FROM FAR AND, NEAR.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 23, Issue 7, 26 January 1912, Page 5

FROM FAR AND, NEAR.

Bricks made of coal-dust are used for paving in Russia. The coal-dust is combined with treacle and resinIt is estimated that to meet the demand of the new King George' p.bst-age-stamp 1,000,000 stamps will have to be printed every,-hour of-the working day- throughout the year. Miss Dora Harrison, of Evergreen, Long Island, U-S.A, -,- has waited 1,100 miles —from Mew -York ’<to Tampa—to get-thin rand- to iiwin- a bet of ' £2OO. She ; -intends * to - return on 'horseback. - j ' Mr. Thomas Bell, a local conductor on the Canadian Pacific Railway, recently took , his brea if ash in d William restaurant and Ordered a dish of oyster stew. In the stew he found a ; pearl that has been valued . by a local jeweller at 2,500 dollars. Nina TurataviloC,- a peasant !wonmn ‘at Telev,, in the Caucasus is probably the oldest person in the world. Recently she celebrated her I'GOth birthdaj. Though she is now ’neay-able of using her, limba, she is still in possession of her mental faculties. The Norwegian Government has submitted a Bill entitling women to he 'appointed, to, all the offices <>■ .State excepting only military, diplomatic, and clerical pos.ta. The Government was inclined to include even clerical posts, hut the bishops opposed this' plain •

A Yorkshire collector of medals, Dr". A. A. Payne, Hillsborough, She!-' field, has been amassing medals for over twenty years, and bet> a collection of 2,600, worth £26,000. He has fifty medals, that have bwan connee ted with either the peerage, baronets, or knighthoods. Seventy people eat iknru at Gorlse--1 ton to a huge aea-pie, ma*i« by tairi- bHarnsan, hkipper of u uß*«*i. Its crust was ftin. thick, .wl it lightly packed with rehbitß. kidneys, beefsteak, potatoes, turuipa. earroto, ntrd sprouts, tbe whole bakhig tight bourn to cook. As the result of s thros JWhing trip to Iceland, the (irimsbT trawler ‘‘Sari. Honmouth’’ has jyi ,233. Her catch waa most 1 -' ctwl, ?nd with :he present-scarcity .si tl>« hugs.. d«jc«*»ad for bun, prices sk»v» vanc**! Hut sk.ijipcr received at out 4flCo for his voywg*. In the ’.wfir-y of & \n'i-J»«i taxidermist ia in burgh t« r,o m seen the figure of a «tj»dmg wrr.NV. • cm a gvlf-bnil/ano enclosed in a .uat p«.~s c>se. The .-'•-c. bird is .aou.iiid on sphere 'hut caused :to d«*t-V The’ incident happened oh the gdtf-coarsn 9 at Flie. -The bird was struck whi)# in flight, Last mtiy killed. Owing ’to',, the report*' of case* oi smallpox,', within bhe radius a large amount of insurance business I has already been placed against the I risk of the disease. It Is stated that as much as £IO,OOO has been covered in respect to a single case, and it is generally known in the market that . £I,OOO policies have been freely issued. Mr. A. J. Gorringe, a tradesman, of Ditchling, has a bantam which lays her eggs in different parts of the yard, but his cat never fails 1 to find them. She takes the eggs between her teeth, carries it to the back, places it on the step, and rattles the door-handle with, her paws until her mistress arrives to take in the egg. Not one of the eggs has yet been broken. A common South African flower possesses the valuable-property of keeping fresh for two months or more after cutting. It is a white Star of Bethlehem, producing a compact spike of "flowers on the stiff, erect stalk 18in. fo 2ft. long. The flowers ..are. of a thin and papery tissue all white except the, anthers. It can be sent over as a cut flower from South Africa to this country, and then lasts for weeks in water.