NEWS IN BRIEF.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XL, Issue 1814, 16 April 1918, Page 1

NEWS IN BRIEF.

There are only 42 horses left at the fire-stations all over London. But for the war the service would be entirely motor-propelled. The cheques which pass through the London Clearing House in six weeks are more than equal in amount to all the coin in the world. Solely for tourists, Switzerland has built an aerial tramway, a mile and a-half long and ascending to an altitude of nearly a mile. While a bridal wreath in England is usually composed of orange blossoms, Italy uses white roses, Spain red roses, and Greece vine leaves. Red Cross parcels, each containing a plum pudding, a Christmas card, and other seasonal things, were sent to 12,000 British prisoners of .war. The price of ham in Beilin, when obtainable, is said to be £l6, while a pint of salad oil brings £4, cauliflowers are 5s each, and cabbages 2s 6d each. Insurance statistics show that if the wife dies first, the husband on an average survives nine years; while if the husband dies first the wife survives 11 yeap. America has secured more tonnage for the carrying of troops and supplies for the allies as a result of negotiations with Northern European neutrals and Japan. In China there is no regular standard of distance. A Chinese mile may he from a quarter of an English mile to a mile and threequarters, according to the province. An aluminium pencil that writes on glass or porcelain, producing marks that can be etched with acid or burnished to resemble inlaid silver, has been invented by a Swiss. If a pair of herrings, could he made to breed and multiply undisturbed for a period of twenty years they would yield fin amount of fish equal in bulk to the globe on which we live. Sued by his wife for non-support in a Missouri Court recently, a man replied, “That, after all, is .a mere scrap of paper,” when the woman produced her marriage certifictrtc as evidence. A scheme of war memorials which is finding favour in Northumberland mining circles is that cottages shall be built for aged miners, the number depending upon • the size and prosperity of the place. The bayonet became a British weapon during the . reign of King Charles 11. It then resembled a lance or pikehoad, and was screwed into the barrel of the musket when the latter had been discharged. Last year 10,001 persons, were killed on United States railroads, and 106,722 were injured. Only 201 of the killed and 8,008 of the injured were passengers; 6,760 trespassers were killed and 11,791 injured. Women’s hair is being collected by the Bavarian Red Cross Association. This has been found to be an excellent substitute for certain raw stuffs, and the collected combings will be used for this purpose. From rubbish which would formerly have been thrown away, army cooks, it was stated at a recent food-economy meeting at Hoddesdon, Herts, had saved enough to provide 8,000,000 large shells. A picture postcard bearing the postmark Holloway, November 12th, 1904,” was delivered at the house of a Lewisham, London, resident on November 10th, 1917, two days short of 13 years after it was posted.