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Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10659, 12 May 1906, Page 6 (Supplement)

Paiu ctecTauTis^^fffl^ll^^^^^^^^W prayers uncovered, but^^^i^^^^H possible to run a modern church aloi/g the lines laid down by St. Paul." A TREAT ALL ROUND. At a country fair a man went up to a tent where some elk 'were on show and stared wistfully up at the 6ign. "I'd like to go m there," he said to tho keeper, "but it would be mean to go m wichout my family, and I cannot afford to pay for my wife and seventeen children." The keeper stared at him m astonishment. "Are all those your children?" he gawped. "Every one," said the man. "You wait a minute," said the keeper; "I'm going to bring the elk out and let, them see you uYi. ' THE SULTAN'S AMUSEMENT. According to the Scotsman, the Sultan of Turkey has recently developed a considerable interest m natural history, and, oddly enough, seems to be particularly interested m the mineral products and fauna of Australasia. He is bent on forming a collection of such things from that part of the world, and commissions have recently executed on his behalf with the object of getting together a representative series of minerals and precious stones, as well as a collection of Antipodean birds. As the Westminster Gazette sagely remarks, "the Sultan has been worse employed — many a time." CHEAP FARE. The House of Commons, if it does not still hold the reputation of being the finest club m Europe may now be described as one of the cheapest of restaurants. For reasons of health, says Mr T. P. O'Connor, I frequently abstain for months at a time from all stimulants, and I eat always for the same reason the plainest of food. But that did not prepare me for the modesty of my bill m the House of Commons dining-room. I had some chiken, some apple tart, and some cheese ; my bill was one shilling ! Then I had a cup of coffee; the charge was one and threepence. These are the new and the democratic prices which the democratic House enjoys. INTENSE COLD. Professor Olszewski, of Cracow, has informed the' Academy of Sciences m that city that he has succeeded m producing the greatest cold that has ever been created artificially. The Polish savant has experimented for years with reducing gases to liquids, but until npW has failed to convert helium. By employing solid hydrogen, under a pressure of 180 atmospheres, a temperature of minus 259deg was attained, which further sank when the pressure was suddenly released to minus 271.3deg. This latter figure is only I.7deg over what is ' known as the absolute zero— -the' temper- ] ature which is theoretically supposed to pre"ail m interplanetary space. THOUGHT PHOTOGRAPH. Apropos of tlie ihysterious forces of nature, an extraordinary, if not altogether credible, story conies from Colorado, where a Mr Cutting claims that he can reproduce the object of his thought on a photographic plate. The experiment has been tried with complete' success. Mr Cutting, accompanied by a friend, took a photographic plate from an unbroken packet, and. srill accompanied,' by the friend, went into a darkened cellar. There the plate was tied across lus forehead, and for thirty minutes he concentrated his thoughts upon the features of his father, whom he remembered only by a picture. When tlie plate was developed a distinct outline of his father's face was found on it—^at least, the New York Herald's correspondent says so. WOMEN, BEWARE. An English .exchango says :— There is a law on the statute nooks of England, designed to protect the male sex, but no man has ever had. the courage to invoke it. It was passed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and solemnly enacted that "any woman who shall deceive oi cajoule into matrimony any of the subjects of Her Majesty, by the use of false hair, or any other thing false m connec tion with the body, or by means ol paints or cosmetics, shall be punished as for fraud and deceit." It has been sug gested that a case be stated for the opi nion of the High Court as to Whether this law is operative m New Zealand But perhaps it is not worth while. The fellow "cajoled into matrimony" usually gets his own hair off. Why should he kick on learning that the , cajoleress. has lost hers long ago ? LAGEST iVESSEL IN THE. WORLD. Tonnage to the extent of 243,182 is represented by the ten largest steamers m the world, either already running or m course of construction. Between them the two new Cunarders, Lusitania . and Muritania, contribute 66,400 tons, each being of 33,200 tons, 787 ft long, and 80ft broad. They arc the largest vessels of all. Next m size come the Kaiserin Anguste Victoria, of the Hamburg-Ame-rican Line, and the Adriatic, of the White Star Line, each being of 25,000 tons, and having a length of 727 ft. Then follow the Baltic, of the White Star Line, 23,875 tons; the Amerika, of the Hamburg-American Line, 22,250 tons; Cedric and Celtic, both of the White Star Line, 21,035 and 20,904 tons respectively, and the Caronia and Carmania (Cunarders), 19,594 arid 19,524 tons respectively. TELEPHONE EXCHANGE, AND LIFTS ON -A CUNARDLSR.

The largest and most complete electric installation ever fitted on board ship is m store for the new Cunardier Mauritania, now building at Wallscnd. The vessel will be lit, says the Glasgow Herald, by about 5000 lamps of sixteen candle-power, which is more than double the number fitted on the Cedric. Two electric passenger hoists aro to be erected for conveying passengers between the six decks, two lifts for luggage, and six smaller lifts for mails, etc.

There will be a telephone exchange on board, which will connect up the chief passenger sections of the ship with the officers, and there are also to be special telephones from the bridge. But perhaps the most up-to-date novelty is the provision of electric .curling tong heaters for . the lady passengers. AN EXTRAORDINARY CASE. A very extraordinary case was that of , Maitlana Metcalfe, who recently died at St. Thomas's Hospital • from vie effects of an abcess formed owing to tho presence of a French nail, l£in m length, which had lodged for some time m his right lung. Metcalfe, who . was a carpenter, ■ while asleep in* a tramcar some ago, swallowed a nail which ho was holding between his teeth, but paid no attention to the fact until nine months later, when he felt very ill, and consulted a doctor, who intimated that he was suffering from consumption. Metfcalfo was admitted to the Bronipton Hospital, and by tho aid of the rays tho. real cause of his indisposition was discovered. The man's windpipe was opened, but efforts to reach the nail, which was at the bottom of tho lupg, proved unsuccessful, and subsequently the case was discharged as hopeless. In December last he gained admission to St. Thomas's .Hospital, and various efforts were made to extract the nail, which was caught by tho head m the abscess cavity of the lung, with the point protruding into the bronchial tubes. The sufferer was turned upside down, but this proved ineffectual. Two layers of the membrane round the lung wore sewn buck, and eighteen days later an opening was made into the lung. Then the operators endeavored to attract the nail with an electro magnet, but failed. A verdict of accidental death was returned. Metcalfe actually lived two years after swallowing the nail. THE JOAN OF ARC OF MOROCCO.

It is only tlie bravo Avho would dare to take poace instead of a sword into the heart of Morocco, yet, while the Powers dispute at Algeciras about policing the - country, a woman, ulinost unaided and quite "unprotected iv any conventional sense of the word, ia setting about its civilisation m a perfectly businesslike and peaceful manner. Mme. De Senio', knowing Morocco well through having explored it m tho disguise of a man with her husband, has grasped tlie fact that to win over the Moon* to a foreign occupation it is only necessary to win over the women. This she means to do m three ways: By making them work — "autant que ces creatures rebelles et iudolcntes pcuvent le commxmdre'^-by teaching their children, and by nursing their 6ick. In her own words, when the woman of Morocco has once said "Til es bonne Mme. do France's the Frenchwoman can travel everywhere without , danger. Sbe is beginning witli a workshop at Oudjtlu, whero, with tho help of a teacher for the children, aud a Russian woman, doctor for the sick, just a handful of three women, she. means to start tho manufacture of Moorish goods,, for the sale of which she has arranged 'in .Paris; and her idea is to make t'histhe nucleus of a great scheme for civilising the whole country. When asked W.hnt defence site has against attack, she answers with a smile, "None,'' and her reply to the question as to how many women workers eho hopes to got is "Twelve hundred." After this .it may well be stated, according to Mme. De Scnio's own view, that only women should 1)6 explorers, becati-o they bnr.g to the work more skill, muro intelligence, niore diplomacy.

Uniquoted appears ____________________________________________________________________________________________Bheei) __________________________________________^____________________________________________Kl'UllkollllC6S. ground up ________________________________________________________________________________HK m the of port ly station a to himself the aforesaid tanners. a comfortable position, the biggest farmer, and mc \ s ' r - ihe Act of Parliame to occupy thirty inches, occupying more." __________________________________Hpyou>, roared the farhave you to know I was not by Act of Parliament." j CRUEL MAN. I A young business man, who lias not long been married, was greeted by his wife one evening with the joyful announcment that she had that afternoon received a diploma- from the cookingschool at wliich she had been an assiduous student. ; Evidently the husband did not exhibit ' that degree of enthusiasm m the matter that she expected, for the young wife said, m a disappointed tone: "Aren't : you , glad that Ive been enrolled as a competent cook? Just see, I've prepared the whole dinner ! I gave especial attention to this dish here. Guess what it is!" As sho spoke the husband had endeavored to masticate a • particularly tough piece of the contents of the dish .referred to. Seeing his look of wonder, the young wife again playfully said, "Guess what it is?" "I don't know," responded the husband uncertainly. "Is it the diploma?" THE AMERICAN. LANGUAGE. The American language sometimes has a vigor and expressiveness all its own. In New York recently a man committed suicide by turning on the gas m a lodg-ing-house bedroom. Two other men had committed suicide m a similar manner m the house during the previous five weeks, and the caretaker was approached for. information. His- reply to the inquiring 'reporter was as iollows: "Say ! Does this joint look like the Morgue? If I' catch -another guy trying to shuffle the mortal coil, as they say m this shack, I'll wallop the* life out of him. He won't, need no gas.I never heard of .such gall. This bloke comes m last night, pays a quarter for a room, and uses a dollar's worth of gas. At this -rate '-we'll soon be on the blink, with gas a dollar a thousand. But say, young fellow, just take it from me; tilie next one that takes gas won't get it here, we're going back to lamps." A CHANCE DISCOVERY. ' , The following story has come from Washington, and if true it opens up large possibilities m the matter of supplying future rubber requirements of the world. It appears, says the Times, that a farmer sent to England fov a high gvtule. ram. In a. little while the ram was taken ill and died. An autopsy was held, and m the stomach, was found_&"remarkable accumulation of a weed wliich the ordinary sheep had eaten without trouble, and which is very plentiful m the district. Investigation isliowed that the weed had filled the ram's stomach, and that iii the last stage it had developed into a substance which was found to >be crude rubber. . '

A quantity of the weed was at once gathered and. subjected to .processes approximating as closely as possible to those through which it had gone m the ram's stomach, and samples of lyibber goods mad* from it have been exhibited m Washington. It is said that tho experiments will be conducted m co-opera-tion with \the Washington Department of Agriculture. A LADY PARMER. Miss Isabel May, the lady farmer at Hockenden.Farm, St Mary Cray, is hurt by the imputation that she \years male attire. "Lady Juck," which is the title by which she is known m the- neighborhood, having adopted a farmer's life, clothes herself m the attire she considers best suited to her work. Her skirt m not much shorter than that worn, by milkmaids and Avomcn farm hands. She wears leggings, however, and a man's oyereoiit, which covers <t'he skirt. Shi contends that' her garb is quite feminine, but when she lias her coat on no one would take her for any tiling but a sunburned youth. The owner of Hockenden Farm and Foots Cray Farm, on both of which "Lady Jack" works, states that she does not work on the land, but s engaged upon ordinary women's tasks, such lis milking and butter-making. The people of St. Mary Cray arc becoming quite used to lady farmers; they are fairly numerous' m the surrounding district, and arc,. so successful that the number is increasing rapidly. The ladies receive a thorough training' at the Horticultural College at Swanley, a few miles from St. Mary Gray, and afterwards take lip positions on the neighboring furhi6, where their superior intelligence and good training are already caysing farmers to ' recognise their suitability for the Work. , POISON ANTIDOTE. For the benefit of those who may be at any . time attacked by poison internally a correspondent forwards some useful information, published by Henri de Parville, m the Annales Politique et Litteraires, Parish It is set out m the Frenchman's article that the Japanese physicians declare it is impossible for internal poisoning to result m death if the victim swallow a quantity of charcoal as soon as the first gastro-intestinal disturbance is felt. l)v Theurery, a French druggist (who lived about the year 1835), asserted that charcoal would counteract the poison, of strychnine. No one believed him, and, to prove that he knew what he was talking about, he swallowed a dose of strychnine and then swallowed a quantity of charcoal. Tlie result bore out his assertion. He was not even made sick by itl This antidote must be taken when the first symptoms of poison are felt, and the doses must be large. Henri de Parville contends that it would be well to test its powers m all cases of the nature, of ptomaine poisoning. It must be taken m suspension m water, put into water and stirred while it is taken, so that it shall not settle. There is nothing to be feared, even if a great deal of the powder is used. Use a soup spoon, and take it at intervals of 10 minutes; ' ABSENT-MINDED BEGGAR. Young, married, studious, visionary, and very absent-minded, he approached the young lady at the counter as though walking m his sleep. ' "Please let mo see a sample of your left-hand pockets," was the surprising request. "Beg pardon." "Sample of left-hand pockets." "B-e-g pardon," and. the young lady showed how tall and dignified she could be. "Possibly you want me to show you some buttonholes, needle eyes, or invisible perforations for .embroidery." "No, I thank you. baby :obb'(C o,y c "No, I think not. I recall none of those as on the list. I'm acting for my wife, you know. Charming woman, but so unpractical. Thinks' that the house must be attended to, m/matter what becomes of the shopping. You have no left hand pockets?" "No pockets of any kind. Possibly you wanted the opening to tho pocket, or a pump for inflating the pocket," ,and the several, young ladies wno had gathered around looked at. everything but the customer. ■ "It might bo. I confess that I'm a. little uncertain as to just what my wife did ask me to get. Come to think of it, I have a list. Forgot all about it; 'Butter, vegetables, oysters, pota— ah ! here rt is.' 'Sample, left-hand pocket, two yards.'"

"Then feci m your left-hand pocket." laughed the young lady, and all the others laughed. Ho did. There was a sample of nar± row ribbon. Tho combined talent of the saleswomen matched it, and the customer wondered why they all beamed so benignly on him. TALES OF SACRED TREES. The palm, tho oak and the ash are three trees which, since time .immemorial,' were held to be sacred trees. The first among them, which figures on the oldest monuments and pictures of the Egyptians and Assryians, is the date palm (Phoenix dactilifera), which was the symbol of the world and of creation, and. the fruit of which filled the faithful with divine strength, and prepared them for tho pleasures of immortality. "Honor," said Mahomet, "thy paternal aunt, the date palm, for m Paradise it was created out of the same dust of the ground." The Jews and the Arabs again looked upon the same tree as a mystical allegory of human beings, for, like them, it dies when its head (the summit) is cut-* off, and when a limb (branch) is oncrrTcut off it does not grow again. Those whp know can understand the mysterious language of the branches on day£* when there is no wind, when whispers' of present and future events are communicated by the tree. Abraham of old, so. the Rabbis say, understood the language of the palm. The oak was always considered a "holy!.' tree by our ancestors, and, above all, by the other nations of the North of Europe. When Wioif rid, of Devonshire (680-754), went forth on his wanderings through Germany to preach the Gospel, one of his first actions was to cut down the giant oak m Saxony, which was dedicated to, Thor and worshipped by people from far and near. But when he had nearly felled the oak, and while people were cursing and threatening the saint, a supernatural storm swept over it, seized the summit, broke every branch and dashed it with a tremendous- crash to the ground. The heathens acknowledged the marvel, and many of thoni were couyeited there and then.