MULTUM IN PARVO.

Otago Witness, Issue 3829, 2 August 1927, Page 61

MULTUM IN PARVO.

— Milk can now be produced that will keep, in perfectly good condition, for from 96 to 120 hours. — Rice paper is not made from the l ice plant, blit from the pith of a tree growing in Freavr.sa. — There are 16,000 diamond mills in Belgium, and 700 or more workshops for cutting the stones. —We are living longer. A baby born now has an expectation of 56.58 years of life if a boy, ami 60.47 years if a girl. — Telephone calls in London last year averaged 5.7 seconds from the lifting of the receiver till the operator answered.

— Eyes can now be examined so minutely by a new appliance that even the corpuscles circulating in the bloodvessels are visible. — Silence is the rule in one well-known bookshop in Oxford. England, where the assistants never speak to a customer until spoken to. —ln the city of York. England, there is more mediaeval church glass than anywhere else in Britain, and as much as in any Continental town.

—A led diamond, weighing 18 carats, has been reported found in the Lichtenburg diamond district. South Africa. Red diamonds are very rare, and command high prices. — The skull anil spine bones of a man believed to have lived 4000 years ago, in the Bronze Age, have been found by workmen digging a trench near Portsmouth.

— Dog licenses to the number of 2.810.162 were issued in England during the last financial year. This represents an increase of 922,000 compared with 1921 —a rise of nearly 50 per cent, in five — More than 1000 cities of U.S.A, are laying streets of concrete. — New York has 50.000 telephone call boxes: London has less than 5000. — Nine million women and girls in the United States are working for a living. —A nest of starlings has been hatched in the organ of Fletching Church, Sussex, England. — There were 5,701,424 women workers in Great Britain in 1926 compared with about 3,000,000 in 1900. —lf you stood on a certain spot in North Dakota, you would be at the central point of North America. — Emeralds are now the most precious of all the gems, a fine specimen being worth as much as £lOOO per carat. —About 150 open-air classes of 30 delicate children are now being held in London parks and on London commons. — Work has already begun at Somerset House. London, on preparations for the next census. This will be taken in 1931. — Workmen at Creggs. in County Galway. Ireland, have unearthed some skulls, and found a bag of gold coins among them. — Pipe-smoking has no tendency to cause cancer of the lip or mouth as long as the pipe used does not burn and irritate the lips. —ln a census of birds taken by an Oxford undergraduate those of Kensington Gardens. London, totalled to 3980. including 260.3 sparrows. 411 starlings. 289 black-headed seagulls, 37 titmice, and 26 moorhens. — It is estimated that the destruction caused by the world's insects in a year represents the loss of 1.000,000 men’s labour. In terms of money this loss amounts to £400.000.000.

— The president of the Canadian Pacific Railway controls 20,000 miles of railway, 83 ocean and lake steamers, 100,000 employees, coal mines, sawmills, and millions of acres of farm land. — Tobacco smoke from pipes or cigarettes is now said to have no bad effect on the eyes. Cases of nicotine poisoning affecting the sight are said to be due, in nearly every case, to cigar smoke. —A Dutch engineer has introduced a drinking glass made of ice.. In addition to cooling the liquid, it is said to be very hyg’enie, and will last about half an.hour in a room of moderate temperature. — The American Telephone Company has over 10.000.060 stations, and handles about 43.000,000 conversations daily. -—American Cabinet Ministers arj merely personal assistants to the President, and may not speak in either House of Congress.

—A Canadian convict, serving a life sentence for bank robbery, has been granted a patent for a device to stop theft from mail bags. — The Turks believe amber to be an infallible guard against the injurious effects of nicotine; hence its extensive use for the mouthpieces of pipes.

— Canada exports probably more newsprint paper than the rest of the world combined. Her wood pulp exports for 19'26 amounted to more than £10,415,000.

— Street beggars in London now number fewer than 1000. On the other hand, the nui..ber of professional begging letterwriters shows no decrease. — The second largest canal, the Berkeley and Gloucester, has just completed its century. Sixteen miles long, it is the longest stretch of inland navigable water in England.

—-Silk stockings of a novel tint that takes its tone from the frock of the wearer arc now being made. Seen alone, these stockings have merely a drab appearance.

—ln case of invasion, the vaults of the new Bank of England can be Hooded from three different points. The walls of the vaults are constructed of concrete blocks 2ft thick.

—At one time the ant was used by surgeons to bind the edges of a wound. When brought into contact with the wound, the pugnacious creature closed its jaws, biting through the skin, ami joining the two edges.

— English farmers are breeding more poultry and fewer pigs and horses than they formerly did. There were also greatly increased numbers of women and girls, but fewer men, employed in farm work last year than in 1925.

—So many Scots are desirous of emigrating to the United States that there air long waiting lists in the Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Dundee consular areas. It is anticipated that not more than 15,000 Scottish emigrants will be admitted to the U.S.A, this year, and the list of applicants from South-west Scotland contains 50.000 names.