MULTUM IN PARVO.

Otago Witness, Issue 3005, 18 October 1911, Page 67

MULTUM IN PARVO.

The highest elevation at -which wheat i-s found is in the Andes, 11,000 ft above sealevel. '., , , Local trains in Berlin have compartments reserved for "passengers with dogs. —lt 'is a peculiarity of the horse to rise on its fore legß first, while the cow first rises on its hind lege. Under normal conditions a man can live on about one-third of the food he usually eats. Although the exact origin of insurance is unknown, it. is believed that it dates back to the year 43 a.d. A law compels the bakers in Montreal to stamp on each loaf its weight and their initials. Before French prunes are ready ior market they are subjected! to threej and sometimes four, distinct cookings. —To wash andi water the streets and courts of the City of London last year 65,965,997 gallons of water were used. a suicide was burnt apart from the body, as a special mark of disgrace. —' On a patch of ground 35yds by 6yds all the vegetables, exospting potatoes, required by a family of four may be produced.

Edged with gold, and worn usually in the hat, handkerchiefs cost from sdl to Is in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. •] —According to present computation, thfere will be 40 million Frenoh Canadians in North America in 100 years' time. High heels, it is said, owe their origin to Persia, where they were introduced to raise the feet from the burning sands of that country.

King Edward's christening cap was made of Honiton lace, the makers of which —three widows-—are still living at Teignmouth, Devon. —ln England to-day there are 21 survivors of the "British Legion," which served undier the famous Italian patriot Garibaldi, during the sixties. Madrid's famous bull ring is situated a mile or eo outside the city. It was built in 1874, at an estimated cost of £BO,OOO. A doctor in Yokohama, Japan, has built himself a novel house with a view to guarding against microbes. The walls of this remarkable edifice are made of blocks of glass. They are hollow, the interstices being filled up with a solution of salts of soda, -which is intended _to regulate the of the interior. The windows are hermetically closed, and air is only admitted after passing through filters ■.

The camel at the London Zoo is being made to work. He is harnessed to a big lawn mower. The animal is quite resigned to his lot, but up to the present has- not developed the intelligence of the horse, who pauses and swings back at the end of the journey across the lawn. The oanicjl has to be pulled and pushed round.. His one great advantage over the horse is the fact that the camel's cushioned foot does not damage the turf like the hoof of a horse; ...

Not only in England and America, tut in Germany fanciers pav high prices for dogs. At the recent exhibition of dogs at Caasel a Frenchman offered 12,000 marks (about £600) for a police dog. The dog rejoices in the name ef Tell, and the sum offered might "be considered as conclusive evidence that "Tell" is worthy of his famous name; but this is not. all. The dog belongs to .Sergeant Decker, who refused the tempting offer, observing that his dog should, not quit Germany at any price. The town of Elma, Washington, in the midst of the great fir tjmlber belt on the west elope of the Cascade Mountains, presents a unique feature in the form of a two-storey house, containing 14 rooms. built, -entirely of the timber from a single fir. This tree was a giant Douglas fir, and was felled west of Elma. It was wonderfully straight, and when scaled was found to contain 40,000 ft of serviceable timber. The- tree was cut into six logs, the first or butt being 2Sft in length. Inside the bark the stump measured 7ft 9in diameter. The distance to the first limb of this tree was 100 ft, and the total height of the tree was over 300 ft. At the standard then prevailing—£s a lumber in this tree Was worth £2OO.