NEWS IN BRIEF.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 1739, 11 October 1917, Page 4

NEWS IN BRIEF.

It is safer to be wet, (ban dry daiing a thunderstorm; ’Wet ciothcs would conduct the electricity harmlessly over the surface of the body. Some of Dm finest lace iu the world is made by tiie women of Du: Philippine Islands from strong, silky fibre obtained from pineapple leaves. Over £3,000 in war savings has been subscribed at. Downhills School, Totleuham, London. This is believed to be a school record for the country. Thirteen German siiips taken over by (he India Office brought in £309,009 during 1916. One was torpedoed by a L-boat this year, and one has been wrecked. (Si. Helena was discovered by Dio Portuguese in 1501, and remained unknown to other nations for a period of 87 years, it was first inhabited by the Dutch in 1645. Near Barnard Castle a foal has been born witli two perfect fdet on the right foreleg. The unnecessary limb has been removed, and the animal is none the worse. In London Die omnibus horse is worn out iu five years, the I ram horse in four, the post office horse in six, and the brewers’ iu from six to seven, while the vestry horses last -eight years. The most important pearl fisheries are in the Indian Ocean; others arc in the Gulf of California and the Caribbean Sea, Pearls taken from different localities vary, each locality having its marked characteristic. To prevent food waste among Belgians iu England, private, kitchens have been established near factories where they work, and Belgian menus will be served by Belgian helpers in several municipal kitchens. ’ . The teak, which lias passed into proverb as the best material for shipbuilding, is superior to all other 'woods from the fact that it contains an essential oil which ‘prevents spikes and nails driven into it from rusting. Live eggs a week was the fee collected by the German authorities foi? each hen the,peasants were allowed to keep. If the liens did not lay live eggs the peasants had to borrow them from their neighbours, and they were delighted when the hens at last were confiscated.