NEWS IN BRIEF.

Otaki Mail, Volume XXVIII, 5 June 1920, Page 4

NEWS IN BRIEF.

At the Church of the Guered Heart in Paris, a fid-ton beii is tolled by elec ii-iciiv. A choir boy now does the work which formerly required the services of live men. A prize-bred game hen belonging to Mr K. 11. .Dolphin, a local fancier, of Altereiiiro. Hie flic Id. recently liatched :i freak chicken with six legs, two* heads, and four wings. The fattest child on record was a Worcestershire girl who died ill ISDh and who. at the age of five years, was -Jft in height. -Sft fin round the chest, and weighed nearly Ibst. A strange custom is practised among the Kskimos. When a doctor in called in h«* receives his fee asoon as lie arrives. It the patient recovers it is kept; if not. it is re turned. After Waterloo the chief ,engra\er of the Mini was commissioned to prepare a lit ling medal for present a 1 ion to the b adcrs of the victorious armies. ILe did so. but look thirty years to coin plete the work. The wettest town in the world is in India. J I»is town, where there E an almost constant rainfall, is calk’d Cherapunji. its a\erage rainfall is (Mo inches, or M feet, a year, or nearly a I got a week. Writing a sopg that catches on is one of the shortest cuts to wealth. Sullivan received £l').oon in royalties for “the Lost Chord. 7 3 and “My J’rettv danc’ 7 remunerated its com poser to the tune of £2OOO a line! A letter posted in London fifteen years ago ha- just boon delivered to a Fort "mouth tradesman, w ho. failing to observe the date, proceeded to execute the order contained therein before he discovered the belated character of the commission. lords cannot open the foot when the ieg is bent; that is the reason they do not fall off their perches when asleep. If you watch a hen walking you will notice that it closes it? toes as it raises the loot, and opens them when it touches the ground. During the year the gyVl output of the K lon dyke was some £iuty>oo. .Since this gold hold was first worked about £4P.no(».(MM, <..f the precious metal lias been secured, and it is believed that there is still an eijual amount waiting to be worked out. A curiosity of Nicaragua is a soapy lake, lliis sheet of water, the Lake oi Nejpa. contains a strong solution of Uvarbonate of potash, bicarbonate oi soda, and sulphate of magnesia. The water, when rubbed against anv greasy object, at once form.- a good lather. It is used as a hair-wash, and enjoys a. local reputation as a cure for externa! and internal complaints.