HERE AND THERE

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17978, 15 October 1926, Page 6

HERE AND THERE

AN EYE FOR EVERYTHING. Strong Insects. In proportion to size, man is one of the weakest animals on the earth. The muscles of a large-sized oyster will support a weight of 371 b. There is a crab which will lift 492 times its own weight. This fs the equivalent of an average size man raising 73,8001 b. A Belgian scientist, named Plateau, found that the strength of a fly, which was to lift a matchstick, compared with a man's, supporting with his feet a beam 14ft long and 2ft 6in square. There is a. little hug which can drag six matches, equivalent to a man's pulling 3GO beams as big as himself. To measure the strength of insects Plateau constructed delicate harness attached to a weighing machine. By prodding the insects he made them move. Then he piled on weights until they stopped. By this means he found that a bee, weight for weight, is thirty times as strong as a How Dyes are Discovered. The first artificial dye to be produced was the magnet**, dye, which was discovered in 1856 by the late Sir W. 11. Perkin as he was experimenting with products from coal tar. which, till then, had been a waste-product from gasworks. He called it after the battle 1 which took place at about that time. 1 Since then many thousands of different colouring matted have been made by chemists. For many years the rici lilue indigo dye was obtained from a plant, grown first in Europe and -then, in India. Later it was produced from coal tar. but only at greater cost than the natural indigo. For 17 years chemists and manufacturers combined in an attempt to lessen the cost, with little result. Then an accident happened to a vat of boiling chemicals, and the secret of the dye was disclosed! In 1896 India exported £3,500,000 worth of natural indigo. By 1913 the figure had fallen to £60.000, while the German export of artificial indigo approached £2.000,000. Music Manuscript Discovered. At a Dunsforth farm (near Aldborougli) a music manuscript has recently been discovered. It has been submitted to British Museum authorities, who are of the opinion that it 13 part of a fourteenth or fifteen century hvmnal, and that it is a part of the ' hymn for St Martin. The parchment is written upon in the old style of sevenheaded notes in four-line staves, and the words are in Latin. Tt is probable that the hymnal was that of a C.istercian monastery, and was taken to York Minster. Brompton Oratory.* The Brompton Oratory is modelled to a great extent on the Church of St Andrea della Valle in Rome. The de- ‘ coration as well as the architecture is 1 Italian, including much of the actual interior and exterior decoration, notably the fine altar attributed to Sandrino, which came from Brescia, and its statues, which were once at Sienna. The present building, which is one of the most beautiful Roman Catholic churches in England, was erected in 4 1880 from the designs of Mr Herbert Gribble. It. superseded the old Oratory in King William Street, Strand. Insects Pe st« Prefer Blondes. The bites of midges, gnats,.and mosquitoes were formerly regarded as merely irritating, but the insects appear to have become more vicious since the war. Their attacks often prove dangerous and sometimes fatal. The important thing is to avoid scratching, and to apply an antidote such as colourless iodine or ammonia as quickly as possible. Mosquitoes begin to be numerous here in January, but are usually at their worst in February and March. Attempts have been made in London to broadcast the singing twang of the mosquito, but most people know what it means when it is heard close to the ear. By the way, it is always a “ she ’* that is the enemy. The male mosquito never bites. Most species attack the blonde in preference to the brunette. Entering the Natural History Museum in London, the first thing that attracts the visitor's attention, is a collection of enormously enlarged models of fero-cious-looking insects. In this sort of chamber of horrors the house fly F given the place of honour, and There are displays of imitative food on which the crawling flies are represented. Th* object, of the exhibit is to remind th« public of the importance of waging unceasing war on the house fly, whirl Is known to be the carrier 6f man; diseases. Alt food should be kept se cur 6 from fly raids. There are decora tive mesh dish covers which man; housewives keep for use in the dining room for covering dishes on the sid< board or on the table. It is said tha paraffin wiped over the window pane will help to keep rooms free of Hie) but odorous preventives * ineffective.