HERE AND THERE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16423, 11 May 1921, Page 6

HERE AND THERE.

! MEXICAN PLAYING CARDS. I There is a market in Alexico and it! all other Spanish-speaking countries < for a good American-made Spanish playing card. The people ther© can afford to purchase a higher grade play* ing card than is now offered for and would buy them if they could obtained at tho retail stores. Alos,{ of the playing <-ards sold there com© from Spain, although some are made in Alexico. The cards offered for sale are of a very poor quality, printed on a thin cardboard slightly glazed. They can be used only a short time, as they get soft, tear easily and cannot be .shuffled. Tho Spanish pack consists of forty cards, having 2s and 7s, there being no 3s, or IDs. There is a. “ sota ” (jack), a “ caballo ” (queen), a “rev” (king), an “as” (ace). Tho cards are small, being about two and a half by three and three-quarter inches in size. Entirely new platen would have to be made for the printing of these cards, as the designs are entirely different from ordinary cardsTho Spanish-made cards retail at one peso per pack (50 cents Americon currency). The cards are poorly packed, a paper wrapping instead of a carton being used. EDIBLE FLOWERS. Tho use of edible flowers was well known to the ancients, and from tho earliest time the violet, especially, has formed one of the greatest confectionery delicacies, and with the extract of this flower was made a sherbet that is described in classic writers as most delicious. In some regions ot Eastern Europe it is the custom to-day to mix violets, roses and lime* with sweetmeats in order to add a • floral tincture to the taste of tho j fruit. In Turkey sweets are of car- | nations, lilies and lavender- Floral ] sandwiches are made in Greece and I Turkey with nasturtiums, a most edible flower, which grows in warm and temperate climates in profusion. Sandwiches are also made of poppermine, finely ground and spread over j thinly sliced radishes between even i more thinly sliced and buttered bread. I It is said that tha dahlia is an oxI cellent food, though somewhat acrid. In the kitchens of China and Japan flowers are as much in use as vegetables in the preparation of nco dishes. In these countries a cook is said to be able to prepare an entire* banquet made exclusively of stock mad© from special flowers. “LONG TOM” HISTORIC GUN. Among the many historic guns in | Washington is “ Long Tom,” which is |on Dahlgren Avenue, in the Washington Navy Yard, and is viewed by | thousands of visitors to the yard j yearly who never dream that it has | such historic interest. For “ Long ; Tom,” which is a 42-pound cast iron gun, dates back to 1756. Originally it was a French gun, part of the armament of the man-of-war Noche. one of the French fleet scut in 17C3 to invade Ireland, and which was captured by the British under Sir John It. Warren. Tho gun. taken to England with other spoils of war, was sold to the Americans. After some service it was bondemned and sold to Haiti to be used against France, the nation in whose service it liad first smelled powder. Later it returned to America again and formed part of the battery of the armed brig General Armstrong. In a fight off Fayal, in the Azores, the Armstrong did valiani> service, but was afterward sunk to Sava her from tho enemy. “ Long Tom ” was removed and presented by the Portuguese Government to tho United States. This was at the time of the first world’s fair, and it has remained in American custody ever since. WORLD’S LARGEST ROOM The Union Station, which was constructed by the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Baltimce and Ohio Railroad, the United States and the District of Columbia, contains ia the passenger concourse the largest room in tho world under one roof. 760 feet in length. An arrav of 50,C00 men could be accommodated with ease ou itd floor- The other rooms of the station are of similar gigantic proportions, tho main waiting room feet in area, with a height of 120 feet, the circular window in each end being 75 feet iu diameter. The station itself is larger than the Capitol, with a length of 760 feet and 242 feet width. The general scheme of the building la founded by the architect, Daniel Burnham, in tho great triumphal arches of Rome. The material of which it is constructed is Vermont granite. Tho Southern Railway and other reads from the south reach the new station through twin tunnels piercing Capitol Hill. At some points these tunnels are forty feet below the ground.

OLD CUSTOMS OF AFGHANS. The average Afghan has no particular fondness for wine or spirits. Tobacco raised in tho land is inferior in quality ; the better sorts are imported from Persia, Russia.. India and Egypt. Amir Habibullah Khan always had a good private stock of Havana cigars. Both young and old people take snuff Tea. sweetened and unsweetened, is the favourite drink, and is consumed in prodigious quantities. When you go to see an Afghan you can hardly escape before swallowing four or five cups of tea; it is, therefore. no trifling gastronomic feat to pay several visits in one afternoon, the more so if the polite host (with a. view ot honouring the European, guests) has tho tea served in big Russian glasses. The right hand is always used in eating and drinking, the left hand being considered unclean. Dogs, though numerous and useful, are looked upon as unclean, and pious people never touch them. Animals that go badly lame on the march or camels that get snowbound in tho mountain passes are abandoned to their fate. Afghanis never kill such animals, as we might do. to put them out of their misery. They believe that the lives of all living things are in the hands of Allah, and that man sin 3 if he presumes to interfere with the Supreme will. Afghans will not even kill fleas or other vermin; they merely pick them off and throw them awaySOAPSTONE FIRE-BRICKS. Soapstone has been introduced as a material for fire-bricks. It does noi glaze, and is capable of resisting very high temperatures. For domestic use, for lining furnaces, steel holes, etc., it is considered very useful.