HERE AND THERE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16895, 21 November 1922, Page 6

HERE AND THERE.

AN EYE FOR EVERYTHING. GLASS FROM BOXES, j On extracting the phosphorus fro ; hones, iho residue consists of lime ar i phosphoric acid, which can be readi ‘ transformed into glass. Bone-glas i which is now manufactured in Franc •an he worked with the same facilii • a- any other glass, and id possesses tl 1 «!liable property of not Ik?ing attache ; by fluoric acid. THREAD FROM >VOOD. The timbermen of Ncrkoping. 1 ! Middle Sweden, manufacture a threa for crochet and sewing purpose from pine timlier. Tlie process is n( ; made public, but the products are fir !in quality, and the price low. T* ; thread is wound on balls by machine*; ! and packed in boxes for export. ! SULTAN’S COSTLY COSTUME. ! In his State clothes, including :} crown, the Sultan of Johor woa»< dimonds £2.,100.000. Hi, c< : | his epaulettes, hi-, girdgp. his cuff j sparkle with precious stones. ‘ ! j bracelets are of massive gold, and >. I fingers are covered with rings wi, j almost ijriceless. Tlie bundle »: | the blade of his sword are covered w; ' j precious stones. The most costly i j fcignia of princely dignity, ho were • aJ'c those of the Sultan, or Maharapai of Baroda. in India. The chief or> ; ment .is a necklace of five strings, - .1 taming 500 diamonds, some of whir are as large as hazel nuts. The m: P i and lower rows consist of emeralds 1 the same size. HOW DOLLY WAS NAMED. Why do we call a doll a doll, at not. as the French do. a, puppet t poupet. or. with the Italians, a bar bino or baby? What is the meanir of the word doll? asks a “Pall Ma Gazette” writer. To explain. !. mm go hack 1o fur away times, when was lit fashion all over the Christia world for mothers to give their litt children tho name of a patron sain Some saints were more popular tha others, and Saint, Dorothea was at 01 period perhaps tho most popular of al Dorothea, and its quaint English van; tion Dorothy, have, as my little Gree scholars knov. . a very lovely ineamn *7-“ gift of God.” But as few peop; like to call a toddling wee thing by long and stately name, the F.nglis Dorotheas were shortened in nnrsei talk to Dolly and Doll, and from gii ing tlie babies the nickname, it was a easy slop to givo the same names • tho dolls oi whom these babies were ? loud. NEW TERROR OF THE AIR. The most powerful and destruetri torpedoplane in the world is now beiu built to tlio order of the British A Ministry at a remote aerodrome 011 tl banks of the Humber, in Yorks hi n This machine, which is intended t operate with the Navy, says tl • Morning Post,” will be able to ri> from and aliglit on the sea, while h single 1000 horse-power Napier “ Club engine will drive it through the air a a speed approaching 150 miles an houi Beneath the fuselage of this torribl new air weapon will be slung a torped weighing one ton and & quarter, or a ternatively two smaller torpedoes ca be used, while the machine will also t armed with a number of machine-gun l Flyii/g at a height of several thousan feet, as it approaches its objective i will dive suddenly to within a few fet of the surface of the water and Ub charge its torpedo. It is claimed tha owing to the ability of this new ai weapon to approach close to its victii it will be quite within its power to sin the largest battle-ship afloat, swarm of these machines attacking fleet of warships either on the high sea or in harbour would, although soni may be shot down, be able to inflir terrible damage at a comparatively lo’ cost. • c THE MO A. An nr tide on tbe moa has been cor tributed to “ Chambers's Journal ” b Lieutenant-Colonel J. L. Sleeman. 1 conclusion he says:—“The passing the n\oa forms an interesting stud\ and it is to be deeply regretted tha this, the world's greatest bird, appur entlv became extinct before the arriva ol the first white men in New Zealand Tho deeper the problem of its disaj pearance is studied, the more does appear possible that the moa mav stil be in existence. For New Zealan. stili possesses a large area of wild mount;;: country as yet unexplored It is improbable that the Maor ever penetrated into this part, and 1 is surely possible that the moa. cut of from civilisation by huge mountains lakes, rh.-r- ■ ! dense bush, may sti! live in spl- ;,<!?•'. isolation in the land o his ancest r.\ . ' .Judge Wilson, in hi: book. “The Story of Te Waharoa. written in T'-'i, makes the foTlowim statement : yavd.ng the moa:—“Tin ancient inh.d ; - hunted the mo; until it- became xtinct. The last hire was killed v iih a tarn ha bv a man a: J'arawera. Tl.c hnl.v.s of the moa an described as sol nary, living in pairs ii secluded valley in the depths of the forest, near a running ream. It fo i on shoots, roots and h-cries, and wa particularly fond of nik u and tree fern. It was supposed to ' *d at night, for it was never seen to < at in tlie day time.” There are many hundreds of secluded valleys in the depth- of unexplored New Zealand to day where the foot of man has never trod posses sing the running sti earns, the ts, roots aud berries favoured by the no.i, Can we be sure that the moa ie extinct under these, circumstances? BIG-HEADED MEN. Great men have large head? This was the axiom Jaid dow n by Professor Arthur Keith, the distinguished thropologist, to a “ Daily Chronicle” representative, who sought to solv* the problem over which British hatterare now becoming excited. The argil ment, which started in their trade journal, “ Men’s Wear,” has produce*! some curious facts from tho observant batters. Some of them had noticed that tiicir customers with special size 1 iiats had unusual capabilities. One man in a residential district says his best selling sizes are 6J, 7, and 7*. in a proportion of -4. 3. and 1. " T have found that often the and 6i man has a wonderful memory.” said me trader. Professor Keith, who las measured more heads, modern and inciont, probably than any other man, md studied their relative intelligences, first made the shrewd observation :hat the hatters should note if the rat-sizes of their customers are demanded by neglect of the barber. T ;hink you will find that big headed men, as a rule, are more able than ;mall-headed men.” said the professor. ■ This is a general statement, and jometimes does not hold good indivilually. There have been a number >f clever men with small heads, but lies© are the exceptions that prove he rule Nor do I mean to aay than he man who takes a. small size in hats acks intelligence. But Tecords showhat the great figures of the world at 3 nen with large heads.” Professor xeith did not deny that geniua ma V ie contained within a small oraniuni, rat expressed the opinion that a snrev of tlie most famous men wouldl how them to have worn large hats.