .somewliat similar schemes will yet be adopted by other European nations. In a 100-mile motor race for a special trophy, decided on the Brooklands track, F New tou in a 90 h.p. Napier car, won in a few seconds over the hour. As a matter of fact, he covered the tremendous distance of 98^ miles in 60min, which is easily the record. The race was keenly contested. One car, a Mercedes, being driven to its utmost, overturned, caught fire, and •was totally de«troyed. The driver was seriously injured, but the mechanician was killed otrtrigiht. The car used by the winner was one of those built specially for tho Grand Prix race, and it has given a fine taste of its speed capabilities. The Mercedes racing car which secured first honours in the Grand Prix has been, purchased by an American motorkt, who intends driving it in the Vanderbilt Cup race. This car will not be tho only foreign motor engaged in the American race, it being understood others will be imported for that purpose. It will be remembered that the Protos, a German car, was the first of those competing in the New York to Paris race to reach the finishing point, the office of Le Matin, and that the Thomas (American) car followed four days later. It may also be remembered that owing to th& Thomas being driven north towards Alaska, tho original route, having then a substantial lead on the rest of the cars, but which section of the route was cancelled when it was found to be impassable, the American oar 10-=t its lead of about 14 days, and left San Franr-i-sco about the same time as the othc<--. On quitting YLadivostock tocother. it v. as understood that the Thoma- c-"* hn.l lv-en credited with iis previous !eti<l a"« l«v ;*t- leaching Paris sr'ly four da} « p'.'ov ilic Protos n \utn.i!lv won the cor. to-~* This thr- vi n w takr-'i by thr Atncir^cac, but the Gcj.msru& haic

filed a protest against the award of ajuything but the first * prize to Lieutenant Koeppen, of the Protos car, on the grounds that the concession granted to tihe Thomas was unsportsmanlike. It is said that the German Imperial Automobile dub also takes this view, and will likely address formal represent at lona- to the committee of control in its own name. At the time the mail left the awarding of the prizes was being considered. The members of tho Victorian Motor Cycle Club contested a 50-mile road race Ih\a Saturday week, start ir.<g and finishing at Campbellfiekl, Sydney road. The course was over a 12£ miles etretch, out and home, traversed twice. Notwithstanding the thi -eaten ing weather, Jiere were 21 htartcrs. A speed of over 40 miles an hour wa- attained by several riders, and the raco resulted as follows: — C. Cox (3i h p. Peugeot), 9min Handicap ; time, lhr 20min 1 J Miller (3£ hp. Triumph), lOnrin handicap; time, lhr 21Jsec .. .. ..2 H. F. Hall (5 h p. Peugeot), scratch; time, lhr 13min .. 3 J Biddlecoinbe (3J h.p. Triumph), lOmin handicap; time, lhr 23imin 4 Hall registered fastest time. X special track has been prepared on ! Long Island, United States, upon which the motor race for the Vanderbilt Cup will be decided on October 24. Of th« course to be used, 11 ruil«e are on a. new motor parkway (in course of construction) and 14.4 miles of publio roads. There is j but one level railway crossing, while the turns presenting any difficulty in negotiating are few. A grand stand' to seat 10,000 people is being erected, and 11 miles of parking space along the new motorway will be reserved for those who wish to view the race from their cars. A deposit of £5000 is demanded by the authorities to ensure that all damage done to the roads will be rep* i red. A body of 1200 uniformed troop* will guard the course.