MULTUM IN PARVO.

Otago Witness, Issue 3467, 24 August 1920, Page 45

MULTUM IN PARVO.

Jonah was a conundrum, and whale had to give him up. Most of the lectures delivered by women are to a one-man audience.

Brazil has nearly 800 million coffee trees now bearing berries. Two thousand five hundred seamen are homeless in the Port of London every night. There are only 4500 qualified men at present on the dental register in Great Britain. The world total of Girl Guides last October was 231,396. of whom more than half are in the British Isles.

Since the inauguration of aeroplane fire patrols in June, I§lß, 570 forest fires have been discovered in America.

Seventy-three of the first 100 British airmen aro still alive 4 and recently dined together. Depositors in national banks in the United States on May 4 numbered 20,380,350, an average of more than one account for every five persons. A motion Dicture concern is to tour the world illustrating the progress of British industries and Britain's ability to supply the world's needs. Canada is fast becoming a great tobacco countrv; 22,000 acres were grown in Quebec province last year, the crop being 16,000,0001 b. . T The building of a brewery in Newport (Mon.) has been stopped by the corporation on the ground that this is no time to put up such places. ~ to have £140,000,000 on deposit in its banks, waiting to be invested in business. Tiie public debt of the United States was decreased by more than a billion dollars during the fiscal year of 1919, just ended. The amount of indebtedness on June 30 was 24.299,521,467.07d01. ':-. . ; . Some Italian peasants, digging in a vineyard near Ancona ; came upon some beautiful vases, and further slprch revealed a buried city and cemetery dating back 2000 years. ' ; The nightjar, so long acctlsSd of preying on young poultry and game, has been proved to be the English farmer's most valuable feathered friend in his war on insect pests. The United States has decided that all naval cadets are to spend one year cruising as ordinary seamen, swabbing decks, cleaning brass, and doing ordinary work of the ship. . , A strange craft, suggestive of an ark, is being built in his garden by an adventurous man at Oakland, California. He and his daughter propose to sail round the world in it. •■.','

A French scientist has invented a method of producing and using for industry pressures equal to about seven tons to the square inch, or about 10C0 atmospheres, as the scientists say. ' —Fish are very long-lived; for example, salmori, in healthy conditions, will live 100 years, eels 60 years, carp 100 years, and pike are said to be more tenacious of life than either of these species. The indebtedness of England to Belgian and French people who helped British prisoners of war —oftentimes assisting them to escape at great risk to themselves—is to be acknowledged by gold or silver medals, or letters of thanks. Mr Edmund Harris, of High Wycombe, England, is over 100 years old. His mother and one of his sisters were each over 100 when they died. .He has a brother living who is 86 Four other brothers died at the of 93, 89, 85, and 77, and three sisters died at 90, 88. and 87 respectively. Five hundred letters a minute can be opened by a new electric letter-opener in -England. About 50' envelopes are placed at one time on a small feed-table, carried one by one on a belt, and passed between two revolving knives, which cut the envelopes open. ' —"ln China an odd wav of taking the census prevails. The cities and towns are arranged in groups of 10 houses. The oldest man in each group visits the nine houses which, [ with his own, make up the group, counts the members of every family, and sends his report to the Imperial Census Bureau.

A White Paper recently issued contains statistics of emigration from Ireland for the year 1919. The total number of emigrants who embarked at Irish ports with the intention of settling permanently elsewhere was 3114, of w'hora 1228 were males and 1885 females. Of that number 2975 were stated to be natives of Ireland, and the total is 1995 more than that for the preceding year. A trip to New Zealand has been arranged (says The Times) by Mr E. W. Gray, who has the support of the High Commissioner for New Zealand in London. The tour will begin in October and end in April, and is purely of a sight-seeing and social nature. A P. and O. liner has been arravred for, and the principal Australian, cities, will be visited before a thoroughly comprehensive tour of New Zealand is entered on.

—Mr jack Jones, Labour member for Silvertown, Essex, in a recent speech, said that his first mistake in the House of Commons was in addressing members as "gentlemen " The Speaker had promptly corrected him, and raid that was .not the propei address Amid laughter, Mr Jones added tbat he had found oub the Speaker was quite correct.

Scotland Yard has become possessed of an ingenious instrument, known as a "metal detector.'' which has the peculiar property of detectinor arms in ships attempting gunrunning operations. Whether the arms are placed under the coal in the bunkers or camouflaged in barrels or cases with false trade descriptions, the detector -will immediately disclose their presence by emitting a. curious buzzing sound. —At the principal London_ underground railway stations a "silent sruide" is being installed. Among the 400 landmarks listed in the panels at the sides of a map, you find the one you want, and press the button. There appears on the map a red light to show vou where you are and a white light to show the place you want to reach. A small red light show's the nearest station to it, and ;f you have to change on the way a green light Mis you where. _ —The multiplicity of newspapers has not given rise to many new titles. "Advertiser" h the favourite. There are 160 newspapers of that designation in the United Kingdom. "Times" comes next with 150; "News" with 149: "Gazette" with 128; "Chronicle" with 120; "Herald" with 119; and "Journal" with 104. The "Expresses," and "Observers" muster over 60 each. There are 48 "Standards" and only 58 "Telegraphs."