FACTS AND FANCIES.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 552, 22 March 1913, Page 2

FACTS AND FANCIES.

The Heights of Kings. A curious custom has been observed at Roskiide Cathedral, near Copenhagen, for centuries. Whenever a Royal visitor of note has visited the Danish capital his height has been marked on a big red granite pillar, and his initial cut into the stone by its side. Altogether some dozen kings have been measured in tills way, the most interesting to Britishers being the mark that registers the height of the late King Edward VII., who measured sft. 6in. exactly. The tallest mark is against the name of Peter the Great, whose immense height was 6ft. Bin., a truly kingly measurement. Peter, however, is most closely matched by one of Denmark's own kings, Christian 1., a v 6ft. 5-Vin. Five feet three inches is the lowest record, and was achieved by King Christian VII. The pilJ-r itself without any kingly names would be an object of curiosity, for it has withstood the wear and tear and waste of time since the days of King Canute, in about the year 1000.

A Useful Tree. The most marvellous tree in the world is the Carnahuba palm, which grows in Brazil. It has recently been stated that in the great meatpacking factories in Chicago every portion of a pig is used except the squeal. With respect to the Carnahuba palm one cannot even reserve the bark. Its roots produce the same medicinal. effect as sarsaparilla. From parts of the tree wine and vinegar are made. Its fruit is used for feeding cattle. Of the straw, hats, baskets, brooms, and mats are made. It is also used for thatching houses. The pulp has an agreeable taste, and the nut, which ,is oleaginous and emulsive, is sometimes used as a substitute for coffee. Its stems afford strong, light fibre, which acquire a beautiful lustre, and serve also for joists, rafters and other building materials. It yields also a saccharine substance, as well as a starch resembling sago. Of the wood of the stem, musical instruments, water tubes, and pumps are made. From the stem a white liquid similar to the milk of the cocoanut, and a flour resembling maizena may be extracted. Moreover, salt is extracted from the tree, and likewise an alkali used in the manufacture of common salt. e

Facts About Petroleum. What would happen to the world if the supplies of petroleum should suddenly cease? The effect of such an event would be so great that the human mind cannot conceive it. It has been stated that, save for the water he drinks and the air he breaths, every possible necessity of a man's life may be supplied either directly or indirectly through the use of the products of petroleum. Even his supply of water may be obtained by a gasoline engine. To be sure, it does not seem probable that the supply of oil will give out immediately, for the United States alone is producing petroleum at the rate of 650,000 barrels daily, or over 200,000,000 barrels a year. That the earth contains immense pools of oil is evident from the fact that between the day in 1859 that E. L. Drake, a Connecticut railroad conductor, struck oil in Western Pennsylvania, and January Ist, 1908, 1,800,000,000 barrels were drawn from the earth in the United States alone, and the production to-day is greater than ever. It has been figured out that allowing five and six-tenths cubic feet for the average barrel of 42 gallons, this volume of oil would form a lake more than 100 miles in area and five feet in depth.•

With the exception of iron, it has been asserted that nothing taken out of the earth has proved so valuable to man as petroleum. In the beginning little effort was made to do more than remove the elements which injured it for illuminating purposes. „In course of time ways were found for using the by-pro-ducts, such as gasolene, benzine, naptha, various grades of lubricating oil, paraffin, tar, and coke or asphalt.

All of these elements are obtained by simply heating the crude oil in stills. The different elements of the "crude" are vaporised at different temperatures.

New Noah's Ark Story. Carl Lumholtz, the well-known explorer, has visited and reported on a wonderful and almost practically unknown tribe of Indians in Mexico. He found among them a remarkable legend, a new version of Noah's Ark and the Flood. This new interpretation of the deluge is not in keeping with the Biblical narrative. According to it the ark never rested on Ararat at all, also Noah was not a Jew, and his name was not Noah. He was a Huichol Indian, and his story is part of the Huichol family history. His ark rested on one of the mountain tops of Central Mexico, and the flood was not merely a 40 day affair, but lasted five years. The Huichols are a hermit people. Mr. Lumholtz believes he is the first white man—certainly the first scientist—to penetrate and to live some time in their territory. There are some 4,000 of them, and they live in an almost in-