NEWS IN BRIEF.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 1995, 26 June 1919, Page 4

NEWS IN BRIEF.

White and black are not classed as colours by artists.

Dates are being grown and artificially ripened in Arizona. Tahiti is considered the most beautiful island in the Pacific. The new assessable value of London is just over £45,000,000. There are over 34,000 blind persons in the United Kingdom. The first form of transportation for use on land was the sledge. The United States now owns onesixth of the world’s shipping. To-day there is invested in the world’s railroads over £9,250,000,000.

Two thousand two hundred British prisoners of war died in Turkey. The United States has used up 40 per cent, of its native supply of petroleum. It would require about £10,000,000 monthly to feed the Russian population.

Ninety-five per cent, of the munition works in Great Britain were electrically driven.

The international tunnel under the Pyrenees, between Prance and Spain, is finished. In France seaweed finds utility as a stiffener for mattresses and as size for straw hats.

Several million young pine trees are to be sent by Minnesota State to war-devastated areas of France.

A Dutchman, who became Queen Elizabeth’s coachman, was the first to bring coaches to England. In 1914 the British had one machine gun to 500 infantrymen; in 191 S they had one machine gun to 20 infantrymen.

During March the Allies distributed to Germany supplies amounting to 388,000 tons, with a total value of £22,250,000. There are 10,000,000,000 tons of potash present in the lavas of the six chief volcanoes along the west coast of Italy.

Despite increased duties, Japanese imports of diamonds in 1918 was more than £200,000, while it was but £IOO,OOO in 1017. The star A. G. Berlin 1306 has a radial velocity of 339 kilometers per second, the highest constant velocity so far observed for any star.

The Victoria Cross was first conferred by Queen Victoria on 62 persons, of both the army and navy. The date was June 2(i(li, 1858. Five hundred and twenty-five factories and mills closed down in Russia in the first half of 1918, and 300,000 persons were thrown out of work.

The great reinforced concrete chimney of the Knhara Mining Company in Japan is the second tallest stack in the world. It has a main shaft 550 feel high. Seven hundred Belgian children recently passed through Berne, bound for Belgium by the newlyopened Alsace route. Nearly 2,000 young refugees have been received and cared for, and In many cases educated by the Swiss. Over that: enormous stretch of Canada, which lies north of civilisation right up to f lie Arctic Ocean, graze vast herds of caribou, or reindeer, which are estimated to number anything between 20,000,000 and 50,000,000.

The four splendid conchanl lions dial guard the Nelson Monument in Trafalgar Square were cast originally out of the metal of old naval guns, as was also 1 lie ornamental

capital 011 which the groat admiral stands.

Although the atmosphere envelope of the earth is probably at least 100 miles in thickness, nearly all the watery vapour is in the lower layers. It is reckoned that only one-twenty-fifth is to be found above a height of 39,000 ft.

The secret of another German industry, the manufacture of artificial mother-of-pearl, lustre, and irluescent sheets, largely used for making fancy buttons and for dress trimmings, has been discovered in England after long experimenting. A cat which has just died at Messrs Robey’s engineering works, Lincoln, is said to have killed 1,033 rats during the seven years she lived in the foundry. In attacking her 1,034 th rat she was severely bitten, and blood poisoning caused her death.

It is a well-known fact that amongst nerve specialists that by an examination of the thumb they can tell if the patient is affected, or likely to be effected, by paralysis or not, as the thumb will indicate this a long time before there is any trace of the disease in any other part of the system. While Britain cries for coal, 70,000,000 tons are under water in the South Staffordshire and. other flooded mines. Steps are being taken by the Government to have these mines pumped out and operated, the present shortage making the action profitable. In one area 400,000 tons of water must be raised.

One of the queerest occupations which have sprang into existence since 1914 is that of many boys in Yorkshire towns who used to hang about the big stations watching for consignments of beer. As soon as one arrived its destination was found out, and the address of the particular publicliouse sold to munition workers in the neighbourhood for a penny a time.