TIT-BITS.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 4, Issue 20, 12 March 1915, Page 4 (Supplement)

TIT-BITS.

As his daily pay the Egyptian soldier receives 2jd.

* * * On January 18, 1912, Captain Scott reached the South Pole. * * *

There are 140 islands in the Scilly group, St. MaryV being the largest. Nautical miles, or "knots," are 6,080 feet, whilst the statute mile is 5280 feet.

Servia covers an area of 18,650 square miles, and ha 3 a population of nearly three millions.

Gold from which British coins are made contains twenty-two parts of pure gold and two parts copper. * * * *

The English language is spoken by 160,000,000 people: German by 130,000, 000; and French-by 70,000,000.

Lyons has already founded a special institute to teach profitable trades to French soldiers crippled in the war.

The salary of a General in the Rus sian Armv is not extravagant, and var ies from £3OO to £SOO a year.

Over sixty thousand newspapers' arcappearing daily or weekly in various parts of the world, of which more than 13,000 are British.

There are more than 2} million for-eign-born Germans in the United States of America, but not one million foreignborn Englishmen. * * *

During the year 1912 Great Britain's imports from Germany were valued at 42 millions of pounds, but her exports to Germany totalled 59 million pounds in value.

Tho business of war has evidently affected the business of invention, for official figures show that there has been a diminution of 5000 in the applications for patents in Great Britain in 19.14.

Every Frenchman not in uniform wears a rassard on his arm to show he is on special duty, for it is' a mark of shame not to be in service.

Mrs. Francis Parker, Lord Kitchener's sister, says Lord Kitchener is trying to get every public house in the country closed at eight o'clock to minimise the temptations to recruits' to drink.

♦ * * There are 1061 old Etonians on active service in France, Belgium, Africa, and in the naval forces. Of these, 133 have been killed in action, seventeen have died of wounds, 170 wounded, thirty are wounded and prisoners, and twenty-six missing.

With the German Eighth Army in Galicia there are said to be more than a thousand automobiles'. Large numbers of sledges have been bought in readiness for the Russian winter, and specially' large snow ploughs with a span of 17ft. have been made. * * *

In a letter published" by a German newspaper, a Landwehr officer writes: "On the German front officers and men do not salute in the usual way, but bysaying, 'God punish England,' while the reply is 'May he punish England.' " * * *

Married men in Canada are not allowed to join the Expeditionary contingent without the written consent of their wive?, says Miss Lefroy, hon. secretary of the British Women's Emigration Association. Of the married men who wished to volunteer, 40 per cent, had received that permission. British 15in. naval guns have an effective range of 15 miles. More than sixteen million tons of coal arc mined in India every year. * * * The child of a Bangor soldier wounded at Ypres has heen christened "Evelyn Ypres." « * * * "Lac"'is an Indian term, signifying 100.000; thus, a lac of rupees is 100,000 dupiey, or about £6,600. * * * * Annual voluntary contributions to the Church of England average about seven million pounds sterling. # # # Among the white population of British South Africa there is an excess of males of 75 per cent, over females. * * * Representatives from Forty-two nations form the permanent court of arbitration for international affairs at the Hague. * * * The whole of the Grand Fleet is now provided witli "wireless" from the big-ge.-t battleships to . submarines, although the range of torpedo-boats and submarines is only some twenty or thirty miles. * * * The brilliant blue and red uniforms of the French soldiers are now being replaced by uniforms of a light blue-grey colour. Some red and blue threads arc being woven Into the cloth, however, as a sort of momento of the old uniforms. One civilian, and one only, has a right to pass through marching troopnamely, a Court physician on his way to a Royal residence. He can make even the' Household Cavalry open their ranks to him. * * * The value of the Amsterdam diamond exports to the United Suites lias dropped through the war from £20,00!) for. tho third week in December. v 'i<i, which was already nn low figure to £250 i'oi the corresponding week of 39M. * * * Scotsmen average sft. 83m. in height; Irishmen, sft. sin.; Englishmen, oft. 7iin.; and Welshmen, oft. C 5 inches'.

* * * . . More Kohl nn<l silver is received in Great Britain from British South Africa than from any other part ol tne world.

Conferred onlv upon commissioned officers of the Armv and Navy, the distinguished Service Order was founded in ISBG.

Con] tn the value of seventy millions sterling, representing 250 million tons, is the "a venire yearly output of the United Kingdom.

* " * *, i It is itntwl that n new cartridge, tie vise.] for the French Army, will pro pel a bullet half a mile without any per ceptihlo rise or fall. * * #

Forty thousand sheepskin coats have b-en pun-based in Canada, and will he sent over for the use of the Canadian Expeditionary Force encamped on Salisbury Plain.

At one period British pennies were issued with two deep incision', which a'most divided them info miartcr«, so that a fourth part could easily b,.l.roken ewav: hence V.w term "farthing n;- "fourthine;."

"Shortnire in braces" exists iiranllir the C.erman soldiers at the front. f>eeordinc to the " Vorwnrts." This useful nrtiele s«etm to have been omitted t'-orr n || pqreels sent, to (bo German soldiers hv their friends at home.

Another exclusively French-Canadian regiment for active service is to be raised forthwith. The first French-Canadian regiment, which is now training at St. John's, Quebec, will go forward with the second overseas contingent.

Eight hundred pounds was raised at a concert given by Italian ladies at Genoa on behalf of the Belgians. The concert began with the playing of the national anthem of Italy, followed by the Belgian national anthem and the "Marseillaise."