MULTUM IN PARVO.

Otago Witness, Issue 3783, 14 September 1926, Page 62

MULTUM IN PARVO.

The pneumatic tube idea originated in 1667. Ely Cathedral has the onlj Gothic dome in existence. Two thousand varieties of apples are Saised in the United States. The oldest watches bearing an inscribed date are of Swiss make, and the date is 1484. —An acre of good fishing ground will yield more food in a week than an acre of land in a twelve-month. Silk hats are said to be regaining, popularity, especially in certain University towns. Trees are to be planted along 24 miles of now roadway in Middlesex (England) this year. Roller canaries are capable of singing 14 notes, although few birds achieve them all Quill pens of the best quality are made by hand. A skilled workman can cut over IOOQ pens a day. Only women and girls will be admitted to a recreation ground which has just been presented to Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England. Waiting rooms at a London railway station have beon turned into fiats for the use of railway employees. Civil servants who live in London are said to favour ; of the total of 47,000 live in that borough. Only about 3 per cent, of British civil servants remain *in the Government's employment until they reach the official retiring age. Coins can be sorted and put into packets at the rate of about 50,000 an hour fry a machine made for use in the Bank of England. With ages ranging from 82 to 62, one London family of live brothers and four sisters have a total of 630 years between them. Yarmouth and Norwich Railway ran a mile in 44sec, and in 1848 a Great Western train travelled the 53 miles to Didcot in 47 minutes. The first envelope-making machine was invented by Edwin Hill, brother of Rowland Hill; and De La Rue’s machine for folding envelopes was patented on March 17, 1846. The rose was introduced into Europe from Damascus by the Crusaders. It first appeared in England in the year 1306. _ —The tarantula, the immense and hideous spider of Natal, is a miner, burrowing deep into the sandv soil. Unlike the English spider, this huge insect i* easily tamed. —lt is supposed that the average depth of sand in the deserts of Africa is from 30ft to 40ft. from London to Holyhead cost £75, and took four days to do the journey. A halfpenny is exactly lin in diameter, five halfpennies weigh loz, and two halfpennies and one farthing weigh £oz. Tndiarubber used for erasing pencil marks was known in England as early as 1770. A cube of it half an inch square cost a shilling. The observations of meteorologists have established the fact that between 4 and 5 o’clock a.m. is the coldest hour of the 24. Horseshoes are not known to date back farther than the sixth century. They are found in the tombs of that age throughout Europe. Asia, and Africa. Clothe hats, now so popular as to be almost universal, are made much too tight, according to a statement recently made by Sir Robert 4 rrmtrong-Jones, the famous physician. Some very ancient books are to be found in the sacred relics of Ceylon. They are formed of palm leaves, written upon with a metal pen, and are bound merely by a silken string. According to an expert on Vesuvius, wo danger need be expected from the volcano %* in spite of ittr recent eruption of lava, there is room for 20.000.000 cubic metres inside the crater. Grog, the sea term for rum and water, got its name from Admiral Edward Vernon. who introduced the mixture in the Navy. He was nicknamed “Old Grog.” because he wore gingham breeches. The ant is provided by Nature with its own b»m«;he« and combs. Four of its legs are fitted with hairs which can be used as “clothe?” brushes, and its forelegs are fitted with a fine and coarsetoothed comb. According to a speaker at the Dun stable Farmers’ Union meeting, a big brewery firm in London recentlv ordered a thousand set? of harness with the intention of replacing it* motor fleet bv horsetraction. Among the mo«t tireless helners of the Medical Research Council in England are many l*die». One measures and examines skull*, a second inspects worms, while a third i« investigating the question of tel»(rranhictc* cramp. Built in Thome, in Yorkshire, and intended for »«« on the Mersev. a petrol barge recently h*»d to travel 900 miles through the North Sea. Caledonian Canal, and Tr»sb She wa« lfitf too long to Cut a<*ros* hVyeJend bv the canals. An nrenr>i«t *av* that a cow moos -in a Perfect fi f th octave or tenth, a do«? barks in « fifth or fourth a donkev bra vs ill a perfect ort*ve. and a horse neighs in a descent on the chromatic scale A Fmnph n»tun»i : «t has made the ftartUpg dineoverv th**t : f a «n**row i* nut W the same cnee with finehes it will soon barn to iw-t-nt« fhe>r «*nj, like a mocking h»rd • nl«« th« rharnin'r of a CTtcket *lhn hava h«Vd r*f Tndi* coend* his •nore time cateh’nnr n>f*™moth fireflies, whieh ho f«?fen« to fKn r-rlo* of hi* Pe*t with moi** clay. On « dark a bava’s ne*t i* «a«d to lnnk like an elecfrie street. lamn The loneecf time dories* wh*ch a not® ha* 'smainofl e*»f«|de the x>*nk of Fneland ta 111 ve*r«. Tf wa* for and it i* comP’d®-* th*f th* compound interest during fhnt long period amounted to rto les* than £6OW. —As nn axamnle of the enormous amount of nraefire required to make a first-cla** bilß«rd nlaver may be men. tinned th® fact that for four years Peall devoted six hours a d*v to the cultivation of the M «?»nt-*troke” alone. Clergymen in*ta!led in certain benefice* are still compelled, bv a charge levied fcv Henry VTTT *fo nav the whole of their first vesr*« «al**rv and one-tenth everv year aft®r to a f”*d Tbit charge amounted to £15,000 l&bt year. *