Facts and Fancies.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 12 August 1911, Page 4

Facts and Fancies.

HOW CAT-GUT IS MADE

There may still be some who, misled by the name, think the domestic cat is sacrificed for tho necessity of the fieheirman and other ■users of cat-gut. As a matter of fact, this substance, which combines in so remarkable a way the qualities of strength, lightness, and inconspicuousness, is made from the silkworm. The chief seat of its manufacture is the island of Procida, in the Bay or Naples. Most of the silkworms,. used are reared near Torre Anminziata, at the foot of Vesuvius. AAHien tire ca.tei-pil.las are about to spin they are killed, and' the silk glands are removed. These are picked.in.some way, which, is a trade secret, and drawn out into the famijiar-; threads. THE OLDEST SEE. AVhich is tlie. oldest see in the United Kingdom is very uncertain, since the names in tlie long lists of British Bishops of Londbn and other dioceses are of .dubious hictoirie accuracy, and not even traditional dates > are given. Llandaff claims that it is (the. oldest see in the British Isles, with the exception of Sorod and, Man. It is urged, however, that it has a strong claim to be regarded as tho most ancient see of all, for whereas Sodor and Mam dates back from A .D. 4"47, when

St. Patrick landed at Pool and consecrated one of hi.s followers Bis'bo'p of the Island, there- is a tradition that King Lucius built a clmireh at Llaiuhiff about the year A.I). 70, and that the Bishop AdoL'ius. who was present at the Council of Aries in A.I). 311. was of Caerleon-on ir.sk. THE f'OHCUPIXE AND HIS QUILLS. It is still believed by a large number that porcupines shoot their quills. T'liis is ;iiii impossiibility; and the- idea has doubtless arisen from tho fact Miat w'lien they are attacked or molested in any way they erect their quills, and with a strong blow given sid-i-ways drive their (|,uills into the eneinv. These quills do not work out. but in. and ninny animals. hnvo been found in either a starving condition or starved to death, from the- fact- that the quills of the porcupine have s> penetratc'd their mouths and. throats that it has been impossible for them to eat or drink. LTFRLOXG LABOI'R. Life accustoms the Filipino wo'Uian to labour at an early a.ge. As & tiny girl slie is rarely seen without an appendage in the shape of a baby bi-oflier or sister perched on lier hip. AVhen she gmws a- \'ow inches taller and a \\'\v deerees stronger .she is pressed into service as .'i water-carrier, bearing heavy jars of water poisr-'.l gracefully on i her head from the river to her ■home. Then, too. she works in the lields, and a vivid bit of colour she makes in her short kilted, scarlet skirt. AVhen she becomes a woman, and she is a woman at fifteen or before, she may have a small shoe to tend, and there is the- rice to bent, and much other work to do. She tendfi the fields, cooks, and , frequently has a stall in the market for several hours a. day. THE CAHItITCirS AIOIS. Ono of the most iiitcrostiitri memorial windows in Kngland is in the parish church of Bowness. It commemorates the generous action of a carrier who was largely instrumental in rcbuiluino; tho edifice. The inscription on the window gives an epitome of his history, :inrl the emblems of his business an>. inserted in the staiue-d glass: "This piece of ancient, stained glavs. known .as 'The Carrier's Anns.' was, according to tradition, placc-d in this church as a memorial to the carrier who give and conveyed the lead on pick horses gratuitously for the roof in rchnilr.iii'jc tho church in tho e-'irly part of i>!:,■ sixteenth centnrv."