GENERAL INFORMATION.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 17, Issue 2, 9 January 1903, Page 2

GENERAL INFORMATION.

— ——-— There are 17 metals which are more valuable than gold. Eight out of every 10,000 English people emigrate every year. Dees suck 8,000,000 flowers to gather one pound of honey. Venice has a cafe which has been open day and night for 150 years.

An average passenger locomotive needs 120 gallons of oil yearly to keep it running.

Russia now uses 8,000,000 tons of petroleum a year. Ninety four per cent, of her steamers burn oil. Spain has more sunshine than any country in Europe. The average is 3.000 hours, in England it is 1,400. France holds the record as a user of gold.. She has coined 2,300 tons in the last 40 years, against 1,400 used by the English' mint. The Forth bridge is constantly being painted. 3o vast is the structure that it takes 50 tons of paint to give it one coat, and the area dolt with is something like 120 acres. Women now teach billiards in the old country, and all the latest games of cards, in which, during the past few years there has been a great revival of interest. Turkish women, it is said, are becoming more independent every year. Despite the orders to cover their face in public, many boldly let their veils fall aside and keep them off altogether when entering a shop. Thirty degrees of heat above the average will make a pendulum clock gain with a 39-inch pendulum 8 seconds in 24 hours. This is because the heat lengthens the pendulum by a 12Sth of an inch. But all good pendulums are furnished with compensating devices. Africa contains 12,497 miles of railways, of which more than 3,000 miles are in British territory and protectorates, besides something like 2.000 miles in Egypt. Over 3,00 n miles are in French dominions, 1,000 in the Transvaal, 736 in Natal, and a little less than 600 in the Orange Colony. 4* It is easier to crush the hardest stone known than steel. During a recent experiment a weight of six tons smashed the selected stone, but forty-two tons were required to crush the steel. With a loud explosion the steel flew into powder, and sparks are said to have bored minute holes in the crushing machine. A curious street tram is that between Atami and Yoshihoma, two coast towns in Japan. The line is seven miles long, the rolling stock consists of a single car, and the mot ivo power is furnished by a couple of muscular coolies, who push the car along vvherever power is necessary. When the car comes to a declivity they jump on and ride.

The longest bridge in the world is it is recorded, in China. It extends 5£ miles over an arm of the Yellow Sea, and is supported by 300 huge stone arches. The roadway is 70 ft. above the water, and is enclosed in an iron network. A marble lion, 21 feet long, rests on the crown of each pillar. The bridge was built at the command of the Emperor TCeing Long. Anything that is heavier or has a greater specific gravity than, salt water, sinks to the bottom of the sea at all depths. The compressibility of sea water is only about the .000044 of its bulk per atmosphere of pressure and not materially denser at great depths ; thus at a

depth of a mile its density would be only about a 130th greater than at the surface. Sand and mud sink to

the bottom of the ocean at great depths, and shells are dredged from the deepest seas.

Dawson, Canada, is the central market for a vast extent of fur-bear-ing country, stretching from the Mackenzie basin to the coast range and from the Porcupine to the IJootalinqua. In this area perhaps 1,000 men are engaged hunting and trapping, exclusive of the Indians ; and from Dawson fully 40,000 peltries are annually exported to the great fur markets ofl London and New York. The regular army in China is said to consist of 323,000 men. Besides this, the Emperor’s army, there is a national army of 650,000 men, who are paid about ss, a month. The cavalry receive about 15s. a month, feed their own horses, and if they are lost, or killed, are required to replace them out of their pay. <{> The Canadian Militia consists of about 40,000 men. and although legislative power exists to enable the Government to keep up its strength by ballot if occasion should arise, and to call upon the entire male population between 18 and 60 years to serve under arms in case of emergency, service lias been cheerfully offered, and no difficulty experienced in keeping up the full force wanted.

Many of Russia’s big guns are fitted with a special detachable breech piece, which can readily be disconnected from the gun in the event of its having to bo abandoned or left in the hands of an enemy, rendering it quite useless. The advantage of this idea is obvious, for had our guns been similarly fitted up, the Boers would not have been able to use those against us which they succeeded in capturing.