TIT-BITS.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 135, 21 January 1916, Page 2 (Supplement)

TIT-BITS.

t Ducks carry' oil in a. little pocket ' near the tail. With this they oil their outer feathers, and so make them waterproof. * * * By means of the micrometer, an instrument for measuring minute distances, it is possible to pleasure tie. millionth part of an inch. * :<■ # So far as is known, the greatest age attained by an insect is that reached by a queen ant, which was nearly fifteen years old when it died, « * * The largest butterflies known are found in British New Guinea. The male measures eight inches across the wings, and the female not less than eleven inches. * * * The peak of Teneriffe, in the largest ol the Canary Islands, projects a huge shadow stretching upwards of fifty miles across the sea. and partly eclipsing the adjoining islands. * * * Tn the Myndd Xewydd coal mines in Wales there is a. chapel at the bottom of the shaft, so that when they descend the pit the miners can go to their devotions, and thence to their work. According to the " Echo Beige" some 1359 Belgian civilians have been killed by German troops in the province of Liege since the invasion, while SIMM) civilians have been killed in the whole of Belgium. * * * When a grizzly hear cannot finish a meal he buries what is left over in the earth until he requires it again. Stories sre told of grizzly bears burying injured hunters in this way thinking them to be dead. Almost every Bulgarian municipality which King Ferdinand lias visited has been obliged to run into debt owing to the cost of receiving him in what he considers befitting pomp. His marriage alone cost over £120,000. * . * * Even prosperity ha.s its drawbacks. Out of 60,000 men engaged in the dye industry in Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Scotland. 50,000 are earning such good wages that they have lost their bonus. Those who earned less than 2S-. a week had 35.. and up •% 425. n bonus of 2s. Now they are all over the higher limit. ■>.• * * Special war taxes wiO soon be levied in Russia. All Russian and foreign subjects who possess an annual income of more than £."io will be obliged to pay the new taxes. Owners of property of the value of £3OO or an equal sum of money must pay Gs. Incometax will range from two per cent, on £;■>(), increasing proportionately up to 25 per cent on £IOO,OOO. * * * "My dear," remarked Juby. who had finished reading a book on the wonders of Nature, "this real'y is a remarkable book. Nature is marvellous! Stupendous! When I read a work like this it makes me think how puerile, how insignificant is num." "Huh!" smffod hi* better-half. "A woman doesn't have to wade through 100 pages to find out the same thine." # * * During hot iweather small bags of muslin tilled with charcoal should be hung in the pantry on either isido of the meat. Tins will keep it fresn in the hottest weather.