HERE AND THERE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18008, 19 November 1926, Page 6

HERE AND THERE.

AN EYE FOR EVERYTHING. Red Ants Storm Paris. The St Denis quarter of Paris, which was invaded by billions of red ants, surrendered and appealed to the city authorities for relief. Shopkeepers and housewives repo*=#jd killing regiments of the pest, only to find armies in reserve. The Health Department shock troops are already on the scene, but, according to the latest communique, the enemy continues to extend it* lines. , x x k 4000-Year-old Burial Place. A stone burial place, believed to be four thousand years old, has been discovered at Snoestorp, in Holland (in the south of Sweden). A farmer who began to dig beneath a little mound on his property was stopped when the national antiquarian authorities learned of his action. A more scientific investigation has resulted in the discovery of bones and of a stone chest, presumed to contain arms and ornaments. » X « A Versatile Fly. A fly imported from Europe by entomologists of the United States Department of Agrictulture to act as a parasite on the gipsy and brown-tail moths which are so abundant in New England has proved to be even more versatile than was expected. The Press Service of the Department (according to the “Literary Digest”) states: “It has been found attacking at least 92 species of native insects. Certain collections of the larvae of the satin moth have been found to be parasitised as much as 78 per cent by this efficient and versatile control agent.” Smallest Place of Worship. It is claimed that Hackney possesses what is probably the smallest consecrated church in Britain. In it are seats for “10 poor ancient widows.” who live in ten tiny almshouses. These, forming three sides of a square, and fronting an old-world garden, give an impression of rusticity that is rudely dispelled when one crosses the road into the clamour of Hackney. XXX Communist Agitator Deported. One of London’s most notorious Communist agitators, Michael Proothoskv, was deported to Moscow following a sentence of imprisonment which he received during the general strike. Proothoskv. a Russian, who was also a trade union secretary, was known in the East End of London as Jacob Prooth. For a number of years he had become notorious in Victoria Park for the violence of his language against the Constitution. X X X A Mother's Mistake. Advised by a doctor to give castor oil to a seventeen-month-old child a mother of Slip End. near Luton, sent a fifteen-year-old girl for some. The girl ordered camphorated oil, and the mother administered this to the child without noticing the label on the bottle or detecting the smell on account of a ‘severe cold. Convulsions developed. and the child died next morning. At the inquest a doctor stated that death was due to the stimulating effect of camphor oil on the young child teething. The coroner found that the camphorated oil was administered by mistake. X X x A Philosopher’s Music. Nietzsche, the German philosopher, is well known to have been very much affected by the works of Wagner until circumstances turned him against them. It is not so generally known, however, that he himself was a musician and a composer, and that it was simply a strong influence which prevented him from making music his profession. He began to be a composer at a very ear!*.* age, experimenting with phrases, ana eventually extemporising on the piano almost before he had learnt the elements of reading and playing must*', while at twelve years old he wrote a fantasy for the piano entitled “ Moonlight on the Pussta.” which later he regarded as of some importance, revising it in the light of more mature technical power. He seems to have been a forerunner of Richard Strauss in making music on philosophical subjects, for one work, written in his ’teens, was called “ Pain is the Fundamental Feature of Nature!” An Eastern Orchestra. Among certain classes of composers the name “ Gamelon ” has been adopted as that of a kind of dance imitating some of those danced by Eastern snake and religious dancers. The name I really belongs to the Eastern orchestra, , however, which, like our Western or--1 chestras. may consist of many or few instruments. according to circumstances. In its nativ e countrv of Jav a it sometimes has eightv or ninefv different instruments, while it is equally correct to call the ten or twelve players who accompany dancers , visiting Europe by the same name The essentials in its construction are a xylophone, or wooden harmonica, drums, gongs and l*ells The«o are all tuned to a scale not verv unlike our major scale, with two or three notes omitted, and played on the same principle as i handbells—that is, a scale or a melody over a large number of notes requires several plavers. With the larger combinations the variety of tone and expression is very great, but the smaller combinations are apt to become monotonous.