NEWS IN BRIEF.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XL, Issue 1812, 11 April 1918, Page 1

NEWS IN BRIEF.

Free notepaper in Church Array huts costs £15,000 annually. The hide of a cow produces about 351 b. of leather; that of a horse about 181 b. The Intrcna tional Red Cross Committee of Geneva has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. " Newfoundland’s south-eastern point, Cape Race, is only 1,700 miles from Cape Clear, Ireland. The rice-paper upon which the Chinese do such charming drawing is a thin sheet of the pith, of a tree. The Fiji group of islands, which were annexed by Great Britain in 1874, number 220, all of volcanic origin. A total of £3,423,254 was collected at the Tank Bank in London during one fortnight for National War Bonds. The first Epglish yacht race took place in 1662, the contestants being boats owned by Charles 11. and his brother. Liquor-selling was prohibited as early as the reign of the Saxon King Edgar, who closed, hundreds of alehouses. Sugar exists not only in the cane, beetroot and maple, but also in the sap of nearly 190 other plants and trees. The scheme for the establishment of a postal aerial line between France and Great Britain is nearing realisation. The same force which moves one ton on a smooth high road will move eight tons on a railway, or 32 tons on a canal. Funds of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers increased last year to over £2,000,000. The membership is 270,000. A horse, in good condition, can last about twenty-live days without food, as long as there is plenty of water to drink. The Grosvenor Bridge over the Dee at Chester has the widest span of any stone bridge in England. Its centre span is 200 ft. The River Orinoco has more trL butaries than any other river. The total number is put at 2,500, including 433 large streams. The average number of letters censored each day in the London Postal Censorship Department is 375,517, weighing about four tons. In 400 years 97 are leap years, and 303 common, leap year being omitted every hundredth year, but not on the four hundredth. The reason eats dislike water is because there is nothing oily about their fur. Consequently it is easily wet, and does not dry quickly. Drone beetles have a reputation for weather wisdom amongst country folk, who regard the flight of the beetles as a sign of fine weather. Below 1,000 fathoms thei’e is a uniform temperature in the ocean depths—always a few degrees above freezing point; never more — never less. Edward 111. originated the practice of conferring crests as military honours in the year 1333. Crests were, however, known long before that date. It is estimated that the longestlived animals are whales (500 years), eagles (200 years), alligators (200 years), and elephants (from 100 years upwards).