NEWS IN BRIEF.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 2017, 19 August 1919, Page 4

NEWS IN BRIEF.

The red and white flag of Monaco flies over the smallest nation on earth. The entire area of Monaco is only eight square miles. Although it is the smallest in area, however, there are three smaller in population. It has 29,000 inhabitants, as compared with 5,321 for Andorra, 10,710 for Lichtenstein, and 11,513 for San Marino. The use of leather substitutes in the making of footwear, because of the present scarcity and high price of leather, recalls the fact that cork was generally used by the Roman sandal-makers foy solos, is said they sometimes applied it very thick in order to increase the stature of those ladies who wished to be thought taller than they really were.

Rats have been used for human consumption on many occasions. When Paris was' besieged in 1870 they were eagerly sought after, as much as 30 francs being paid for one. During the late war the beleaguered garrison at Kut were constrained to eat thesC-vermin, while the negroes in parts of the West Indies consider them a delicacy. Smoked, dried, pressed, and powdered with rice Hour, they are to be found on sale in every Chinese market.

- In crossing the Xullarbor Plain, so, named because it is treeless, the Trans-Australian railway runs without a curve for 300 miles—probably the world’s record for a “straight.” In all its length of over 1,051 miles, the line does not cross a single stream of permanent water. The railway was constructed, owned, and operated by the Commonwealth of Australia. Its construction involved the removal of about 5,000,000 cubic yards of earth and rock, and in one twenty-five mile stretch alone I,ooo,ooo ecubic yards were removed.

Many people make a point of wearing l new clothes at Easter. The custom is believed to he of Eastern origin; indeed, “The Feast of New Clothes” is the Persian name for Easter. This is the time to see the Shah’s Court in all its glory, for it is crowded with gorgeously-dres-sed men and women, and the Royal wealth is displayed in barbaric splendour. Eggs, painted and gilded, are a very distinctive feature of the Persian celebration, being regarded as a symbol of the beginning, for all things came from the egg, say the Persians.