NEWS IN BRIEF.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 1755, 4 September 1917, Page 4

NEWS IN BRIEF.

Green uniforms have replaced white ones amongst British hospital surgeons;,, and British hospitals are also being fitted in green instead of white, because this colour is easier upon the eyes of patients. Plate-glass invented by a Philadelphian, made by welding a thin sheet of celluloid between two panes of ordinary glass, is bullet-proof, and cannot be splintered with powerful blows of a hammer. These are the seven Bibles: The Koran of the Mohammedans, the Tri Pitikes of the Buddhists, the Five Kings of .the Chinese, the Three Vedas of the Hindoos, the Zendavesto, and the Scripture of the Christians. Dr. Brewster, of New York, has devised, a bullet-proof armour for the use of the American Army which can stop the high-power bullet with ease and effectiveness —an armour light enough for a man to wear in a charge and flexible enough to permit him to handle his rifle for a bayonet attack or to shoot at the enemy from any position. A striking instance of the fierce and fatal competition which goes on amongst plants is found in the case of the Brazil nut. This fruit contains from 15 to 24 seeds, which all germinate at one. time. The most vigorous one gels first through a small hole at the top to the open air, and thereupon it strangles the rest and feeds upon them. Japan’s exports of looms and other mill equipment has greatly increased during the past year. This is chiefly accounted for by the fact that the war has prevented German manufacturers from exporting the cheap weaving machinery which they formerly sent to Eastern markets. The Jutland battle, in which only a portion of the two fleets took part, cost over £40,000,000, without counting the value of the lives sacrificed in it. And, incredible as such a statement must seem, it becomes intelligible when we consider that a single well-directed shot can sink in a few minutes a battleship that has cost more than £2,000,000 to build and equip. A new automobile garage in New York City has room for (>OO cars on its four floors, and all the floors are connected by ramps, up which the cars run, thus dispensing with elevators and their inevitable delays. Each car has its own numbered space, with concrete bumpers that prevent collision with another car. Overhead rails carrp a portable washing apparatus that may be run to any automobile. A large clubroom is provided for chauffeurs. The most expensive feast over given by a Lord Mayor was not a Lord Mayor’s day dinner, but a banquet in celebration of the victory of the allied nations over Napoleon. It took place on June ISth, 1814, when Lord Mayor Donville entertained the Tsar, the King of Prussia, the Prince Regent, Wellington, Blucher, and a great company of officers and statesmen, all the guests being served on silver plates, valued at over £200,000, with delicacies which cost £25,000.