MULTUM IN PARVO.

Otago Witness, Issue 2849, 21 October 1908, Page 67

MULTUM IN PARVO.

— Red-haired people are least likely to go bald. . , — Yeast" is really a form, of vegetable fungus. — The doll is the oldest form of plaything known. - — In Samoa the 6mart ladies wear tor-toise-shell hats. — Beethoven's one opera, "Fidel io," was first produced in 1805. — Skilled basket-makers can 2arn, on . an average, from 30s to 35s a week. — The average cost of maintaining a prisoner in a British gaol is about £25 a year. — Since the popularity of motoring both smoking and drinking have decreased. — More than 50 ledgers are filled daily in keeping the accounts of the Eank of England. — Devonshire farmer* say that hawks are very audacious this year, eyeD attacking caged foirdo. ' — Humming-birds hatch out mere quickly than any others; they require only IC days. j — Chile, the rocst progressive of Spanish- ; speaking countries, has more than 3000 i miles of railroads and 11,000 miles of tele- I graphs. - — Yellowstone, the famous American national park, is about 3300 ; square mile 3 in area. — Fish cannot live i? the lower waters of the Ulack Sea, owing to the presence j of poisonous gases. — Potatoes, alter being soaked in -acids'" and pressed faard, are now being used for the manufacture of billiard balls. — A man's "voice, through a. ''speakingtrumpet "20ft long, has been^fceard a distance cf 20 miles. — The bride always stands on the l?fthand side of the groom during the wedding ceremony, save aiffcng the Jews, when she is placed at his right hand. —It -is proposed to seek power to amalgamate the West Highland and North British Railway Companies. — Tha Tevenue of the Clyde Navigation Trust for the year was £556,8*0, an increase- of over J59078. This s the largest revenue in the history of the trust. — A pair of opera-glasses recently made in America for a millionaire had a gold case encrusted " with diamonds and eapphires, and ccst £12,000. ' — Pure water will not nut iron. It is • the pretence- of carbonic acid and other j impurities which cause ihe surface of the I iron io oxidise when exposed to moisture. — There is just a possibility of the Crystal Palace falling into the hands of the speculative builder. There is a' crisis in. the affairs of the company, which owes £90,000 to unsecured creditors. It is suggested that the Government should come tp the- aid of the company, and co pre : serve the palace and its grounds as a permanent national possession, and there is .a movement to this end. — A Berlin iaodiord thus advertises an eligible flat: — "Nine large rcoms, bath, hot and cold water,* gas and electric light, electric lifts, vacuum-cleaner, fur-coat depository, «af© deposit .vaults ; and in ev.3ry Hat are installed a carpet-eieaning machine, a Isrga clock regulated by elecrricity-froru the JJerlin Observatory, and a mangling machine." — The Deputy-master of the Mint, in, his report for 1907,. comments on the greatlyincreassd -demand for bronze coin 6, for which automatic machines are in a large measure responsible. One of the largest companies owning those machines took from them in 12 months 33,934.671 pennies (about 316 tons), being an increase of £5876 over the takings of tho previous 12 months. — The town of Great Yarmouth contains a street that well may be considered the narrowest built-up street in the world, i Thi3 thoroughfare is known a« "Kitty Witches" i ny, and measurement gives in greatest width as 56in. The ontranca would seriously inconvenience a stout pereon, as 29in i 3 all that its spared from wall to wall. The town contains many such streets as "Kitty Witches." — The story of Mary and her littlelamb, whese escapades child in tin; i -nursery knows by heart, now c-eeirid^hk?!y ' to become an actual feature in English ! rural life. Mr Albert Jamrach, t:ie famous animal expert, has just imported somepicturesque pygmy sheep from Orenburg, | in Siberia. Thetie little creature* stand • only 13in high at tho shoulder, but other- ; wise resemble their larger brethren. In J constitution they are extremely bardy, and ! can easily stand the vagaries of tho Kaglifh climate. —It ie the glorious privilige of most countries to possess a national d«bt, and in the case of the leading nations tho amounts are very large. If we include the capital represented by the railways. G<?rmanyMiecds the list; "but, excluding these. France lead« the way with £1.000,000,000; Russia probably comes next, though the exact amount is not known ; the" third place falls to Germany, if the Empire debt and those of Prussia and the other State* be grouped together, the total being £836,240,000, exclusive of railways ; and the i fourth place falls to the United Kingdom, with £750,000,000. — A quaint custom has been observed in connection with Holsworthy fair, in. the awarding of a money prize to the young woman "generally esteemed as tho most deserving, most handsome, and most noted for her quietness and attendance atohurcb." Miss Rosa Bassett was selected for the honour of fulfilling all these requirements, and became the possessor of £2 IDs,, in accordance with a singular bequest of a former rector. Under the game will tho sum of 5s is annually given to the spinster over 60 years of age who "is noted for the_ like virtues, and is not in receipt of parish pay." It is three years 6tnce any award wa3 made of this money, spinsters being very scarce at Hobworthy" — One of the most curious vanc6 to bo seen on a church i 6 that at Great Gonerby, a pariah adjoining Grantham. It k in the form of a fiddle aiid a bow. and is unusually large. Its history is a curious one. Many years ago a peasant resided in Grctt Gonerby who eked out a modest livelihood by performing on an old violin, which was almost a part of his life. At last he decided to emigrate, and out in the Far West prospered and became a rich man. One day he sent to the clergyman at Grea£ Gonerby a sum sufficient to build a church, and attached to the gift the curious condition that & metal replica of his old fiddle «nd bow should be on the summit of the edifice. The gift was accepted, and the «*ne may still be eeen oa the church,