Page 4 Advertisements Column 2

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXII, Issue 90, 18 April 1900, Page 4

FACTS AN D FANCIES. Utilising the Water Lily,—The watei lily is said to be largely used in some parts of India as a food stuff. The fruit of one species that grows plentifully in the lakes of Cashmere is rich In starch, and has much the flavour of a chestnut. If the nuts are dried, they will keep for a long time, and, when ground, may be made into cakes or porridge, or they may be soaked for some hours and then boiled. The seeds of the lotus are also much used for dietary purposes in India. ; Foxes Nursed by a Cat'~A singular incident occurred at Scarcliffe, Notts. A man was ploughing in a field, when a fox started up and bolted away. Reynard had come out of a fox earth, which contained five young foxes recently born. Every encouragement was given to the old vixen to return, but as she did not, and as the young foxes were nearly dead abd cold, the man took the cubs to 7 a cat had kittens a few days before. ■ .The young foxes were put with the cat, and she has attended to them in a most maternal manner. .■»*. Condensed Breath on Window Panes. —lf, the condensed breath collected on the cool window panes of a room where a number of persons have been assembled be burned, a smell as of singed hair will show the presence of organic matter; and if the condensed breath be allowed to remain on the windows for a few days, it will be found, on examination by a microscope, .that it is alive with animalcule. ~;The inhalation of air containing such putrescent matter causes untold complaints which'anight be.avoided by a circulation of fresh air. ;•/. ' ; Death of the .Queerest of a remarkable cat, died at Putnam, Connecticut,? the other day. "'the animal had seven legs and two tails, being in reality one cat in front and two cats behind. Her strange deformity enabled her,to do many tricks; she yias able to walk atuahy angle without turning, and whenever perpendicular walls were dear enough together She could go up them as easily as shSJeouM walk or. the floor, while it was ner favourite sport to climb a tin pipe to the; rodf of the house. She was buried in a l * triangular bfock walnut box, with the siniple inscription " It," and many of the villagers attended the burial. A Hanging fc^i&NTßv.—Great Britain is, above all others, a hanging' country., This Is shown, by some opportune taining official statistics and reports circulated by the Howard Association. - frflm these papers. it is ascertained that during the decade iß7<j-i&88 inclusive, 145 of 2gg persons condemned to death were hanged, the number including nine women. In Italy no executions have takeri place since 1876;'' in Belgium none since 1863; in Holland none since i860; in Portugal none since 1843. In Germany and Austria capital punishment is still in force, but it is resorted to with the utmost reluctance. France might also be placed in the same category, for of 683 persons arraigned for capital crimes in 1887 (the last return available), only 28 were condemned to death, and of these only six were executed. How the " Picnic" Got its Nam6.— Everybody knows what a picnic is, but most people would find it hard to tell how it got its peculiar name. Yet the derivation of the word is simple enough, and sensible, too. When a picnic was being arranged for, the custom originally was that those who intended to be present should supply the eatables and drinkables. A list of these necessaries having been drawn up, it was passed round, and each person picked out the article of food and drink that he or she was willing to furnish, and the name of the article was nicked or ticked off the list. The opan air entertainment thus became known as a " pick-and-nick." The custom is said to date from 1802, so that the picnic is wholly an institution of the 19th century. ■ The Figure' Five—Any number Of figures you may'wish to multiply by 5 will give the same result if divided by 2—a much quicker operation—but you must remember to anjiejt a cipherjo the au.swer, ; when there js no j; and when there is a remainder, annex a 5 to the answer. Multiply 164 by s,'aflff the answer will be 2,320; divide the; samj number by (wo and you and, as theje is 'lib remainder, ypu wffictoto.Mtfowfyake 357- auad multiply by 357 is 178, and a femaindef; you therefore'place a 5 at the tod of the result, yjhich 1,785;-' The reasoh of this process is obvious, since multiplying by 5 is the same asjsultit3yijg by 10 (which is effected by placing a clpner to the right of the unit's gaoe) and dividing by t CURidufi Derivation 6f Popular Words. Varlot" }s the same word as "valet," and each isiik'n offshoot of the feudal vassal."" Madame" is "my lady," and i'sir" has been extracted from Latin " senior" tjirbugh the French. " Dandelion," dent de lion (the lion's tooth), and " vinegar" was once yin aigre (soiir wine). " A villain," before the stigma of disgrace was attached to him, was a labourer on the villa of a Roman ' country, gentleman. V' Biscuit" keeps aliv4 the Latin bis coctus (twice cooked), and a verdict is simply a vere dictum (a true saying). An earl was an " elder" in the primitive'society, while pope is the same as " papa/* and the czar and kaiser are both " Caesars." Queen at first meant " wife" or "mother," and a survival of its early signification exists In "quean," used now only in n bad sense. " Jimminy" is a reminiscence of the classical ftdjuration, O gemini, used by tho Romans when they called upon the twins Castor and Pollux to help them. Redingote is " riding-coat," borrowed by the French from our own language and returned to us in a new guise, with the dressmaker's stamp of approval. '' Slop" shop has nothing to do with slops, as some amateur etymologists have asserted, but means clothing shops, the word coming from Icelandic slooDer. a coat. 1 The Grip TOl In that tickling cough of yours thero lurks a crouching tiger I It's ready to spring just tho moment you're off your guard. Damp ee *' a "tk' o m °ro oxjKi&jZlgMS&i posuro, moist air, or some little change, and you are down with ' iWrrefKjfPjj pneumonia. Take no chances with such a BV XT|} dangerous foe. g*| You may not have I • ]?[•& the Grip hard, but there is (v/ 1 always danger ol pneumonia, rs CtMin Hdwi is the great preventive of serious lung disease. It's a prompt and certain euro for tho Grip. Your hacking cough stops at once, the soreness in your chest passes away. Your escape from pneumonia is complete. ' En Large ana Small Bottlej. A care is hastened by placing over tho chest one of Dr. Ayer'B Cherry Pectoral Plasters. Prepared by Dr. J. C. Ayer & Co., Lowell, Masa., U. S. A. JAMES IiEKL) JX.JUIiL'U Air. JamesKecd, struok his leg against a! caku of ice in such a manner us u> jirui.se it' severely. It became very much swollen ;a:d pained luni so badly that he ooul.; -ui; v.vlk ■vnlumt Ibe aid < ■!' eruU':er>. He wa* healed • >y piiysi. iafis, khl(U 0l ik m ami two an 1 v. lui!'' uf wiikkvy ' n lx»*-iunu u, but no: 1 : ;i.-ave any relief " Kil l ' l ' j-.:.- • 3al,u ' i *'V ''"'"glif ■' c«!u|.!ete in a. week.- time ', c . tl.#l ha" lie. i-Kii, u>e<! tin.s reim.ly i.u i c ., w „ wW 1,.... nar! tu |, ; aaqajtate.i. Mr. OIH . ;j , i.Uc leading nierr.han C.;,v Court lioase . Va, Pail! I'd]lll i:-J ur.i| ;a!!e:: ,■ -1 >