FACTS AND FANCIES.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 732, 23 December 1914, Page 7

FACTS AND FANCIES.

i-.ull.an. Caviare. it is not generally known that On:io provides a b:g portion of the ; r;d's simply of . caviare. , Prepared •:i the B:*\vn of the sturgeon, cavi) is' exported in largo quantities, i til a fish is so numerous! as to have .on its name to towns, such as Stur•;;:i Falls. Sturgeon of orer 2001b have .■■p. caught. A mature sturgeon will o as 'much as 3olbs. of caviare. In lit ion to thisy the flesh of the fish . ing-. a good price. . :ic- Honeyrriooit; The word "honeymoon" came from 'ie ancient custom among the Scan-iim-vlan and oilier races to drink metheglin" or diluted honey for 9 0 ..vs after the wedding. On the Island ; Rhodes honey is still a factor in ho marriago rite. After the wedding•■\\e husband dips his finger in honey ■in.l places a cloth over the -doorway if his house before the bride enters. Meantime, the spectators cry out to the lady: "Be always good and sweet as is this honey." TJie Forbidden Fruit. A fruit supposed to bear the mark of Eve's teeth is one of the many -botanic curiosities of Ceylon. The tree on which it grows is known by the significant name of "the forbidden fruit," or "Eve's, apple-tree." The blossom has i very pleasant scent, hut the really vemnrkable feature of the tree, the one to which it owes, its name, is the fruit, it is beautiful, and hangs from ho tree in a peculiar manner. Orange ■n 'tho ouU'.do and deep crimson with'n, ■ er.'ch "fruit has the appearance of "'vinjr had. a picco bitten out of it. This fact, together with its poisonous duality, led the Mohammedans to re-u-essnt'ib as the forbidden fruit of the "arclcn- of Eden, ■ and to warn men sgainst it. The mark upon the,fruit is ttribufced .to Eve. "Why the hite of dam did not also' leave its mark is -it known, but as only one piece seems > bo missing, its loss is ascribed to the voman. ~

in l!ie World. Tho -extremes of age and size always •v;.ken interest. England is well to the fore in this -«-.!>ecb, tho largcsb dock in the world ;-t 2 at C.vrdiff, AYales; the largest a;:, the Bank of England. University 'lsgc, Oxford, is the most ancient ,"V.-?3 existing; it was founded inj the ■■l : .u-"l2-i9. . ' , The largest bronze statue extant • that of Peter the Great, which stands i St. Petersburg* Russia, I,loQ'tons ■omprising its weight. Capo Henry, Virginia, has the disinebion of possessing- the largest light- ■>•:-■?, and the mammoth monolith—n,.t.—is to bo found in Egypt. Pa. is lays claim to the largest theatre : n the world,, tlie v Opera House there •ovcring three acres of ground. Hisorians adjudge the faraway city of Damascus to be the, oldest in the world. The tallest chimney is to be found \t Glasgow, and is 474 ft. high, whilst Washington ipossesses the highest monument, the height being 555 ft.

Populated With Convicts. ■The Andaman Islands, which lie" in the Gulf of Bengal, has a convict population exceeding 20,000. The place, in ill intents and purposes, is one enornous gaol, guarded on every side by eagues of shark-infested waters. The >bjecb in view is to reform the criminal, and turn him into a skilled laborer and artisan. For the first 6 months jf his sentence a prisoner does "separates." He woi-ks alone in his cell, iiiider a'rigid regime. Then, if he has >ehayed himself, he is sent to a station, where he works with a gang under the direction of expert officials, and for a .year and a half does hard nnd unpaid labor, but is well fed, '.oused, and cared for: If his conduct s satisfactory he now enters on rather lighter labor, for which he receives a small amount of pay. He can use this co buy luxuries oi< to put in a.savings bank. At last, after serving ten years, comes a big change in his condition. He gets a ticket-of-leave! If he has a wife he cam now send for her; if he is a bachelor he can get permission to marry. Gurious Charms. Rheumatism, tradition says, can ba cured by carrying in the pocket the bone of the haddock that lies under the marks of Christ's fingers—the two round black marks on each side of the body supposed to have been caused by our Lord's fingers when He lifted the fish out of the water in order to take the tribute-money from its month. This bone has many other virtues, and always works good to its owner; but it must not bo exhibited, and it should never be lent or touched, or even seen, by any after the possessor gets it. The Indians of Labrador believe that they can cure toothache by wearing a haddock's bone arovmd the neck, while Lord Bacon says that "wearing on the finger rings made of seahorse teeth" will cure cramp. "Carry a lucky bone and nothing will harm you" is a common saying, in New England. This is a bone from the head of a codfish. It is shell-like and narrow, with a length of three-quarters cf an inch. The edge is notched, and the color is a pearly white. If two bones are carried, it is supposed to make one's luck doubly sure. They should be both from the same fish.