NEWS IN BRIEF.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 1753, 30 August 1917, Page 4

NEWS IN BRIEF.

A bee can carry twice its own weight in honey or wax. Fishing from a boat off Deal, two London anglers made a record catch of over 500 fish in one day. , It is estimated that war pensions will cost the country £400,000,000, said Mr Hayes Fisher, M.P. Britain now holds 135,000 German prisoners, or three times as many as the Germans hold of our men. f It is commonly said that the Amazon, the largest river in Brazil, to its remotest source is nearly 4,000 miles long. The women of the islands of the Danish West Indies possess rights of suffrage equal with those of men. By its sale of lottery tickets Glasgow Tramway Department has raised in eleven weeks over £12,500 for war charity funds. Herr Maximilian Harden says that the Dutch cartoonist, Racmakers, has done more harm to Germany’s cause than any writer. According to a Berlin telegram, it has been established that Germany now possesses 21,304,000 head of cattle and 17,000,000 pigs. During the year the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children has protected from neglect and starvation 120,080 children. London master printers state that'charges for printing, exclusive of material, will have to be further increased by at least 121 per cent, A market _ gardener told the Hampton tribunal that he had “scrapped” £OOO worth of chrysanthemums in order to grow £SO worth of potatoes. The largest wooden statue in existence is that of a woman. It is ' in Tokio, (lie capital of Japan, and is dedicated to Haehcman, the Goddess of War. Thirteen German ships taken over by the India Office brought in £309,000 during 1010. One was torpedoed by a U-boat this year, and one has been wrecked. The most valuable almanac in the world is preserved in the British Museum. It is written in red ink on papyrus, and is believed to be about 3,000 years old. Of 5,300 Fitonians who have; been on active service, over 800 have been killed, the same number mentioned in despatches, and the honours won include six Victoria Crosses. In Norway the average length of life is greater than in any other country on the globe. This is attributed to the fact that the temperature is cool and uniform throughout the year. A device to save carpenters from picking up nails has been invented. This consists of magnetised clips, which the carpenter fastens to his fingers and which draw the nails to his hands. All the walls, ceilings, and floors in an eighGslorey building that will be erected in Now York for music' studios will be made sound-proof to prevent occupants disturbing one another. Prince Albert (the King’s second son) and Prince George of Battenburg are in the list of officers awarded decorations by the Russian Government for distinguished service in the battle of Jutland. London Druid lodges have collected in cwt. 11 lb. of tinfoil, realising £472. Thus they have completed the endowment) of three beds, costing £1)45, in Meddlesex Hospital. An official announcement issued at Dresden slates that in the Kingdom of Saxony the lack of small change is so pressing that: 1,000,000 banknotes of (he value of ten pfennige (l|d) have been issued. An unusued fine in a house in Argentine was used by a swarm of bees during the last summer. This fact was discovered recently when (ho Hue cap was removed in order to ‘set up a stove. Several gallons of honey were removed. In the textile industry of Germany 11,000,000 spindles will bo reduced to 2,000,000. Of the 1,400 boot factories only 200 remain working, it being the intention of the Reichstak to combine factories on a basis of reducing man-power for military ends. The record price of £B2 10s was made by a crossbred bullock sold in (he Shrewsbury Market. The animal, which sealed 174 cwt., was started at £7O, The price worked out at 94s 3d per cwt. The owner, Mr Edwards, of Yockelton Park, also had a bull of similar weight, which reralised £O9.