MULTUM IN PARVO.

Otago Witness, Issue 3196, 16 June 1915, Page 67

MULTUM IN PARVO.

The breadth of the Carpathian Mountains is between 100 and 200 miles. They are exceedingly rich in minerals. Outside the British Empire, the only great nations that have voluntary military service are the United States and China. The soldiers of Wurtemburg pin their faith upon a little bag containing the dry pollen of flowers, which, they believe, has the power of warding off the bullets. Out of over 160 inmates of a lunatic asylum only one had red hair, and only four were of light hair and complexion. —ln the Japanese navy the messing allowance is the same for all ranks. A vice-admn-al and an ordinary seaman get alike the modest sum of 5s a week. The American Government has demanded the sum of 223,000d0l from Germany for the loss of the W. B. Frye, which was sunk by the commerce raider Prinz Eitel Friedrich. Germany, it is announced, is about to commission a new submarine, which is the largest in existence. The vessel, which is named the Nautilus, is of 2000 tons, lias a speed of 20 knots, and is armed with two bin guns. The terra “Blue Stocking” arose from a club to which females were admitted, and which was so called owing to a male member wearing blue stockings. Shaving was introduced among the Romans about n.c. 300. The first shave was deemed the entrance to manhood, and celebrated with great festivities. The expression “pigeon English” arose from the Chinese attempt to pronounce the word “business,” which, through various

forms, became “pidgin,” and then “pigeon.’ “Pigeon English” is a strange jargon of many languages, but “business” is carried on by it. ' , Assuming the Gorman submarines could sink one British vessel of over 100 tons every day, it would take them 28 years to destroy the existing merchant beets, irrespective of new vessels under construction

The rivers of tho United States carry to tide-water every year 270,000,000 tons ol dissolved matter and 513,000,000 tons of suspended matter. This total of 783,000,000 tons represents more than 350,000,000 cubic yards of rocks, or 610,000,000 cubic yards ol surface soil. The canton of Berne, Switzerland, has prohibited the christening of babies with the names of famous generals. “In a few years,” it complains, “our schools will bo full of such as Joffrc, Hindenburg, Bulow, Oastelnau, Pau, Kluck, Gallieni, and French.” ' Paris will shortly have an opportunity of inspecting one of the famous 42-centi-metro (16£in) shells, which is now on view at Verdun pending its transfer to the Invalides. The shell fell in the neighbourhood of one of the forts without exploding. The removal of the fuse was a delicate operation. Tho shell weigiis nearly a ton, and stands sft high. Herr Unthan, a German, who was born without arms, has been engaged by the German army to give instructions to soldiers who have lost both arms in the war, so that they can help themselves in the future. Herr Unthan is 60 years old, and has shown in the music halls of the world how he can play the violin, write letters, eat, and wash himself by the use of his feet. —Contrary to Article 1 of the Hague x Convention, which forbids the use of tor pedoes which do not become harmless after they have missed their mark, examination of torpedoes from German submarines re centlv found in the English Channel proves that their immersion apparatus had been systematically jammed so as to turn the. torpedo into' a floating mine. This is a fresh violation of international law. Lecturing at the Camera Club, London the Rev. F. D. Morice, ex-president of the Entomological Society, said that many specimens of ants and bees were most curiously and. elaborately armoured. Certain ants were equipped with the precise equivalents to our swords, spears and darts, and shields. One particular ant of -which lushowed a specimen had a thorax of glass with such reflecting properties that the photograph of it showed a reflection of tho room ' in which it was taken. It was noteworthy that the soldier ants, covered with their coats of mail, had by far the largest heads in the ant family, the head often being twice as large as the abdomen. Tho movement in favour of Canadianmade goods, started a few weeks ago by some 35 leading Montreal business firms, has been enthusiastically endorsed by many prominent manufacturing houses in the most important industrial centres of Quebec province. Initial preparations for a general campaign have already been closely considered, and although there has been no flourish of trumpets, the movement has spread rapidly, and the question of organisation has already become acute. Montreal is already Canada’s leading industrial city, and the “made- in Canada” movement is certain to have far-reaching effects on manufacturing development in the province of Quebec. constructed much the same as sanitary drinkinsr-cups, have been introduced at Philadelphia for the purpose of preventing the spread of glanders and similar d : soascs among stock watered at public fountains The containers, which arc made of paper and provided with reinforced bottoms so that they may bo used several times, are arranged so that they may be folded and carried in a coat-pooket bv a driver. They are sold by an anti-cruelty society for slightly more than Id each, and are believed to have done much toward keeping hundreds of horses free from infection. The search for and extraction of fragments of shells is no simple matter, although surgical endeavour has Jreen facbtated by the perfection of the X-rays. But these are insufficient. A bullet may be located speedily, but the difficulty is to ascertain its precise position by the probe and lancet. As a result of study and investigation. a writer m fhambers’s Journal states, a simple and effective method of discoverv has been perfected, wb-eb may be decribed as telephoning for bullets. Ordinary telephonic receivers are clamped over the surgeon’s head, one wire being led to a carbon plate, and the second wound round the knife, probe, needle, forceps or what£v<?v is tn’S irnplpment the search is made, and directly it comes into contact with, say, a hnllct, a distinct click is heard on the telephone If the Instrument is rubbed across_ the anrtn.ee of the bulled object, a rattle is observed. and 1 by following this clue it is possible to withdraw the bullet or fragment of metal. The idea is bv no means new, inasmuch as 'it waa employed fov the first time during

tho Boer war; but the present campaign has served to bring it to a high state of perfection. Five feet of clay, 3ft of loose earth, or 2£ft of sand will stop a modern riilo bullet at the closest range; but, curiously enough, as the layman may think, ramming earth hard reduces its resisting power, and high velocity bullets have loss penetration in sand at short than at medium range. Eighteen inches of sand between boards is bullet-proof, and 9in of well-built brickwork. Soft woods, like fir, across the grain is bullet-proof at point-blank range if 48m thick, or at 500yds if half as thick. Similarly, 27in of hard wood, like oak, is pomt-